See all #Larrys2025Faves

I fell short of my goal of 35 books, petering out at 26. Maybe reading goals are dumb. I wrote more, listened to more music, and grew fatigued by the counting. I had a plan to finish nine more in December, then thought, 'What am I doing here?' Rethinking for 2026, maybe genre challenges? Read Beowulf?

2025 Superlatives

Best Read: Death of the Author – Nnedi Okorafor 

Runner Up: Playground – Richard Powers 

Note: Both have similar plot twists and themes 

Best Debut: Brooklyn Motto – Alex Johnson 

Best Non-Fiction: The Harder I Fight the More I Love You: A Memoir – Neko Case

For books, I don't restrict to 2025 releases; this is a list of all books consumed, in random order:

1. Red Sonja: Consumed - Gail Simone: Red Sonja done right Larry’s 100 review

2. Death of the Author - Nnedi Okorafor: Wow Larry’s 100 review

3. I Wouldn't Say It If It Wasn't True: A Memoir of Life, Music, and the Dream Syndicate - Steve Wynn: Not the casino owner

4. Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside - Nick Offerman: Clowning on Jeff Tweedy was the highlight

5. Oathbreakers: The War of Brothers That Shattered an Empire and Made Medieval Europe - David M. Perry, Matthew Gabriele: Proving elites have always been annoying Larry’s 10 Review

6. River Kings: A New History of the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Road - Cat Jarman: Academic but approachable history

7. Between Two Fires - Christopher Buehlman: Macabre historical fiction

8. The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource - Chris Hayes: Well researched and compelling, if a little obvious

9. Brooklyn Motto - Alex Johnson: Pre cell phone wonderland Larry’s 100 review

10. Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism – Sarah Wynn-Williams: Dishy dystopia origin story

11. The Harder I Fight the More I Love You: A Memoir - Neko Case: Stark but resilient Larry’s 100 review

12. The Blacktongue Thief - Christopher Buehlman: My fave author discovery of 2025 Larry’s 100 review

13. Blind Owl Blues: The Mysterious Life and Death of Blues Legend Alan Wilson - Rebecca Davis: Sad ending to a fascinating Blues Rock introvert

14. Playground - Richard Powers: There and back again through the AI funhouse mirror

15. Comedy Samurai: Forty Years of Blood, Guts, and Laughter - Larry Charles: Soul searching for laughs through some TV/Movies biggest comedies

16. William Blake vs the World – John Higgs: Diary of a madman

17. The Great Courses: The Viking Age: New Perspectives on History and Culture - Jennifer Paxton: Paxton is my fave public lecturer, Folk singing Dad Tom must be proud

18. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin: Twee, emo and overrated

19. The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, the MC5, and My Life of Impossibilities - Wayne Kramer: Ghost listen Larry’s 100 review

20. A Kiss Before Dying - Ira Levin: I am going to read a Levin a year

21. The Uncool: A Memoir - Cameron Crowe: Almost Famous: The Writer's Cut Larry’s 100 review 

22. The Conan Chronicles #1: The People of The Black Circle - Robert E. Howard: Hail Crom

23. Rumors of My Demise - Evan Dando: He can talk, and he told us Larry’s 100 review 

24. The Bloodsworn Saga #1: The Shadow of the Gods - John Gwynne: Viking X-Men

25. The Bloodsworn Saga #2: The Hunger of the Gods - John Gwynne: High gore content

26. The Bloodsworn Saga #3: The Fury of the Gods - John Gwynne: A heck of a yarn

#books #reading #2025BestOf #BookReviews #BestOfBooks #Larrys2025FavesBooks #BookRecommendations #AmReading #100WordReview #Larrys100 #100DaysToOffload #Larrys2025Faves

All reviews on Larry's 100 are exactly 100 words. Read why →

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