What I Read Last Month (January 2025)
A bumper crop of reading
After a tough end of the year reading-wise where I was struggling sometimes to keep my focus on a single book, 2025 started with a bang. Is it because there are a lot of bad things happening in the world? Probably. Am I hiding my head in the sand (a bit) by escaping into reading? Most definitely.
Let’s take a look at the books!
A Stash of One’s Own: Knitters on Loving, Living with, and Letting Go of Yarn edited by Clara Parkes
Long time readers will know that I am an avid knitter, and with knitting comes stuff. Needles, notions, but particularly yarn. My sister, who is a fellow knitter, and I decided to enter 2025 with a goal to knit down our stashes and we have therefore imposed a yarn-buying ban.1 Therefore, I really enjoy this collection of essays of knitters grappling with the acquisition of and letting go of yarn.
Last Stop Union Station by Sarah James
I am sorry to say that I read this book as an ARC only because it means that I can’t shove it in all of your hands right now. Here’s what I had to say about this fab historical mystery!
Sarah James astutely mixes glamor, murder, mystery, and espionage in this refreshing take on historical mystery set against the backdrop of Golden Age Hollywood. Down but never out, Jacqueline Love is a force to be reckoned with!
The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell
This is the follow-up to The Other Half, the series starter for the DCI Caius Beauchamp mysteries. I really enjoyed The Other Half, which delves into the world of London’s young upper crust, and The In Crowd scratched the same itch for me. I’m very much looking forward to book 3, which is already scheduled for this summer!
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
I read this as an audiobook, my first for Richard Osman. While I enjoyed it and think Rosie D’Antonio is a great character, I think I prefer the experience of reading Osman’s books rather than listening to them if my time reading the Thursday Murder Club series is anything to go by.
Conclave by Robert Harris
The Gentleman got this for me for Christmas, and I’m so glad he did.2 Brilliantly paced and deeply researched, this thriller that focuses around the election of a new pope barrels along to a cracking ending. Coincidentally, we went to see the film this week, and I thought it was very well done—in particular Ralph Fiennes as the renamed-for-the-movie Cardinal Lawrence.
On Isabella Street by Genevieve Graham
Another ARC!
Deeply researched and beautifully evocative of the era, On Isabella Street is a deeply moving story told against the tumult of war and change. It is a perfect example of why I never miss a Genevieve Graham novel.
The Party by Tessa Hadley
This novella is a wonderful example of what an impact a skillful author can have even with very little space. Although the material will be very familiar to regular historical fiction readers, it is well worth your time for the beautiful writing.
Kingmaker: Pamela Churchill Harriman’s Astonishing Life of Power, Seduction, and Intrigue by Sonia Purnell
I chose well for my first non-fiction book of the year. I knew very little about Pamela Churchill Harriman’s role during World War 2 or her involvement with US politics afterwards. However, I was fascinated by the entire book. Purnell does a skillful job of drawing a portrait of a woman who was incredibly complex and whose life is worthy of study.
What I Ate in One Year by Stanley Tucci
I read Taste, Tucci’s charming memoir last year, and thoroughly enjoyed it so when both my mother and my cousin picked this up I knew I would have to read it. There is something comforting in reading about the mundane, normal meals that a person makes and eats for their family, and this book has that in spades a long with a smattering of recipes to go along with it. I hope Tucci will continue to write about food in new and interesting ways.
What are you reading right now? Leave me a comment to let me know!
There are a small number of exceptions, one of which is buying yarn on holiday and another is gifting. This is how I’ve actually acquired 3 skeins of yarn in January despite not buying any myself as they were a gift from my sister who went on holiday.
Even if I suspect it might have been because he too wants to read it.
I just ordered your newest book, Ms. Kelly. Betrayal at Blackthorn… I am looking forward to reading it!!!
I just finished Between the Sound and the Sea by Amanda Cox, about a lighthouse in the Outer Banks. I just started A Most Clever Girl by Stephanie Marie Thornton. The Glassmaker and Kingmaker are both on my schedule for this month.