ime again for my review of books I really enjoyed for 2025. Of course, these aren’t all published this year – there is no statue of limitations on books you might discover. For example, The War of the Wenuses was a random discovered off a YouTube video which was published some century and a quarter ago. It was a lampoon of War of the Worlds and really made me laugh. However, most of you (not being addicts of the original) would not understand the lampooning that takes place in it – since it was right on the edge of getting the nomination, I allowed it to be bumped out of consideration for you “normal” people.

Anyway, here’s my list (and links) of the best books I found, was recommended, tripped over and discovered.

Number 5: Wool – This was a cool scifi a friend of mine recommended, all about life in a bunker-world where if you act up or are disruptive, you are sent out into our poisoned world to clean the camera lens with a bit of wool, knowing full well you would not be allowed back in. The series it inspired was fun and dark and deep, well worth the read.

Number 4: The Forever War – A book about what a war across the galaxy would be like if, unlike StarWars and such crap, you had to deal with the time issues (i.e. weeks pass in your traveling frame of reference while decades pass back on earth). At the end of this long war, the survivors return to find an Earth they cannot recognize – kinda like Vietnam vets (not surprising, since that was when it was written).

Number 3: Monk and Robot – An amusing road trip story (first of two) about a monk in a utopia, confused by his internal unease, who ends up seeking his meaning in the company of a robot from the mechanical exodus that took place centuries ago. Very charming.

Number 2: My Friends – A book by the author of “Ove”, a story of friendships that last a lifetime (and what it’s like at the end of them, in reflection). It was a long read but a satisfying one, with tears every so often along the way.

And now…

Number 1: The Spear Cuts Through Water – This book starts as a strange Chinese fable (strange enough that a friend gave up on it early – tsk tsk). Essentially two men with differing backgrounds travel through an amazing world of wonder, seeking a person at the end of their quest to give a critical item of power to.I read this one slowly, both to understand and to savor. Wonderful!

And that’s it. My favorites from 2025. Hope your own year was literarily good, and that you read something! Anything! So few do these days. So happy new year, and as always…

>>>BUY MY BOOKS<<<