Feature Archives - The Gilmore Guide to Books

2025 Best Backlist

Catherine — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 08:57:57 +0000

I couldn’t exit the year without an acknowledgement of the backlist books that kept me afloat in 2025. While there were excellent new books released in 2025 these six special novels, all published in previous years found me when I needed books to provide an escape, thrill me, make me laugh, and even break my […]

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My Favorite 2025 Books

Catherine — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 08:58:09 +0000

Remember me? I’m so sorry I’ve let this site atrophy. I’m still reading lots of books, but the attention span and the mental clarity needed to string together words for reviews, has been lost in the onslaught of increasingly surreal corruption and destruction in our government. The cognitive dissonance between what government should be […]

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July Reading Wrap-Up

Catherine — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 07:40:17 +0000

My surprise over the disappearance of July probably comes as no surprise as I seem to lament how quickly the months go on a regular basis now. It’s a disconnect from the feeling that we’re years into this president’s term based on the chaos and toxicity. The only thing keeping my poor psyche from exploding […]

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June Reading Recap

Catherine — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 07:57:21 +0000

The photo above is more an interpretation of my brain these days than a statement about June in Seattle. Apologies to everyone in the path of this staggering heatwave, but it’s been a lovely month here weatherwise. My reading was similar. The stormy part comes into play in that in an effort to mute the […]

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May Reading Recap

Catherine — Fri, 30 May 2025 07:22:06 +0000

May turned into quite a month for my reading and beyond. There’s plenty to share, but for now, I’ll stick with some of the books that stuck with me (and a couple that missed the mark). Daniel is a criminal profiler who works finding serial killers. He’s chosen this line of work because he’s […]

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Time for a Break

Catherine — Mon, 05 May 2025 07:57:37 +0000

Hello, fellow readers! No book review today and probably not for the rest of the month. I’m taking a bit of a break. Reading continues to be a great escape and source of joy for me, but gathering my thoughts into reviews is getting harder and harder. I’m struggling with both the quality and quantity […]

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April Reading Recap

Catherine — Thu, 01 May 2025 07:20:38 +0000

April has come and gone and we’re once again in the middle of spring in Seattle—a welcome mix of rain, sunshine, and everything in bloom. Every window in our house looks out onto a gorgeous explosion of color whether it’s a crimson rhododendron outside my office or a front yard carpeted with pink cherry blossom […]

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March Reading Recap

Catherine — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 07:56:08 +0000

Hello, fellow readers! I’m not sure I’ll get to say this again, but despite a completely miserable and toxic month in the news, my March reading was calmly solid. I only had one book I didn’t finish, am fully immersed in a fabulous fantasy series, and read six books that were successful (3.5 stars or […]

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February Reading Wrap-Up

Catherine — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 08:19:53 +0000

Hello, lovely readers! February was an erratic month—probably the new normal, both for my reading and life in America. For the reading, I’m still finding focus to be a problem, but when I have been able to home in on the page I’ve been rewarded by some lovely character study novels. The larger issue is, […]

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January Reading Wrap-Up

Catherine — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 08:28:54 +0000

Wrap-up is the perfect word for this January. One, it is COLD here in Seattle. Flannel sheets cold which makes for cozy reading. Two, for the first time in a very long time a month has felt like it lasted a year. I went from my normal head shake over “where did this month go” […]

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