I don’t follow the ‘summer beach reads’ trends the publishing industry marketers push; to me, good books have no season, whether they’re ‘heavy’ or ’light.’ In July, my reading included a literary novel, how-to guides, science nonfiction, and only a couple of heavily hyped bestsellers.

My June reading was a very mixed bag, in both the assortment of subjects and the quality of the writing. Only one of the books was both bad enough and long enough to make me quit before the end, though, and a couple of them were quite good.

Motivated in part by a guest, I read even more books than usual last month. From literary fiction to dark fantasy, satire, and two very different works of nonfiction, here’s what I thought of them.

As a relatively mild Mud Season came and went here in western Massachusetts, I read an immensely fun LitRPG bestseller, some dark fantasy stories, an eye-opening historical survey, and a lovely tale of people facing disaster with dignity and art.

My March reading spanned global capitalism, a guide to personal journaling, a depressingly realistic dystopia, a page-turner about taxes, and a celebrated time travel novel. Here’s what I thought of each of these books.

The Great Blizzard of 2026 only grazed us, with less than a foot of snow falling, but between the other snowstorms and a brutal cold snap, it was still a good month to curl up in a warm house with some good books.

Last year’s reading pace shows no signs of abating, and in January I happened to pick some great books from my long list. The three award-winning novels I read were all excellent, in completely different ways, and the nonfiction book that accompanied me through most of my January workouts was a solid piece of reporting with only a few minor flaws. Laura and I also finished the third co-operative game in a fun series.

December arrived cold and snowy, perfect weather for sitting indoors with a cup of hot tea and a good book. I finished a trilogy I’d started a couple of months ago, read two books about food, and enjoyed a well-crafted memoir.

In November, I read three books and listened to a fourth, which I count as reading. The selection included an interesting historical biography, a somewhat informative book on corporate innovation, and two pretty good novels. Laura and I also played a couple of excellent co-operative iPad games.

Here’s the start of what may become a monthly post: books I read in July 2025. It’s an eclectic mix of fiction and nonfiction.

At the beginning of 2025, I resolved to read more, especially fiction. Here are brief reviews of the more than two dozen books I’ve read in the past six months.