Dana’s Book Club 2025 reading list

And the authors are…

Hello and happy Sunday!

As I write this, I’m flying back to my home country from Scotland. I’m due to arrive home quite late at night which means I won’t get to enrich this Substack with links and references; hopefully a block of text can still be entertaining without all the gimmicks.

I’ve been informed that my Kindle Colorsoft is on its way, so if you thought there were no possible surprises after Christmas, think again. I ordered this Kindle on the day of its release, but because of the glitches they had with their screens, they delayed the undelivered ones by another two months.

Just in time, too, because I have had time to think about our reading list for 2025 and I have devised a plan for the club for the whole year. We have had a few ideas for templates to follow: classic novels alternating with modern ones was the one we found most successful, though personally I have left most books unfinished that year because of the sheer length of some of them; Les Miserables, The Count of Monte Cristo, Shogun. Geographical reads was another suggestion and one that other popular book clubs are following this year. I decided to do a blend of these.

We’re always optimistic when the year starts, so let’s see how we can keep our promises to ourselves throughout the year.

Because I know myself and I know some of us are like me, I am going to leave space for some mood reads as well, which I will call “wild cards” below.

Plus, there are a few titles coming out next year that I am sure we will be interested in; Stephen King’s new novel and Bill Gates’s autobiography being just two of them.

Quarter one:

We are kicking off 2025 with Richard Osman’s We Solve Murders just as the year starts, on January 8th. Since we talked about the Booker Prize winner being an unconventional one in 2024, I want us to continue with Orbital by Samantha Harvey. It’s a 130-page novel that I think we can squeeze in by the end of January.

For February, we’re going to get a taste of Haruki Murakami’s new novel, The City and Its Uncertain Walls.

In March, I suggest Amma by Saraid De Silva, a Sri Lankan author. A generational saga typically Sri Lankan that doesn’t exclude the non native reader. This comes highly recommended as resembling meeting someone on a train and having the most engaging, long and intense conversation with the person.

Quarter two:

For April I am proposing a classic cultural and geographical masterpiece: A Passage to India by E. M. Forster.

Alternatively, I will leave the space open for a wildcard with the mention that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s highly anticipated novel Dream Count is set to be released on March 4, 2025. This marks Adichie’s return to long-form fiction after a decade-long hiatus, with her last novel Americanah published in 2013.

Dream Count follows the lives of four Nigerian women:

• Chiamaka: A Nigerian travel writer living in America, reflecting on past relationships during the pandemic

• Zikora: Chiamaka’s best friend, a successful lawyer facing betrayal and heartbreak

• Omelogor: Chiamaka’s outspoken cousin, a financial powerhouse in Nigeria questioning her self-identity

• Kadiatou: Chiamaka’s housekeeper, raising her daughter in America while facing significant challenges.

For May I’d like us to read Babel, by R. F. Kuang. Since most of us are into translation and languages, I believe this would be a suitable read for a discussion. It comes highly recommended by a like-minded and book-loving translator who promises it’s a mind-blowing read.

A book club favourite is also launching a book in June: Fredrik Backman, My Friends. He has broken our hearts in the past, and yet we can’t seem to want to stop reading him.

The novel weaves together two timelines:

• Present day: Eighteen-year-old Louisa, an aspiring artist, becomes the caretaker of a famous painting. Intrigued by three tiny figures sitting on a pier in the corner of the artwork, she embarks on a cross-country journey to uncover the painting’s origin.

• 25 years earlier: A group of teenagers in a seaside town find solace from their troubled home lives by spending summer days on an abandoned pier. Their friendship becomes the catalyst for a transcendent work of art.

Quarter three:

In July I’d like us to travel to Liberia and read a classic in The Darling by Russel Banks. This is my first ever audiobook back in the early 2000s. I have never read it in its written format. Somehow, I managed to get my hands on the audio file and I was so enthralled that I couldn’t stop listening to it. I would love to revisit it and discuss it with the group.

For August, it’s time for another wild card.

In September, let’s try something we wouldn’t be reading normally: The End of Drum Time, by Hanna Pylväinen.

Quarter four:

By this time, we should hear from the 2025 Booker Prize about the new nominees and potentially even the winner. For October I suggest we read the book that most purists say should have won the 2024 Booker Prize: James by Percival Everett.

For November I suggest a non fiction autobiography that has left many people in awe: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls published in 2005, is a poignant exploration of family bonds, resilience, and the human capacity to overcome adversity. Walls’ vivid storytelling and unflinching honesty have made the memoir a widely acclaimed work, offering readers a glimpse into a childhood marked by both hardship and moments of unexpected beauty. It has a rating of 4.32 on Goodreads and is often associated with Educated by Tara Westover, a book we discussed and enjoyed as a group

And for the last book of the year, Wintering by Katherine May. Another non fiction to send us off into 2026 with a peaceful heart and a quiet mind.

And just like that, we’ve plotted the whole year.

As soon as I have internet, I will be working on a visual aid to help us better map out the year and the books on this list and post it to our Substack.

I’m excited to get started in 2025!

Happy New Year, book clubbers!