It pains me to say it but I really struggled with reading in 2025. I was excited and fired up to tackle a bunch of books and, honestly, there were full weeks where I struggled to even read a page. If you’ve read my year in review post, you’ll know I struggled with brain fog a lot through the year, and I really feel like that had a huge impact on my ability to focus even on reading—the thing I love to do most in the world! Anyway, let’s dig into the year’s books, shall we?
The Reading Challenge
The challenge I set myself for 2025 was to read 40 books. I cut myself a break as I struggled to hit my goal in 2024 but I didn’t get very far with my goal for this year either!
The Facts & Figures
According to Storygraph, I logged and read 21 books. I read 6,442 pages and the average book length was 309 pages (slightly up from last year actually so maybe the fact I read slightly longer books redeems me a teeny bit!).
Reading List Breakdown
I read:
- 15 novels
- 1 book of short stories
- 4 business books
- 1 general non-fiction
And I had 11 books I didn’t finish this year.
Notable Mentions
There were really only a few books that wormed their way into my heart in 2025. I’ll talk about those here.
Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa
I picked up this book after stumbling across a list of book recs of stories by Palestinian writers and I was totally blown away by the writing. I’ve really only learned about the plight of the Palestinians in the last few years (to my shame) and it’s novels like these that give a human backdrop to the headlines we’ve seen in western news outlets for decades about this area of the world. The story is bleak and not easy to read, but it’s really fucking important. If you can, I highly recommend you try.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
2025 is the year I got stuck into easy romances. This was my first introduction to Emily Henry and I wasn’t disappointed. It was such a fantastic read and I fell in love with the characters. Just a beautiful, fun, light read that I really needed with the way my brain was this year.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Back to something a lot more weighty but also incredibly memorable. I think it was the cover that captured my interest when I picked up this book and, when I first started it, I almost gave up because it was definitely a little unusual in pace and style of writing. I’m so glad I stuck with it though because the story was really well thought out and so very different (and there’s even a massive twist you don’t see coming!). An excellent read.
The Burning by Laura Bates
I’d only read Laura Bates’ non-fiction work until now but this novel, which is probably in the realms of YA, was an excellent read. A story that’s very “now” in terms of dealing with online bullying but firmly rooted in the ancient and historical world of witchcraft (and the assumptions that were made about women in those times, too). Excellent piece of writing.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
I read this and then watched the movie towards the end of the year and apart from the fact the movie runs through the story much faster than the book (to its detriment), I loved reading and watching the story in both mediums. A.J. Fikry is a grumpy but really likeable man and this story, with its twists and turns, was just beautifully put together. There was laughter and there were definitely tears, as well as shocking revelations. I loved everything about this book.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
I picked this book up after seeing all the online hype about it and… I definitely wasn’t disappointed. In fact, I was thoroughly charmed by this novel. It was so beautifully written, I fell in love with the characters, including Marcellus, the incredibly clever octopus. The story went to places I definitely didn’t expect and it all wrapped perfectly and left me feeling very satisfied by the end. I do love it when books do that.
A Final Word
In 2024 I really embraced the DNF and I carried that through into 2025. I had 11 books I started but didn’t finish, choosing instead to move on and read something else. I think the number of DNF’s was definitely pretty high and I’m sure it had a lot to do with my focus levels and the brain fog I struggled with massively through the year. I’m half-wondering if I would find it easier to read some of those books now. That being said, there are more books out there than I’ll ever be able to read so if a book isn’t capturing me, then stopping and moving on is the right thing to do.
This year was more about novels than anything else. Some novels were read purely for research purposes—i.e. They were stories that had some connection to the novel I’m writing and I’m in the process of looking for comps for when I start querying my novel at the moment. I still don’t have any comps yet, it has to be said.
I also embraced the smutty romance this year! Mostly because they were quick and easy to read and they were definitely a guilty little pleasure I needed to pull me out of the foggy brain space I was in. No shame, those books were FUN to read.
All in all, it was a year of interesting reading and I’m definitely fired up to outdo myself with my books this year. Aiming for 40 again, but I’ll take anything over 22 as a win!
If you’d like to watch my reading progress through the year, I keep track in three places: Goodreads, StoryGraph and Fable. Feel free to connect with me on any and all platforms so I can see what you’re reading too. And, as always, happy reading!
