Reading 2025 - part 2
In my first post about reading, I came here to say that I had reached a small milestone, having finished my fifth book of the year on March 16, 2025. Many days have passed since then, and now it is 2 October 2025, the day I am writing this. By my count, I have read 25 books this year, but I am sure I must have forgotten to record some of them. Some were very good, others not so much. However, I managed to change my reading style significantly and read books that were completely different from what I was accustomed to.
Today, I brought two books that I recently read, which are quite different from each other and which I loved, one more than the other.
The first is Dancing in the Mosque by Homeira Qaderi.
My God. What a book. Yes, it has many heavy parts, but it is Homeira’s real story. It is a very impactful read; it shows her life and the impact of the Russian and Taliban wars in Afghanistan. But the most beautiful part is a mother fighting for her son, and she wrote the book so that her son would know her. At the end of each chapter, there is a letter from her to her son. I cried during many parts of the book. It shows how authoritarian, sexist and misogynistic the Taliban regime is. It makes me very angry to see how this happens to women in Afghanistan. It was very sad to see how she was separated from her son, but spoiler alert for the future, which is not in the book: I already looked it up on Google, and she and her son are now reunited. I read this book slowly, carefully internalising each chapter, and some parts made me cry, but seeing her strength and her struggle made me very proud to be a woman.
The second book is The Only One Left by Riley Sager.
I loved the plot of the book, and it starts really well. It’s a book that really hooked me; I always wanted to read the next chapter. I was hooked on it, wanting to finish it as quickly as possible. Until halfway through the book, the plot was perfect, and you were very intrigued about what would happen, even though there were few possibilities. It surprised me in many ways. But I found the ending a little delusional, a little ‘oh, okay.’ I thought the detective’s return was missing; there needed to be a chapter with that. Some parts were okay, yeah. In the end, it’s an interesting plot, the ending is good and surprising, and even a little too much.
I am currently reading an excellent book, and I hope to return soon to discuss it with you and recommend it to you. I also want to bring the other different books I am reading. Opening my mind to books beyond what I am used to and enjoy reading is proving to be a wonderful experience. If you would like more recommendations, I can provide them. I have read several books this year, but I do not include them all as I have read some books in Portuguese and they are not always translated into English.