To Hear, Read, and Watch
It’s the final two weeks of 2025 and I am racing to finish a number of books and listen to the most recent interviews on Bella Freud’s Fashion Neurosis podcast. Ms. Freud penned a terrific piece on the meaning of clothes for FT. The documentary on the 100th anniversary issue of The New Yorker is a must-watch if you are a fellow fan of the magazine. I am putting a projector in the guest bedroom in lieu of a television. There is one in our favorite apartment in Paris and it works like a charm. My favorite gift to receive is a book, preferably one I would not have chosen myself. Seascraper by Benjamin Wood is one of those gifts — it is beautifully written and I am so happy I read it. Before 2026 I hope to finish Charlotte Wood’s Stone Yard Devotional, The Safekeep, Yael Van Der Wouden’s debut novel, and My Friends by Frederik Backman. And, this Leset top and shorts set is my current reading-by-the-fire outfit.
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These wonderful posts are always a treat, but in the busy days before Christmas they offer a wonderful respite as well!!
xo Brooke
Loved Stone Yard Devotional and The Safekeep is on my list too. Did not love My Friends the way others do which surprised me as I love all his others. I love to give and receive books. I wish Booker prize would package up the short/long list. Would make an easy gift. My local store can’t deliver in time and I am sending a friend 12 books for 2026 – some of my favorites from 2025. One for each month next year. Would be nice if it arrived as a package. Oh well.
The Safekeep was terrific. Seascraper and Stone Yard Devotional up next on my reading list, and thank you for alerting me to The New Yorker documentary. Natalie…would like to know your 12 favorite books of 2025! Happy Holidays and cheers to the new year!
I want to know everyone’s favorite books of 2025!
For Alissa- these are books I sent. Read the majority but the others I will do over the holidays. Tried for a mix of styles: The Wedding People – Allison Espach The Women – Kristin Hannah, One day, everyone will have always been against this – Omar El Akkad, The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller , Broken Country – Clare Leslie Hall, What We Can Know – Ian McEwan, The Correspondent – Virginia Evans, Buckeye – Patrick Ryan, The DarlingGirls – Sally Hepworth, Hello Beautiful – Ann Napolitano, The True True Story of Raja the Gullible, Rabih Alameddine and Flesh David Szalay.
Thank you for sharing the titles, Natalie! I have the same sentiment about ‘My Friends’… it was good, but not great. Another great read from this year is Raising Hare: A Memoir by Chloe Dalton.