On My Shelf: Books I Read in December 2025

Happy New Year!!!!!

Today seemed like a fitting time to recap the books I finished in December (I’ll be back next week with a roundup of my Top Ten fiction and non-fiction picks for 2025).

January. February. March. April. May. June. July. August. September. October. November.

BOOKS I READ IN DECEMBER — THE SHORT VERSION

• It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War — Lynsey Addario ★★★★★
• The Impossible Fortune — Richard Osman ★★★★☆
• Nothing Like a Dane: A Real-Life Search for Hygge in Denmark — Keri Bloomfield ★★★☆☆
• News of the World — Paulette Jiles ★★★★☆
• I Who Have Never Known Men — Jacqueline Harpman, Ros Schwartz (Translator) ★★★★☆
• Christmas: A Biography — Judith Flanders ★★★☆☆
• Acadian Christmas Traditions — George Arsenault ★★★★★
• These Memories Do Not Belong to Us — Yiming Ma ★★★★☆
• Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers — Caroline Fraser ★★★☆☆
• The Sea Captain’s Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love, and Adventure at the Bottom of the World — Tilar J. Mazzeo ★★★☆☆
• Simply Christmas: A Busy Mom’s Guide to Reclaiming the Peace of the Holidays: A Devotional — Tama Fortner ★★★★☆
• The Jane Austen Insult Guide for Well-Bred Women: Serving Tea with a Side of Scorn — Emily Reed ★★★★★
• Best Laid Plans: A Simple Planning System for Living a Life That You Love — Sarah Hart-Unger ★★★★★

It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War — Lynsey Addario (non-fiction; memoir) ★★★★★

Gripping and haunting. This memoir provides the stories behind famous photos captured by Lynsey Addario, one of the most prolific war photographers in our generation. I read this after watching the Disney+ documentary Love + War, which was recommended to me by a humanitarian photographer (who has worked in conflict zones); thanks Josy-Anne!

Content warnings. Some strong language. Graphic descriptions of war, violence, kidnapping, and other human atrocities.

The Impossible Fortune — Richard Osman (murder mystery; fiction) ★★★★☆

This was a solid Thursday Murder Club story; a bit “tamer” than some past books. There wasn’t much background provided on any of the characters, so I feel like readers will enjoy this book more if they’ve read the previous books first.

As always, I appreciate the witty banter and some of the characters are especially loveable. That said, I didn’t find the book overly memorable.

• Summary. Joyce is deep in wedding logistics and opinions about first dances (her daughter is finally getting married). Elizabeth is carrying the grief of widowhood. Ron has family matters pulling at his attention. Ibrahim is offering therapy to his favourite criminal (some habits die hard). When Elizabeth meets a wedding guest with a very big problem, things spiral quickly: a kidnapping, a death, and an unpleasant villain who wants access to an uncrackable code—and is more than willing to hurt people to get it.
• Content warnings. Occasional strong language, references to domestic abuse, murder (obviously!)

Nothing Like a Dane: A Real-Life Search for Hygge in Denmark — Keri Bloomfield (non-fiction) ★★★☆☆

3.5 stars rounded down to 3.

This book was a solid Meh for me. I appreciated some of the cultural anecdotes, but the whole tone of the book felt relentlessly negative. There were some interesting insights into living an expat life in Scandinavia. But, again, Meh.

News of the World — Paulette Jiles (historical fiction) ★★★★☆

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Some parts of the prose were a bit much for me (I don’t love dialogue that isn’t clearly set apart with punctuation), but I appreciated the ending and how the story was pulled together. Definitely a compelling story and I’d be up for watching the movie adaptation at some point!

• Summary. Set in post–Civil War Texas, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd travels from town to town reading newspapers out loud to audiences hungry for connection and news beyond their own lives. His quiet routine is disrupted when he’s hired to escort Johanna, a ten-year-old girl raised by the Kiowa after her family was killed, to relatives she’s never met.
• Content warnings. Historical violence (of the Western/frontier variety), occasional strong language.

I Who Have Never Known Men — Jacqueline Harpman, Ros Schwartz (Translator) (dystopian fiction) ★★★★☆

I never use this turn of phrase, but what the heck?? I’m so confused! I am stymied—STYMIED—at how to rate this book and what to think about it. Sometimes I loved it, sometimes I was bored to tears (so. much. wandering). But it was unmistakably brilliant writing. Depressing as all get out, but also captivating.

I can’t say I enjoyed the book but it was a crazy, puzzling ride. And I actually liked (no, liked isn’t the right word, approved of?) the ending. It felt very ironic and apropos.

• Summary. Forty women are held captive in a cage, far underground, watched by silent guards. They don’t know why they’re there, how long they’ve been imprisoned, or even what the world above looks like anymore. Time blurs under constant electric light, and memories fade. Among them is the youngest woman—the fortieth prisoner—quiet, observant, and set apart from the others. When an unexpected rupture finally opens the door to escape, it’s her perspective that shapes what comes next.
• Content warnings. Death/dying, assisted suicide and suicide, dystopian themes.

Christmas: A Biography — Judith Flanders (non-fiction; seasonal) ★★★☆☆

Meh.

Some of the facts and history were interesting, but it was told in a fairly boring, cold way. There was no sense of delight or joy, and I didn’t find it particularly well organized. It made perfectly fine reading before bed (but it never once made me want to stay up for one more chapter, which accurately captures how I felt about it).

Acadian Christmas Traditions — George Arsenault (non-fiction; seasonal) ★★★★★

This is a niche, locally-produced book, but kudos to the author for writing about Acadian Christmas traditions (post Deportation)!

These Memories Do Not Belong to Us — Yiming Ma (dystopian fiction) ★★★★☆

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This book is HARD to rate.

It’s a series of interconnected stories—memories, actually—that reflect a non-linear look at a rising Chinese superpower (The Party) that has taken over the world and monitors, controls, and manipulates people’s memories.

The first half of the book was gripping and a 5/5 read for me, but it started getting harder and harder to follow (there is limited continuity).

If you want a plot-centric, resolved storyline…this is not the book for you.

It’s reminiscent of 1984, with a touch of Station Eleven, a dash of Audition, and a hint of The Joy Luck Club.

Mileage will definitely vary on this one. I’m glad I read it but can see it being very divisive.

• Summary. The world is ruled by an authoritarian state called Qin, where every citizen is implanted with a Mindbank—a device that records and transfers memories. What begins as a technological marvel quickly becomes a tool of control. Memories are bought and sold, edited and erased, giving rise to “memory capitalism” and a regime that tightly curates the past. When a man inherits his dead mother’s Mindbank, he uncovers memories from before and after the war that cemented Qin’s power. Unsure whether the state has altered them—and knowing they may soon be destroyed—he sets out to share them with the world.
• Content warnings. Very occasional strong language, mind control, dystopian themes, pandemic themes.

Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers — Caroline Fraser (non-fiction) ★★★☆☆

Yet another difficult book to rate.

There was obviously a tremendous amount of research that went into this book, but the central theme felt a bit convoluted and over simplistic.

1) The main theory of the author’s work is that lead poisoning and other toxic substances played a major role in the rise of serial killings in the Pacific Northwest (it never does touch on the fact that only men, in her opinion, were led to do horrific acts because of this toxicity).
2) The narrative jumps back and forth between different killers and can be hard to follow (I feel like this book really needed and deserved a master list of the killers and their victims).
3) I enjoyed the personal stories interwoven into the book (Fraser grew up in the same region as many of these renowned serial killers), but it sometimes felt very misplaced.
4) The inclusion of so many details about the bridge(s) were…perplexing. I know she is equating the bridge to a serial killer while also tying in the impacts of leaded gas fumes but…it’s a lot!

As is so often the case, I think this book would have been tremendously improved by being 100 pages shorter.

• Content warnings. It’s about serial killers and the author very matter-of-factly walks readers through many of the crimes. They are truly horrific.

The Sea Captain’s Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love, and Adventure at the Bottom of the World — Tilar J. Mazzeo (non-fiction, biography) ★★★☆☆

This book could be a wonderful 5-star article. There was simply too much filler for a book. It felt like the author was struggling to find enough to say and the story—which at its core is thrilling and remarkable—got lost in the shuffle.

• Content warnings. Peril on the high seas, death.

Simply Christmas: A Busy Mom’s Guide to Reclaiming the Peace of the Holidays: A Devotional — Tama Fortner (non-fiction; seasonal devotion) ★★★★☆

This is a gentle Advent devotional for Christian mothers. (I didn’t actually know that was the target audience when I ordered it from my library).

I loved the aesthetic of this book. The daily readings are short, but some are surprisingly profound and each is followed by a practical tip to simplify Christmas.

I read this book in one sitting (so not daily during Advent, as I only got it late December), but I will plan to order it in again next year.

Don’t expect anything too spiritually deep, but it’s engaging, and the right level of relaxed inspiration.

The Jane Austen Insult Guide for Well-Bred Women: Serving Tea with a Side of Scorn — Emily Reed (non-fiction; quotes) ★★★★★

This “book” is hilarious (and I’m not even a big Jane Austen fan). It’s a collection of witty quotes with sarcastic (but fitting) categories.

If you like Jane Austen and dry/biting humour, this is the book for you!!

It is very short and has little to no commentary. You can read it cover to cover in less than 30 minutes.

Best Laid Plans: A Simple Planning System for Living a Life That You Love — Sarah Hart-Unger (non-fiction; planning/goal-setting/self-improvement) ★★★★★

I’ve followed the trajectory of Sarah’s growth into a planning guru for years, so I was thrilled to hear she had a book in the works. I’ll admit… I didn’t expect to learn a whole lot. I thought I already knew her techniques (from her wonderful podcast and blog) and that the book would mostly serve as a helpful refresher.

I was wrong.

This book is beautifully organized and guided me seamlessly from high-level planning (long-range thinking and annual goals) all the way down to the daily minutiae of everyday life. It’s practical without being overwhelming, and thoughtful without being abstract.

Sarah’s writing is approachable and grounded in real life. Her reflections on juggling a demanding career (she’s a doctor and has developed her own broadly applicable planning system), raising children, investing in her marriage and other relationships, and handling the everyday responsibilities of adulthood are deeply relatable.

I wasn’t planning to set goals for 2026, but about two chapters in, I had a list of 26 goals for the year, four personal mantras, and—for the first time in my life—a year divided into quintiles!

Read this book with a pen, a highlighter, and a planner in hand. I can guarantee you’ll walk away inspired.

I was also beyond thrilled to find various anecdotes from blog friends like Jenny, Rebecca (LagLiv), Kae, and Lisa! And I even show up in a little Planner Peace segment at the end of the book!!

And that’s a wrap on my reading in December. Be sure to come back next week for my Top Ten lists!

Now it’s your turn.

• Have you read any of the books I finished in December?
• Did you have any five-star reads in December? I’d love to hear about them.