Being a mood reader is not for the faint of heart. As soon as I make a list of books to read … I want nothing to do with it, and go off to pick something else. So I’m making a list … of lists from which I’ll choose books to read this year.
My List of Lists
- 5 Unread books from my shelves
- 4 Books from my “To Be Read” list (on Goodreads)
- 3 Books by Caribbean or African authors
- 2 Books from Lit Hub’s Ultimate Best Books of 2025 list
- 1 Award Winner or Nominee from 2026
UnRead Books
I don’t keep too many physical books, but the number has been creeping up over the years. So, the goal is to read them all, and a few on the shelves that I can choose from:
- Luster, Raven Leilani which I’m currently reading
- Such a Fun Age, Kiley Reid
- The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, James McBride
From My To Be Read List
What’s the point of keeping this list (on Goodreads) if I don’t refer to it and read the books from it?! My TBR list is currently at 42 books and it would be lovely to reduce it … before adding more books. Some I’ll probably just remove, but some I still want to read like …
- The God of the Woods, Liz Moore
- The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, Stephen Graham Jones
- Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, V.E. Schwab
Caribbean Authors
I’m from the Caribbean and over the last few years, I’ve started reading more books by authors from this region. One of my absolute favorite books last year was The God of Good Looks, Breanne McIvor – who is from Trinidad. My go to resources for finding recommendations are from the #ReadCaribbean hashtag. A few that look promising …
- A House for Miss Pauline, Diana McCaulay
- The Book of Night Women, Marlon James
- The Mercy Step, Marcia Hutchinson
Best of the Best
Books that made multiple “Best Books of 2025” list – well, I want to see if the hype is worth it for
- The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, Kiran Desai
- Mother Mary Comes to Me, Arundhati Roy
- Flesh, David Szalay
Award Winners
Will I agree with the choices? Sometimes I do … sometimes I don’t. I’m going to read some of the books that win the major book awards this year.
So that’s my plan for the year. Not a specific list of books, but a framework within which I’ll be reading. Plus, as I mentioned here, I’m trying to read more physical books this year. Do you have a reading plan for this year?
