Larry's Faves: A year of books
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:
Red Sonja: Consumed - Gail Simone: Red Sonja done right Larry’s 100 review
Death of the Author - Nnedi Okorafor: Wow Larry’s 100 review
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
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
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
River Kings: A New History of the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Road - Cat Jarman: Academic but approachable history
Between Two Fires - Christopher Buehlman: Macabre historical fiction
The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource - Chris Hayes: Well researched and compelling, if a little obvious
Brooklyn Motto - Alex Johnson: Pre cell phone wonderland Larry’s 100 review
Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism – Sarah Wynn-Williams: Dishy dystopia origin story
The Harder I Fight the More I Love You: A Memoir - Neko Case: Stark but resilient Larry’s 100 review
The Blacktongue Thief - Christopher Buehlman: My fave author discovery of 2025 Larry’s 100 review
Blind Owl Blues: The Mysterious Life and Death of Blues Legend Alan Wilson - Rebecca Davis: Sad ending to a fascinating Blues Rock introvert
Playground - Richard Powers: There and back again through the AI funhouse mirror
Comedy Samurai: Forty Years of Blood, Guts, and Laughter - Larry Charles: Soul searching for laughs through some TV/Movies biggest comedies
William Blake vs the World – John Higgs: Diary of a madman
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
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin: Twee, emo and overrated
The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, the MC5, and My Life of Impossibilities - Wayne Kramer: Ghost listen Larry’s 100 review
A Kiss Before Dying - Ira Levin: I am going to read a Levin a year
The Uncool: A Memoir - Cameron Crowe: Almost Famous: The Writer's Cut Larry’s 100 review
The Conan Chronicles #1: The People of The Black Circle - Robert E. Howard: Hail Crom
Rumors of My Demise - Evan Dando: He can talk, and he told us Larry’s 100 review
The Bloodsworn Saga #1: The Shadow of the Gods - John Gwynne: Viking X-Men
The Bloodsworn Saga #2: The Hunger of the Gods - John Gwynne: High gore content
The Bloodsworn Saga #3: The Fury of the Gods - John Gwynne: A heck of a yarn
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