- My New Personality and Identity as a War Buff. Spotify Wrapped was released a few weeks ago, and I looked dispassionately at my top five podcasts, all of which were chatty-style, women-hosted, independent podcasts. It felt like a far-off memory, a whole different world, because over these same past few weeks, I have listened to nothing but the podcast The Rest is History, specifically about the lead-up to and the specifics of World War II. The same Australian man who bonded with me over White Wine In The Sun had recommended it, and, interestingly enough, his wife had recommended Palace Confidential, which I was obsessed with until The Rest is History. I can now listen to nothing else. It’s like my life has been divided into two parts: before the podcast, and after. It has become my entire personality. At this point I have lost count of the number of episodes I have listened to, but I think I am well into thirty hours. In the time Before the Podcast, I would have said that I was pretty well versed in this subject, having received an A in a 300-level German History From 1870 to post-World War II, back in 1995, but I was wrong. I have learned so much. This podcast is incredibly detailed; for example, it took three episodes just to recount the invasion of Poland. I have been robotically reciting facts left and right about the Beer Hall Putsch and the fight for iron ore in Sweden and the 1938 German annexation of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. I have drawn parallels between the slow build of the Nazi party to other international current events. I have been astonished by the vast number of German spa hotels which serve as a backdrop for the strategic goings-on in the 1930s. I have no other topics of conversation. If I am not listening to the podcast, I am thinking about the podcast. When I finished all twenty episodes of World War II, I started in on World War I. I don’t even recognize myself anymore. I am out of control. Next thing you know I will eschew women’s literary fiction and will start reading nonfiction tomes about military strategy. Maybe The Art of War. I have become A War History Buff. I have turned into my own dad. What’s next? Will I start watching the six o’clock news? Will I take up curling? Will I drive into town every morning to pick up a copy of the Calgary Herald and then get into long and involved conversations with the women who work at Shopper’s Drug Mart? I mean, if we substitute “Shopper’s Drug Mart” and “Calgary Herald” for “any place in which I am interacting with a customer service representative,” then I’m already there. If I start swanning around town wearing Dockers, my transformation will be complete.
- I’m a Weirdo, What the Hell am I Doing Here? Although I listen to podcasts – or, lately, A Single Podcast – as I go about the more mundane tasks of my life, I also enjoy a lot of music, and this is where Spotify Wrapped becomes most interesting. When it comes to my top song of the year, it’s never what I think it will be. Indeed, this year’s came as a big surprise. What an eclectic mix of songs! Longtime readers may remember that Dog and Butterfly was, once, my top song, and that was astounding enough. Creep! To be sure, I don’t listen to any one song a lot – Creep had a mere 33 listens – because my favourite playlists are all so long. “Nicole Karaoke” and “Nicole Workout,” my two most-listened to playlists, are 19 hours each, and even “Nicole Christmas” is five and a half hours, which is a lot since, as my sons tell me, there are only six songs in various versions. This is obviously not true, I have more than six songs on my Christmas playlist, although it is a fact that I have five versions of Baby, It’s Cold Outside, and an entire playlist curated by my friend Peggy (HI PEGGY) that is six hours of Last Christmas covers.
- Queens, A King, and Country. When it comes to Top Artists, not one is connected with my Top Songs. Aretha has been my number-one artist for years, and Whitney certainly wasn’t a surprise, but Zac Brown was the dark horse in this race. Truly, things got a bit skewed as my husband insisted on listening to our son’s “Country Bangers” playlist for at least half of a twenty-hour road trip, and “Country Bangers” is, by my estimation, at least 75% Zac Brown. I like Zac Brown just fine, but a number three spot seems excessive.
- Five Star Books, or the Books That I Can’t Stop Thinking About. I know, it’s madness to discuss five-star books two weeks before the end of the year, but this is my third year in a row of doing this exact post at this exact time of the year, and I don’t want to break the chain. Also, I am sure I’ll be noting five-star books of late December next year, just as I am going to mention my final three five-star reads of 2024: The Wedding People, The Knockout Queen, and Tell Me Everything. For 2025 (so far): Moon Road, Isola, Notes On Your Sudden Disappearance, Girl, Woman, Other, Death By A Thousand Cuts, Animal Instinct, What Are You Going Through, Sky Daddy, Show Don’t Tell, So Late In The Day, Shark Heart, Dream Count, Audition, Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar, The Thing Around Your Neck, The Love Haters, The Correspondent, The Road To Tender Hearts.
- Five Star Re-Reads, or the Books I Love Beyond Belief. What, I ask, is the point of having shelves full of books if you’re not going to reread them until they literally fall apart in your hands? It’s a great joy of my life. Here are my five-star rereads of 2025: All Along You Were Blooming, The Husband’s Secret, Mansfield Park, Devotions, Hateship Courtship Friendship Loveship Marriage, Standard Deviation, Single Carefree Mellow, Sandwich, Songs At The River’s Edge, The Joy Luck Club.
There were lots of five star experiences in 2025: we had some great travel, the garden was a success, and I turned fifty. Although, according to Spotify, that’s inaccurate.
I mean, honestly, it’s not wrong. Do you have five-star books, playlists, podcasts, music, or anything to share with me? Tell me everything. xo
I use Apple Music, which tracks total plays and last play but not how many plays in a given year. I think that would be interesting to know.
I am however, on Goodreads so I can tell you my 5-star books for 2025. Asterisks if I think you might like them. They are both very wise and gorgeously written books.
The Snow Child,* by Eowyn Ivey
Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver (at first I thought yes but then I remembered it is largely about drug abuse– also it’s better if you read David Copperfield first, which could be a hard lift, as it’s 900 pages of Victorian lit by a man)
September House, by Carissa Orlando (horror and very gory)
Carpe Jugulum; A Hat Full of Sky; Wee Free Men, all by Terry Pratchett (fantasy parody)
The Shipping News*, by Annie Proulx
Steph, I appreciate you so much because you understand my reading taste so well!!! I feel so seen! You are absolutely right re: Demon Copperhead/ David Copperfield. IT’S A BIG NO FOR BOTH!
I just looked up the Snow Child – what a gorgeous cover. Is it very…magical? If you say it’s gorgeously written I believe you! It’s funny, I have had The Shipping News on my shelf for decades, the actual book. But I’ve never made it past the first chapter. I think it’s too dark and I always pick it up in winter. What I mean by that is that the setting seems dark and grim. Maybe I should make a note to try it in a non-gloomy time of year. Because it really does seem like something I should like! I will remind myself in a few months, maybe spring.
The Snow Child is written in a way that’s balanced between a realistic and fantastical reading. Sometimes it seems as if the child is a real child and sometimes as if she’s a magical creature. It’s really up to you to decide. That was one of the things I liked best about it, the mystery.
I do NOT want to encourage you to read something that will make you sad, but I think you should try The Shipping News at some non-winter time, because it is really good and ultimately very hopeful.
Okay…okay! I will try it, but maybe in spring. It’s too grey here right now!
I will have to think about all my 5 Star things and post about them! My husband loves war history, I need to see if he listens to that podcast, and what is Palace Confidential? I’m intrigued!
OMG Anna, it is all British Royal Family gossip. I am ALL over it. Or I was, before The Rest is History.
In the spirit of turning into your dad, The Century Trilogy by Ken Follett would be a great complement to your new favorite podcast. I listened to the audiobook even.
I’m not ready for end-of-year lists because I’m in denial that it’s end of year and I don’t do them until January. Out of curiosity, I checked my spreadsheet and I currently have twelve five star reads for 2025, so that’s good news! But I’m hoping to add more to the list!
Hmmm….I don’t usually like books by men. But maybe that was Pre Podcast Nicole. Maybe the current version of me would? I will make a note of it.
I love that you are in your world war podcast era. Boy would my dad love for you to come sit close to him and talk about all the things you’ve learned! When I am retired, I plan to audit some history classes because I did not take a single history class in college. The prereq was Western Civ and that sounded so terribly boring, so I took sociology classes to fulfill my humanities requirement (which was quite a low requirement – maybe because I did not go to a liberal arts college which according to my co-worker is the only kind of college a person should attend so clearly I’ve messed up my life. Lol).
I do not have a spotify account but if I did, I would only have 3 artists on the my list – Taylor Swift, Brandi Carlile, and Coldplay (but only one song – you’ve got all my love). I mostly listen to the music when I’m in the car with my kids and then occasionally as background music when I’m working. The kids and I have listened to so many songs from TS’s reputation album this year + the 5 songs from her new album that are expletive free (or mostly).
I will do my top reads post later this month or in early 2026. I am pretty sure the book I’m reading now will be 5 stars – Buckeye. There’s even some WWII elements + Vietnam in it, so maybe it would also be your jam! I just got to a section where a character finds out a secret about his lineage, and the summary of a PTSD-like experience is so apt.
Buckeye is by a man, though, so…I’m not sure? Maybe?
I took a couple of history classes but one of them was all about Visigoths and it was super boring to me. I loved German history though!
I think I need to start listening to podcasts by the sound of it, as I feel like I’m missing out on something. Not that I have Spotify or want Spotify on my smart phone. And I haven’t heard of half the books you mentioned. I really need to up my game. Despite the fat I have nearly 30+ books on the coffee table (unread) and in need of love.
About the only top five thing I could be writing about this year is what I saw on TV while recouping this summer.
I love podcasts and I absolutely love Spotify. We have the premium family plan so all of us listen, we definitely get our money’s worth!
I would add Margaret MacMillan’s book, Paris, 1919: six months that changed the world to your list of top tier sources. If you can, download the audio book from your library. She’s a fabulous speaker. I few years ago I did a deep-dive into World War 1 as I didn’t know much about it compared to World War II – I got an A on my paper about Hitler 🙂 After reading/listening to MacMillan’s book, I had so much more understanding of why the world of today, with it’s many warring factions, is the way it is.
Top reads for me are some of the ones you mentioned, Moon Road, Isola and I am pleased that I just received notification that The Correspondent is on it’s way to my library branch! I would add Margaret Atwood’s memoir, The Swimmers, Human Acts and In Winter I get up at Night.
I love movies as much as books and enjoyed The Friend, both book and movie, The Dead Don’t Hurt, Kwaidan, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (Shelley’s book is my favourite classic), and one of the most moving film’s I saw is I’m Still Here which won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film.
My music highlight was seeing Shawn Desman in concert in November. He was popular in the early 2000s, and has made a comeback. My daughter and I used to listen to him all the time when we were in the car and when we heard he was touring got tickets and had a blast! Pure nostalgia.
I put the Paris book on my list! I am the same – I knew a lot less about WWI than II and wow, are my eyes opened. It truly was the catalyst for so much.
Margaret Atwood’s memoir is on my Christmas wish list, so I hope to be reading it two weeks from now!
I loved the book The Friend, but I don’t think I can handle the movie. I have heard so many good things about Frankenstein! I feel that the story is almost unbearably sad but one of my friends said the movie was kind of hopeful, too.
I have never heard of Shawn Desman! Maybe I’d know him if I heard him.
I’m surprised we don’t have books in common in that WWII is the bulk of my reading list. I recently finished World Enemy No 1, and am currently reading/listening to Hitler’s First 100 Days. Pretty damn scary when you see history repeating itself. I was always told by my favorite teacher, American History Teacher whom I still intereact with on FB; that the reason to learn history is to not repeat it. We don’t seem to do well in that department. I’ve not listen to podcasts, should give it a try; as most of the books I consume are audio. I love multi-tasking. I never re-read books because the list of those I want to read is so long. I love my Libby app and use it on my phone and my ipad.
Oh Sandy, you are so right – history repeating itself is absolutely terrifying! You might really love this podcast!
I don’t know if I’ve ever commented before, but I share your love of The Rest is History so I had to chime in! My mother is a retired history teacher so we both listen and it gives us something fresh for our weekly phone chat. If you ever want variety from the war content I most highly recommend their Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I episodes from earlier this year. They are delightful, with the only downside being the wait for the series to finish next year.
Hi Sarah, thank you SO much for commenting! You know what, I was just looking at the Mary Queen of Scots episodes – I have half Scottish ancestry and yet my knowledge of the country’s history is sadly lacking. The only thing I really know is that they were always fucked over by the English! I am going to download those right now! Thank you!
My listening age is 85. I have to wonder, Spotify consider me dead next year? I’ll tell my husband about your podcast obsession-he loves history podcasts. Maybe it will keep him busy when he retires?
Oh god I hope not, Laura. At one point do you become 102? I thought I was pushing it with being 70 (although my 20 year old son is 45, so percentage wise he won). The podcast is great and I think Bruce might love it. It’s British, and I am 100% more likely to listen to a podcast hosted with a soothing British accent.
My listening age is…wait for it…24. Hmmm. Any chance you think I have a tween and teen in my house. Though I suspect even without them around, my listening age would be quite young.
My Top Five Artists:
1. Taylor Swift (we are in the top 2% of fans in terms of listening time)
2. Connor Price
3. Disney (hahaha)
4. NF
5. Eminem (CLEAN VERSIONS)
There are clean versions of Eminem? Oh wait, of course there are, radio edits. I actually LOVE Eminem, the non-clean versions! But I know your feelings on strong language, so I get it. (remind me to tell you sometime about how I figured out my 1 and 2 year olds were really listening to the words when I played my Late Registration CD in the old minivan. My older son told my mom – MY MOM – that he got no money so he can’t get no hos.)
TWENTY FOUR! I could be your Spotify grandma.
No hos…I AM DYING OF LAUGHTER, Nicole!!!!
And yes, I am a youngin’
Aretha and Tina for the win! Something comes over me when I listen to Aretha: I suddenly feel like I’m In Good Hands, as if She’s Got This and all I have to do is listen and maybe do a teensy bit of swaying or grooving. What a National Treasure she is for the USA (and we can claim very little these days with heads held high).
Thank you for using Swan as a verb. I award you 1500 points.
Now I’m wondering if I should try to find a US Civil War podcast to see if I can possibly overcome my mild aversion to podcasts. Or a President Lincoln podcast? I am a major nerd in those areas, having read a ton of stuff about them and things adjacent. However, it’s astonishing how many odd Jeopardy categories I can clear.
I don’t have Spotify, but I use YouTube Music. It hasn’t identified my Musical Age, but it has labelled me INFJ and a Wise Old Owl. Make of that what you will.
I never know what those Myers-Briggs letters mean, I’ve had people explain them to me and it’s almost like I have a weird mental block. But you do seem like a Wise Owl to me, I don’t know about old, but I’d take it!
If you are a history buff, history podcasts are really great. I love this one! Lots and lots of detail, and great British voices.
I’ve never listened to a war podcast, but way back in perhaps 2008 or 2009, we listened to a class on the Civil War that Yale had on iTunes that was fascinating. You might enjoy it Nance.
https://oyc.yale.edu/history/hist-119
I have to say, I just can’t do anything WW2 anymore. And this is coming from someone whose uncle received a purple heart for WW2 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. I feel as though I spent 20 years reading historical fiction about the war and it’s all too disturbing, esp. with recent sentiment towards Jews. Props to you for diving deep and becoming so educated on the topic.’
I’m guessing my most played song of 2025 is Never Let Me Down Again by Depeche Mode. Only because once you like something on TikTok, the algorithm shows you every variation and it comes up on my feed at least once/week. Speaking of Tiktok, Kari and I were cracking up at a post with your ‘favorite Xmas song’ LOL! I’m talking about Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time. We wanted to send it to you, but didn’t think you were on TikTok. Let me just say, it made us actually like the song – LOL!
You’re right, I don’t have TikTok. I did see a meme about Wonderful Xmas being all about witchcraft, which was cute. I still don’t like the song. It’s the tunelessness I can’t get over!
I haven’t heard Never Let Me Down Again in forever. I love Depeche Mode SO much. Oooh, going to go have a listen. Thanks for the reminder of that excellent song!
I love Never Let Me Down Again, excellent choice.
I love that you are metamorphosing into your father, that is darling and hilarious and unsettling in equal measures, and I cannot wait to discuss the weather with you for a good forty-five minutes and then talk about tires. Tire pressure, tire rotation, tire wear patterns, tire brands. I’m sure there are tireless (ha!) tire topics but that’s all I know SO FAR. And since your previous podcast recommendation was so Spot On I kind of think I need to listen to this one, too.
You and I read five of the same books this year! Is that a record? It feels like a record. The Love Haters, Joy Luck Club, Correspondent, Single Carefree Mellow and What Are You Going Through. Bangers, all.
BWHAHAHA OMG YES. We shall talk about the weather and tires. Perhaps watch the Weather Network together? Comment on all the happenings around the continent? WILL WE HAVE RAIN GAUGES, WE MUST HAVE RAIN GAUGES.
Suzanne! That must be a record! But soon it will be six as I’m reading Wild Dark Shore! You were right, it IS a bit dystopia-adjacent for my liking, but the plot has me intrigued, so on I go!
Rain gauges, tire gauges — we will have all the gauges, Nicole!!!
Okay, I am fearful for your reaction to WDS but I will understand if you don’t love it with all your heart as I did. I WILL I SWEAR.
It is so far out of my wheelhouse, but I am super intrigued by the Rest Is History? Will I, too, transform into my dad? Only time will tell…
I mean, I didn’t see this coming for me since it is SO far from my usual, but you never know!
I love that you are 70 years old when it comes to music! I probably am too, but I don’t have Spotify, so I dont’ know for sure. But I do love the oldies!
I’m glad that you’re enjoying the history podcasts and learning so much.
My top five books for 2025 are:
1. Remarkably bright creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. (I know you didn’t like that one, but gosh, it was my number one favorite book this year.)
2. Mrs. Plansky goes rogue by Spencer Quinn
3. Caroline by Sarah Miller
4. In the time of five pumpkins by Alexander McCall Smith
5. The blue castle by L.M. Montgomery
Let’s hope 2026 will be filled with many amazing books!
OK, I need to reread Caroline, I loved it so much.
Michelle, we would be grooving together listening to 70s soft rock and disco. How fun would that be?
I have so many books on my TBR that 2026 is sure to be a good reading year!
Sign me up for The Rest is History. I was just pondering WWII since I’ve hit that part of the Alfred HItchcock canon. I’m watching the movies in reverse order, so it’s gone from “Germany’s entire reason for being is to kill all Americans” to “OK, you can throw in a few comments but don’t name a specific country” to “we’re just going to pretend the war isn’t happening since we’re not in it yet”.
Our mutual 5 star reads are: The Wedding People, Sky Daddy, The Correspondent, and The Road to Tender Hearts. My other 5 star reads this year are: The Blue Castle, We Were the Lucky Ones, What Kind of Paradise, One Good Thing, Nesting, and This American Woman. Gone With the Wind is my 5 star reread!
TV wise I just finished season 2 of The Gilded Age, so you know I’ve been in a good mood all day. I’m going to torment myself by waiting to start season 3 until next month to make it last.
SKY DADDY!!!!! I would have never known about it had it not been for you, what a great book. I still think about it all the time.
I’m so jealous that you have all of season 3 to look forward to! I think I’ll rewatch the whole series before season 4 drops, just as a refresher.
I think you’ll love The Rest Is History – lots of topics to choose from too!
I think I need to listen to Palace Confidential, and then who knows, maybe some war stuff, not sure. I think I’d have to start with WWI and then move on to WWII.
Do you like British Royal Family gossip? If so you are going to LOVE Palace Confidential. Also I just love hearing British accents, so it’s very fun to listen to.
As a Swiss school kid, we had German WWII history backwards and forwards. To the extent that when I saw loud and raucous German football crowds this summer waving the German flag, I felt very uneasy.
Crazy, right? But it wasn’t only me, all the other (Swiss) volunteers at the football game felt the same.
All this to say I NEED to get hold of that podcast “The Rest is History”! I like history and I still have so many gaps to fill! Thanks for the recommendation, Nicole!
I think you’ll really like it, Catrina, although you are probably much more knowledgeable going in than I was! I found it absolutely fascinating, how WWI was really the catalyst to the rest of the century, and how things unfolded. Also, discussion of inflation in post WWI Germany was so interesting, I mean, I knew there was inflation but I did NOT realize the extent. This old economist (me) was fascinated!
Nicole, wearing Dockers would be a silent call for help, so I’m keeping an eye on you.
I love that you loved Wedding People, too. It was one of my favorites, but many people didn’t care for it. I enjoyed Knockout Queen, but didn’t love it. Oh, I just started The Correspondent yesterday-Squee!
I’m giggling at your top songs, top artists. Mine are always so varied, even though I don’t use Spotify, I know it’s an eclectic mix.
It would be a call for help!
Oh I hope you love the Correspondent like I did!
Five star music: chill mix on Spotify, focus playlist on Spotify and evening jazz on Spotify.
Books: I am a slow reader. One memorable book was The Names.
Podcasts: always Sarah-Hart Unger, and the girls next door 🙂 Suze Orman, too.
Your music is so interesting Daria! It’s so soothing!
I feel like anyone who knows you at all is going to raise an eyebrow at Creep being your number one song! I am apple music, which I am fine with except for not getting the end-of-year thing. I am not in denial about it being the end of the year, but I do not have my shit together enough to know my top five anything (although The Names is up there for books). My Christmas playlist also has 11 versions of Baby It’s Cold Outside and about the same number of versions of River. I also love Please Come Home for Christmas. But I can listen to the same song over and over for hours – it soothes my nervous system.
Hahaha I KNOW. Creep! I just…okay.
BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE. I feel like we should duet it. I’ll start singing and assume you’re singing along.
I also love Please Come Home For Christmas.
I don’t listen to podcasts on Spotify, just music. I just checked out my wrapped and it said “Taste like yours can’t be defined. But let’s try anyway” probably because I listened to 120 genres and my top genres where CCM, Electropop, Pop Rap and Electro and I had a listening age of 30. My most listened-to song was “Great Are You Lord” because I needed to practice it a lot, since the piano took the lead in most of it. I played along with the song on Spotify when I was practising.
I reread Sharon Penman’s Welsh Trilogy and loved it just as much as the first time. I think I may need to get back to some of her other series because, from memory, I think they were even better.
I usually do a 100 things that made my year post at the end of the year so I will need to look back at all my 5-star things for that. I really should start collecting them now.
120 genres. Wow! Melissa! I’m just…that’s a lot of genres. A listening age of 30! I’m fascinated by this!
I’m so interested in your book wrap up! GOing to look for _Hateship Courtship Friendship Loveship Marriage_!
It is one of my all-time favourites!
I am saving your five star book list as my 2026 TBR, I trust your picks!!! Thanks for sharing.
My music age is probably 15 as I share the account with my 9 years old.
Haha, yes, it probably is!
I hope you love those books Coco! We have similar taste I think.
This is so funny- a couple years ago I also got obsessed with The Rest is History, specifically the WWI and WWII episodes. I started them on a car trip with my son and went on to listen to all of them- yes they go into a LOT of detail so there were lots of episodes to listen to. I stopped listening once I got to the end of WWII though. Maybe someday I’ll get into a mood to learn about another period of history and I’ll go back to them.
That is SO funny! The episodes are all so good! And now I’m finished all of them and have moved on to…wait for it…Jack the Ripper. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME JENNY.
I have no lists..lol. My air pods fizzled out about 7 months ago so I haven’t listened to many podcasts since then. Hoping Santa brings me a new pair in a couple of weeks. Then, I’ll be back on track. With our big move, I botched on my Good Reads goals. There’s always next year!
Oooh I hope you get some air pods too! They make listening so much easier, rather than dragging the phone around.
Spotify told me that my listening age is 23, and I don’t know what to do with that information. Am I secretly Gen Z??? It’s all the Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo I listen to, sigh. I can’t stop with the pop girlies!
I added that podcast to my listening TBR SO DAMN FAST. I love having a long backlist to listen to. Yay!
I have 3 of your five-star reads! The Wedding People, The Correspondent, and The Road to Tender Hearts. One of the last two will probably be my overall favorite read of 2025. Still deciding!
Those books are so good!!
Maybe you are not a millennial after all! There should be some discourse on the way you part your hair now, as far as I know.