Reading 2025

Today is the 75th day of the year (16/03/2025), and I have just finished my 5th book of the year. It has been a long time since I read this much, and I am happy to be reading again.

The books read were:

• ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ Delia Owens

  I enjoyed the story, and it always leaves you wondering what happened. It was a story that involved me a lot, made me angry and disgusted, and I also felt heartwarming. I suffered greatly with Kya during the book, but I liked the end.

  

• ‘1984’ George Orwell

  This is one of the best books I have read this year. Even though it was published in 1949, it still has many similarities with the present day. It shows much about how people are affected by rewriting strategies, control, and authoritarianism. It portrays a futuristic, state-run society controlled by ‘Big Brother’, showing the life of Winston Smith, who, in the first instance, lives in acceptance of the regime, then falls in love with Julia but is tortured and brainwashed for his crime. This book has many parallels with the present day and shows how those who run the mainstream media control people.

  

• ‘Survive The Night’ Riley Sager

  The book proposal is very good. The plot starts well, and the way it plays with whether she was in the same car as the killer is very good and very interesting. However, I felt that the ending left something to be desired. There were high expectations, and the ending did not meet them.

  

• ‘The Midnight Library’ Matt Haig

  I found it interesting up to a point; at the end, it shows why it was written and its intention, showing that we choose and decide our lives. However, there were many parts that described suicide, and there was no warning about this at the beginning, and there should have been. The book shows that there is no point in dwelling on the decisions we have made because our lives will not always be better. And that we just have to accept our decisions and face up to them.

  

• ‘The Shining’ Stephen King

  And the last of this initial list. I really enjoyed this book, and it is not the first book I have read by Stephen King. It has very interesting writing, and I like the way he keeps changing characters and shows the story from their perspectives. However, I felt that it went on too long in certain parts and that the climax of the story was a bit fast. The story is very good, and it is interesting to see Overlook's influence on the residents and how their lives and daily lives change as the days go by.

  

I already have some books scheduled for my next readings, but I am thinking of doing the challenge of reading a book from each country to diversify the books I'm reading. But the important thing is to see that I have returned to reading, and I do not want to lose this taste and hobby.