Normally when I look back over a year it feels like time has flown. That’s not been the case with 2025. So much has happened, a fair amount of it not great, that I’m not sad to bid it adieu.
There are a couple bright spots, though — namely my reading. I decided to lean into what makes my weird little heart happy, and the result is one of my best reading years ever.
Show me the numbers
- Total books read: 97 (+4 DNFs)
- Total pages: 27,000+
- Fiction/Non-fiction: 63/34
- Physical/Audiobook: 85/12
My Top 10 of 2025
Links to my reviews where applicable.
- A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (Becky Chambers) – A reminder that we have value regardless of our ambition or accomplishments.
- The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (Michael Pollan) – Finally convinced me to start getting meat from local sources.
- The Change (Kirsten Miller) – Women gaining literal powers post-menopause. Freakin’ fabulous.
- World War Z (Max Brooks) – A totally unique approach to the zombie apocalypse trope.
- The Domestic Revolution: How the Introduction of Coal into Victorian Homes Changed Everything (Ruth Goodman) – Has got me constantly thinking about the butterfly effect.
- The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Becky Chambers) – A glorious character-focused scifi tale.
- Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic (Tabitha Stanmore) – A deep dive into the history of folk magic and how it originally differed from witchcraft.
- The Lost Tomb: And Other Stories of Bones, Burials, and Murder (Douglas Preston) – Mysteries and murder, well-written.
- The God of the Woods (Liz Moore) – Immersive setting, characters you love to hate, and a solid mystery.
- The Trouble with Mrs. Montgomery Hurst (Katie Lumsdon) – Unexpected, with bittersweet vibes all around.
My least favorites of 2025
- DNF – Till We Have Faces (C.S. Lewis) – Too heavy on religion, and I found the main character annoying and hypocritical.
- Song of the Northwoods (Jessica Huang) – Poorly written and completely unbelievable.
- Once There Were Wolves (Charlotte McConaghy) – Too much happening, heavy-handed commentary, dingbat main character.
- DNF – The Jungle (Upton Sinclair) – More heavy-handed commentary, the author’s main argument comes too late.
- I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons (Peter S. Beagle) – Too many genres, had promise but fell flat.
- The Husbands (Holly Gramazio) – Took too long to get to something more interesting than “attic spits out different dudes the main character hates for no reason.”
- The Housekeepers (Alex Hay) – The author was trying to do and comment on too much, too many characters with not enough personality.
- DNF – The Dead Sea: A 10,000 Year History (Nir Arielli) – Not bad, just not for me.
- A Place for Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order (Judith Flanders) – Fascinating topic with far-reaching implications, but a little too academic for me.
- The Pumpkin Spice Café (Laurie Gilmore) – Cozy to the point of saccharine and entirely predictable.
Observations and thoughts
- This was a much better reading year for me because I gave up on trying to force myself to enjoy things that aren’t in my nature to enjoy. I don’t want to spend 100% of my reading time 100% in my comfort zone, but I feel more comfortable saying no to things I think I “should” read.
- While the themes I read stayed pretty consistent compared to 2024 (science/ethics, women’s stories, history, civilization vs. chaos), the tones I leaned into were less dark and intense. It seems I preferred hopefulness, humanity, and comfort — totally unsurprising, given how rough this year has been.
- Things I loved
- Unique “what-if” thinking
- The hidden depths of the ordinary
- Speculative or historical storytelling
- Excellent narratives balanced with character development
- Things I disliked
- Heavy-handed commentary
- Non-fiction that’s sprawling (10,000 years of history) instead of intimate and focused (daily domestic life)
Here’s to more great books in 2026!
Photo by Susan Q YinonUnsplash
