Hello, everyone! 2025 was an interesting year for me involving moving, starting a new job (at a library!), and a whole lot of life changes overall. Unfortunately, my reading pace suffered because of it. I spent much of the early year rereading childhood favorites, and the rest has been a little hodgepodge since. There aren’t as many books to talk about as I would have liked (only 23 out of a 35-book goal), but I’d like to share the little bit I do have!
How was your year in reading? What are your bookish goals for this year?
Rereads
I started off the year rereading some A Series of Unfortunate Events books, including my most favorite installment, The Slippery Slope (#10). I think I appreciated each of these books even more now than I did reading them as a child.
- The Carnivorous Carnival (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #9) by Lemony Snicket
- The Slippery Slope (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #10) by Lemony Snicket
- Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2) by Suzanne Collins
- Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3) by Suzanne Collins
- The Grim Grotto (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #11) by Lemony Snicket
18. Ellen Foster (Ellen Foster, #1) by Kaye Gibbons
This was the only book I truly disliked this year. It’s only a little over a hundred pages, but it was so dull and, in my opinion, distasteful. Not my favorite.
17. I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison
It’s hard to say whether the bigotry in this text is another aspect of its horror or if it’s simply a clumsy, biased work. Personally, I’m more inclined to think the latter. The short story’s sci-fi horror is indeed splendid, but some of its attempts at insight read a little too senseless for me.
16. The Amazing Book is Not on Fire by Daniel Howell & Phil Lester
This was a fairly silly, indulgent read, but I (or the inner child) enjoyed it! It packs a decent amount of content, and it’s very much a time capsule for early 2010s teen internet culture.
15. Spooky Appalachia by S. E. Schlosser
As short story collections go, there were ones I liked and ones I didn’t. Overall, it’s a decent collection, and I’m glad to have read it!
14. Celtic Sunrise: Stories & Music by Claudine Gandolfi
There are only a couple stories in this collection, and they seemed told well enough. I really enjoyed the music CD paired with it!
13. Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson
I’m not much of a memoir reader–or celebrity memoir reader–but after seeing the Pamela, A Love Story documentary a few years ago, this one was vaguely on my radar. When I saw it at Goodwill, I thrifted it, read it, and enjoyed it!
12. The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
This was a rich, enticing blend of fantasy and historical fiction. Although I didn’t find the characters particularly likable, they were all strong and intriguing. It wasn’t necessarily a personal favorite, but I can definitely see why it would be for others!
11. The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus, #1) by Rick Riordan
After seeing so many mixed perspectives on the spin-off series of Percy Jackson & the Olympians, I came into this with measured expectations. I ended up enjoying it a good deal! I can see how the multiple third-person perspectives (as opposed to PJO’s singular first-person POV) could be a jarring adjustment to a younger reader, but it serves the story well.
10. The Son of Neptune (Heroes of Olympus, #2) by Rick Riordan
This was a fun installment! The plots of the series seem pretty straightforward thus far, but I really enjoy how each book expands to accommodate new characters.
9. The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, #1) by N. K. Jemisin
This is a bit of a strange book. It flings you into a well-developed but hard-to-follow world, with several slow storylines following diverse characters. I spent a good deal of the book confused, but it really is a story best enjoyed with little prior knowledge. I think once you get it, you’re invested (just don’t read it in spurts over many months like I did!).
8. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
While this one didn’t top Gone Girl for me, Sharp Objects was very engaging with intriguing characters. I don’t read many thrillers, but this seemed like a good one to me!
7. Startlement: New and Selected Poems by Ada Limon
Poetry collections have tended towards underwhelming for me, but not this one! It is so bright and evocative. I tabbed so many poems in this beautiful collection (although I do think I favored the selected ones over the new ones).
6. Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid
I quite like this short coming of age novel. Annie John is a somewhat odd, sometimes cruel little girl that I related to in ways. I was particularly intrigued by the depicted sanctity of relationships between girls or women and girls and how allegiances to men can interfere with them.
5. The Raven Boys: The Graphic Novel (The Raven Cycle: The Graphic Novels, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater
While imperfect, I would say that this was a pretty good adaptation. I loved seeing the characters and setting illustrated. As it’s somewhat diluted, I think it’s better appreciated after reading the original series–that’s how I would’ve best enjoyed it.
4. Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
After starting three different manuscripts and losing my way moving into the finale with all of them, I decided it was time to start reading some writing craft books. I was already very familiar with the Save the Cat beats, but reading the book was still helpful!
3. Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games, #0.5) by Suzanne Collins
Binge reading is something I hardly do with my increasingly dismal attention span, but this one got me to do it! While I did have a few qualms with the book, I overall really loved it (and cried a ridiculous amount).
2. Brutes by Dizz Tate
If you asked me when I first read this book if it’d be one of my favorites of 2025, I would’ve said no way. Similar to The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides, I didn’t think I really liked the book until I couldn’t stop talking about it for months. I still can’t say I loved Brutes, but it really got me thinking, which I believe is what a good story should do. (And I actually binge read this one too!)
1. Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life with Words by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge
Up until this year, I’ve hardly read any nonfiction that wasn’t a memoir. It was never really my thing. But this book left such a lasting impression on me — it really changed the way I thought about things, particularly writing. I feel like I’ve spent many years trying to recapture the way I’d voraciously consume and love stories when I was much younger, when the books that most resonate with me now needn’t be like that at all. This book truly was very freeing. It was such a beneficial read for me. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who gets too stuck on perfectionism in writing!
As 2025 came to a close, I was admittedly disappointed in my reading for the year, especially since I failed my reading goal by such a large margin. But taking the time to reflect more on what I actually read, I do feel better.
I have so many interesting books lined up for the new year, and I’m surrounded by more readers in my life than ever. I’m very excited for what 2026 has in store!
Have you read any of the books on this list? Any favorites? Least favorites? What were your top books of 2025? Bottom ones? I’d love to hear your thoughts below!
Little Bit of All That 