We have now been able to read together through this feature for a full year.
What started as an idea for a single story became a year of reading and connection with friends, neighbors and listeners.
To celebrate our year of reading, I asked some of our past participants to recommend their favorite read of 2025.
And as we said last January, the 2026 to-be-read pile starts now.
Amber Viola, podcast host
Book: "Circe"
Author: Madeline Miller
This is a novel by Madeline Miller, and she also wrote a top three book favorite of mine, "Song of Achilles."
"Circe" is about a woman who is born to the gods but still does not feel good enough, and is still as a woman trying to find her place in the world. She finds this power that she has within herself, but there's still dangers of a woman just trying to navigate the world alone.
This is a beautiful story about strength and triumph and love, and I highly recommend this book.
Brigid Lawrence, owner, Friendly Alien Books
Book: "The Everlasting"
Author: Alix E. Harrow
2025 was a great year for books and reading, and while it's hard for me to choose just one to talk about, I am going to pick "The Everlasting" by Alix E. Harrow.
The story starts with historian Owen Mallory on a quest to uncover lost texts about the mythical, ethereal Lady Knight Una Everlasting. She is the most important person in his country's founding.
Una is essentially a King Arthur figure for the fictional country of Dominion, but with civil unrest boiling around him, Owen is mysteriously gifted the text he is looking for. One thing leads to another, and Owen is sent back in time to make sure that Una's story ends the way it's supposed to, and that's about all I can say about the plot without spoiling anything.
What unfolds is one of the most beautiful love stories I've read in a long time. Harrow does a great job of making readers care deeply about these characters and tug at the heartstrings the entire time. I got to the end and truly wished I could reread it for the first time immediately.
And while that love story is hauntingly beautiful, Harrow also weaves in an even more important story - how governments work to control the narratives in their countries, how propaganda spreads in the first place, and the fact that history is mostly told through the eyes of the victors. It is a stark reminder of the importance of truth and freedom in a functioning society, and Harrow's ability to merge these two plots into one mesmerizing story is a feat in itself. I cannot stop recommending this book to everybody.
Brittany Shoemaker, The Charming Churchmouse
Book: "You are Fatally Invited"
Author: Ande Pliego
This debut thriller centers around the anonymous mystery writer J.R. Alastor. J.R. hires Mila, an aspiring writer, to act as an event coordinator and help run a retreat for six famous thriller authors on a private island off the coast of Maine.
As with all thrillers, there is a catch. Each author has been chosen because they have personally been involved in committing a crime and with that comes consequences. Mila has her eyes on one of the authors, particularly with whom she is seeking revenge on. Let the games begin!
The week turns deadly when an unexpected murder occurs and Mila realizes she, too, is now part of the game and J.R. Alastor is following their own course of action.
Who is the anonymous Alastor anyway? What crimes did these authors commit? Will anyone come out of this alive? This novel is very reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s "And Then There Were None" and fits right along with films like "Clue" and "Knives Out." This book is fun, uses some traditional mystery tropes and adds new surprises as well.
Lydia McFarlane, WVIA Healthcare Reporter
Book: "Heart the Lover"
Author: Lily King
I read 62 books this year, and rated about 13 at 5 stars. Out of all of those 5 star reads, "Heart the Lover" by Lily King rose to the top. The book serves as both a prequel and sequel to King’s earlier book "Writers and Lovers."
The first half of the book takes us through our heroine’s college experience, who is lovingly nicknamed "Jordan" by two boys she meets in her senior year of college. The boys, Sam and Yash, are best friends and the three become inseparable. Then a complicated tangle of emotions ensues, and Jordan ends up romantically involved with both at two different points throughout their senior year.
Decades later, Jordan has moved on from the passion and drama of her youth, and rarely thinks of the few months she spent in a whirlwind love triangle with the boys. But surprise news about one of them sends her hurtling back in time, reliving her first heartbreak and the heartache she never fully processed while preparing for the worst in the present.
This book was beautifully written and truly captured the essence of what it means to be young and a little bit dumb. It also made me reflect on my own college experience and think about what memories will follow me through life and shape the rest of my adulthood. "Heart the Lover" is heart wrenching but also so beautifully explores what it means to love others, how our decisions impact ourselves and those around us and how our past is not always so far in the rearview.
Brian Ferguson-Avery, author and tax preparer, Williamsport
Book: "Meet Me at the Museum"
Author: Anne Youngson
At the center of "Meet Me at the Museum," a novel by Anne Youngson, is the 2,400-year-old Tollund Man, a body preserved in Danish peat. He resides in a museum in Silkeborg, Denmark, near his place of discovery 75 years ago.
As a young girl, Tina was fascinated by his photograph, and in middle age she finally gathers the courage to reach out to the museum where he resides. Her letter is answered by Anders, the museum’s curator.
The correspondence between Tina and Anders continues, and the two become cherished confidantes. Tina describes what became of Isabella, her lively friend from childhood who shared her fascination with the Tollund Man, and Anders relates the sad fate of his recently departed wife. They describe their children’s lives, their own daily tasks, the objects in their homes and their dreams and disappointments. They encourage each other to open up to things they may have considered lost, to view the mundane items of their lives in a new way, and to make small choices that lead to important consequences.
Anders worries about his use of English, and farmwife Tina frets that her thoughts aren’t intelligent enough to interest the Danish curator. However, at several points in this epistolary novel, Anders invites Tina to visit him in Denmark, to personally introduce her to the Tollund Man. She hesitates, she dismisses, but we can tell that she wants to see the ancient man face to face—and more so, to see Anders. Whether or not she decides to make the journey will take you through the final pages of this satisfying novel.
Glynis Johns, founder and CEO, Black Scranton Project
Book: "Something, Someday"
Author: Amanda Gorman
Illustrator: Christian Robinson
Though it’s a children’s book, its message is for everyone. It’s a gentle reminder that small actions can create real change.
2025 was a tough year for many of us, which is why one line from this book especially stayed with me: “You’re told to sit and wait, but you know people have waited too long.” That sentence feels like both a truth and a call.
The illustrations are soft, collage-like, and full of warmth. The book follows a young boy’s efforts to clean up his neighborhood. They show how collective care can grow from simple, everyday actions. Each page reads like a quiet affirmation — there is always something you can fix, always a way to lend a hand.
That message mirrors exactly what I strive to do through the Black Scranton Project. The work isn’t flashy or extraordinary — it’s attainable, rooted in care, and built one small, meaningful step at a time.
Clare Ryan, Gouldsboro
Book: "The Nightingale"
Author: Kristin Hannah
This is a deeply moving and beautifully written novel that stayed with me long after I finished it. It's set in Nazi occupied France during World War II. It follows two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle, whose lives take very different paths as they struggle to survive and resist in their own ways.
One faces quiet endurance and impossible choices at home, while the other joins the French Resistance, risking everything for freedom. This book is heart-wrenching, powerful and emotionally rich. Kristin Hannah captures love, fear, sacrifice and resilience with such depth that the characters feel painfully real. It's a story about the strength of women, the cost of war and the many forms bravery can take.
Isabela Weiss, WVIA Rural Government Reporter and RFA Corps Member
Book: "The Thief of Always"
Author: Clive Barker
“The great gray beast February had eaten Harvey Swick alive. Here he was, buried in the belly of that smothering month, wondering if he would ever find his way out through the cold coils that lay between here and Easter.”
That’s the opening line to Clive Barker’s “The Thief of Always,” a spellbinding fable that questions what really matters in life, and what we lose when we don’t cherish the present. We follow 10-year-old Harvey Swick as he navigates "The House," a mystical mansion that only kids can see that beacons Swick from somewhere beyond our world. The problem he finds quickly, is that once he enters its door, he can never leave.
"The Thief of Always" is short, profound and rich in symbolism. It’s a lesser-known thriller that should be listed as one of the classics as it captures what it feels like to face demons that feel much larger than oneself, and ultimately, what it means to come to terms with yourself.
Autumn Granza, content marketer and photographer
Book: "Human Acts"
Author: Han Kang
This is one of those books that doesn’t just tell a story — it asks you to sit with it, and it stays with you long after you turn the last page.
Set in the aftermath of the Gwangju Uprising in South Korea, "Human Acts" moves through a series of interconnected voices and perspectives to show what happens when ordinary people are forced to confront extraordinary violence — and what remains when the headlines fade. Han Kang’s writing is quiet and precise, almost delicate in its restraint, yet every sentence carries weight.
What makes this novel unforgettable is how it insists on humanity even in the most dehumanizing circumstances. It explores how trauma doesn’t end when the violence stops — it lingers in bodies, memory, relationships, and language. And still, the book makes room for tenderness and moral courage — for the small acts of care that become radical when the world is trying to erase people.
If you want a novel that will challenge you, break your heart, and remind you why empathy matters, "Human Acts" is the one.
Fawn Contreras, head of Youth Services, Valley Community Library
Book: "Here I Am"
Author: Shaunta Grimes
I read 185 books in 2025. The book I am going to put forward as my favorite is "Here I Am" by Shaunta Grimes. This is a YA novel that really deals an emotional punch and is relatable for teens and adults alike.
The main character struggles with body image, bullying, suicide, eating disorders — and how diverse eating disorders are — finding her strength along the way and confidence in herself.
The book did receive the 2025 Carolyn W. Field award that is put on by the Pennsylvania Library Association and is given to a Pennsylvania author who wrote an outstanding, impactful book for youth.
Book: "The Chaos Machine: The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World"
Author: Max Fisher
Reading 185 books in a year makes it really hard to pick only one book for your favorite. So, I'm going to go with "The Chaos Machine" by Max Fisher as my non-fiction runner-up because of how much it gave me to think about with using social media.
It is (about) how social media rewired our minds and our world, and it really addresses the dark side of social media, how addicting it is and how much it changes the way that we think and interact with the world around us. That was definitely one of the most impactful books that I read.
Sarah Scinto, WVIA Morning Edition Host and Reporter
Book: If We Were Villains
Author: M.L. Rio
The real tragedy of “If We Were Villains” is the fact it took me this long to pick up M.L. Rio’s debut novel.
I devoured this book and it made me want to reread every Shakespearean play I’ve ever studied. It’s a mystery, it’s dark academia, it’s suspense and an engrossing cast of characters all wrapped up in the words of the Bard.
The book follows Oliver Marks after he is released from prison. He’s spent a decade behind bars for a crime we don’t know about — yet. With the retired detective Colborne in tow, he retells the story of what happened in his fourth year as a theater student at the prestigious Dellecher Classical Conservatory.
The dramatic tension is what kept me reading this book. As Oliver tells his tale, the cast of seven fourth-year students are caught in a tangled web of truths and lies and it’s impossible to look away as you wait for it all to unravel.
That’s all for this edition of Bookmarks, but we’re not going away any time soon. Join us again on Jan. 24. I’ll be looking for your favorite classical works.
