2025 Book Club Picks

Book Club Picks of Past Years
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024

In 2025, my IRL book club met seven times.

In chronological order:

The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis - This was universally liked by my book club peeps. Unfortunately,  because of that, the discussion was pretty minimal. I'm not sure I'd recommend it for a book club if you want to actually talk about the book.  

Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood - Split verdict at book club. Two of us were not enamored with it and three people were obsessed. It's not a book for everyone, but it is for some.

The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray - Too long; too many POVs that weren't distinct enough. We did learn about the French Revolution, so that was something, I guess.

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley - I missed book club, so I don't know how it went over, but I loved it. 

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman - Mostly liked by book club folks. One person has gone on to read all the books in the series. Not the best discussion. 

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro - No one loved it, but we had a great discussion about it. I think I'd recommend it for a book club. 

The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt by Chelsea Iversen - I don't know friends. This was dark. There were divergent views on it, so there was some discussion. Beware of the violence in this one going in, though. 

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I have been thinking about that cool custom book ornament a lot and next year I might buy an ornament for all my book club peeps with our books of the year. That's a nice way to celebrate book club. You can even get a tag that has Book Club with the year on it. 

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Have you read any of these? If you're part of a book club, what book sparked a good discussion? 

The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt by Chelsea Iversen

The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt by Chelsea Iversen was the December pick for my IRL book club.

Let's just start with some cover analysis, shall we?

Doesn't this look like a delightful cozy fantasy about a woman and her magical garden? Isn't that what the title and color scheme makes you think? 

You would be wrong. This book is filled with violence against women and was incredibly disturbing. 

Book club results: One person did not get further than ten pages in, one person thought it was an empowering look at how we can save ourselves, one person (me) was super bothered by the depictions of violence in the book and could not get over the time the husband locked the wife in the basement, one person attempted valiantly to figure out how the magic in the garden worked. So 25% success rate?

(I think the garden is like a dog. I don't control Hannah really. If she wanted to bite someone, she could. If she wanted to smother someone to death, she could. But Hannah doesn't usually do those things - USUALLY - because she wants me and Dr. BB to be happy and that would not make us happy. So sometimes she's erratic and naughty, but generally she reads our moods and does things to make us happy. That's the garden magic. It's really a dog. But that's my reading on it.)

Harriet lives alone in Sunnyside, her London home, after her father disappeared months ago. Her mother is dead, her only friend has moved away, and all that keeps Harriet company is her garden. Well, about that garden. It's wild and crazy and Harriet has to tend to it or it will completely overtake her house. But then there's this inspector coming around and suggesting Harriet had something to do with her father's disappearance. And this charming young man comes around to court her. SPOILER: HE IS NOT CHARMING. 

Anyway. Read at your own peril. 3/5 stars

Things I looked up:

Ellen Terry (page 84) - an English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries; she was born into a family of actors and began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and toured throughout the British provinces in her teens

Henry Pickering (page 167) - English portrait painter in the 1700s

Hat mentions (why hats?):
round hat (page 11, 276)
tipped his hat (page 18, 82, 282)
tipping his hat (page 33)
below his hat (page 47)
tied on her hat (page 59)
top hat (page 69, 141)
did not wear a hat (page 121)
brim of his hat (page 123)
took his hat off his head (page 149)
tugged firmly at his hat (page 152)
under his hat (page 166)
took off his hat (page 72)
funny hat (page 169)
picked up his hat (page 181)
coat and hat (page 191)
wore no hat (page 201)
beneath his hat (page 229)
fetch our hats (page 281)

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Are you sensitive about violence against women? Would this cover make you think it would be a big role in this book?

Five for Friday, Edition #34

1) Holiday cards - I put them in the mail Wednesday night. I presume that means my international friends will get them sometime in 2026. Woot woot! YOU GUYS. When I was cleaning my mom's house, I found my high school senior photos and there were a bunch of wallet-sized ones left, so I put them in all my high school friends' cards. Oh, and Allison got a couple. If you want to know what I looked like in high school, just imagine me with long hair and fewer wrinkles. 

I ran out of stickers, so the last few didn't get a sticker. How much am I going to let this bother me? (I think you all know that it's going to bother me, but if you get an envelope that doesn't have a sticker, it doesn't mean I don't love you.)

2) Secret SANta - Sarah was my Secret SANta and look what goodies ended up at my door! A fuzzy scarf and hat set. I think you all know I'm always cold, so what a thoughtful gift.

The deadline San set for us to mail our items was December 6. That seems reasonable, but I wanted to buy something for my swap partner at the local Holiday Market that was on that date, so I went to the market in the morning and got to the post office with five minutes before it closed. I told the rest of the story on Nicole's blog, so why am I redoing this?

3) Weather - Friends. It's batshit here. And do you know what the highs this weekend are supposed to be? I can't even. A high of five (that's -15 to you Celsius folks). Dumb. So dumb. 

4) Murderbot - Well, I am not going to let the weather bother me because my plan for the weekend is to sit on the couch with my favorite cat and watch Murderbot on Apple TV. My husband recently bought a laptop and we have three free months of Apple TV and you better believe we are watching A LOT of things. 

Do you see that car covered in snow? It's an Audi wagon and I'm so jealous of it. It's beautiful and perfect and THEY DON'T SELL IT IN THE US ANYMORE. Ahem. 

5) Cookies - Workplace demerit and gold star incoming. 

Demerit - Our holiday employee celebration was on Tuesday afternoon. It was an event running from 1-3 and we turned up about 2. I trudged across campus with some of my colleagues and arrived to find the worst food spread imaginable. There were meatballs in some sort of grey sauce (*gag*), an empty tureen of soup, some sad looking tiny sandwiches with one slice of lunchmeat (*heave*) on them, and a cheese plate. I liked the cheese, actually. There was a hot cocoa and coffee bar, but I don't drink either, so that was a bust for me personally, but went over well with everyone else. 

But the kicker? They had put a lovely sugar cookie at each place setting at some tables and there was frosting and sprinkles to decorate said cookies. But, hypothetically, if you arrived at 2, there were NO MORE COOKIES. Did I need a cookie? No. Did I trudge across campus with the thought that maybe I could get a cookie? Yes. 

I was actually more insulted with the lackluster food than if there had just been no food. That is all. Are you listening, Big Guy in Charge? (I actually really hope he doesn't read my blog.)

Gold star: The dean of our college

 (This might actually be confusing for non higher ed folks. I work at a university that is made up of six individual colleges. I work for one of those colleges. People frequently say they're going to college and that's technically true, but not all colleges are universities, but all universities have at least two colleges.)

hosts a Cookies and Cocoa event every year. His partner is a baker extraordinaire and she makes SO MANY COOKIES. And guess what? On Wednesday, I got cookies and the leftovers stay in the kitchen on our floor! Woot! Cookies galore at the end of the week. 

Also, I was bringing a friend a meal on Monday, so I made spiced chocolate chip cookies and brown butter sugar cookies AND we're going to a dealio tonight, so I made buckeyes last night. There has been SO MUCH BUTTER AND SUGAR usage in our house. It's going to be brutal when I have to go back to reality in January. But right now? My candy/cookie game is great.

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Are you going to be caught up in this Arctic blast? What's the last cookie you ate? 

Podcast Roundup December 2025

FRIENDS!! I have not done a podcast roundup since May. And it had been since August before that. What is even happening? How will you know what I'm listening to?

The June 24 edition of Pop Culture Happy Hour "Best Pixar Movies, Ranked" in which PCHH listeners vote for the best Pixar movies and none of the Toy Story movies make the top five, so I want you to imagine my OUTRAGE at the entire episode. 

Not to be THAT person, but I am still over here shilling for Rob Harvilla and The 60 Songs That Explain the 90s: The 2000s. Rob's posting schedule is INSANE. The dude must only work for like six months out of the year, but I go back every time for his mix of teenage weirdness and strange sentimentality. He covered "The House That Built Me" by Miranda Lambert which is how I discovered the superior Tanya Tucker version of the song. Then he posted an ep on "Live Like You Were Dying" by Tim McGraw that was all about how his father-in-law just died and I thought maybe this was going to turn into a country music podcast and I was all down with that. But then he took off like four months and came back with an episode in which he declared the Jeff Buckley version of "Hallelujah" to be the best song ever written. Hot take, that one. 

Anyway. Look, you can catch up if you haven't listened to any 60 Songs episodes. He hardly ever posts new episodes, but they're always great. 

I'm also still shilling for Nate DiMeo, our national treasure and writer of The Memory Palace. Episode 234 "Looking for Parking, Late Winter, 1996" is not on TMP website, so I'm linking to it on Spotify. Where did it go, Nate? It's about Nate's very own driveway moment when he couldn't turn off the radio. Episode 237 "Vigil" is also missing from TMP website. Both of these episodes speak directly to our current American moment. Do yourself a favor and take ten minutes and listen to one of those episodes right now. 

The November 3 episode of The Indicator from Planet Money was super interesting to me. "When AI Is Your Job Interviewer" talked about the fact that when given a choice, 78% of candidates choose to be interviewed by an AI voice agent for a screening interview. SEVENTY EIGHT PERCENT. Who are these people and what is wrong with human beings? 

Usually I find stories about precocious kids to be too twee for me, but I truly enjoyed "Kids on the Case" from Criminal.  It's like a series of cozy mystery stories and no one dies. 

If you had asked me before I listened to the two-part Hit Parade on Sting, I would have said I had neutral feelings on Sting. But, no, no, I do not. I love Sting. I love all his songs and I had no idea. With Police, he has that catchy stalker song, he has the one about the fields of gold, he has that "All For One" song from The Three Musketeers, and don't forget "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic." Look, I will die for Sting after listening to these episodes. 

This is already never-ending and long, but Wisecrack. It's a limited run series of six episodes plus some skippable bonus eps. A producer listens to a stand-up routine by this British guy and she gets the idea to do a podcast about his story. If you listen to the first episode and don't want to listen to any more, you are a stronger person than I am. This pod is winning all sorts of year end Best Of awards and I can see why. It's addictive. 

Okay, I lied. One more. The Mushroom Case Daily. It's been rebranded as The Case Of, but if you want to a detailed play-by-play of the lady who poisoned her family with death cap mushrooms, this is your podcast. There is so much here. I want someone else to listen so we can debate whether or not you think Erin Patterson should have been convicted. Also, Australian accents...

Okay, I'm out. What's in your earbuds these days?

The Great Ornament Search of 2025

Every year I buy a new Christmas ornament and make my husband unwrap it when we open our presents and say it's from "The Ornament Fairy." Here are some of them. 

Here's are some I considered this year.

Custom message ornament: Maybe "This Year Sucked." Or "I Cried A Lot." Or "My Mom Died and I'm Doing Just Fine with That." What about "My Relationship with My Sister is Complicated." It was a consideration.

Or just this? 

Or maybe this?

Or, hey, what about this?

Okay, fine. I didn't do that. Enough with my pity party.

Serious consideration was these cute snowmen. It seemed even more appropriate after our snowstorm a couple of weekends ago.

A Subaru ornament to celebrate our new purchase? That seemed like recency bias. 

I desperately want this custom book ornament. But that would really be about me and not the two of us, so that's a big no, but next year I'm going to seriously consider this as a present to myself. Pick out my top ten books of the year and put them in there. It's a perfect ornament for an occasion that isn't me acting as The Ornament Fairy. 

In the end, I went for a fairly safe choice. 

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Are you buying any new ornaments this year?

November 2025: What I Spent

As a reminder, my husband pays the "big bills" like mortgage, phone, car, and electricity. I pay for groceries and the pets and that somehow evens things out.

Something's that absolutely not included here is that we bought a new car and put down some serious $$$. That came out of our shared savings account. Still. It's on my mind. 

Entertainment ($12.65, <1%) - My Spotify subscription.

Cars ($87.64, 2.5%) - Gas a few times. (LOL at the elephant in the room on this one.)

Clothes ($109.85, 3.1%)  - I bought new leggings and underwear and I'm still figuring out some new shoes. The saga of the shoes is long and maybe someday I'll regale you with it, but I paid for the shoes, had to return them for fit, and then they charged me more for the adjustments. This has been a literally months long process and I'm not even sure I love the shoes. 

Gifts ($137, 3.9%) -  A birthday gift for my nephew and I ordered holiday cards and our Christmas ornament for the year. 

Eating out ($147, 4.2%) - At the beginning of the month, I was in Michigan and the bulk of this is a dinner where I treated my sister and brother-in-law.

Savings ($200, 5.7%) - I mean, it IS something, I guess. 

Personal care ($221.06, 6.3%) - Haircut, some hair product, and some makeup. 

Bills ($256.01, 7.3%) - Water/sewer and insurance. This will go up slightly with the new car. 

Groceries ($699.40, 19.9%) - This doesn't seem too bad. 

Pets ($769.93, 21.9%) - ARGH. Last month this was under $300. Zelda had her annual exam, they both got food, I bought some birdseed, and Zelda had ALL her  medicine replaced this month. 

Health ($877.05, 24.9%) - I'm still paying my PT and I had an eye exam and ordered new contacts and I had to pay $50 for pathology for that tortuous appointment. I have to admit that seeing that all this was more than groceries for the month has been a hard pill to swallow.

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Normally I ask about fun purchases, but I'm switching it up.  What did you pay for in November that you resent? 

Five for Friday, Edition #33

1) Update on an update: We did it. We bought a new car. I might have cried when we drove by the Hyundai for the last time. We bought a Subaru Outback (if you want the details it's a Limited trim with a turbo engine). Is it really an SUV? Yes. Do I feel like I've let myself down? Sort of. 

Her name is Lucy and she has heated seats and a heated steering wheel. Since the high topped out IN THE SINGLE DIGITS yesterday, I have made use of these features. 

I would show you a photo, but I literally never see her in the daylight. Maybe you'll get a photo in May.

2) Let the season begin: We have finally joined all the festive people. Lights are up and the advent puzzle has been started. The holiday market is tomorrow and I'm hoping to do most of my shopping by the end of the weekend. Cards have been ordered. Tickets for the Rotary Gardens light show have been ordered. Let's GO. 

3) Workity work: You know how work has been insane and I said things will slow down? I mean, that hasn't happened yet. The software launch has been a disaster and I'm still the point person for that. We have a new hire which will eventually mean less on my plate, but now means MORE on my plate. Eh. You know what? Who cares? It's fine. Just don't look at my work calendar.

4) Midwesterners must talk about the weather: If you follow other Wisconsin/Illinois bloggers, you might already know that last weekend an entire planet's worth of snow was dumped on us, followed by more snow, and then the temperatures plummeted so that the high yesterday was in the single digits. What does that mean? It means that snow ain't going nowhere and Hannah is by turns delighted by the snow and horrified by it. It also means my time outdoors stat is not doing well right now.

5) It's Spotify Wrapped time: The best of time of year is when I am yet again reminded that white trash stays white trash. YES, Tanya Tucker is one of my most listened to artists of the year. Do yourself a favor and listen to her cover of  "The House that Built Me" and follow it up with "Lizzie and the Rainman." If you want deeper Tucker cuts, consider her version of "The Thunder Rolls," the sad story song "What's Your Mama's Name," my karaoke song "Delta Dawn," or the super romantic "Two Sparrows in a Hurricane." I am a basic white bitch and I intend to stay that way.

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Any big updates in your life? Do you want to talk about the weather? Do you have a song recommendation for me? Do you want to brag about any of the top artists on your Spotify Wrapped?