Bonus post: Best of 2025

It’s been a tough year - but let’s not get into it, am I right? It’s time for eggnog, spending time with loved ones, and ignoring our problems.

To celebrate, here are my favorite things - my little life-giving glimmers - of 2025.

BOOKS

My most soulful read(s) of the year:

The Goodbye Cat & The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

I read the Goodbye Cat first - and cried and cried, but in the most beautiful, cathartic way. Then I read The Traveling Cat Chronicles and cried more. I will never think of cats in the same way. And the story of Satoru and his cats will live on in me forever.

I finally got to:

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

I read this in a day - but anyone could - it is short, sweet, and powerful. In my top five now, for sure.

The best thing I read this year was:

Rape: A Love Story by Joyce Carol Oates

Tells the story of a rape from several perspectives, including the rapist, victim, and the officer that finds her. Her writing is magnificent, while the subject matter should be required reading.

Second-best thing I read this year:

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver

These are short stories that should be included in every English class in high school and college. They are delightfully strange yet eerily relatable. Each one leaves you thinking. Probably forever.

AND EVERYTHING ELSE

Best movie:

Marmalade - because of the twist at the very end alone. And also because Steve can really act.

Best album:

Djo’s The Crux - And I guess he can write songs too. I got it on vinyl for my birthday, if that’s a testament to anything.

Best show:

The Summer I Turned Pretty (Prime) - I would have never watched this show if it hadn’t come on by accident when I was delirious with the flu, and I’m glad it did because it sustained me. Highly recommend it, even if just to understand the whole Team Jeremiah / Team Conrad thing. (Team Conrad, duh.)

Best podcast:

Your Weekly Breakdown by Hard Copy Media - Truth be told, I wrote for Hard Copy before I started listening to their podcast. But it’s now my favorite, and even my husband enjoys it. They are funny, but they also bring up so many things we all need to be talking about. It’s like hanging out with friends, honestly.

Best moment:

50 Cent in every single interview after The Reckoning. These clips gave me life. And I think that’s because… we’re all a lotta tired of people getting away with some bull shit.

Second-best moment:

Every clip of Cardi B during her trial. 50 just really came in at the end for the win.

Here’s to a stronger 2026 - where we can “Be kind to everybody, make art, and fight the power.” - Colson Whitehead

Write on,

Ashley