Welcome to the final "Love Your Library" of 2025! This month between holidays and getting sick earlier this month, I did less reading and checking library materials out than usual. I finished three library books this month, one in each formant: one physical book, one eBook, and one audiobook. Also, I returned more books than I checked out. Hopefully, this sets me up well for the new year with more space to check out books on my library card. On Goodreads, some of my "Year in Books" statistics are very interesting. This year, I read 94 books, a total of 23,858 pages. My average rating for 2025 is 4.1-stars. When I checked last year's "Year in Books," I noticed my average rating was higher at 4.3-stars. Let's get into what I read (and forgot to read this month). To be honest, writing this blog felt a bit like one very long confession.

READ

Finish Your First Novel: A no-bull guide to actually completing your first draft by Char Anna - Here is my first confession: I picked up this book because last month, I was supposed to write a first draft, however, I've spent the last two years trying to read through a 100K+ word first draft. I don't think I can keep any of that first draft to write a second draft with a better story. This book really discusses which elements are needed to start writing a good first draft. It talks about creating characters, plotting stories, and putting it all into an outline before starting to write. I would highly recommend it for any authors frustrated with their first drafts. Now, I have a new problem is. I need follow its advice and start working on a new novel. ★★★★★ IG Post
Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash - I read this historical novel as one of the titles from this year's 12 Recs From 12 Friends reading list. Set during World War II, young Beatrice is sent to America to live with the Gregory family as she grows up alongside their two boys, William and Gerald. After the war she returns to her family in England, but the war has forever changed both families. This book is about growing up, the effects of war, and the healing power of connection. It's a beautiful story and the audiobook narrator was fabulous to listen to with her light British accent. The pacing was slower than I usually enjoy, however I enjoyed the bittersweet story enough to cry a few times. ★★★★☆ Listened to on Hoopla Read for 12 Recs From 12 Friends
Look out for the Little Guy! by Scott Lang and Rob Kutner - Here is a science fiction novel, written like a memoir, perfect for fans of superheroes, especially the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Scott Lang, the Ant Man takes readers through his journey with the Avengers in Ant Man, Ant Man and Wasp, and Avengers: Endgame. There are also references to several other MCU movies, but it mainly focused on those three. Each chapter was a self-contained anecdote that was often humorous and occasionally heart wrenching. If I say more, I will spoil the book and the Marvel movies. I gave it a four out of five on Goodreads, it's not a masterpiece, but it's well-written for what it is. ★★★★☆ Read on Libby

Currently Reading

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Climbing Rejection Mountain: An Actor's Path to Success, Stability, and Self-Esteem by Nick Wyman, Michael X. Martin
Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
A Knight Before Christmas by Cara Stout

Checked Out, To Be Read

Batman: Soul of the Dragon (Blu-ray)
The Easy 5-ingredien Meal Prep Cookbook: Meal plans and recipes to save time by Michelle Ann Anderson
The Complete Book of Cacti & Succulents by Terry Hewitt
Craft Inc.: The ultimate guide to turning your creative hobby into a successful business by Meg Mateo Ilasco
You Were Never Here by Kathleen Peacock
Meet Me at Wonderland by Julia DeVillers

In The Reservation Queue

Famous Anonymous 1 by Morgan Baden
Star Splitter by Matthew J. Kirby
How to Survive a Horror Movie by Scarlett Dunmore
Some Like It Scot: a novel by Pepper Basham

On Hold, To Be Picked Up

None at this time.

Returned Unread

Batman: Soul of the Dragon (Blu-ray) - I checked out this Batman animated movie, but haven't watched since it is rated R, and I would need some privacy. It stars David Giuntoil from Grimm as the voice of Batman, and I promptly checked it back out so I can watch it.
Meet Me at Wonderland by Julia Devillers - This one I found at the library after seeing it at Barnes and Noble, I thought the middle grade romance sounded so sweet and innocent, and I could use more of that in my life. I didn't have time to read it and had to return it; I have also rechecked this one out.
Purple Hearts: a novel by Tess Wakefield - This is the second time I have checked this one out and had to return it. It's one I really want to read. Would some give me a round Toit, so I can finally get around to it. 😉🤣
The Jewel Thief by Jeannie Mobley - Used this book for a spell the month bookstack back in July (I think). Since it is a historical young adult novel about a mistaken jewel thief, I thought if I got the chance, I would read it. I did not.
Four Days a Week: The life changing solution for reducing employee stress, improving well-being, and working smarter by Juliet Schor - The subtitle caught my eye on this one. Some of the employees at my workplace have switched to a four-day work week, and I was curious if this book might have some valuable insight. I must be working too much (or possibly checking out too many books) because I also didn't read this one.
The Complete Book of Cacti & Succulents by Terry Hewitt - I checked this one out and then promptly returned it to try out a new library service. The county library recently begun a library conglomerate. The library system in the city where I live is large, so I alreadt have access to a wide variety of books, but the county has asked all city libraries to share titles with a "Max" catalogue. I requested this title that I didn't really know anything about to check it out and see how it works. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't much different from putting a book on hold from my local library. The biggest difference was the shipping time; it took about two weeks.
Grace Notes by Karen Comer - This book has a beautiful illustration of a girl playing violin on the cover. I don't think I even read the synopsis before I checked it out. I've wanted to learn how to play the violin. I'm not sure how I'm going to do that when I can't even find the time to read a book about it. It had to be returned because I had used all my renewals.
This Book Kills by Ravena Guron - Thriller/mystery, it is about an author whose work is used as the inspiration for a killer. Here at INSPIRATIONAL SKAI, I hope people find my blogs inspiring, but I will not accept any liability for illegal activity that may be inspired by my writing. I will however accept that I also ran out of renewals before I could read this book.
Under the Neon Lights by Arriel Vinson - Finally, this book was used for a spell the month bookstack, while I knew that I wasn't going to get around to reading it, I didn't really have the heart to return it, until I ran out of renewals.

Wrapping up not only December, but also 2025 with you all was good fun. Even though I've felt like I've been in a reading rut the past couple of months, and my overall reading pace has slowed down, this was fun year of trying new books. I have read some of just about every genre, including many I seldom read. It was a very wide variety ranging from horror, to memoir, to historical fictions. Exploring horror has been a new genre to me the past couple of years, and I hadn't read a memoir since finishing school. Historical fiction also isn't my first choice of genre, that would be either romance or mystery. I usually find historical fiction too slow, but thanks to my local library I was able to try all these different titles and genres without worrying about the cost, that is why I will be back in 2026 with yet another Love Your Library post.

Thank you all for joining me this year on my library reading adventures. I hope you all had Merry Christmas, a happy holiday season, and will have a blessed new year in 2026. May your bookshelves never be too full for new books, may your local library be well stocked, and may the books you read resonate and inspire you, in the best possible ways.

Over on Instagram, I have been sharing 2025 Reading Reflections this month, a sampling of what I have read all year long. Many of those titles have yet to be fully reviewed, so this annual IG tradition is the most exhaustive look at my year in reading. Since I've been sharing daily, the best place to start is on December 1st, with the first book that I finished this year, Later on We'll Conspire by Kortney Keisel. I have also chosen my "12 Recommendations from 12 Friends" for next year. Most of this year's titles were borrowed from my local library. As it is arranged right now, all of next year's titles will be available at the library, so stay tuned for those reviews next year. I know that I typically like to share a fiction post to end, but this month it only felt right to throw it back to my first Love Your Library blog from January. Looking back at that blog, I see how I started with the format that I saw on Bookish Beck's site, and while I've kept something similar, it has also developed my own personal flare. Thank you for reading! See you next year!

#LoveYourLibrary

Thank you, Rebecca for coming up with this blog challenge that encourages me to read and write every month. Check out her blog, Bookish Beck

I love making Bookish Friends! Follow me on Instagram Skai_BooksAndBracelets

Stay up to date on all reading and reviews by following me at Goodreads.

Inspirational Skai

Monday, December 29, 2025