Well hello there, happy Saturday! And happy last newsletter of 2025 from me. I will be back in your inbox on Saturday, January 3rd after finishing up our last few days of school and then almost two weeks of family time, resting, reading, and hopefully, sewing!

What I’ve Been Reading

On Tuesday I shared THIRTY backlist Christmas titles, and the one at the very top of that list is one I just re-listened to yet again.

Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher on audio is a warm hug, a cozy place to rest, and despite my numerous times with the story, it always manages to surprise me somehow. It’s a Christmas-time novel, but not really all ABOUT Christmas and it’s so very atmospheric and wintery that to read it any other time of year could be considered a waste of vibes. I adore this classic and just finished it yet again.

Another delightful holiday listen I devoured this week was Grace and Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman. I have to admit that I don’t love the title of the book, but it IS perfectly accurate, and sets the theme of the novel. What the title doesn’t convey is the depth of the storyline, which focuses on the grief of, and relationship between, two mature adults whose spouses have died. If you like your holiday reads with a bit more wistfulness and nuance, this one is for you! Winter Solstice also features the death of a spouse and moving on … maybe a theme I didn’t even plan.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the holiday novella Not in the Christmas Plan by Etta Easton which doesn’t have a death of a spouse, but the main character IS grieving the death of her father AND there is NICU subplot and stress over premature babies, so definitely still some melancholy mixed in. I grabbed this short read on Kindle Unlimited and raced through it in one evening.

Another recent read is one recommended to me by an 8th grader who swears it is her favorite book ever. Going Dark by Melissa de la Cruz is not my usual thing, but when a student loves a book this much, I read it! I was thoroughly entertained by this young adult mystery / thriller and appreciate how de la Cruz can write older (early college) characters and still make the story one I can stock in my middle school collection.

It’s FINALLY TIME

A few weeks ago I shared some thoughts on all of the extremely premature “best of” lists, but NOW it’s finally time for me to settle in with these over break and dream about my early 2026 reading. I will also be working on curating my own list of favorites to share in the new year!

If you’re looking for a one-stop shop for Best of 2025 lists, I love what PRH put together for us. SO MANY LISTS TO PERUSE!

I’m excited to start a massive 2026 holds list at the library!

For the newsletter nerds

2025 has been a whirlwind for me on the newsletter-front, with a platform shift at the beginning of February that put into action my beliefs about wanting to lessen the impact of algorithms on my reading and creative life. I no longer give Substack a portion of my earnings, and I’m working to make sure I give them NONE of my money, ie working out alternative ways of paying for the newsletters I read from the platform.

For those of you in the newsletter world, I know it’s SCARY to switch platforms, especially if you earn money from your work. I can tell you that I was prepared to make significantly less this year, and was shocked to see the numbers in Stripe just now.

My gross earnings are up 8.83% from last year. My NET earnings in Stripe are up 18.09% from last year since Buttondown does not take a % cut like Substack does. Even taking into account the $30/month I pay Buttondown, I’m ahead.

My subscribers are down, and growth is down, but I really do think that growth slowing is the case across much the newsletter world based on anecdotal evidence that others have shared. The market is flooded, bigger established names are taking over, and readers are fatigued with the volume. Makes sense!

As for my own newsletter’s slowed growth ~ by leaving an algorithmically-driven platform, discovery is just a LOT harder. I’m not using any social media to promote, and am counting on my readers to share my subscribe link with friends and their own readers. Please share????

This reminds me of how when I started out on Instagram in the bookstagram world in 2016-2017, I was able to grow astronomically quickly and then by about 2019, everything ground to a halt growth-wise. Same old story!

My joy is in the fact that so many of my readers here are from that bookstagram community circa 2018ish, and you have stuck with me from platform to platform. I’m also happy that some of the big Substackers have left the platform, albeit for Patreon which wooed them (and made it well worth their while).

As the main interwebs have become flooded with slop, and the newsletter volume explodes, I am so grateful to have a home in your private little inbox. THANK YOU!

And now, it’s time for a 2025 farewell, and I can’t wait to say hello again in 2026! I deeply hope the next two weeks bring you at least a bit of your heart’s desire … take care and rest up, my friends.