Today, Glen Davis discusses his favorite books read in 2025. I’ve had years like his, and one year I didn’t even read a good book until April. Glen said, “This year started out pretty strong, and ended pretty strong, but there was something of a drought of really good books in the middle.”
COZY
Antiques Slay Belles by Barbara Allan: This reads like the last book of the series, but I know there’s one more at least, because, well, the next book is in my stack. This is a Christmas cozy, as many of the best ones are, with a murder at a secret Santa exchange. I believe this book may very well signal a change in direction for the series.
Holiday Grind by Cleo Coyle: Our barista sleuth is having the holiday blues, and of course, there’s a murder. This one is one of the strongest in the series, which is one of my favorites.
HARD BOILED
Baby, It’s Murder by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins: The final Mike Hammer book ever. Set sometime during the Generation Gap years, when the Brady Bunch guys all had perms, Hammer goes looking for Velda’s younger sister in a small town. After Mike Hammer arrives, it gets smaller.
SPACE OPERA
Guns of Mars by Chuck Dixon; This is a spaghetti western on Barsoom, with a human, a Thark, and an Artificial Man are hunting for a source of pure water on a dying planet. Wholly unexpected, but a great companion to ERB’s series.
MARTIAL ARTS THRILLER
Makiko and the Kamikaze Blade by Scott Harrington; A female Japanese policewoman finds herself in a real mess when she falls into the search for a magical katana. I think this is the start of a new series.
MANGA
Hikaru No Go by Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata: A manga series that manages to make the world of professional Go exciting. I started with volume 16, and wound up getting all the books I could find.
NONFICTIONÂ
Lights, Camera, Lionel Trains! A Photo History of an American Icon by Roger Carp: While there is a bit too much focus on the trains in movies, this is a great coffee table book with a lot of information.
100 Years of Major League Baseball: American and National Leagues, 1901-2000 by David Nemec: Another coffee table book that dissects every baseball season of the 20 century, and even picks a Player of the Year for every year. My father and I had several disagreements with the author, and each other. Â
Glen, thanks for posting your list. The Lionel train book sounds interesting but of course my library doesn’t have it. They do have a book about the factory that manufactured them which sounds interesting though.
Thank you, Sandy!
Nice list. I love seeing how different people’s tastes and interests are. For instance, I am a big fan of Max Allan Collins and have read dozens of his books, but I can’t read the Barbara Allan books (which I know are loved by many) because the mother is a cringe “fingernails on the blackboard” character for me. On the other hand, I had a set of Lionel trains when we were kids – my father’s cousin worked for them – so that sounds good, and I’ve been a huge baseball fan for nearly 70 years, so that one is definitely on my list.
Well, the Barbara Allan books are not to all cozy lover’s tastes. Even Mr. Collins refers to them as a sly parody, and says the sleuths are actually crazy. To be honest, I like his Quarry series best.
I think you’ll like the baseball book if you don’t argue with it too much.
Thank you Glen for your list. I haven’t read any of the books on your list but plan to see if my library has a few of them. It’s great fun to see what books other readers enjoy.
Thank you, Susan!
I like your list Glen – a little bit of everything. I am leaning towards the cozy mysteries you mention (especially the one by Cleo Coyle) and have looked them up. There are so many in each series! I suppose it would be best to start at the beginning?
I don’t know about the Barbara Allan series, Lindy, but I would start at the beginning with Cleo Coyle’s if you can. Relationships change in that series.
Thank you, Lindy.
I think it’s probably best to start both series at the beginning. In the Trash n Treasures mysteries, it helps to understand why everybody treats the Borne girls the way they do. In Cleo Coyle, there are subplots that go on for multiple books.
Glen, we can always count on you for a very diverse list. I haven’t read any of these, but the Christmas books sound terrific. Thank you!
Thank you Margie!
Amazing breadth of reading genres! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Mary!
Thank you, again, Glen, for sharing your list of Favorites!
Thank you for giving me the opportunity, Lesa!
Thanks, Glen. You make me ask myself why I don’t read non-fiction. Something to think about.
Thank you, Kim! I’m glad I was able to inspire you a little!
Thank you for sharing your favorite books.
Thank you, Carol!
This is a fun list. Thank you, Glen!
Nice variety of genres there!