#iliketoread

Tagged by the lovely @flyinghome-againstthewind and the delightful @frasers-of-my-heart to share 10 books I am looking forward to reading in 2025.

Imani Perry is one of my most favorite writers. She writes so eloquently and precisely about whatever the topic at hand is, and this book - on how the color blue plays a unique and fascinating role in black culture - sounds like it will again leave me breathless with its prose and insights.

Starting with two non-fiction books because in these trying and exhausting political times, I am always looking for sharp, incisive commentary to help me articulate my own thoughts, feelings, and frustrations about the current moment. I've heard nothing but raves about this book and how it helps us those who want better for the West to make sense of it all.

Too Soon recently just came on my radar and I am excited to get my hands on it. It is billed as a bitingly funny book following an intergenerational Palestinian family in America.

There is a real possibility I might end up hating Hot Air but it also sounds like unhinged fun? The main summary is that a billionaire crash lands his hot air balloon into a pool in someone's backyard, interrupting a first date and it just so happens he knows one of the people. It is also a "post-pandemic" book (though are we really post pandemic?) and I am generally curious to see how writers grapple with the pandemic in future novels.

Ashley Herring Blake and Jasmine Guillory are very dependable romance writers for me and I'm glad both of them have new books coming out this year! I read a lot of heavy and intense books, but every so often I need to balance it out with some romance by authors I know I can count on.

I have had Original Sins on my radar for months and months now. I work in education and am always grateful for more writing that helps me be a better advocate for the students and communities my organization supports.

Vuong's first novel - On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - had me underlining basically every other sentence because they were so thoughtful and beautifully constructed. I also have loved a lot of his poetry so I am excited for this - which is billed as about "chosen family, unexpected friendships, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive."

A book about female rage, art, and power that is also apparently hilarious and kicks off at the Edinburgh Fringe? Yes please.

Another novel that deals with the pandemic, this one set in London and spanning ten years. It grapples with how our home lives compete for attention with the shared public dramas of our time and is billed as a literary love story.