lou's library

Somehow, it’s already time for the 2025 reading wrap up posts. I had a lot of fun reading (and writing about it!) this year and was lucky enough to have read some gobsmackingly great books. I thought it would be fun to choose a book for every season (that I actually read in that season) that somehow encapsulated that time of year for me. This is more about gut feeling than actual science (as if anything I ever do has anything at all to do with actual science), but I hope you have fun reading about my picks anyway!

Spring: In The Springtime Of The Year by Susan Hill

Susan Hill is a spring author for me in the sense that both of the books by her I have so far read I have read in spring. With In The Springtime Of The Year that was a conscious choice because it felt wrong to read a book with a title like that in any other season. But it’s also fitting, because the book is about new beginnings and of forcing yourself out of a period of hibernation. It’s tender and beautiful and while there is pain about what has been left behind, there is also gratitude and healing and a whole lot of learning to look forward to living again. This is such an underrated book, and I would highly recommend you do yourself a favour and pick up In The Springtime Of The Year this coming spring. Although be advised, it’s sad and deals with themes of loss and grief.

Summer: A Bright Ray Of Darkness by Ethan Hawke

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Ethan Hawke’s writing but I was pretty sure there would only be two ways this could go: either it would be rubbish and he would have gotten this book deal because he’s a famous actor, or it would be brilliant. I’m glad to confirm it’s the latter and to report I’m now thoroughly obsessed with his writing. The guy has more books and I simply must read them all. A Bright Ray Of Darkness is about a successful actor whose marriage is falling apart and who is trying to break free from the box people have put him in by performing in a Shakespeare play. I know that doesn’t sound like your typical summery beach read, but I had a real moment with reading plays and books about Shakespeare this summer, so this fit right in. If you only know Ethan Hawke as Maya Hawke’s Dad and as an actor (in that order), then I would suggest you familiarise yourself with Ethan Hawke the author and thank me later.

Autumn: If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio

My reading this year peaked in autumn. Every amazing book I read was followed by another contender for my all time favourite list (coming to the blog soon!) and I was loving every second of it, to the point where I even ended up not hating my Wuthering Heights reread (you can read all about that here). But it all started when I finally read If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio and became a changed woman because of it. I have been thinking about this book for months and am not about to stop. It also screams autumn because it’s a dark academia novel about students who are obsessed with Shakespeare and the vibes are just immaculate. I could not put this book down, fell in love with the characters to the point where I willingly excused every single one of their objectively horrible actions and was so close to pivoting careers to become an actor specialising in Shakespeare and only Shakespeare.

Winter: Monsters by Claire Dederer

Monsters is one of the best non-fiction books I’ve read in a long while. Claire Dederer writes so insightfully about how we should treat art we love but that has been created by people we don’t. She does present lots of arguments, but what I liked best about it is how she ruminates and allows for multiple feelings to take up space at the same time. There are no easy answers with this topic and Claire Dederer doesn’t pretend otherwise. I really enjoyed how she made her points by choosing infamous cases of famous people who have fallen from grace because of their actions, as that helped me follow her argument and make up my own mind about it. Reading Monsters in winter was perfect because for me, this is peak non-fiction territory. I find I can sit with ideas best at this time of year, as there tend to be fewer distractions and I have the mental capacity to follow an argument all the way through and sit with it for a while.

I hope you enjoyed me rambling on about these books. There will be more wrap up posts on the blog shortly, but for now I hope you’re having a lovely time with your loved ones and get to eat lots of great food with great people. <333