After the last two years it is a relief to say that almost all of the hostages have been returned home, either to begin their rehabilitation or for a proper burial. We continue to hope and pray for the release of our last hostage, Ran Gvili, so his family can finally lay him to rest.
Since I began tracking my reading in 2007, I've read 1245 books! Every now and then when I go to list a book in Goodreads, I discover that I've read a book I already read. As happened to me this year with Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking. My average is still 66 books a year and for now, 100 remains elusive.
Nearly 40% of my reading was returning to authors I've previously read - 25 books. Though I enjoy discovering new authors there is comfort in staying with voices that feel familiar and reliable
I read a lot of great books this year. Some of my favorite fiction books were The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern, Wild Dark Shore, What Kind of Paradise, Atmosphere: A Love Story, I See You've Called in Dead, The Candy House, The River Is Waiting, Flashlight, The Berry Pickers, Like Mother, Like Mother, The Anatomy of Exile, Good Dirt, We Could Be Rats, and מי שסוכתו נופלת.
Reading remained a constant in my life, and in 2025 I read 63 books.
This year i have been assisted in writing my reading roundup by ChatGPT.
This past year I listened to 35 audiobooks, read 15 print books, and 13 ebooks. There is a slight increase in audiobooks compared with recent years. Audiobooks make my commute to work bearable if not downright enjoyable.
Since I began tracking my reading in 2007, I've read 1245 books! Every now and then when I go to list a book in Goodreads, I discover that I've read a book I already read. As happened to me this year with Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking. My average is still 66 books a year and for now, 100 remains elusive.
Of the eight nonfiction books I read, five were Jewish or Israel themed. An additional seven fiction books were also Jewish themed. And I read four books in Hebrew which I believe is a record for me. I already bought a Hebrew novel to read in 2026, Yael Mishali's רותירות.
📚 2025 reading stats:
📖 9,826 pages
🎧 327.58 hours
✅ Shortest book read
-
The Reason I Jump - 178 pages
✅ Longest book read
-
The Alaska Sanders Affair - 553 pages
Flashlight - 17.88 hours
The Most - 3.62 hours
I read a lot of great books this year. Some of my favorite fiction books were The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern, Wild Dark Shore, What Kind of Paradise, Atmosphere: A Love Story, I See You've Called in Dead, The Candy House, The River Is Waiting, Flashlight, The Berry Pickers, Like Mother, Like Mother, The Anatomy of Exile, Good Dirt, We Could Be Rats, and מי שסוכתו נופלת.
Wally Lamb's The River is Waiting was not an easy read but well worth it. Flashlight, which I listened to as an Advance Listener's Copy from Libro.fm was absorbing even though I found none of the characters likable. The Anatomy of Exile, which was written by my former next door neighbor in Brooklyn, Zeeva Bukai, tells the saga of the Abadi family, an Israeli family who flee to America with their three children following a family tragedy in the wake of the 1967 six day war. We feel the tensions and struggles as the different family members try to acclimate to their new homeland. Though the characters are not always likeable they are always well written, interesting, and engaging. The story kept me riveted as I followed the characters on their journeys, both emotional and physical, while they moved through life in search of who and what is important to them.
Some of my favorite nonfiction books were Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi's Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging, On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization, and Menachem Begin: The Battle for Israel's Soul. If you're not familiar with Angela Buchdahl, who I first encountered in Guri Alfi's documentary which came out in 2021, היהודי החדש, I urge you to listen to her memoir. Angela Buchdahl is a Korean reform rabbi and the Senior Rabbi at Central Synagogue in NYC. Although I have been an orthodox Jew since I'm 15, this past year left me feeling that God prefers his rabbis like Angela Buchdal and not some others who may follow some of his laws more stringently. On Democracies and Death Cults is by Douglas Murray, who has been a vocal and ceaseless advocate for Israel which is unfortunately becoming increasingly rarer. And I listed to the Menachem Begin book because my daughter, Maor, was reading and fascinated by it. There is always a special joy in reading books which have been recommended by a loved friend or family member.
The book I liked least this year was On Division. Not only was it incredibly depressing but I just could not figure out the point of it.
The most disappointing read of the year was Queen Esther, by John Irving, which I read as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC). I adore John Irving and when he said in interviews in 2022 that The Last Chairlift would be his last long novel I was both saddened but also glad that it was such a great book. So I was pleasantly surprised when I read that not only was Irving publishing a new novel, Queen Esther, but the heroine was Jewish, I could not wait to read it. As they say, the greater the anticipation the greater the fall. It was too long (I know many think all his books are too long) and the characters and storyline were just not engaging.
Show full reading list
Books read in 2025
| Title | Author |
|---|---|
| A Reason to See You Again | Jami Attenberg |
| A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking | T. Kingfisher |
| Alchemy of Secrets | Stephanie Garber |
| An Inside Job | Daniel Silva |
| Atmosphere: A Love Story | Taylor Jenkins Reid |
| Bad Feminist | Roxane Gay |
| Before the Coffee Gets Cold | Toshikazu Kawaguchi |
| Bird by Bird | Anne Lamott |
| Book Lovers | Emily Henry |
| Braiding Sweetgrass | Robin Wall Kimmerer |
| Burial Rites | Hannah Kent |
| Characters on the Couch | Dean Haycock |
| Educated | Tara Westover |
| Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead | Emily Austin |
| Flashlight | Susan Choi |
| Funny Story | Emily Henry |
| Heart of a Stranger | Angela Buchdahl |
| I Have Some Questions for You | Rebecca Makkai |
| Know My Name | Chanel Miller |
| Lessons in Chemistry | Bonnie Garmus |
| Maybe You Should Talk to Someone | Lori Gottlieb |
| The Alaska Sanders Affair | Joël Dicker |
| The Most | Jessica Anthony |
| The Reason I Jump | Naoki Higashida |
| The River Is Waiting | Wally Lamb |
| Wild Dark Shore | Charlotte McConaghy |
| חטוף | Eli Sharabi |
| מי שסוכתו נופלת | צבי בן מאיר |
| עשר סיבות לא להשתגע | Noa Shalev |
| תנו לי להסביר | יוסף חדד |
I am happy to say that some of my favorite authors have books coming out in 2026: Richard Russo's Under the Falls , Laurie Frankel's Enormous Wings , Maggie O'Farrell's Land (which I've received as an ARC), and Emily St. John Mandel's Exit Party are some of the books I'm looking forward to reading this year.
I've already finished three books in 2026 so I hope this will be a great reading year!
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