I read both this and Cutting for Stone this year and absolutely loved them both. Book 8 of my #12booksof2025.
Read in December 2025
15 Books
Four 5-Star reads this month:
• Signal Fires
• The Second Life of Mirielle West
• Twice
• The Secret of Secrets
#Goodreads #Bookstagram #Litsy #Libby #Audible #Kindle #StoryGraph #Bookish #suvataReads
pick5 Stars • 1920s Los Angeles: A glamorous socialite Mirielle West is suddenly diagnosed with leprosy and exiled to the national leprosarium in Carville, Louisiana. Stripped of her privileged life, she enters a hidden world of patients society has rejected, where she must confront stigma, loss, and her own flaws while discovering resilience and unexpected connections. A moving historical novel about the real history of America‘s only leprosy colony.
pickOverall, 8.5 out of 10 stars! I love thick books that take time to develop the characters and storyline. It‘s not a book of intense action but of thought, conflict, character development and family.
pickThe Malayi family lives with a condition that makes in each generation different members to die by drowning. We see their stories and the story of India as a background during the 1900s while they try to live with this condition and with the grief that sometimes causes. A wonderful book, so descriptive and interesting I had to stop to google some places. You can tell the author is a doctor because of how well the medicine is explained, and ⬇️
pickMoloka‘i started out as a place of isolation and punishment but came to represent family and home. The descriptions of this lonely place were wonderful. The history was finely woven into the story. The characters were beautifully wrought.
pickThe view from my deck.
This book was so good! I never wanted to put it down. I wouldn‘t even have minded if it were longer. I‘m definitely going to read Verghese‘s other book, Cutting for Stone.
Each time there was a character shift I wanted to protest because I didn‘t want to leave the point of view I was in. But within paragraphs I‘d be immersed in the next bit.
What a remarkable storyteller.
pickA reread; I do like to do a reading deep-dive before holidays, so I‘m seeking out the 🇬🇷 stories. The writing was a bit more flowery and overdone than I remembered, but still a solidly good read.
pickSteeped in grief and unfolds at a slow pace, this saga follows two timelines that intersect occasionally but never feel fully connected until the end. Set in India but centered on a Christian family, the religious focus felt a bit out of place given the country‘s Hindu and Muslim majority. The writing is rich with vivid descriptions and thoughtful character development. It‘s a dense, emotional read with moments of real beauty.Book #51 in2025
Tackle the TBR 🤓📚
What are you reading?
#boleybooks #thecovenantofwater #abrahamverghese #bookbeast #bookbuds #bookclub #libby
