book clubbing with the gals
a new year, a new attempt at getting through my ever-growing tbr! my lovely ex-roommates and i have finalized our monthly book club reading list for 2025, which is as follows:
- january - tress of the emerald sea by brandon sanderson (high fantasy)
- february - one dark window by rachel gillig (gothic romantasy)
- march - the final strife by saara el-arifi (queer fantasy)
- april - the rage of the dragons by evan winter (high fantasy)
- may - the fifth season by n. k. jemisin (dystopian sff)
- june - six crimson cranes by elizabeth lim (eastern fantasy)
- july - blood over bright haven by m. l. wang (dystopian sff)
- august - the ministry of time by kaliane bradley (time travel romance)
- september - the secret history by donna tartt (mystery thriller)
- october - piranesi by susanna clarke (magical realism mystery)
- november - murder at spindle manor by morgan stang (murder mystery)
- december - vicious by v.e. schwab (paranormal sff)
- bonus - the strength of the few by james islington (high fantasy), slated for publication late 2025
our shared common interest is definitely fantasy, but i'm really excited to read some of the murder mysteries and thrillers we have slated for fall 2025! aside from our book club picks, here are some other books i'd love to finish before the end of next year:
- the favourites by layne fargo*
- bunny by mona awad*
- bellies by nicola dinan*
- mongrel by hanako footman
- milk teeth by jessica andrews
- remarkably bright creatures by shelby van pelt*
- ink blood sister scribe by emma törzs
- weyward by emilia hart
- the midnight library by matt haig
- the book of m by peng shepherd*
- sunrise on the reaping by suzanne collins*
- the poppy war by r.f. kuang
- the cruel prince by holly black
- the safekeep by yael van de wouden*
- yours for the taking by gabrielle korn
- i who have never known men by jacqueline harpman*
- how high we go in the dark by sequoia nagamatsu*
- the archive undying by emma mieko candon
- boy parts by eliza clark*
- intermezzo by sally rooney
- stories of your life and others by ted chiang*
- the three-body problem by cixin liu
- perfume: the story of a murderer by patrick süskind*
- the river has roots by amal el-mohtar
- the heaven & earth grocery store by james mcbride
- the color of magic by terry pratchett
- midnight's children by salman rushdie
- cat's eye by margaret atwood
- a wizard of earthsea by ursula k. le guin
- the eye of the world by robert jordan
- sea of tranquility by emily st. john mandel
- cloud atlas by david mitchell
- hard-boiled wonderland and the end of the world by haruki murakami*
- fingersmith by sarah waters*
- the stardust grail by yume kitasei
- the saint of bright doors by vajra chandrasekera
and lastly, some children's fantasy series i'd like to reread:
- his dark materials by philip pullman*
- kane chronicles by rick riordan
- the inheritance cycle by christopher paolini
the titles marked with an asterisk are the ones i'm trying to prioritize, but honestly, i'll consider it a win if i can manage to get through even a fifth of the non-book-club novels listed above (so don't get your hopes up too high). hopefully 2025 will be a productive year of fiction-devouring for us all!
stay curious,
t