Showing posts with label top ten books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label top ten books. Show all posts

Monday, December 29, 2025

Top Ten Book Characters of 2025


Below are my favorite characters of the year.  As I was selecting them, I realized that not all of them were the protagonist. Drayton Connelly is a debonair Southern man who is always dressed well and who loves tradition. Zio Tino is the uncle of the protagonist in The Keeper of Lost Art. His decisions for the family pushed the plot forward. 

Drayton Connelly, High Tea and Misdemeanors by Laura Childs; Drayton is always the voice of reason. However, I most love reading about his daily wardrobe.

Clair Cosi, No Roast for the Weary by Cleo Coyle; Clair owns and operates a coffeehouse with her ex-husband. She always has a keen insight and solves the murders at hand.

Lucie Montgomery, Deeds Left Undone by Ellen Crosby, Lucie has a disability but she still is able to own and operate a vineyard in Virginia. Her mobility impairment does not stop her from pursuing her dream job.

Emilia McRoy, Death at a Scottish Wedding by Lucy Connelly; Emilia is a physician who left her practice in the U S. to move to Scotland. She is also the coroner for her village which helps her solve murders. I wish I could be that brave and move overseas.

Delilah O’Leary, Sleep in Heavenly Pizza by Mindy Quigley; Delilah owns a pizzeria. She has hired an eclectic and eccentric group of employees who help her solve crimes.

Zio Tino, The Keeper of Lost Art by Laura Morelli 

Kaveri Murthy, Into the Leopard's Den by Harini Nagendra; Kaveri is the protagonist of this trilogy. Her knowledge on how humans behave bring twists to the story as well as determining the whodunnit.

Anyu Zhang, The Master Jeweler by Reina Dai Randel; Anyu is long suffering and this trait helps her become a jeweler.

Hubie Schuze, The Pot Thief Who Studied Calvin by J Michael Orenduff; Hubie seems like an old hippie. However, he's not old enough to be one. Each of the books in the series is solved by the use of one of his eccentricities.

Emma Quinn, The Art Collector by Susan Bacon; Emma is a history professor at Columbia University. She has taken up an investigation into the death of photographer Seal Larson, a friend of Andy Warhol.

Thursday, December 25, 2025

Top Ten Books of 2025


I read 100 books in 2025. 51 were mysteries, 19 were historical fiction and 30 were graphic novels. When I looked back on the  books that I read this year, I automatically knew which books would be in the top five. These books stayed in my mind all year. They were fantastic! It was difficult selecting the order of my top three. Any one of them could have been my number one. So, without further ado, here are my top ten books for 2025. Note that not all of them were published in 2025 but rather were read by me this year.

10)  No Roast for the Weary by Cleo Coyle (cozy mystery)

9).  Bad Lands by Preston and Child (mystery)

8).   The Keeper of Lost Art by Laura Morelli (historical fiction)

7).  Lincoln's Lady Spymaster by Gerri Willis (historical fiction)

6).   The Master Jeweler by Weina Dai Randel (historical fiction)

5).   Ginseng Roots by Craig Thompson (graphic novel)

4).   The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry (historical fiction)

3).  The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenburgs (mystery)

2).  Butter by Asako Yuzuki (mystery)

And the number one book of the year is:

1)  The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward (mystery, horror)


Thursday, December 26, 2024

Top Ten Books of 2024


I read 123 books in 2024! It is always hard to determine what my best ten books are for any year. This year is a little different in that I knew off the top of my head what the top ten five books were going to be. Please note that I am choosing books from among different genres for this list. The list includes mysteries, historical fiction and graphic novels. Among the genres, I read 59 mysteries, 22 historical fiction/historical mysteries, 26 graphic novels, and 10 nonfiction books. There were 6 additional books where I did not classify a genre. 5 of them were Amish fiction novels. In addition, 54 of the books that I read were new releases and 29 were written by new (to me) authors.

Now, for my top books of 2024:

10) The Champaign Letters by Kate McIntosh (historical fiction)

9)  The Phoenix Bride by Natasha Siegel (historical fiction)

8)  Agony in Amethyst by A. M. Stuart (historical mystery)

7) Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang (graphic novel)

6)  Tender by Beth Hetland (graphic novel)

5)  The Merchant's Tale by PK Adams (historical fiction)

4)  Twice on Christmas by McGarvey Black (mystery)

3). Such a Lovely Couple by Hayley Smith (psychological thriller)

2)  Under Water by Rachel Callaghan (historical mystery)

And my Number 1 book of the year is:

1)  Animal Pound by Tom King (graphic novel)


I have had a goal during the past two years to reduce the number of books that I read in a year. I think most years I have been reading over 200 books. With my recent retirement I am spending more time on my art and I have joined a senior group that offers lots of classes. I am trying to re-learn French, which I haven't studied in 50 years. I also am taking classes in art history and drawing. Also, I have begun taking more vacations and spent the month of October in Japan. In addition, I took up card making as well as collage. I have had many people ask if I was selling the cards and collages, which wasn't my intent. However, it's easy for me to create them so this will probably be a side hustle for me.  I am enjoying making art and reading in a more balanced manner than before.

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Top Ten Books I Want in 2025

There are a number of books that I would love to read in 2025. Here are a few of them in no apparent order.












Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Top Ten Historical Fiction Books of 2024

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. Between them and mysteries I read at least 100 books every year. This year I read 22 historical fiction novels. Note that my top ten books were not necessarily published in 2024 but come from any of the books that I read this year. Below is my list. Drum roll please.


1)  Under Water by Rachel Callaghan 

2)  Agony in Amethyst by AM Stuart 

3)  The Merchant's Tale by PK Adams 

4)  The Phoenix Bride by Natasha Siegel 

5)  The Champaign Letters by Kate McIntosh 

6)  The Map Colorist by Rebecca D'Harlingue 

7)  The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan 

8)  White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton 

9)  The Secret War of Julia Child by Diana Chambers 

10) The Raven's Widow by Adrienne Dillard


Monday, December 23, 2024

Top Ten Mysteries of 2024


I have been reading mysteries ever since I learned to read. They are my favorite genre and this year I read 55 of them. Note that my top ten books were not necessarily published in 2024 but come from the books that I read this year. Here is my list:

1)  Such a Loving Couple by Hayley Smith 

2)  Agony in Amethyst by AM Stuart 

3)  Under Water by Rachel Callaghan 

4)  Twice on Christmas by McGarvey Black 

5)  The Body in the Boot by Patrick Walsh 

6)  The Blue Monsoon by Dimyanti Biswas 

7)  Girl in the Dark by JM Cannon 

8)  Peach Tea Smash by Laura Childs 

9) Death at a Scottish Christmas by Lucy Connelly 

10)  The Waitress by Emily Shiner

Sunday, December 22, 2024

Top Ten New Authors in 2024


I read books from 29 new, to me, authors in 2024. Here is a list of my top ten favorites along with the title of their book that I read.

1)  Mindy Quigley, An American in Scotland 

2)  Rachel Callaghan, Under Water 

3)  Natasha Siegel, The Phoenix Bride 

4)  Kate McIntosh,  The Wartime Book Club 

5)  Angie Kim,  Happiness Falls 

6)  Kate Thompson, The Wartime Book Club 

7)  Tony Wirt,  Pike Island 

8)  Diana Chambers, The Secret War of Julia Child 

9)  Beth Hetland, Tender

10) Leslie Gould, By Evening's Light 


Saturday, December 21, 2024

Top Ten Book Covers of 2024

I enjoy highlighting book covers each month and try to give some background information on the designer. It’s not always possible to obtain information on book cover designers but I make a good effort to get the information. Below are my favorite book covers for 2024 in order of importance, ie, the first cover you see is my top book cover of the year. Here we go!














Friday, December 20, 2024

Top Ten Graphic Novels of 2024


I read many good comics this year but these are my top ten of the year.

1.  Animal Pound by Tom King 

2.  Tender by Beth Hetland

3.  Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen 

4.  Seoul Before Sunrise by Samir Dahmani 

5.  We Are Not Strangers by Josh Tuining 

6.  A History of Modern Manga by Insight Editions 

7.  The Fox Maidens by Robin Ha 

8.  Art Club by Rashad Doucet

9.  Where the Body Was by Ed Brubaker 

10.  Enlighten Me by Minh Le