My goal each year is to read at least 30 books. I exceeded my goal in 2025, but it wasn’t easy for a number of reasons…

First, I was heavily involved in bringing three books, The Greatest New York Yankees By Uniform Number, West Point at Gettysburg (Vol. 1), and My Front Row Seat to the finish line (or close to it). All three are published or will be published in the coming months. (I now have to get working diligently on Volume 2 of West Point At Gettysburg and a very special religious book I am writing.)

Second, I went back to work full time as an interim principal which, needless to say, takes a great deal of time. At the same time, I was teaching two college classes, one of which I designed this year. Free time was not something I had much of the last few months of 2025.

Third, as will be seen, a few of the books I chose to read were, in a few words, lengthy and challenging. All that being said, I love reading and learning and pushing through challenges.

Here then are the books I most enjoyed in 2025:

The One Year Chronological Bible NLT – As I have shared, I read the Bible every year. I LOVED this Bible. It told the Greatest Story Ever Told chronologically. I also loved the New Living Translation as it made much of the Bible more accessible than some of the more challenging versions of the Bible. I highly recommend this Bible for all who wish to read the Bible in whole or part.

Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper’s Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich by David Kenyon Webster – I have read almost every memoir from the members of the famous Band Of Brothers, and have enjoyed them all including this one. It’s not often that I find a memoir that I haven’t read. I was glad to find this copy of David Webster’s World War II experiences with the Screaming Eagles.

The Big Fight by Sugar Ray Leonard – I picked this book up at a used book sale (I LOVE used book sales) and greatly enjoyed reading about one of the greatest boxers of my youth. I was unaware of the many challenges Sugar Ray faced in his life and was glad to see, as the story progressed, how he was able to combat them. Sugar Ray was the most popular fighter after Muhammad Ali, a hero to many in the late 1970s and 1980s. I was glad to read his story.

A Baseball Book of Days by Phil Coffin – Phil is a gifted writer. He told the story of baseball history in a completely unique and original way looking at various days on the calendar and sharing great tales of what transpired on those days. The book is filled with history, trivia, and a great deal of humor as well. This was the best baseball book I read in 2025.

The Chosen – Book 5 (Not My Will) by Jerry B. Jenkins – I am a big fan of The Chosen. I love the movies and I follow watching them by reading the accompanying novels. Each have been quick and worthwhile reads.

Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella – I read this before, it’s the story that Field of Dreams is based on. It’s a good story. I have to say though, I like the movie better.

The Celebrant by Eric Rolfe Greenberg – I also read this previously, and enjoyed it again. This book is a fictional account of a fan and his interactions with baseball great Christy Mathewson. Some call this the best baseball novel ever. It is very good.

Mr. Lincoln’s Army and Glory Road by Bruce Catton – I had never read Catton’s Army of the Potomac trilogy (and, well, I still haven’t quite yet – I have to read the third book this year). This is classic writing about the Civil War in the East. Bruce Catton was one of the best writers on the Civil War (of course).

Seinfeldia by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong – I am not a big watcher of television, but I loved Seinfeld (and still do). This was the behind-the-scenes look at Seinfeld and more. It was great – and often funny.

The Mystery of the Last Supper by Colin J. Humphreys – This might have been the best book I read all year. Humphreys looks at every single question and supposed inconsistency in the Gospel accounts of the Last Supper and explains how they all come together and support one another. Part history, part religious text, part mystery, this book is fantastic and is one I’ll read again (and probably again, and again).

Our Oriental Heritage by Will Durant – My son Ryan and I will read all of Will Durant’s 11-volume history of Western Civilization series, one book a year over the next decade plus. This book wasn’t a page turner. It wasn’t easy to read. It was also 900 million pages (or so it seemed) but I got through it. I learned a lot (I think) and feel accomplished for reading it. It wasn’t a “best” book, but it was good. My hopes are that the next books are a bit more accessible to me.

Teen-Agers Unite by Charles Schulz – Over many years, I read the entire collection of Peanuts comics. I had never seen any of Schulz’s other comics. My son Ethan found this book and gave it to me. Peanuts is better (of course), but I loved seeing the way he approached this other series of cartoon panels.