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Christa’s Year In Books

Christa’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Christa’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to Christa’s 2025 Year in Books

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Chad Nykamp

220 books | 89 friends

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2,672 books | 747 friends

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13,798 books | 1,020 friends

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407 books | 8,345 friends

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4,237 books | 3,386 friends

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72 books | 445 friends

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Christa Banister

Goodreads Author

Born

in Madison, Wisconsin, The United States

January 02

Website

http://www.christabanister.com

Genre

Fiction, Contemporary

Influences

Ashley Poston, Dev Sonali, Nora Ephron, Nick Hornby

Member Since

November 2007

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/chicnovelist

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While growing up in a no-stoplight town in a land of perpetual winter in northwest Wisconsin, books were author Christa Banister’s constant companion during hundreds of freezing days spent indoors.

Reading was Christa’s window to a world she was dying to explore. She didn’t travel much until after college, so those frequent trips to the library took on special meaning because it allowed her to escape to the English countryside. The bustling streets of New York City. Or the far-flung islands in Greece.

Surrounding by a veritable sea of books, Christa had an important epiphany as a pre-teen re-reading Judy Blume’s Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. When she figured out that Judy’s job—her actual paying gig—involved making up stories for a living While growing up in a no-stoplight town in a land of perpetual winter in northwest Wisconsin, books were author Christa Banister’s constant companion during hundreds of freezing days spent indoors.

Reading was Christa’s window to a world she was dying to explore. She didn’t travel much until after college, so those frequent trips to the library took on special meaning because it allowed her to escape to the English countryside. The bustling streets of New York City. Or the far-flung islands in Greece.

Surrounding by a veritable sea of books, Christa had an important epiphany as a pre-teen re-reading Judy Blume’s Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. When she figured out that Judy’s job—her actual paying gig—involved making up stories for a living (!!!), well, Christa knew that’s what she wanted to do.

Christa majored in journalism at North Central University in Minneapolis and worked as a reporter at a medium-sized newspaper an hour away during her junior year. After covering a couple of horrific events she couldn’t unsee, she realized that being His Girl Friday wasn’t in the cards. After graduation, she moved to Nashville where she wrote about singers because no one would ever mistake her for having musical talent.

Nashville is where Christa’s professional writing career took off. She wrote about music and books for a number of print and online publications. One of the best writing gigs she snagged involved reviewing movies for 15 years. Good, bad, really bad, and everything in between, she screened 60-70 films a year and acquired a PhD in the Marvel/DC universe. Celebrity profiles were also a favorite part of her job.

As much as Christa loved her work in the entertainment industry, writing a novel was never far from her mind. When one of her editors passed along a contact at a publishing house he wrote for in Colorado Springs, she pitched what became her first novel, Around the World in 80 Dates. A year later, Blessed Are the Meddlers followed, a modern take on Jane Austen’s Emma.

As her print clients dwindled with the changing of the guard and many online outlets no longer wanted to pay for content, her beat changed in 2018. The bulk of her freelance work centers around mental health, addiction, and recovery these days, which has been incredibly rewarding.

When Christa wasn’t ticking assignments off her to-do list, she wrote The Honorary Italians. The idea sparked by stirring a homemade Bolognese sauce with a complete stranger at a pasta-making class in St. Paul, she says she never had more fun writing and researching anything in my life.

“It’s the book I always wanted to write,” she says.

Christa is represented by Mark Gottlieb at Trident Media Group.

She and her husband Will ditched the snow for the blazing heat in DFW and love to travel, watch old movies, cheer for their respective NFL teams, and are always on the lookout for a new restaurant, bookstore, or watching their favorite bands when they come to town.
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Combine Editions
Christa Banister’s books

Average rating: 3.3 · 250 ratings · 47 reviews · 3 distinct works

	Around the World in 80 Dates: Confessions of a Christian Serial Dater (Sydney Alexander Series, Book 1) 3.22 avg rating — 203 ratings — published 2007 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blessed are the Meddlers (Sydney Alexander Series, Book 2) 3.62 avg rating — 45 ratings — published 2008 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hungry: An Ultra-Vertical Devotional Adventure really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2003 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

211 posts
Christa Banister's Blog

My Favorites of 2026 (So Far)…

It’s the halfway point of 2026 already (!!!), which basically means #summerreadingcommence.

Per usual, my TBR is completely out of control. But I’m looking forward to making a serious dent during the crazy hot Texas summer. So instead of turning lobster red in The Great Outdoors, you’ll probably find me in my favorite reading chair. Or at a local coffee shop sipping an iced concoction while escapin

Christa is Currently Reading

Christa is currently reading

The Midnight Train (The Midnight World, #2)

by Matt Haig (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Jun 04, 2026 06:27PM

Christa is currently reading

The May House: A Novel

by Jillian Cantor (Goodreads Author)

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Jun 01, 2026 02:11PM

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Christa’s Recent Updates

Christa is currently reading The Midnight Train (The Midnight World, #2) by Matt Haig (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 04, 2026 06:27PM · like
Christa rated a book liked it Meet Me in Italy by Brenda Novak (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 04, 2026 06:26PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Meet Me in Italy by Brenda Novak. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Meet Me in Italy by Brenda Novak <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Christa rated a book it was amazing Dig In!: Over 100 Easy, Delicious, and Stress-Free Recipes to Make on Repeat (A Cookbook) by Erin O'Brien	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 02, 2026 04:29PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Dig In! by Erin O'Brien. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Dig In! by Erin O'Brien <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Christa is currently reading The May House: A Novel by Jillian Cantor (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 01, 2026 02:11PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The May House by Jillian Cantor. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The May House by Jillian Cantor <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Christa is currently reading Meet Me in Italy by Brenda Novak (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 25, 2026 06:11PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Meet Me in Italy by Brenda Novak. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Meet Me in Italy by Brenda Novak <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Christa rated a book really liked it The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 25, 2026 05:30PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Christa rated a book liked it Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 11, 2026 09:22AM · 1 like · like
Christa rated a book it was amazing This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 06, 2026 05:21PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Christa rated a book really liked it Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 18, 2026 06:21PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Christa rated a book it was amazing Hemingway's Spanish Table: A Culinary Journey in 60+ Recipes by Howie Southworth	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 16, 2026 05:32PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Hemingway's Spanish Table by Howie Southworth. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Hemingway's Spanish Table by Howie Southworth <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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