Some of my favorite BOTM steps down the Reader’s Road this year

 I’ve seen a good number of “read what you own/read down your TBR” type of challenges talked about online over the past couple of years and  this year, I felt it was high time that I did one of my own.

So, my take on this turned out to be Book of the Month club centric with a tip of the hat to Agatha All Along; Down the Reader’s Road(with each chosen title showcased on the side panel of this blog) has been pretty successful for me as my current total of completed books adds up to a baker’s dozen so far.

I did consider doing full on reviews for each one but as time went on, a year end look at my Top Three reads seemed to be the best bet:

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel takes a character from the Ramayana and tells her side of the story, transforming her from wicked stepmother to mystical warrior queen. 

Kaikeyi begins life as a princess who discovers that she has magical abilities but is forced to suppress them due to the patriarchal nature of society. When she becomes the third wife of a prominent king, finding her way to use her gifts to help other women (as well as connect with the other queens) is rewarding in more ways than one.

However, when one of her stepsons starts to show godlike powers that he can barely control, hard choices have to be made that cost Kaikeyi dearly.

Not being familiar with the source material, I was completely drawn into this vividly described world and rooting for the leading lady all the way, despite some of the decisions that tested her spirit. As a debut novel, this book was definitely a royal triumph that will lead me to seek out the author’s other stories as soon as can be:

The Mayor of Maxwell Street, another debut novel, from Avery Cunningham is set in 1920s Chicago where an ambitious young debutante seeks out the title character as part of her journalistic ambitions.

Nelly Sawyer is meant to be marrying a suitable man in order to solidify her family’s horse breeding empire yet when tasked to find the secretive go-between for the underworld gangs of Chicago by a newspaper editor, she can’t resist the challenge. 

With the help of new acquaintance Jay, Nelly takes quite a walk on the wild side with consequences that are more life changing than she could have imagined.

It’s a steady paced , absorbing read that focuses on character development along with some action. Think of this as a well made miniseries, one that might give you an idea of what Chicago was like for the twin brothers Smoke and Stack before they headed home to face Sinners:

Jennifer Close’s Marrying the Ketchups is a more modern day story, following a fractured family as each of them tries to cope with a changing world once the male mainstay, Bud Sullivan, passes away.

With eager to please Teddy running the family restaurant that desperately needs an upgrade, the return of wayward sister Gretchen is quite the shake up and even the supposedly perfect suburban wife and mother Jane realizes that her reality is not what she thought it would be. Figuring out what to do next is something they all have to decide on their own but still need a little support along the way.

I know that the plot may sound sobering but there are brilliant moments of humor and relatable character development that make the pages turn briskly here. I have read one of Close’s earlier works(The Hopefuls) so I had some familiarity with her writing but clearly this particular book was truly next level for her:

I do plan to continue this challenge in the new year and with any luck, make some serious progress. It’s nice to discover that your reading choices can turn out to be better than you expected and taking a chance on new literary horizons can be fun and formative to boot.

This is my last post of 2025 and it has to end on a couple of sad notes(par for the course this year, I’m afraid). Recently, the news of Sophie Kinsella (aka Madeline Wickham) departure from this life , due to cancer, has given her worldwide readers much to mourn. My sincere sympathies are sent to her loved ones.

Best known for her entertaining Shopaholic series featuring the well meaning but prone to impulsive purchases Becky Bloomwood, Kinsella wrote 30 books with titles aimed at teens and children as well as her adult audience. Her stand alone stories dealt with romance but also other subjects such as coping with trauma, found family and emotional development. 

Kinsella outlasted the “chick lit” era of publishing and created a solid niche of stories that brought more than one generation together to embrace the touching and relatable struggles of her characters quite nicely. 

At the moment, I am doing a reread of Christmas Shopaholic (not the book to start this series, btw, Confessions of a Shopaholic is the place for new readers to begin) in her memory and I have no doubt that many others are doing the same. She will be greatly missed but never forgotten:

The other sad note is the tragic passing of writer/actor/director Rob Reiner and his beloved wife Michele, a prominent photographer and producer. In such a miserable year as this, the news of this terrible event is especially difficult, although much more for their circle of family and friends and all of my deepest condolences goes out to them.

The less said about a certain disrespect to their memories the better, although as one Jane Austen character might say , their sorrowful situation should secure your compassion not your ridicule! Then again, one can not offer the fruits of a crop that they never grew in the first place.

If one good notion can come out of this horrible moment, it is that it shows the importance of living a good life. Not necessarily a wealthy or public one, just being a kind and caring person that people are all too happy to think well of when they are no longer with us is enough.

Part of Rob Reiner’s legacy as an entertainer was showing the many ways that love can make the world better.

Take for example, When Harry met Sally, which is a romantic story but at the core of it is the tale of two people with completely opposite outlooks on life who discover that the best way to deal with an ever changing world is with each other, facing it together.

Love doesn’t have to be romantic or set in the expected social formats to connect people but when you give it a honest chance, great things can happen. It takes time and patience but always worth a try.

 Rob Reiner came back to that theme quite often in his work, whether it was about friends, family or fellow travelers on the stage we call life. Perhaps by this time next year, we can prove him right: