It’s the last Saturday Miscellany of 2025–as so many have lately. There are two contributing factors–1. It’s between Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 where time is vague. 2. I have a case of the Man Flu, making the vagueness of time even worse for me. As I typically do, I ask that you keep Mrs. Irresponsible Reader in your thoughts at this difficult time for her.
Odds ‘n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
The American Dream in the Winter Solstice: Reflections on the Linked Legacies of Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, and West—It’s hard to describe briefly but I wish I could write stuff like this
Last week, we looked at the New York Public Library’s most checked out, along with an aggregate of the US. Now, let’s look closer to my home with: These are the top books checked out from the Boise Public Library in 2025
INTERVIEW: with author Michael Michel—over at at GrimdarkMAGAZINE
Senior Sleuths: The Art and Appeal of Mysteries Starring Older Detectives—”Michelle L. Cullen on tropes, elderly invisibility, and what makes aged crime-solvers so arresting”
18 New Cross-Genre Book Trends from 2025 (and Going Strong into 2026!)—from Goodreads
Discussion: Should bloggers do research before posting book reviews?—oh, good grief, no. Read a book and respond to it–if you want to verify a thing or two, go for it (and yes, I do this–and sometimes keep going and end up not posting anything). If it’s not on the page, that’s not for you to worry about. If you’re writing for a publication (especially if someone pays for it), then yeah–best get your house in order.
Quotables: Words that Stuck with Me in 2025—One of my favorite annual posts from Witty and Sarcastic Book Club
The Orangutan Librarian had a good pair of posts this week: Books I Successfully DNF’d in 2025 (I think whoever sold them on Snow Crash set them up for failure, but, whatever) and Books I’m Glad I Didn’t Quit
It’s time for another batch of the best of 2025 to lighten your wallets and build up your TBRs:
Alta Journal’s Best Books of 2025
FanFiAddict’s Will’s Favorites of 2025
The 10 Best Books I Read in 2025—by Briana at Pages Unbound
FanFiAddict’s DB Rook’s Best Reads of 2025 looks exactly like what the author of Callus & Crow should pick
The best fantasy, horror, and sci-fi books of 2025—according to GrimarkMAGAZINE
LordTBR’s Top Reads of 2025
And then we’ve got The Hard Word’s Top 25 of 2025: 15-11
A Jam’s list to 2026 releases – Part 2
To help talk about backlist titles (and just for fun), What Was I Talking About 10 Years Ago This Week?
It’s Our Right to Fight by Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth
Do More Better by Tim Challies
Carol
I LOVE the phase “Successfully DNF’d” 🙌😂
HCNewton
I know…it’s great.
KWHR
Expecting casual book bloggers to research every detail about a book they are about to give a review for is wild. They aren’t writing dissertations on it, plus, while a book gives greater depth when viewed from its particular context, it also needs to stand on its own merit without subsequent explanation. Also, for that particular blogger, they are correct that it is a standalone book if it has no sequel in print yet. A sequel planned is not a sequel made.
HCNewton
bingo.