Book List Season Is Finally Here, Darlings! "The New York Times "Has Chosen "The 100 Most Notable Books Of 2025!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                        Writing is hard, darlings, especially when one mistakenly erases all the work having gone before.  All I want is to give you my assessment of "The New York Times List," by giving you the books I have read, and the books I might read.  I had planned to go in sequence, and I will, but first let me list, pictorially, the books I have read.

                                                                     

                                                                                   

                                                                                

                                                                                  

                                                                                 

                                                                                   

                                                                                

                                                                                 

                                                                                      

                                             Well, girls, this is interesting!  I thought I had read only seven books on this list, but I have actually read eight.  Which is more than this list merits, as some of these were outright surprises to me.  Let's try to break them down.

                                                "Buckeye," by Patrick Ryan--Lovers of family sagas will flock to this tale of two Ohio families over the course of two centuries, and thereby the changing of them, history, and our culture.  The surprise is Ryan writes this type of fiction in a quality way I have not experienced in a long time.  I am glad this made the list, and I urge all to flock to it.

                                                "Heart The Lover," by Lily King--I really loved her previous novel, "Writers And Lovers," so I was excited about this one.  Alas.  She gets it half right when venturing into the academic world of creative writing and lit classes, and how connecting bonds can be formed there. But then, years later, the reader is confronted with the terminal illness of this connected trio.  Was it really necessary to venture into "Terms Of Endearment" territory?  Had you stuck with the academic, Lily, you might have had a book worthy of my list

                                                  "Isola," by Allegra Goodman--I had heard much about this one and was looking forward to it.  Goodman's prose style is exquisite, but this tale of Marguerite, a 16th Century French woman isolated to a remote island for loving the wrong man might better have succeeded as a short story or novella.  Instead, all the reader gets is a high-class bodice ripper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                   "Shadow Ticket," by Thomas Pynchon--I am not surprised this made the list.  Hey, it's Thomas Pynchon, the man is 88, and this could be his last effort.  The surprise is how accessible it is.  Imagine a noirish type of "L.A. Confidential" set in Wisconsin, and that is what the reader gets.  Along with Pynchon's dense prose and facility with language.  This one is a must for those who value literary fiction

                                                   "The Sisters," by Jonas Hassen Khemiri--This was the most immersive 600 plus page novel I have read this year.  The Mikola sisters are the most fascinating siblings since Jane Austen created the Bennets.  And the observer, aptly named Jonas could very well be a stand-in for the author.  How autobiographical is "The Sisters?"  Immerse yourselves in this world, and come away wondering.

                                                     "Stone Yard Devotional," by Charlotte Wood--A stunner, darlings.  For Catholics, lapsed and otherwise, while it may not be "The Song Of Bernadette," it is a meditative exploration of a woman's journey from being a conservationist in Sydney, Australia, to joining a convent in New South Wales.  While there is no Sister Ruth, as in "Black Narcissus," the details of actual convent life are absorbing, and will have readers falling to their knees.  It will enrich readers aesthetically and spiritually.

                                                           "These Summer Storms," by Sarah Maclean--Now, I really loved this one, but does it deserve to be on this list?  The Storms are a moneyed New England family who gather for an inheritance reading--their father's--on Storm Island, their own private getaway, off the coast of Rhode Island.  Conflict and drama ensue.  Nothing new about that, and the book is as entertaining as all get-out, but how many times have we been down this road before?  A fine, entertaining book to read.  But list worthy?  No way!

                                                           "Victorian Psycho," by Virginia Feito--Another one I loved, but what is it doing here?  The concept here is simple--Jane Eyre as a serial killer.  No, Jane is not the character, but the one in question is a governess.  How she simmers and boils is fascinating, and while Charlotte Bronte may have been affronted by it, I think Emily would have laughed her head off, happy that her bossy, more prolific sister was having her masterpiece roasted!  The book is very gory--even for me, darlings--so watch out.

                                                              There you have it, girls, the eight books on this list I read.  Whether they are worth your time is up to you; I leave these observations for you to ponder, and please excuse the format, which was not what I had originally planned.  

                                                                  But what about books under consideration.?  Here are a few titles on the list I am musing.  These five in particular stir my curiosity.

                                                                    

                                          "A Guardian And A Thief," by Megha Majumdar--I have heard a lot about this one, and not just its being an Oprah pick.  Like I care, darlings?  What grabs me more is its being described as an epic, comparable to Vikram Seth's "A Suitable Boy," though not as lengthy.

                                                                               

                                           "The Hounding," by Kenobe Purvis--Girls in an 18th Century English village, who may be witches, turning into dogs!!!!!!!!!!!!  This one has been described as " 'The Crucible' meets 'The Virgin Suicides.' "  How can I resist??????????????????

                                                                  

                                          "Maggie; Or, A Man And A Woman Walk Into A Bar," by Katie Yee--This has been touted as the literary debut of the year.  With an unusual jacket design, and a provocative title, I cannot wait to see what happens once Maggie and her compatriot walk into that bar.   And, at 208 pages, it is short, so it could help me reach my goal of 100 books read this year.  Though, right now, I am only somewhere in the mid-eighties.

                                                                              

                                           "Playworld," by Adam Ross--A child actor coming to age in a vanishing Manhattan.  This one sounds like it was written for me, darlings.  As a child star wannabe who still considers myself one, I have to hustle and read this one pronto.

                                                                        

                                           "What We Can Know," by Ian McEwan--Hey, it's Ian McEwan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Need I say more?????????????????

                                               As for the remainder, girls, I have no idea.  If any of you have heard of these or read any, you tell me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                                

                                                                               

                                          I never knew till now that V. E. Schwab is a woman, darlings!  

                                                                                   

                                       There you have it, dears.  The last three I know nothing about, and some have never heard of, so if anyone out there can enlighten me, please do on here.

                                         And that concludes my assessment of "The New York Times" list of "The 100 Most Notable Books Of 2025."

                                          I cannot wait to see their "Ten Best" list!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!                                                                                             

   

                                                                                 

                                        

                               

                                                                               

                                                                              

                                                                             

                            

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