2025 in books

Another year, another bunch of books. 

I spend most of the year binging through thriller series that I had already had started in 2024. 

The books I really liked were the newest book from the Slough House series, the spy novel The Persian, and Fundamentals of Software Architecture (even if I didn't finish it). 

I am still using Goodreads to track these, so you can find the pretty Year in Books there.  

Currently, I am reading The John Varley Reader: Thirty Years of Short Fiction, which is great. Apparently, I have to wait until someone passes until people tell me about them. 

Non-Fiction

This year was very light on non-fiction. I just didn't have the patience for it.  

Never Search Alone: The Job Seeker’s Playbook Never Search Alone: The Job Seeker’s Playbook  - while searching for a new job, I used this book and the associated community to help. Some of it worked, a lot of it doesn't make sense for my roles in the current market. 

Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile - I love the podcast, but this was mostly about cars and not the life after them. 

Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach - I quite liked this one, but I didn't finish it. I will continue at some point. 

Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum - Michael J. Fox autobiography from the Back to the Future days. Many cool titbits. 

Fiction 

I binged quite a few series, so I keep it short. 

 

DCI Logan Crime Thrillers #14-#21 

Robert Hoon Thrillers #3-#5 

DI Heather Filson Series #1-#2

First Among the Dead: A Constable Tyler Neish Novella 

All in the same universe, pleasant quick reads, exciting and with humour.  

 

Pretty Face, Isabella Rose #6 

Charlie Cooper Thrillers Series #7-#10 

John Milton Series #24-#26 

Atticus Priest #5: The Inheritance 

Not much about these to say. I love Mark Dawson's thrillers. The stories are maybe a bit predictable, but they have exciting moments.  

 

Detective Inspector Declan Walsh Series #2-#6  - this was nice and then jumped the shark so badly I gave up on the series. 

 

Nightshade: A Novel a new Michael Connelly series. More cosy than the usual LA setting. 

 

The Lincoln Lawyer #8 The Proving Ground - OK, but so much better than the quite rubbish TV series. 

 

Use of Weapons - I wanted to continue with the Culture series by Ian M. Banks. It turns out this is the last one available on Kindle. 

 

Slough House #9: Clown Town - he is not writing fast enough. This is also so much better than the TV series. And the TV series is brilliant. 

 

The Persian: A Novel - another spy novel by David McCloskey, excellent, if a partly depressing. With this year's news, I would also like to have anything playing in those parts of the world.  

 

Titanium Noir #1: Titanium Noir - like a Raymond Chandler story in the near future 

 

Commissario Montalbano #1: The Shape of Water - not a series I will continue. It feels so outdated. 

 

Legends & Lattes #2 Brigands & Breadknives - I was eagerly awaiting this cosy fantasy story.  It was good, but there were not enough hot beverages and biscuits. 

 

Hidden in Memories - Cosy Nordic Noir - I think this is part three in the series.  

 

The Tourney: The Adventures of Maid Marian - I got this because I like the author on Mastodon, the book is very much average. At 65 pages, you read this romantic yarn quickly. 

Comics 

Lazarus Fallen #1-#6 - This is nearing the end, and it has been great. Good action, well drawn, and Greg Rucka at his best.