Last Friday, Tom and I welcomed the summer with a lovely, low-key solstice party . . . friends, toasts, fresh strawberries, fireflies. It was glorious. (We JUST beat the big heat wave, too, so that was a bonus.)

As you probably recall, at the end of each season – very near the equinox or solstice – I “force” myself to choose five books to highlight for you. Only five. Sometimes it’s hard for me to choose just five . . .  because the books I read were all so good. And sometimes it’s a struggle to choose five at all because the season was full of  clunkers. I’m happy to report that I read a lot of really great books this past spring, so it was easy to choose five book to share with you.

Here they are (in no particular order) . . .

First up, I’ve got the last book I read this spring (in fact, I was just finishing it up on summer solstice morning before party-prep went into full swing around here) . . . Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks. In her memoir, author Geraldine Brooks recounts the traumatic moments, hours, and days immediately following her husband’s completely unexpected death in 2019 . . . while also weaving in the story of her personal grieving process (her private “memorial days”) three years later. The result is simply lovely. Honest, vulnerable, powerful, and emotional, this tenderly written memoir reminds readers that while our hearts can (and will) break . . . they can also heal. I gave this book 5 stars.

(I would rank this memoir about love and grief right up there with one of my all-time-favorite memoirs, The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. Both are just excellent.)

Next, I’ve got the book that is (so far) sitting atop of my personal 2025-book-of-the-year leaderboard . . . The Names by Florence Knapp. This novel – Knapp’s first – is a deeply moving, haunting exploration of alternative “life paths.” It’s a poignant, intimate family drama that packs a real punch.

Set against a backdrop of domestic abuse, Knapp created an inventive and innovative architectural structure for her novel. Using 3 different “name-options” for the newborn son of Cora and Gordon Atkin, Knapp tells three different-but-parallel narratives over a 35-year time span. In lesser hands, this kind of structure could become quite muddled – but under Knapp’s skillful direction, the unfolding narratives are easy to follow, distinct, and brilliantly executed.

The three separate-but-related stories told within the novel are poignant family dramas on their own, but they also provide broader meditations on identity, choice, and resilience – compelling examples of how life can branch in different directions based on the simplest of decisions. Atmospheric writing, emotional depth of the characters, a clever, inventive structure. It’s all a perfect package – and I can’t wait to read more from Florence Knapp! I gave this book 5 stars. (Lovely cover, too.)

Then, I’ve got a real charmer of a book . . . The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. I had the great pleasure of being an advance reader for this novel — but now that it’s been published and widely available, I’m happy to include it here on my spring Top Five list. This utterly engaging novel, written in an epistolary format, features a rather unexpected main character. Sybil VanAntwerp is a sharp, older woman with a fascinating background . . . and a serious letter writing habit. She writes regularly to friends, family members, former work colleagues, a troubled teen, her neighbor, customer service representatives – even to well-known, real-life authors. Her letters – and their responses – are pure delight.

With an interesting and well-developed cast of characters, a compelling storyline that unspools completely through written correspondence, and excellent pacing (I raced through this book; it never flags), The Correspondent will definitely be one of my favorite reads of 2025. The power of love, forgiveness, and friendship, lifelong curiosity, and an openness to change . . . are just what I need to be reading about these days. And, of course, it’s always lovely to encounter a complex older female character in literature. I loved it! I gave this book 5 stars.

Next up, I’ve got a slice of history for you . . . An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I didn’t know it when I picked it up, but An Unfinished Love Story was exactly the book I needed to dive into right now. Well-written, expertly researched, part-memoir/part-history . . . I loved it all! It was like reliving my childhood, with Doris providing “color commentary” by filling in the details and putting it all in context for me.

I highly recommend listening to the audiobook version, narrated by Doris Kearns Goodwin herself, with Richard Goodwin’s journal entries and letters read by Bryan Cranston. Extra bonus: speech “clips” and excerpts (from JFK, MLK, LBJ, and RFK) are recordings from the archival records and quite powerful/moving.

History is messy. It’s good to be reminded just HOW messy now and again. I gave this book 5 stars.

And finally, I’ve got a terrific short story collection . . . The History of Sound by Ben Shattuck. Now I know that many (many) readers shy away from short story collections, BUT . . . maybe give this one a try. I happen to be a huge fan of short stories, generally, and especially those that are well-developed and beautifully written. The power of language is revealed when an author can effectively convey a strong sense of time, place, and character in such a small piece of “real estate.” It is always a particular pleasure to discover a new collection of short stories that checks ALL the boxes – and Ben Shattuck’s The History of Sound does just that – and more.

Loved every bit of this cleverly-structured, gorgeously written short story collection. Each one was a treasure. I gave this book 5 stars.

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How about you?
What books would make it onto YOUR spring Top Five list?

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If you want to see what I’m reading now, or if you’d like to check out my recent reviews on Goodreads, just check out the sidebar on my home page.  You can find me here on Goodreads.

If you’re looking for my previous Top Five lists, you can find them in my Field Notes (just click in from the menu bar at the top or bottom of any page) — or click the link.