Quarterly Pages: Jan - March 2025
Before writing this post, I was curious to see how many years I've been doing annual reading goals. It's a nice surprise to see that my log went back to 2012, a year in which I read 46 books out of 50.
50 was the highest that I've ever set for myself all those years. Between 2014 and 2017, I capped my reading goal to 30 books max, which makes sense as I was juggling university, internships, and odd jobs. In 2024, I aimed for the highest number of books in the history of reading goals. 52 books is roughly a book a week, which is a challenge I set for myself to read more, scroll less. I am proud to say that I did achieve that goal, although I was pushing it at the end of last year to hit it. This year, the goal is the same, and I hope to pace myself better.
To make this challenge more interesting, my additional goals are to read more books by authors of color and to think critically about each book that I read. This is a new quarterly series to hold me accountable to that.
In Q1 of 2025, I read 7 books by authors of color out of 11. There's no rhyme or rhythm to the genres I read. I was very much a mood reader in Q1, as I read anything from rom-coms to gory thrillers. In this wrap-up, I'll try to keep my reviews short so as not to spoil anything.
Hardly Strangers by A.C. Robinson
I was excited to read this because it's published by 831 Stories and marketed as reminiscent of Before Sunrise. I used to intern at Of A Kind (RIP), so I was pumped to learn that the founders launched 831 Stories last year. However, Hardly Strangers didn't do it for me.
The characters lacked so much soul and heart, almost a caricature of what rom-com characters should be. I did not care for them in the slightest bit, nor did I care if they ended up together or not. If you're not invested in the main characters, the story ends up feeling flat and lackluster. This sadly did not fill even a sliver of the void of Before Sunrise for me. The upside is that it's a quick and easy read at 157 pages.
Terminal Boredom by Izumi Suzuki
Terminal Boredom is everything I want in a short story collection. Despite the length, the author has a way of pulling you wholly into the world, only to spit you back out with plenty of swarming thoughts to contend with.
Each story has a futuristic component along with commentary on humanity. It's honestly astounding how she was able to capture the isolation and disconnection we often feel with one another in a book published over 35 years ago. Izumi Suzuki was ahead of her time, and she was gone too soon.
If you're a fan of Black Mirror, you would enjoy this.
FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven
A group of young adults trapped in an amusement park during a hurricane in Florida, what could go wrong? This was sold to me as Lord of the Flies meets Battle Royale, which is pretty damn accurate.
Told in a series of first-person interviews, we watch as chaos and violence descend upon the survivors. How did coworkers turn on each other and immediately team up into factions? Why did violence escalate so quickly? The interview format seeks to unravel these questions, which keep the perspectives and suspense fresh.
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
I never read the Percy Jackson series as a kid, and I do wonder how it would have shaped me. Although this is a YA series, I absolutely adored reading the series in its entirety as an adult. The Last Olympian is the final book in the series, and it did not disappoint.
As someone who enjoys a good quest, this delivered. The stakes can be high, but you know everything is going to be alright, and it's fun to see how Percy Jackson can get out of every pickle. Since this is the fifth book in the series, I'm well-acquainted with the cast of characters, so I'm emotionally invested. It was a satisfying end overall.
I also like how Riordan doesn't dumb down Greek Mythology for a young audience. I learned quite a bit about the various gods and goddesses through this series. It's a bittersweet end to the series as I would love to be in this world for longer, but I'm sure there's another book out there that can fill that void in my heart.
The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
As someone who devoured the Part of Your World series, I was so miffed that I didn't enjoy the first book of this series by Jimenez. What I love about Jimenez's rom-coms is that they're fluffy but the characters also have to deal with some real-life shit. From absent parents to medical conditions, they have to deal with some messy stuff, which kind of makes the love stories even more touching.
The Friend Zone was hard to read for me. For one, the main character was a pick-me. Think J Law when she had her whole "I love pizza" schtick. The love interests' banter was insufferable, and I didn't care for anyone in this book, except maybe the dog, Stuntman Mike. It's also a trope that I don't particularly enjoy, so take this with a grain of salt.
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
90s' housewives in the era of Satanic Panic set in the South with vampires. That was the sole reason I read this. As always, a mysterious stranger turns up in this quaint little town and turns the local book club's world upside down.
Did it need all 400+ pages to execute this story? No, it could have been edited to be more concise, which would have made it a lot more gripping. It was gory and some parts were downright horrifying, but nothing that would keep you up at night because the true horror was, in fact, the patriarchy and racism.
Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam by Thien Pham
There's nothing like reading an entire graphic novel in one sitting. I absolutely adore it when food is used to evoke memories, because food encapsulates our senses – sight, taste, smell, and touch. It's a sensory experience, especially when food is shared in a communal setting.
Family Style follows the author's family as they leave their home country of Vietnam to find a new home in a foreign land. The migration process was far from easy, as they were in a refugee camp before migrating to the States. The opening chapter, where they are on a boat seeking safety, was heart-wrenching.
Each chapter is represented by a food that Thien Pham remembers and its significance in that particular stage in life. As I'm faced with my immigration process, I can relate and appreciate how food can evoke feelings of nostalgia, safety, and ease.
Her First Palestinian by Saeed Teebi
This short story collection centers around Palestinian immigrants in Canada. The first story alone captured my attention, where a doctor shares stories of Palestine with his girlfriend, only for her to become obsessed with the genocide to the point where it becomes her personality.
The stories are memorable as they're so distinct from one another. At times, I couldn't help but wonder what the characters were thinking, specifically the university student whose girlfriend is a figment of his imagination. Her First Palestinian is a solid collection that explores identity, relationships, and what it means to belong.
The Coin by Yasmin Zaher
I enjoy weird reads and unhinged characters, but I did not enjoy The Coin. This debut novel by Yasmin Zaher was on a few reading lists by creators I respected, and I can understand why. It follows a young Palestinian woman who teaches at a middle school in New York City. She has questionable teaching methods and a compulsive need to retrieve a coin from within her. The selling point, or so I thought, was that she befriends a swindler and ends up in a pyramid scheme reselling Birkin bags.
However, most of the story centers on her internal turmoil, in which she becomes obsessed with the idea of cleanliness and has elaborate rituals for cleaning herself from head to toe. It was uncomfortable and unpleasant to read at times, but the consolation is that it has short chapters.
Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now by Maya Angelou
I came across this book at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, Vermont. There's a soft spot in my heart for bookstores that sell used books. This is a gem of a book with short essays in which Maya Angelou shares bite-sized wisdom in digestible formats.
She writes about dressing for yourself as a form of self-expression, traveling as a way of expanding the mind, and taking time for yourself as a way of self-preservation. This book feels like a warm cup of tea on a rainy day – comforting and nourishing for the soul.
Happy Place by Emily Henry
Maybe I'm just not an Emily Henry girl, yknow? This is my second book by her after Book Lovers, and I couldn't for the life of me find anything romantic about her books. I gave Happy Place 3 stars because I did love the setting (a Maine cottage), the friend group (I'm a sucker for found family), and the whole last hurrah of celebrating the end of an era (I'm sentimental).
Harriet and Wyn broke up 5 months ago, but have delayed telling their best friends. When the group meets up at their annual getaway, they pretend to still be together to make the most of this farewell.
Harriet was insufferable. All she had to do was talk to her friends and Wyn to resolve many, if not all, of her problems. In fact, so many problems would have been resolved if everyone in this book had just talked to each other.
Should I give Emily Henry another shot? I don't know.
Phew, that wraps up all the books I read in Q1 of 2025. Let me know if you've read any of these books, would love to discuss them with you. Feel free to leave recommendations as well, I'm always open to adding more books to my never-ending list. Thank you for reading this wrap-up.
