Chelsey's December 2025 Reads | 20 Books

When December started, I had read 154 books and hoped to read 16 books in December to make an even 170. Thanks to a few short books and a lot of time doing home projects, I ended up reading 20 books, bringing my total for the year to 174 books. For this month, I’ve divided the books up into four sections: 5-star books, 4-star fiction books, 4-star nonfiction/spiritual books, and 3-star books.

The 5-Star Books

Things Unseen: One Year of Daily Reflections on the Christian Life by Sinclair B. Ferguson

I started this book in the first week of January and finished it last week. The book contains 5 readings for each week, so most weeks I just read it Monday through Friday, but the format let me catch up on the weekends if I missed a day. My only criticism of this book is the binding; by December my book was almost falling apart! I guess that’s what I happens when you handle a book 250+ times over the course of a year. In any case, this was a part of my morning quiet time that I looked forward to every day. I’ll be taping up the binding and shelving it for now, but I expect to use it during another year in the future.

Let Earth Receive Her King: Daily Readings for Advent by Alistair Begg

This was my first year using this devotional for Advent after using the same Sinclair Ferguson book for many years. I didn’t think it could happen, but I think this book beat out the previous one. I found myself moved to tears most days (which is not something that happens to me often). Every day ends with a hymn, and some days I found it was a hymn that I had already been thinking about. I plan to use this one again next year because it was just so good.

Do You Pray: A Question for Everybody by J.C. Ryle

This is a very short little book that I received at a conference this year. It was adapted into more modern language, and I found it to be a compelling read. Every short chapter challenged me on what I think about prayer, how I pray, and why prayer is the foundation of the Christian life.

The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

If you’ve been following along you know that I read the first four books in The Chronicles of Narnia earlier this year. I remembered almost nothing about this book, and so reading it was almost like experiencing it for the first time. My husband said it’s his favorite in the series, and I think I might have to say the same.

The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis

That said, I also loved everything about the penultimate book in the series (well, depending on which order you subscribe to). I did remember much about this one, and it was especially striking to read it as we have been studying Genesis this fall at church. Lewis’ depiction of creation is so beautiful, that it’s easy to imagine that might have been exactly what it looked like when God created the world. Somehow Lewis manages to teach important lessons without being heavy-handed, and I’m eager to read this books to our younger kids soon.

Hiroshima: The Last Witnesses by M.G. Sheftall

After reading The Devil Reached Toward the Sky earlier this year, I found myself wanting to read more about what happened after the atomic bombs were dropped. I ran across this book, which was actually written by an American who has lived in Japan for decades. This book took me several weeks to read, which is slower than my usual pace, but there was so much detail and much of it was very painful to read. The book not only traces the history of Hiroshima and describes what it was like right before the bomb dropped, but it also describes the effect of the bomb on the people who lived there into modern time (there are a few survivors still alive today). There are first-person accounts of the bomb dropping and many chapters describing how survivors wrestled with how to memorialize the victims. After reading Devil, I began to question the narrative I had always heard, which was that the dropping of the bomb was necessary in order for America to end the war and prevent more deaths. But especially after reading this book, I don’t think I subscribe to that narrative anymore. The devastation and destruction of the bomb cannot, in my opinion, be justified. I’d encourage you to read this book and see if it challenges any of your thinking. (The author has also written a sequel about Nagasaki, which I hope to read soon.)

No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson by Gardiner Harris

I’ve been looking forward to reading this book ever since I heard about it almost a year ago. There are few exposes I love more than big corporations behaving badly. Not that I delight in what they’ve done, of course, but I’m always glad to see journalists try to hold organizations accountable when they have caused harm. This book made me never want to buy anything made by Johnson & Johnson ever again. Some of the stories I knew, or thought I knew, but there were so many times when my jaw dropped because I could not believe they had been able to get away with certain things. I also learned from this book that the talc in powders that used to be sold contains asbestos, and when we checked under the sink, we found some body powder that we’ve apparently had for more than 6 years, because it contained talc. Into the trash it went!

The 4-Star Books—Fiction

Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore

This was a late-in-the-month read for me that I borrowed on a whim to listen to while I painted my daughter’s room. I loved the different chapters which are told by different women in the story. The premise of the story—a young girl being sexually assaulted—is dark, but the real point of the story is how a community handles the aftermath.

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

The writing style of this author reminded me a little of Fredrik Backman, and I loved it. I’d call it science fiction, although I think it might technically be magical realism, which is usually a genre I despise. But I fell in love with the author’s writing and loved the main character, Idina, who was born to a woman but is actually an alien from outer space. The book is the story of her attempt to report back to her home planet as well as try to be as normal as possible.

How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue

I loved the author’s first book, Behold the Dreamers, which I read several years ago. This book takes place in a fictional African country and follows a village through decades of trying to fight back against an American company that is drilling for oil on their land and subsequently killing the children with the ongoing pollution. It is the change in perspectives in the chapters as well as the writing style that really gripped me. This is a beautiful book.

The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman

A couple of months ago, my husband and I were looking for a new show to watch. A new season of the show Dark Winds had just come out, and he had already watched the first two seasons. He said he thought I would like it, and while I was very dubious when he said it was basically a cop show set on a Navajo reservation in the 1970s, he knows me well so I trusted him. Well, I did love it, and as soon as I realized it was based on a book series, I looked the books up. There are a lot of books in the series, and the author’s daughter continued the series after he died. This was the first book, and I wouldn’t say it was incredible, but reviews seemed to say that the series continues to get better. (I have found this to be true in many of my favorite series.) That said, I still rated it 4 stars because it kept me turning the pages (on my Kindle) and it’s very smart. It’s also funny. I just got the next book in the series and I can’t wait to read it.

The Compound by Aisling Rawle

Think Big Brother, but you wake up in the house without any memory of how you got there, and you and the other contestants have to do challenges to earn the things you need to survive, and if you are the last person in the house, you get to live there for as long as you want, alone. Why, you might ask, would anyone want that prize? Well, you’ll have to read the book. I wasn’t sure about this one but I really enjoyed it. And while there is some implying of adult activity going on, it’s not graphic or spicy (I HATE that word but I know readers know what it means).

The 4-Star Books—Nonfiction/Spiritual

How Does Sanctification Work? by David Powlison

In my opinion, the late David Powlison can do (write) no wrong. The only reason this was 4 stars was because I wished it was longer. I felt like there was so much more he could have said! This is a must-read for every Christian, though, especially if you want to be better equipped to counsel and encourage other Christians.

Get Offa My Case: Godly Parenting of an Angry Teen by Rick Horne

Full disclosure: I find the title of this book a little bit cheesy. That said, this was my top parenting book of the year and a book that I will be referencing for as long as I have a teenager in my home. I should say that I did not read this because one of our teenagers is behaving like the teenagers described in this book. However, parenting teens is new territory for us, and I’m looking for any guidance I can get. I think any parent of a teen would benefit from this book.

A Taste for Poison: Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them by Neil Bradbury

No one is surprised that this book caught my eye. It’s right up my alley—the morbid combined with lots of really interesting information about poisons. This wasn’t a page-turner, but it was fascinating and would be appealing to anyone who likes science / medicine / MURDER.

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben MacIntyre

I have loved every single book by Ben MacIntyre that I have read. The previous most recent one I read, The Spy and the Traitor, references Kim Philby, the subject of this book. I think I liked Traitor a little more because I love reading about Russian history and Russia in general, but this one is also absolutely bananas. How this man, who worked for MI6 as a British spy, also managed to be an agent for the Soviet Union for decades is truly an incredible story. If you like conspiracies, espionage, etc. this is a must-read.

The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan

Sometimes I need a break from books about poison, espionage, and corporate malfeasance and I want to read something “cozy.” That is not usually a word used to describe books I read, but this one looked interesting almost entirely because the last book I read by Amy Tan was The Joy Luck Club when I was a sophomore in high school 25 years ago. This is essentially a memoir about the author’s decision to try to attract birds to her backyard during Covid and everything that followed. I wouldn’t say that I’m a huge bird person, but I found myself falling in love with her bird friends. She reads the audiobook, and it is a wonderful book.

(Note: She did illustrations for the book, which meant that in listening to the audiobook, I missed out on being able to see her drawings. I hope to find a copy at the library so I can look at them.)

The Crucial Years: The Essential Guide to Mental Health and Modern Puberty in Middle Childhood, Ages 6-12 by Sheryl G. Ziegler

Before you read this book, please hear this: I gave this book 4 stars, with a very important caveat: if I were going to hand this book to you, I would remove the chapter on gender / sexual orientation. I disagreed with almost everything in that chapter, because I don’t think it holds up to what the Bible says about gender. That isn’t to say that I don’t believe that children and adults can’t have gender identity disorder, but I disagree fundamentally with how the author advises handling this in children. Especially children between the ages of 6-12. If you want to read a book that deals with this issue in a helpful way, I’d love to point you to Abigail Schrier’s book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters.

Now I’d love to tell you why I loved everything but that one chapter! Our two younger kids are both pretty much in this age range (our youngest will be 6 in a few months; our daughter will be 9 soon) and I found so much of her descriptions of kids at these ages so relatable. She offers advice on building social and emotional awareness, how to talk to your kids about sex, tips for personal hygiene, and so much more. This is definitely a book that is worth reading if you can “spit out the bones,” so to speak.

The 3-Star Books

The Cold Millions by Jess Walter

I feel like I often find a new author, read one of their books, love it, and then go to read their other books and I do not like them at all. I absolutely loved the two other Jess Walter books I have read: a nonfiction book on Ruby Ridge and the other a fiction book called So Far Gone. Sadly, this book did not do anything for me. It was just fine. I thought the dialogue was annoying and I disliked every single character. It isn’t necessarily poorly written, otherwise it would have been knocked down another star. I’m sure some people might like this book, but I was not one of them.

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

I saved this one for last because I' was procrastinating on writing my thoughts. I have been anxious about writing about this book ever since I finished it. I have been afraid of being honest because so many people I know have loved this book, including my dear friend, Tim, who recommended it to me. Before I share my thoughts, I’m going to share some of Tim’s thoughts, with his permission:

When I first started reading it… after the first couple chapters, I was like, I don’t know what I think of this… then I got about a third of the way through, and then I was like, oh, this is good. And then two-thirds of the way through, I was like, I know this is gonna be my favorite book ever. No matter how it ends, I know I’m gonna love it.

I particularly loved how the book was not a billboard for Christianity, but was a very winsome, subtle witness of the faith. I loved Theo’s character. I love that you want to be more like Theo because Theo is a lot like Jesus.

Tim, who is a pastor, also shared that as he trains in being a counselor, he found the book even more inspiring as he tries to engage with people and help them process their stories. He felt like reading this book was the culmination of his training.

I am sharing Tim’s thoughts first because I have seen so many references to this book in various platforms over the past few weeks, and the book is very polarizing. People either loved it or they didn’t. I think that I find myself stuck in the middle. On one hand, I understand why so many people, including Tim, love this book. It highlights so many beautiful things: kindness, mercy, grace, love—all the things Christians especially should love. It shows a man who sees the image of God in other people, including some people who most other people find hard to love. This man seeks to love these people well in a really unique way, and throughout the story, you see these people being changed because of the way that Theo loves them. The whole community is transformed because of Theo’s presence.

You’re now probably wondering, Chelsey, why would you rate this book 3 stars, then? And my only response, confirmed by my husband, is that internally I am an amalgam of these two characters:

I had several issues with this book:

• It felt like watching a Hallmark movie.

• It had way too many ellipses.

• It was repetitive and would have benefited greatly from an editor.

• It failed at one of the cardinal rules of good fiction: showing, not telling.

Particularly on the last point, as the book progressed, it became even more heavy-handed about the points the author was trying to make. I didn’t disagree with the points—as I said above, many of the truths and themes of this book are beautiful and biblical. But by that point I felt I had already gotten the point many times, and it felt like the author was grabbing me by the shoulders and screaming, “DO YOU GET WHAT I’M TRYING TO SAY?”

This book was originally self-published and eventually got a publishing deal because so many people loved the book. I’m happy for the author. However, I have heard many people using the fact that it was self-published as a defense against criticism of the book. I find this lacking as an argument. I feel free to congratulate the author on his success and also express my issues as stated above. I hear he is potentially working on a sequel, and so I hope that maybe with his newfound popularity he will be able to get a good editor who can improve on what I expect will be the good bones of his next story.

I’m now going to go hide in a closet so that all the people who loved this book don’t come and beat me up (although my friend Tim would not do that, because he is a really nice guy).

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That’s it for December—and for 2025. I truly cannot wait to continue my reading journey with all of you in 2026!