A-Town's Bookshelf: The Year in Books, 2025

Greetings, greetings! The new year brings another handful of Year in Review posts, and the first of those much-anticipated posts is this one: A-Town's Bookshelf! Join me as I recap all of the books I read and listened to over the past year. Of course, as I've stated in the past, I understand that my total number of books will sound absurd to some of you and like a little drop in the bucket to others, but I've spent a lot of time with literature over the past 12 months and, taking advantage of paternity leave, have been able to put together a decent list of (mostly) good stuff.

I'd also like to take a moment to thank Audible and Libby, which, to date, have saved me (*checks notes*) an approximate amount of just under $2,900 on Audiobooks over the past three years. (That's about $900 higher than the total I mentioned in last year's post, which is crazy. Just insane.) I also couldn't have done this post without the services of Goodreads.com and the Fable mobile app, which I started using this year. Goodreads has been my go-to service for tracking my reading since 2023, and Fable was a fun new tool that encouraged me to read every day for 232 days and counting.

In 2025, I enjoyed lots of sci-fi (tons of Star Wars), ventured into some fantasy and (LitRPGs, as nerdy as that has been), listened to a handful of celebrity memoirs, bounced back to some murder mysteries and thrillers, and finished off the Harry Potter audiobooks with my wife (who had never read or listened beyond Prisoner of Azkaban before, so that was fun).

Thirteen books received a perfect five-star rating from me, and only one received a one-star review. There were maybe three or four books that I started but gave up on; those books will not be mentioned here.

With no further ado, let's jump in and break it all down!

Thanks for reading.

Books Read

Here is a list of all of the books I completed in 2025, along with my star rating:

1. Kill the Beast (Villains #11) by Serena Valentino, 3/5 stars
2. The Guest List by Lucy Foley, 2/5 stars
3. Along Came a Spider (Alex Cross #1) by James Patterson, 4/5 stars
4. The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss, 2/5 stars
5. Kiss the Girls (Alex Cross #2) by James Patterson, 3/5 stars
6. Temptation of the Force (Star Wars: The High Republic #8) by Tessa Gratton, 2/5 stars (physical copy)
7. Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl #1) by Matt Dinniman, 3/5 stars
8. Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts by Jennie Allen, 3/5 stars
9. NPCs (Spells, Swords, & Stealth #1) by Drew Hayes, 3/5 stars
10. Split the Party (Spells, Swords, & Stealth #2) by Drew Hayes, 3/5 stars
11. Going Rogue (Spells, Swords, & Stealth #3) by Drew Hayes, 4/5 stars
12. Siege Tactics (Spells, Swords, & Stealth #4) by Drew Hayes, 2/5 stars
13. Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games #5) by Suzanne Collins, 5/5 stars
14. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, 4/5 stars
15. 61 Hours (Jack Reacher #14) by Lee Child, 5/5 stars (physical copy)
16. Noble Roots (Spells, Swords, & Stealth #5) by Drew Hayes, 3/5 stars
17. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter #4) by J.K. Rowling, 5/5 stars
18. That's Not Right by Scott Meyer, 3/5 stars
19. Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson, 3/5 stars
20. The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill, 3/5 stars
21. Star Wars: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig, 3/5 stars
22. Titanborn (Children of Titan #1) by Rhett C. Bruno, 4/5 stars
23. QB: My Life Behind the Spiral by Steve Young, 5/5 stars
24. A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost, 4/5 stars
25. An Unexpected Hero by Rhett C. Bruno, 3/5 stars
26. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, 4/5 stars
27. Killing Jesus: A History by Bill O'Reilly, 5/5 stars
28. The Bourne Identity (Jason Bourne #1) by Robert Ludlum, 1/5 stars
29. Colony One Mars (Colony Mars #1) by Gerald M. Kilby, 4/5 stars
30. Star Wars: The Mask of Fear by Alexander Freed, 4/5 stars
31. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter #5) by J.K. Rowling, 4/5 stars
32. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes, 5/5 stars
33. Colony Two Mars (Colony Mars #2) by Gerald M. Kilby, 3/5 stars
34. Becky Lynch: The Man - Not Your Average Average Girl by Rebecca Quin, 3/5 stars
35. Colony Three Mars (Colony Mars #3) by Gerald M. Kilby, 2/5 stars
36. American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies by Michael W. Kauffman, 5/5 stars
37. My Next Breath by Jeremy Renner, 5/5 stars
38. Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind by Nate Bargatze, 4/5 stars
39. The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon #6) by Dan Brown, 4/5 stars
40. BioShock: Rapture by John Shirley, 5/5 stars
41. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter #6) by J.K. Rowling, 5/5 stars
42. Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum by Michael J. Fox, 4/5 stars
43. The Running Man by Richard Bachman (Stephen King), 3/5 stars
44. Trials of the Jedi (Star Wars: The High Republic #9) by Charles Soule, 5/5 stars (physical copy)
45. Romney: A Reckoning by McKay Coppins, 4/5 stars
46. Star Wars: A Crash of Fate by Zoraida Cordova, 2/5 stars
47. Read Your Mind: Proven Habits for Success from the World's Greatest Mentalist by Oz Pearlman, 3/5 stars
48. Star Wars: Master of Evil by Adam Christopher, 3/5 stars
49. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter #7) by J.K. Rowling, 5/5 stars
50. The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark, 5/5 stars
51. CivCEO (The Accidental Champion #1) by Andrew Karevik, 4/5 stars
52. CivCEO 2 (The Accidental Champion #2) by Andrew Karevik, 3/5 stars
53. CivCEO 3 (The Accidental Champion #3) by Andrew Karevik, 2/5 stars
54. CivCEO 4 (The Accidental Champion #4) by Andrew Karevik, 3/5 stars
55. CivCEO 5 (The Accidental Champion #5) by Andrew Karevik, 3/5 stars
56. CivCEO 6 (The Accidental Champion #6) by Andrew Karevik, 4/5 stars
57. Skipping Christmas by John Grisham, 4/5 stars

Other Stats

The A-Town Awards

Best Book of the Year: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Honorable Mention: My Next Breath by Jeremy Renner; Killing Jesus: A History by Bill O'Reilly

Worst Book of the Year: The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

Honorable Mention: The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss

Best Audiobook Narration: Jim Dale (Harry Potter series)

Honorable Mention: Colin Jost (A Very Punchable Face); Cary Elwes (As You Wish...)

Yearly Comparison

2025: 57 books read, 3.6 average rating

2024: 68 books read, 3.4 average rating

2023: 48 books read

*****

And there we have it: another year of reading and listening! I'd love to hear what you enjoyed last year; I'm always open to recommendations! Did you read anything on my list? Do you agree with my ratings? Leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter (here and here), or feel free to reach out on Facebook.

Until next time!

2015's best movies in 140 characters or less

As we come to the end of another year, we pause to reflect on the highlights from 2015. The next few days will certainly be filled with introspection, goal setting and quality time with our families, but let us take just a moment to ponder another important aspect of the past 365 days of our lives: the best movies of the year!

In this blog, I'll count down my favorite movies of 2015 - and I'll do it Twitter-style - in 140 characters or less. (Disclaimer: Keep in mind that I did not see every movie that came out this year, nor am I listing every single show that I watched.) With no further ado, here are my top 15 movies. Let's get to it!

15. The Divergent Series: Allegiant (@Divergent)

• I struggled to finish the book. The movie wasn't any better. I'm losing faith in this series and I'm not looking forward to #Insurgent.

14. Tomorrowland (#TomorrowlandMovie)

• Biggest disappointment of the year, in my opinion. I fell asleep during a pivotal scene in the movie's "third act." No Space Mountain? #lame

13. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (@TheHungerGames)

• This was the "least good" of the four movies. Felt a bit too long - and I didn't love the ending of book it was based on, either. #TeamGale

12. Inside Out (@PixarInsideOut)

• A witty, clever movie about childhood depression. So sad. I saw it first at a drive-in theater, which was a terrible idea. #BingBongBingBong

11. Ant-Man (@AntMan)

• It definitely didn't suck as much as the previews made it seem. Better the second time. Funny, but not my favorite from Marvel's Phase Two.

10. Bridge of Spies (@BridgeOfSpies)

• Cold. Gray. Amazing. A fascinating story that kind of made me feel bad for the Russian. Tom Hanks is great, as we've all come to expect.

9. SPECTRE (@007)

• Not as good as #Skyfall, but a fun ride with a surprising twist that is a big payoff for long-time Bond fans. Also, Batista is a beast.

8. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (@ManFromUNCLE)

• Bond with a sense of humor. A couple of truly laugh-out-loud scenes and a totally rockin' soundtrack. Cavill and Hammer make a good team.

7.  Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (@MissionFilm)

• Is there anything @TomCruise won't do? The airplane scene was definitely the best opening sequence of 2015. This tweet will self-destruct...

6. The Peanuts Movie (@PeanutsMovie)

• I'll be doggone if this wasn't the cutest little movie I've ever seen. A wonderful, G-rated family film that anyone can enjoy. #TwoThumbsUp

5. Avengers 2 - Age of Ultron (@Avengers)

• Not as good as the first one, but a great addition to the franchise. Gotta love those action scenes with all of the Avengers in action.

4. McFarland, USA (#McFarlandUSA)

• Having served Spanish-speaking, this movie nearly brought me to tears on several occasions - and I don't even like running! A 2015 must-see.

3. Jurassic World (@JurassicPark)

• A big-budget blockbuster with plenty of excitement and superb CGI. A step up from J.P. 2 & 3 and practically on par with the original film.

2. Creed (@creedmovie)

• Creed got me right in the feels like a sucker punch to the kidney. A worthy successor to the Rocky films. Hoping for a sequel. #GonnaFlyNow

1. Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (@starwars)

• My most anticipated film of 2015 was absolutely worth the wait. It's now one of my new favorite movies and I'll definitely see it again.

Well, there you have it. What were your favorite movies of 2015? Feel free to comment below in as many characters as you so choose.

Happy new year, friends.