Tag: Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books

My Top 25 Books of 2025

I am a couple weeks late on this. Many of my book reading blogger friends were more on top of it and posted their list during the first week of the new year. They took their Goodreads Year-end wrap ups and chose their 10 favorite books and posted them.

This year I read 50 books this year. I didn’t stray too far away from the types of books I like to read. I read plenty of fiction, some non fiction, historical fiction, biographies, and murder mysteries. Narrowing the list down to ten was more difficult than I thought, but here are my top ten reads of 2025 (with links to my posts about each).

10. The Book of Cold Cases – A thriller that follows two timelines. In 1977, the Lady Killer Murders took place and the main suspect is acquitted. In 2017, a true crime blogger runs into the main suspect and asks to interview her.

9. I Hope This Finds You Well – A workplace novel that was a fun read. An employee is accidentally granted access to everyone in the office’s email boxes. What she learns and what she does with the information brings about some funny and uncomfortable situations.

8. Surely, You Can’t Be Serious – A behind the scenes look at the movie Airplane! told by the creators. If you are familiar with the movie, you will be replaying scenes in your head as you read this. This is loaded with fantastic stories.

7. Dead Wake – This is the nonfiction story of the sinking of the Lusitania. For years I read books on Titanic, but I was unfamiliar with this story. A very well written account.

6. Kill For Me, Kill For You – This was SO good. It is a marvelous twist on Strangers on a Train with an ending I never saw coming.

5. The Deal of a Lifetime – This little short story/novella from Fredrik Bachman is one that will make you think about your life and legacy. It is a powerful message presented in a heartwarming story. I have yet to read a bad Bachman book.

4. Shemp! – As a Three Stooges fan, I’ve read all the biographies available on the boys. Finally, Shemp Howard gets a biography! Loaded with stories and information, readers will realize that there is a whole lot to learn about Shemp.

3. Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books – Another reviewer said this book: “takes an important, heavy, timely topic and makes it highly entertaining and extremely relatable while never sacrificing deep meaning, contemplation, and human empathy.” It was a ride that will have you feeling all the emotions.

2. Reports of His Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated – Despite the fact that my recommendation posted a little over a week ago, I read this one in 2025. The book has a similar premise to the book in my number one spot, but each are very different. At times it was very funny and at other times, I held my breath to see what happened next. A great story.

1. The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife – Hands down the best book I read last year. It was the one that I recommended to my reading friends. Frederick’s journey in the shoes of the deceased Bernard is one that will have you laughing and crying. It was a book that will stick with you long after reading it. It contains one of my favorite quotes: “You’ll never regret being kind even when people aren’t kind to you.”

I’d love to hear if you’ve read any of these and what you thought. If any of them are new to you, then you should have some to add to your “To Read” list.

I set my book reading goal for 2026 is 50 books. I’m hoping to exceed that this year.

Book Recommendation – Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books

It has been a while since a book has run me through the entire gamut of emotions. I just finished one that had me laughing out loud one minute and angry as hell then next. The book will make you feel “pity, horror, righteousness, relief, joy” and more. Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books was a fantastic read with a wide range of characters. It tackles some strong subject matters and “taboo” issues, yet is entertaining and enlightening.

One reader’s review said that the book, “takes an important, heavy, timely topic and makes it highly entertaining and extremely relatable while never sacrificing deep meaning, contemplation, and human empathy.” I think that really sums it up nicely.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

The provocative and hilarious summer read that will have book lovers cheering and everyone talking! Kirsten Miller, author of The Change, brings us a bracing, wildly entertaining satire about a small Southern town, a pitched battle over banned books, and a little lending library that changes everything.

Beverly Underwood and her arch enemy, Lula Dean, live in the tiny town of Troy, Georgia, where they were born and raised. Now Beverly is on the school board, and Lula has become a local celebrity by embarking on mission to rid the public libraries of all inappropriate books—none of which she’s actually read. To replace the “pornographic” books she’s challenged at the local public library, Lula starts her own lending library in front of her home: a cute wooden hutch with glass doors and neat rows of the worthy literature that she’s sure the town’s readers need.

But Beverly’s daughter Lindsay sneaks in by night and secretly fills Lula Dean’s little free library with banned books wrapped in “wholesome” dust jackets. The Girl’s Guide to the Revolution is wrapped in the cover of The Southern Belle’s Guide to Etiquette. A jacket that belongs to Our Confederate Heroes ends up on Beloved. One by one, neighbors who borrow books from Lula Dean’s library find their lives changed in unexpected ways. Finally, one of Lula Dean’s enemies discovers the library and decides to turn the tables on her, just as Lula and Beverly are running against each other to replace the town’s disgraced mayor.

That’s when all the townspeople who’ve been borrowing from Lula’s library begin to reveal themselves. It’s a diverse and surprising bunch—including the local postman, the prom queen, housewives, a farmer, and the former DA—all of whom have been changed by what they’ve read. When Lindsay is forced to own up to what she’s done, the showdown that’s been brewing between Beverly and Lula will roil the whole town…and change it forever.

There is a line in the book that really stood out to me. Actually, there are many, but this was the first one that hit the nail on the head. “When you have everything, the only luxury left is taking things from others.”

This is a book that I felt had a little bit of something from everyone. It also hits on things that are timely today. As I listened to the audio book, I found myself seeing just how many of the things discussed in the story were relatable to what is happening in our world today.

I will say one last thing. The ending is a bit cheesy, but it certainly doesn’t take away from the story. I actually liked the way everything wrapped up. I would recommend it to anyone who asked me what I thought of it. As a matter of fact, I’ve already reached out to many of my reader friends and suggested it.

Five out of five stars