My 2025 in Books & Sentences
This edition is available to all. Happy Holidays! Subscribe for just $35 a year — a discount of the usual $50 ahead of the new year. This is the last week before I end the sale!
LISTENING: to the birds outside my window
FEELING: excited about the new year
SEEING: my friend jireh on my screen (we're virtually co-working!)
I have a confession, friends. For the first time since I began publishing this newsletter over two years ago, I missed an edition. And it wasn't on purpose. Amid the holiday cheer and sloth, I forgot. I forgot!! Part of me is proud of myself for logging off this hard. Another part is so, so embarassed! You all deserve more than that. Please forgive me. 🥺
To make up for last week's loss, I have three presents for you all. That's right — three! First is my list of books I read this year. I published a list last year and wanted to do it again.
Secondly, I have a new Possibilities playlist now that the year's over. It's full of all the songs I've curated for these newsletters over the last year. I love music, and there's a song for every vibe or moment. I hope this playlist does for you what these songs have done for me. Some are silly. Some are sweet. Some are sad, and some are deep! Enjoy. xx
(I know Spotify is evil and that I need to move off the platform, but I am only human. And I am imperfect.)
Third, I've compiled the sentences I read this year that I loved. This is inspired by Ann Friedman's annual list. I'll share those sentences first before diving into the books I read this year! Some are from the books below. Cheers!
“Active, informed, iron-willed wonder is a skill, not a gift: you have to work at it. And you cannot remain in awe of that which is familiar, so the only way to maintain wonder is to learn: learn, and keep learning.”
Katherine Rundell in the London Review of Books
“It is more important to live for the possibilities that lie ahead than to die in despair over what has been lost.”
Barry Lopez in Orion Magazine
“You feel the fear; then you bust through it.”
Maria Ressa's "How to Stand Up to a Dictator"
“Tell me how not to be hysterical every time I see what’s coming. every time i see what’s here. Tell me how to accept that it didn’t have to be this way, but that it is. tell me how to accept this sun, this fire, this sky, this day. don’t leave me here in these ashes.”
Jason Schneiderman's "Staircase" in "You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World"
“If your aim was to unfurl, terrify, sparkle with damage, you’ll do that and more.”
Patricia Smith's "To Little Black Girls, Risking Flower"
“Life was beyond belief, beyond the capacity for belief that life itself had tinkered into being.”
Richard Powers's "Playground"
I've become one of those people who read multiple books at a time. This year, I've read some books I really needed to step away from. And I've been sucked into worlds I couldn't look away from. I have my books that lull me to sleep before bed — and the ones that keep me glued for hours.
Life's all about balance. And that includes my reading practice. You'll notice I have an array of genres here. As a journalist, I have a duty to read nonfiction. After all, that's the genre I write. In order to improve my writing, I must read — voraciously. As a storyteller, I can't ignore the call of fiction and poetry, either. I love immersing myself in the pages and drawing inspiration from the literary devices authors and poets use. My heart craves creativity. I need it. And now, I share these stories with you all.
So if you're looking for some new books to read this year, you'll be good with any off this list. Whether you're an avid reader or someone trying to get back into reading again, there's an option here for everyone. What can I say? I'm a girl with range!
Note: This list is mostly in the order I read these books.
- "Elsewhere" by Gabrielle Zevin
This is hands-down my favorite book of 2025. I loved Zevin's "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow," so I was excited to dive into this one. I loved "Elsewhere" even more than the other more-acclaimed novel. It's a story about the afterlife, about growing up, and about letting go. The book is an easy read; it's technically for young adults. It's my number one recommendation these days for people trying to get back into reading. - "How to Stand Up to a Dictator" by Maria Ressa
I'm sorry to say that I didn't love this book. I struggled to finish it, but I felt a duty to do so as a fellow journalist now living in the throes of a dictator in the U.S. I have much respect for Ressa and her work, but I found myself wishing the book would be over already. Her writing does provide a crucial understanding of how social media and authoritarianism go hand in hand these days, so it's an important read for those following Big Tech. - "The Great Escape" by Saket Soni
OK, now this was a stellar piece of nonfiction. From start to finish, the book had me hooked. The story follows a group of men from India who were essentially enslaved to help repair oil rigs in the Gulf after an especially devastating hurricane season. Soni's debut book chronicles his efforts to help them — something he continues to do in his capacity as founder and director of Resilience Force, a nonprofit dedicated to the people who come in after disasters to help communities recover. I'm excited to see what he writes next. - "Animal Farm" by George Orwell
I haven't read this book since high school. This moment felt perfect to re-read it. I bought a copy for my 16-year-old nephew and another for myself. Despite having explored Orwell's work before, I was still left quite moved after taking in this book again. The parallels between the farm and American society terrified me. We have learned nothing, it seems. This classic is worth reading every time an evil person rises to power. I might have to re-read "1984" again, too! - "Saga Volume 12" by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
I've been reading "Saga" for over 10 years. It's a story about an intergalactic romance gone awry — a forbidden fantasy amid war and conflict. This was the first graphic novel series I ever read, and now graphic novels are among my favorite genres. Graphic novels speak to me in ways picture-less books simply cannot. As an artist, I appreciate all the creativity and colors that go into every page. They require a different eye for storytelling. - "The Summer I Turned Pretty" by Jenny Han
I read this entire trilogy in less than a month. I was watching the final season (which I wrote about here), and I just couldn't wait the week in between episodes. So I read the books! And they were so worth every minute I spent on them. This young adult series gave me a much-needed reprieve from all the awfuls of the day. I relished the love triangle plot line about innocence, summer, family, grief, and best of all — love. - "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Alvin
This book destroyed me. It's an oldie (published in 2006), but I hadn't heard of it until a friend recommended it. The novel follows the journey of a war veteran after he dies in a tragic amusement park accident. The five people he meets in heaven are entirely unexpected. I couldn't put this book down. It was a quick read. A story that underlines the urgency of living in the moment and appreciating every soul who crosses your path. It grounded me during some hard months this year. - "Oryx and Crake" by Margaret Atwood
I almost put this book away for good. The sci-fi novel by Atwood has some weirdly graphic child abuse scenes, so it may not be for everyone. I tried reading it stoned one day and got disturbed and put it down for a few weeks. I was grateful I picked it up again because the novel wound up touching on some interesting themes around science, climate collapse, language, and humanity. I'll be reading the sequel in 2026. - "Trial of the Sun Queen" by Nisha Tuli
Ugh, I love fantasy — especially hot, steamy, full-of-sex fantasy. I'm not sorry! I had only read Sarah J. Mass's sex-fantasy novels, so I wasn't sure what to expect in Tuli's work. Well, I wound up reading two books in this series, which follows a young woman's fight for freedom. If you're a fan of Mass, you'll really like this one though some readers find the stories a little too similar. As a Latina, I appreciated reading some fantasy told from a non-white perspective, finally. Send me your favorite fantasy recs! - "Playground" by Richard Powers
Powers may just be my favorite author at the moment. I slept on him for way too long. After reading "Bewilderment" last year, I knew I had to read more of his work. I saw "Playground" at my local library and immediately snagged it. In this novel, Powers takes us underwater into the extraordinary mysteries of the ocean. It follows a trio whose relationship grows more complicated as they age and take different life paths. I did not see the twist at the end coming. The start is slow (as I've found Powers's work tends to be), but keep going. Powers never fails to blow me away.
Share what books you've read this year in the comments. I'm on the hunt for new reads come 2026. 🌀
Rest in Power
While we can't say for certain that climate change led to these specific weather events (we need attribution studies for that), we do know that the Earth's rising temperatures are already creating more frequent and/or stronger disasters like these.
California's been experiencing heavy rains and mudslides for the last week, killing at least four people.
Currently Reading
WIRED's Molly Taft breaks down the nuance around water usage in data centers.
Bloomberg has a mini-documentary about Tesla, whose electric doors don't work as they should.
As we enter the new year, let's not forget the many Black and Brown communities affected by President Donald Trump's funding cuts. Amber X. Chen writes about a Chicago organization for Inside Climate News.
Collage
I made a vision board to manifest all I want to see next year. I want to learn to swim. I want to connect deeper with myself. I want to continue to do strong journalism that exposes injustice. I want to spend time in nature! Maybe swim in the ocean, finally. What about you? What are you manifesting for the new year?
- Yessenia xx
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