2025 Wrap-Up
Every year has its highs and lows, but, boy, this one had some of the highest and the absolute fucking lowest. I feel like I’ve been saying “fuck this year” since “F2020” and it’s getting a little redundant at this point. Maybe we’ll have some nice things to be excited about in 2026? (Do you think the universe will take that as an innocuous little wish, or as a challenge?)
Anyhow, if you’ve been around the Library this year, you know some of the highlights: graduated from my MFA program; started querying my novel, Amp; started a new job. I met some very cool new people and spent time——though never enough——with my long-time favorites.
And, of course, the lowest of the low was losing Penny early this year. I can’t believe I’m coming up on one entire year without her, that I have to face this New Year’s on my own, without her to judge me for either staying in alone all night or stumbling in at some absurd time.
This is a time for reflection, of course, for the good, the bad, and the ugly, though I want to try to focus on some nice and/or interesting things. As with last year’s wrap-up, you’ll find below the usual 2025 Moratorium Library stats and my plans and dreams for 2026, as well as a little all-in-one-place querying update for the year.
Let’s get started:
Total books read from the Moratorium Library: 190 (review of the last one of the year to come in this Sunday’s missive!)
Library books read in 2025: 70
Total books purchased since the start of the Library: 390, because I have no self control.
Books purchased in 2025: 148 (yes, I hid my face in shame as I typed that)
Average Goodreads rating of Moratorium Library books: 3.61 (up from last year!)
Favorite books of 2025: Another easy year for the top spot: Sky Daddy by Kate Folk, which I talk about with literally everyone, and I do half-seriously believe yammering about it in a job interview back in the spring lost me the job. Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove and Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell round out the top three. To keep this to just a top five, the last two spots go to the year’s two biggest surprises: All Systems Red by Martha Wells and Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang.
Okay, I lied, two more: American Rapture by C. J. Leede and Witchcraft by Wayward Girls, which isn’t my favorite Grady Hendrix, but damn, are unwed ’70s teen witches too good of a premise not to highlight.
Least favorite books of 2025: I don’t think I had any one-star reads this year (WOO), but I did still stumble over some disappointments, including El Dorado Drive by Megan Abbott, my second meh rating of an Abbott book in a row (sad); The Book of Love by Kelly Link, though I think this was just the wrong one for me to start with and will try more of her work in the future; and Freakslaw by Jane Flett, which was such a disappointment.
And, for those curious, my current querying stats:
First query sent: August 8
Total queries sent: 34
Full manuscript requests: 4
Rejections: 15 (including from one of the agents who requested my full)
Queries marked closed/inactive on QueryTracker: 9
Queries still active: 10 (including three agents reading my full, ACK)
And finally, some 2026 goals:
Library books reading goal: 60 books (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it)
Number of books to purchase: I’m going to be kind to myself and say . . . 25. But as long as it’s fewer than almost 150 books (for the love of GOD), I’ll be pleased.
More: library trips (up from the literal zero I took this year——need to find a way to protect my wallet and the sanctity of the Moratorium Library), queries, handicrafts, movement, attention to health and wellness, consulting tarot cards, cooking for myself at home, bringing lunch to work, steps taken per day
Less: YouTube, Reddit, comparing myself to others, stagnation, ignoring what my body needs, holding back emotion, fear of putting my work out in the world
2026 motto: The worry is not useful.
As usual, I’m inserting my disclaimer here that this post is very much a focused wrap-up of the bookish part of my year: mostly the reading and the book-buying parts, and now featuring a bit of my writing reflections, as well. I haven’t touched on projects I acquired and have been editing at work, and I likely won’t at all on the blog at any point; not in detail, anyway.
I get personal here, about what’s going on with me and my usually-too-big-even-on-Lexapro feelings, but I don’t often touch on what’s going on in the wider world, and I don’t plan to change that. All I can say is that the world is, yet again, a fucking terrifying and horrifying and awful place. But I hope you can find people and places and activities and media that help you keep your head above water.
Happy holidays, happy New Year, and happy reading, pals<3
