{"id":105566,"date":"2025-12-04T08:23:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T13:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/?p=105566"},"modified":"2025-12-16T11:04:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T16:04:09","slug":"a-genealogist-asks-what-are-you-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/a-genealogist-asks-what-are-you-reading.html","title":{"rendered":"A Genealogist Asks: What Are You Reading?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega shares some of the books she\u2019s read in 2025 that helped with her genealogy research. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The year 2025 is almost behind us, which means, for some of us \u2013 including me \u2013 our annual reading goal is approaching. Every year, I participate in the Goodreads Reading Challenge by picking the number of books I want to read. This helps me focus on what I want to read as I navigate the year.<\/p>\n

The site declares:<\/p>\n

\u201cGoodreads<\/a> is the world\u2019s largest site for readers and book recommendations. Our mission is to help readers discover books they love and get more out of reading. Goodreads launched in January 2007.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Photo:<\/p>\n

Photo credit: https:\/\/depositphotos.com\/home.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Goodreads is an app where you can follow authors and your friends, learn about books, and create virtual shelves to organize books that you want to read, have read, or even own. I use Goodreads to keep track of books I want to read and have read. This helps me have this information in one place that I can easily search at home, at bookstores, or at libraries.<\/p>\n

In the Goodreads app, you can choose an annual reading goal. For the last few years, my goal has been the same: 80 books. And for the last few years, I have come up short. I usually end the year having read about 68 books.<\/p>\n

But to be honest, I don\u2019t care. In my opinion, what\u2019s important is to read. This isn\u2019t a competition; it\u2019s a reminder of the importance of reading. At the end of the year, I can look back to see what I have read and how that has benefitted me. So, whether your goal is 5 books or 100, it\u2019s a great way to track your reading.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/p>\n

Photo credit: https:\/\/depositphotos.com\/home.html<\/a><\/p>\n

What Am I Reading?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As I write this, I have read 61 books. These books span fiction and non-fiction, though I read more non-fiction. They include graphic novels, true crime, mystery, historical fiction, and, of course, genealogy. I enjoy books that are either historical or demonstrate a research process that might apply to genealogy or historical research. But I also enjoy reading fiction as a \u201cpalate cleanser\u201d after some of the non-fiction I read.<\/p>\n

A few books that I have read that you might enjoy, and that are applicable to genealogy, include:<\/p>\n