2025 Book List
by Margaret McBride
2025 was a difficult year in many ways because we moved and sold or gave
away thousands of books. About half of my reading was re-reading. My
favorites:
A Door into Ocean by Joan Slonczewski–great examination of very
different future cultures with fascinating characters. One ocean world
has only females but can procreate. I’m impressed when authors deal with
economic issues in made-up cultures, and this book
presents some interesting discussion about that and other conflicts
that arise when very different systems interact.
Farthing by Jo Walton–alternate history where England has agreed to peace with Hitler and several years later (after murder of a politician), rich lords come to power in a way that will lead to camps in England for Jews, communists, unionists and maybe even Quakers. This is a dark story with interesting style (alternate chapters from point of view of a police detective and an upper class young woman married to a Jew).
These are my new reads that most resonated:
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams–Over a number of years people in a London suburb find a book list labeled “just in case you need it!” Many of the people are from immigrant families and many are going through difficult times–death of spouses or dealing with family members who are depressed or mentally unstable. The varying reactions and interactions between the people reading the books made me want to read or reread the list: To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee, Rebecca Daphne Du Maurier, The Kite Runner Khalid Hosseini, Life of Pi Yann Martel, Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen, Little Women Louisa May Alcott, Beloved Toni Morrison, A Suitable Boy Vikram Seth. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and several other books are also read by the characters, and doing so affects them and the plot. I found this novel a good antidote to all the current furor about banned books, closing libraries, and surveys about people not reading.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley–an unusual time-travel plot where a way is found to move people in time but because of worries over bad effects, they decide to bring forward people from the past (who are believed to have known times of death when alone). They are paired with trained people used to dealing with refugees. One is a soldier from WWI, a woman from the French Revolution, one from the plague years (who is a lesbian, to the surprise of the handlers in the future), a man from 1645, and the main character from an 1847 expedition to find a Northwest passage in the Arctic. Bradley did research and has chapters on his time in a trapped ship where all died. The woman paired with him is a daughter of a Cambodian refugee, and one of the other handlers is a black woman, so they have a discussion on why Negress is not a good term. The novel has many relevant bits about racism, colonialism, and gender.
A Natural History of Empty Lots by Christopher Brown–nonfiction about
exploring small areas where humans are not currently living in Austin, Texas. The book examines what happens with animals, insects, and plants
in places which have had dwellings but no longer
do, or places (like along rivers) which are surrounded by buildings but
have “wild” spots. He looks at history of Native Americans and early
European settlers. He wants us to acknowledge our failures of
stewardship and the many problems of so-called ownership
of land. He finds bits of hope in what life does still exist in the
middle of a large city.
The House in the Cerulean Sea, Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T J Klune–If you’re wanting bits of hope and kindness in a time of despair and hate, read these two novels. In this made-up world where government does whatever it wants to keep power, making sure that people who don’t fit the “norm” (including children) are threatened and debased, a few people manage to find love and families. The books have lots of funny moments and great characters. One sad thing for us in real life is that love and encouragement aren’t enough–they need magic for things to improve.
The Time of Our Singing by Richard Powers–A black woman and a refugee Jewish scientist meet at Marian Anderson’s Washington Mall concert in 1939 and get married despite her parents’ warning about the problems she and her children will have in “a mixed family.” Their children are musically gifted–the two boys become well known concert and opera singers. The book’s plot goes through the LA riots after Rodney King’s beaters are acquitted. Many incidents are chilling–she sits in the back seat of the car when he drives so people will assume she is a servant to the white man. The sons are condemned by some blacks for playing “white music.” Relationships with family members and lovers are divided by race issues. Some of the descriptions of classical music and quantum time (the father’s university job) were beyond my understanding, but I loved the glorious descriptions of the family singing and the mixing of the family interactions with historical events.
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