It’s time for the final monthly TBR of 2025. This is the final chance to clear out some of the unread books from my overall TBR and perhaps finish a few series along the way. This month, I have my usual mix of personally owned books along with a number of library loans. My December 2025 TBR should be a breeze to get through.
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December 2025 TBR
Physical Books
Spy x Family Vol 11 by Tatsuya Endo
Master spy Twilight is unparalleled when it comes to going undercover on dangerous missions for the betterment of the world. But when he receives the ultimate assignment—to get married and have a kid—he may finally be in over his head!
Threatened by Yor’s relationship with Melinda Desmond, Anya gets serious about her own friendship scheme. On the way to a museum field trip, however, she and her class become the target of activists looking to free their political allies…
Library Wars: Love & War Vol 5 by Kiiro Yumi
In the near future, the federal government creates a committee to rid society of books it deems unsuitable. The libraries vow to protect their collections, and with the help of local governments, form a military group to defend themselves–the Library Forces!
Iku is about to face her most difficult challenge—her parents are coming to visit the library where she works! When she joined the Library Forces, she told her parents that she was just going to be a librarian. Now they might discover that she’s on the ultra-dangerous Task Force. Can her parents ever accept that she’s a library warrior?
Komi Can’t Communicate Vol 32 by Tomohoito Oda
The journey to 100 friends begins with a single conversation.
Socially anxious high school student Shoko Komi’s greatest dream is to make some friends, but everyone at school mistakes her crippling social anxiety for cool reserve. Luckily she meets Tadano, a timid wallflower who decides to step out of his comfort zone in order to help her achieve her goal of making 100 friends.
It’s Komi’s final year of high school, and she only has 21 more friends to make before she hits a hundred! But when her friend Emoyama faces a crisis, Komi is ready to put all her friend-finding activities on hold in order to help out. Can she and Tadano work together to soothe Emoyama’s wounded spirit, or will Komi suddenly need to make 22 friends?
Fly Me To The Moon Vol 12 by Kenjiro Hata
First comes marriage, then comes an earthbound love that is out of this world!
From the day his parents named him, Nasa Yuzaki has felt connected to outer space…whether he likes it or not. His efforts to outperform the space program veer off course when an accident introduces him to Tsukasa, a mysterious girl with strange powers. Is she an alien, a moon goddess, or something else? Since she insists on marrying him, Nasa will have plenty of chances to find out!
Nasa lands a teaching job—at an all-girls school! He’s about to discover his students’ spicy secrets, Tsukasa’s capacity for petty jealousy, and whatever’s going on between online slacker Aya and Ginga, who is definitely not a gangster. But Nasa uncovers something truly unexpected when he happens upon plans for spaceflight. Twelve volumes in, is someone finally going to fly someone to the moon?
One Pound Gospel Vol 4 by Rumiko Takahashi
While Kosaku’s eternal struggle with his weight wages on, a meddling aunt tricks Sister Angela into paying a visit to her family, but is this all just a ruse to set the lovely sister up with an eligible young chef? Later, Kosaku’s dedication is put to the ultimate test when he’s given the option of pursuing a career in the restaurant business and retiring from the world of pugilism for good. And finally, Sister Angela’s aunt outdoes herself by racking up an exorbitant bill at a host club and leaving her niece holding the bag. Kosaku vows to defend Angela’s honor by challenging the dashing host to a title match, but will Angela defy the Mother Abbess and break her curfew to be at Kosaku’s side? It’s time for the final round to begin!
Summertime Rendering Vol 5 by Yasuki Tanaka
Shinpei and the gang rushed to save Sou’s father and discovered the true identity of Heine and her evil associate. Meanwhile, Nagumo must go all out to defeat the enemy, even if it means she must sacrifice everything she got…!
All The Knowledge In The World by Simon Garfield
The encyclopedia once shaped our understanding of the world. Created by thousands of scholars and the most obsessive of editors, a good set conveyed a sense of absolute wisdom on its reader. Contributions from Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Orville Wright, Alfred Hitchcock, Marie Curie and Indira Gandhi helped millions of children with their homework. Adults cleared their shelves in the belief that everything that was explainable was now effortlessly accessible in their living rooms.
Now these huge books gather dust and sell for almost nothing on eBay. Instead, we get our information from our phones and computers, apparently for free. What have we lost in this transition? And how did we tell the progress of our lives in the past?
All the Knowledge in the World is a history and celebration of those who created the most ground-breaking and remarkable publishing phenomenon of any age. Simon Garfield, who “has a genius for being sparked to life by esoteric enthusiasm and charming readers with his delight” (The Times), guides us on an utterly delightful journey, from Ancient Greece to Wikipedia, from modest single-volumes to the 11,000-volume Chinese manuscript that was too big to print. He looks at how Encyclopedia Britannica came to dominate the industry, how it spawned hundreds of competitors, and how an army of ingenious door-to-door salesmen sold their wares to guilt-ridden parents. He reveals how encyclopedias have reflected our changing attitudes towards sexuality, race, and technology, and exposes how these ultimate bastions of trust were often riddled with errors and prejudice.
With his characteristic ability to tackle the broadest of subjects in an illuminating and highly entertaining way, Simon Garfield uncovers a fascinating and important part of our shared past and wonders whether the promise of complete knowledge—that most human of ambitions—will forever be beyond our grasp.
Library Books
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke
No one cooks up a delectable, suspense-filled mystery quite like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke’s dessert-baking, red-haired heroine whose gingersnaps are as tart as her comebacks, and whose penchant for solving crimes—one delicious clue at a time—has made her a bestselling favorite. And it all began on these pages, with a bakery, a murder, and some suddenly scandalous chocolate-chip crunchies. Featuring a bonus short story and brand new, mouthwatering recipes, this new edition of the very first Hannah Swensen mystery is sure to have readers coming back for seconds…
Hannah already has her hands full trying to dodge her mother’s attempts to marry her off while running The Cookie Jar, Lake Eden’s most popular bakery. But once Ron LaSalle, the beloved delivery man from the Cozy Cow Dairy, is found murdered behind her bakery with Hannah’s famous Chocolate Chip Crunchies scattered around him, her life just can’t get any worse. Determined not to let her cookies get a bad reputation, she sets out to track down a killer. But if she doesn’t watch her back, Hannah’s sweet life may get burned to a crisp.
Afterwar by Lilith Saintcrow
America has been devastated by a second civil war.
The people have spent years divided, fighting their fellow patriots. Now, as the regime crumbles and the bloody conflict draws to a close, the work of rebuilding begins.
One lonely crew, bonded under fire in the darkest days of battle, must complete one last mission: to secure a war criminal whose secrets could destroy the fragile peace that has just begun to form.
Vanilla: The History of an Extraordinary Bean by Eric T. Jennings
Vanilla is one of the most expensive of flavorings—so valuable that it was smuggled or stolen by pirates in the early days—and yet it is everywhere. It is a key ingredient in dishes ranging from crème brûlée to Japanese purin. It is the quintessential ice cream flavor in the United States. Eric T. Jennings explains how the world’s only edible orchid, originally endemic to Central America, became embedded in the international culinary and cultural landscape.
In tracing vanilla’s rise, Jennings describes how in the 1840s an enslaved boy named Edmond Albius discovered a way to pollinate vanilla orchids with a toothpick or needle—an ingenious process that is still in use. This method transformed the vanilla sector by enabling the plant to be grown outside of its natural range. Jennings also looks at how the vanilla craze led to the search for now‑pervasive substitutes, and how a vanilla lobby has fought back. He further unravels how vanilla—the world’s most expensive crop and once considered its most refined fragrance—came to mean “bland.”
This tale of botany, production techniques, consumption habits, and colonial rivalry connects the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, revealing how vanilla has become a potent symbol of the modern global village.
Axe In Hand by Nicole Coenen
Axes, woodchopping, and fire: it can all seem intimidating. But the truth is that with the proper knowledge and technique, they are safe, fun, sustainable passions. What’s more, times have changed. In the past, you may have seen guides that relegated women to organizing and stacking wood—focusing on men as the true outdoorspeople. Yet everyone is capable of chopping with skill and making fires.
Nicole Maple Coenen (nicole_coenen) has made her name (and 5M+ followers) with exactly this message. The techniques and lessons in this book showcase strength and will empower you to find the same in yourself.
Axe in Hand teaches the history and benefits of woodchopping and woodburning as opposed to other energy and heat sources. You can save money, have a lower carbon footprint, or simply use it as a way to form new social connections. You’ll also find:
- The history and anatomy of axes themselves, providing you with a thorough, supportive body of knowledge with which you can choose your own axe to begin your woodchopping journey.
- Comprehensive tutorials on how to chop wood, including stances, hand position, and mechanics of woodchopping, allowing you to begin as soon as you feel comfortable.
- Choosing and sourcing wood, including how to source, sustainable sourcing, estimating, and dealing with sap/pitch and fatwood.
- How to restore and re-handle an old axe.
- Instructions for stacking, storing, and seasoning wood, including information on building a perfect place to store wood and a variety of stacking patterns.
- Burn science and DIY firestarters to use in any situation.
- Stacking for fire, including log cabin, teepee, cone, pyramid, and Swedish stacks.
This comprehensive guide to woodchopping and outdoor living will bring you closer to nature and assist you in developing strength and confidence. No matter your entry point, Nicole is sure to inspire and educate anyone ready to pick up an axe.
I hope you enjoyed my December 2025 TBR. What books are you planning to read this month?
Axe in Hand is very niche, I hope you enjoy it
Thanks. It’s definitely very niche but sometimes I enjoy reading about random subjects like that.