I’m playing a bit of catchup on all things reading. From what you see on the site here, it looks like I am behind on my reading goals for the year — and that couldn’t be further from the truth! I’ve read 25 books so far this year — and I’m close to finishing several at the same time right now! A little to share on some of my recent reads to hopefully help inspire you across that 2025 reading finish line with me.
Unseen by Molly Burke (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5)
I got to hear from Molly at this year’s Disability:IN conference and have followed her journey in embracing both her path as an influencer and disabled content creator, mostly through Instagram. Her book tells her journey from being told she’d eventually go blind to rapidly losing her site — all while finding her own voice and independence.
It’s such an honest and beautiful story of how she’s gotten to where she is today. Definitely worth a read — and you should check out her makeup videos on Instagram too if you haven’t already seen them!
Atmosphere by Taylor Reid Jenkins (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5)
This one had such a slow start that I almost jumped ship. Multiple times. I wasn’t connected with the characters. None of it. I can’t explain when that changed. Maybe as far as 1/4 the way in.
Out of nowhere, I was in. I was really in. The two main characters had such a grip on me —their relationship and their individual and collective successes. The last quarter or so of the book, I found myself incapable of moving — barely breathing at the end as I waited to see how this would end. And the ending. The end of this book might be the best one I’ve over read. What a book.
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall (⭐⭐⭐⭐/5)
This book was a super fast read for me. Very intense but I thought the characters were well developed and they came together in such unexpected ways. With a layer of family drama underpinning it all, this was a love story on so many levels — between characters, between parents and children — told so beautifully and with an ending I don’t think I could have explained otherwise. Love, lies and the legacy of it all.
Nice Girls Don’t Win by Parvati Shallow (⭐⭐⭐⭐/5)
I haven’t been the biggest Survivor fan as of late but I am a huge fan of Traitors, which is how I discovered Parvati and her fantastic headbands (no shade.) This was such an interesting read going through her unusual upbringing and how she found her way to reality TV and her path to motherhood.
Will I hit my goal of 30 books before December 31st? Let’s say I’m feeling cautiously optimistic…
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