BOOK DATA BABY!

Oh wow! The writer and publishing professional’s last newsletter of the year—which releases on Tuesdays—is a reading data wrap-up? Novel! (ha). Jokes aside, my reading surprised me this year! Namely, I read far more books than I anticipated and the category split between fiction and nonfiction wasn’t as close as I expected it to be!

I’m putting this disclosure up top that there are some titles in this list published by past or current employers—Catapult Books and (imprints of) Simon & Schuster—that I’ve included. Of these, I’ve only worked directly on one title (The Hollow Half) and would not be recommending any of them if I did not genuinely enjoy or want to recommend them. Disclosure over! I hope you enjoy!

Big Stats

• 69 Books Read

• Format: Print, 18 (26%); Audio, 51 (74%)

• Top Genres: LGBTQIA+, Science Fiction, Essays, Fantasy, Contemporary (tie), Literary (tie)

Okay, so I joked about stopping at 69 books—listen—because I thought I’d read a bit more this year. But, after finishing Light From Uncommon Stars in paper, I picked up The Will of the Many as my next hardcover read; there was no way that, through the Holiday Season^TM, I was going to finish a 700 page book, so ending on the nice number worked out.

I probably could’ve leveled out the formats to 25% and 75% in print and audio, respectively, which would’ve been satisfying, but was far more committed to the 69 (nice) total read. Since returning to reading as an adult, I’ve always been more of an audiobook reader, but really dialed (ha! sound joke) that up this year. 

As for top genres (I pulled this data from StoryGraph), I’m keeping to form with LGBTQIA+, science fiction, and essays as my top three genres; contemporary and literary sitting at a tie for fifth also makes sense to me. However, I’m surprised to see fantasy at number four as someone who self-reports as not having enough wrinkles in my brain to read fantasy—there are so many proper nouns, y’all. 

MOST RECOMMENDED 2025 READS

The Hollow Half by Sarah Aziza (Catapult Books)

When the proposal for this book came in at Catapult, I absolutely flew through the sample chapters Aziza included and more or less begged the editor to acquire it. When Aziza is hospitalized by an eating disorder, a moment in the hospital summons a memory of her grandmother, a survivor of the Nakba. Throughout this debut memoir, Aziza evokes a chorus of voices through footnotes as she weaves her story of recovery with an ancestral past and present rooted in Gaza. It was truly such an honor to work on this incredible book.

I’ll Tell You When I’m Home by Hala Alyan, read by the author (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster Audio)

I was familiar with Alyan through her social media, and knew she is a poet, writer, and clinical psychologist, but hadn’t actually read any of her work. Earlier in the year when I heard she had a debut memoir forthcoming, I knew I had to read it. Similar to Aziza’s movement through time, Alyan takes the reader through the past and present in this narrative framed by a surrogate pregnancy. Alyan is a beautiful narrator of her work and deftly navigates the listener through time and space in an effort to define and create a place called home. I was struck by her control in directing the reader’s attention throughout the book—if you’re familiar with Hanif Abdurraqib’s work, these two direct attention in differing, but both brilliant, ways.

Are You Mad at Me? by Meg Josephson, read by the author (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster Audio)

Fawning is so in. In recent years, and this year in particular, there have been quite a few books about fawning, the fourth F in fight, flight, or freeze; this particular survival response manifests as appeasing to avoid conflict or harm. I picked this up mostly to see if I’d recommend it to the people pleasers I know, and I would! Josephson, LCSW and psychotherapist, uses her own story and experiences with the fawn response alongside anonymized client stories to break down what it is and provides exercises to help readers chart a path forward beyond this survival response which may no longer serve them.

There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm, read by Rebecca Calder (Ballantine Books/Random House Books)

This one’s a late entrant! I saw this while scrolling on Libro.FM, and what a pleasure to have this as my last read of the year! Antimemes—ideas attacking memory and reality—are attacking humanity; the highly capable, yet understaffed Antimemetics Division is the only line of defense against them. Classified as science fiction horror, I kept thinking about the audio whenever I had to put it down and looked forward to the next time I could listen. There are portions of text redacted throughout the book, which are represented by static in the audio that’s a great use of the medium! I found myself unexpectedly devastated by this one.

AS SEEN ON THE INTERNET

I Want to Be a Wall (Yen Press) vol. 1, vol. 2, vol. 3

Thanks, TikTok! Two words I never thought I’d say genuinely, but yay! I’m not a big manga reader, but this three volume series caught my attention for its premise: A BL-loving asexual woman marries a gay man in love with his childhood best friend for a marriage of appearances. It’s a sweet and quick read following the newlyweds as they navigate their new lives together as virtual strangers. I was pleasantly surprised by the discussions about asexuality, and loved how the pair wanted to support one another.

Portalmania by Debbie Urbanski, read by Joy Osmanski (Simon & Schuster/Simon & Schuster Audio)

Ironically, I picked up this audiobook based on Urbanski’s publicity essay in Literary Hub on, as the dek puts it, “the invasive expectations of book publicity and their unintended consequences.” The essay’s opening line is provocative: “If I tell you secrets about my personal life, will you look at my new book?” As someone who is private, who has been asked “where are you in this piece?” about my work, this essay resonated with me.

Portalmania is a story collection following characters at thresholds, both literal and metaphorical. Throughout the stories, we often follow a family quartet of an asexual mother, allosexual father, and two younger children; they are not necessarily the same or related families, but I found their repetition effective in reinforcing ideas Urbanski explores. The stories in the first 2/3 are much more in a Weird vein compared to the last third, which explores more of what’s expected in a marriage including consent and what’s owed to a partner. Sidebar, but this was my first time reading a book featuring sex-repulsed asexual characters. If you pick up the audiobook edition of Portalmania, Joy Osmanski delivers a wonderful performance.

Authentic by Jodi-Ann Burey, read by the author (Flatiron Books/Macmillan Audio)

Blurbs do work! I picked this up after Tajja Isen (Some of My Best Friends) shared her blurb for the book on Instagram. I briefly mentioned this book in a previous newsletter, but it’s a great exploration of the ways corporate invitations for employees to bring their full selves to work are often shallow and inevitably harmful to racialized and otherwise minoritized employees. I recommend this for all office workers.

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, read by Kevin R. Free (Tordotcom/Macmillan Audio)

Here’s to second chances because I picked up All Systems Red a few years ago when I wasn’t in a science fiction mood and didn’t plan on trying again. But, Joel Rochester (aka FictionalFates) posted a video about reading the series and gave such an effusive review that I gave it another try. If you want to inhabit the mind of a sassy, sarcastic, rogue security unit, this series is for you. The eponymous Murderbot has freed himself from his former company’s control, but still finds himself on duty making sure humans don’t get themselves killed. In the audiobook edition, Kevin R. Free brings Murderbot to life, and I was thoroughly endeared by his performance. The series isn’t over, and there is another book releasing next year that I am quite excited for.

READER, I BOUGHT THE BOOK

Across the Board by Tim Clare, read by Richard Trinder (Abrams Books/Tantor Media)

Yay for physical discovery! The cover caught my eye while I was browsing after an event at Books Are Magic and I picked up the audiobook from the library. I found it a delightful romp through the history board games informed by the role they play in the  author’s life. Definitely clapped a bit at the office when Clare mentions hanafuda. I went back to Book Are Magic to purchase a copy after I finished the audiobook.

Cruising Utopia by José Esteban Muñoz (NYU Press)

This was one of the books on my 2025 TBR catch-up challenge that I borrowed from the library. Originally published in 2009 with additional essays in the 2019 10th Anniversary Edition, Esteban Muñoz’s central thesis of the book is that queerness is a future horizon rather than something which exists in the present. Esteban Muñoz’s distinction between possibility versus potentiality struck me, and when I saw NYU Press at the Brooklyn Book Festival, I had to pick up a copy. 

LOOKING AHEAD

Since I started tracking my reading a few years ago, 2025 was my highest number of books read on record. I never set a goal to read a certain number of books, and my one true goal of the year was to finish reading Techno-Orientalism, which I did accomplish!

Next year, I’d like to slow down my reading and carve out more time for sitting with paper books. My audio read time is mostly when I’m out on walks, but I do find that I engage with paper reads in a different way. Since starting a job with a two-day RTO mandate, I’ve had a dedicated paper read for the train that may take me months to finish. Although it’s not a hard goal, I’d like to make a dent in my existing collection of books, so maybe more TK on the progress made there in 2026!

And of course, new books are always forthcoming. Below are a few I’m looking forward to in 2026:

• The Hungering Years by Summer Farah (Host Publications) - Summer is a friend, and I am very proud that her debut poetry collection is releasing 2/24/26, Etel Adnan’s birthday, a literary ancestor she evokes in the collection. The Hungering Years is available for preorder now!

• United States of Rejection: A Story of Love, Hate, and Hope by Alison Kinney (University of Georgia Press) - One thing about me is that I will always celebrate my friends! Alison’s latest is a project of thorough research and reporting tracking personal and political relationships in the United States told by both the rejectors and the rejected. Out 5/1/26, likewise available for preorder now!

• Rabbit Test and Other Stories by Samantha Mills (Tachyon Publications) - I first heard the titular story anthologized in the Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2023. Originally published by Uncanny Magazine in 2022, “Rabbit Test” is a story of the past and present of abortion access that absolutely haunted me. Very pleased to see it’s being included in Mills’s own collection out 4/21/26!

• The Killing Spell by Shay Kauwe (Saga Press) - Again, thanks, TikTok! (If I had a nickel etc.) I came across a video sometime in 2024 of Kauwe discussing her book: a debut fantasy set in a future filled with language magic where a young Hawaiian woman must solve a murder to clear her name. Immediately sold, highly anticipating its 4/14/26 release! 

Until next time, Happy New Year, and thanks for reading Durational Study in 2025!