Clare L. Deming

As promised in my previous post, here is a summary of my reading for the last two months of the year. I made better progress in my reading by being more intentional about it and by also limiting my mindless screen time. Here are the books I read in November and December (paid links):

• The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab – I enjoyed this one a lot but it took me a little while to get into it. You can find my review of it here, and a purchase link here.
• Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh – this was a science fiction story that twisted my expectations and was maybe one of my favorite books I read this year. I’ll have a review up eventually (really!).
• Katabasis by R.F. Kuang – I had been looking forward to this book from the author of Babel and Yellowface. It wasn’t my favorite book by the author and I’m working on a review.
• The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler – this was a novella that we read for one of my book clubs and recently won a Hugo Award. I enjoyed it but was surprised that it won the Hugo.
• A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon – this was the sixth book in the Outlander series. I’ve been gradually making my way through these in audiobook format.
• Twelve Months by Jim Butcher – this is the new book (#18) in The Dresden Files series and I was really excited to get this as an ARC from NetGalley. This will be one of my first reviews in 2026 and the book is out January 20th. You can pre-order it here.

I also expect to finish The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi before the end of the month (paid link). I’m listening to the audiobook and have less than an hour left to go, so I’m counting that one as finished for the purposes of this post.

I just started A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab yesterday (paid link). This book is a pick for an upcoming book club discussion. If I read it faster than I anticipate, then I might also count this one as read in 2025. We’ll see how much free time I have in the next few days.

I’ll definitely post more about my upcoming reading plans in my Books to Read in 2026 post that will be up just after New Year’s Day, but here is a sneak peek of my next few planned reads (paid links):

• An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon – I plan to start the next (7th) book in the Outlander series as an audiobook once I finish The Kaiju Preservation Society.
• Slow Gods by Claire North – this is a science fiction novel by an author that will be new to me and was sent to me courtesy of NetGalley.
• Swordheart by T. Kingfisher – this book was so pretty that I had to buy it a few months ago. I should probably read it and not just stare at it.
• Quicksilver by Callie Hart – I’ve been told by a few people that I need to read this romantasy book, and I believe there is a sequel out now as well.

I have a few other books on my list for January, but I don’t know exactly which ones I’ll read. I’m trying to narrow down my to-be-read list for 2026, but that means I have to either make hard choice OR just find more time to read!

What books have you read this year that surprised you? Did you try to squeeze in any quick reads by the end of the year? Let me know in the comments!