Happy end of 2025 reading summary! And what a year it was for books. Last year, I read 60 books – and this year I JUST beat that with 63! Woohoo! I had a great year in terms of reading, with a wide variety of books – nonfiction, fiction, romance, YA, thrillers, historical fiction, memoirs, self-help etc. Thanks to Goodreads, I know that I read 24,000+ ages this year and the average book length was 193 pages AND the longest book I read was 733 pages!

Here’s a look at everything I read in 2025:

• The Goddess of Warsaw by Lisa Barr
• Havoc by Christopher Bollen
• The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict
• The Good Deed by Helen Benedict
• Kill for Me, Kill for You by Steve Cavanagh
• The Wishing Spell (The Land of Stories, #1) by Chris Colfer
• Is She Really Going Out with Him? by Sophie Cousens
• The Spellshop (Spellshop, #1) by Sarah Beth Durst
• Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings
• American War by Omar El Akkad
• The Guest List by Lucy Foley
• Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
• One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
• Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
• Two Twisted Crowns (The Shepherd King, #2) by Rachel Gillig
• One Dark Window (The Shepherd King, #1) by Rachel Gillig
• The Pumpkin Spice Café (Dream Harbor, #1) by Laurie Gilmore
• The Tell: A Memoir by Amy Griffin
• A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor (The Carls, #2) by Hank Green
• An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (The Carls, #1) by Hank Green
• Fahrenheit-182: A Memoir by Mark Hoppus
• Just for the Summer (Part of Your World, #3) by Abby Jimenez
• None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
• The River Is Waiting by Wally Lamb
• When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut
• Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
• Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Lloyd McNeil’s Last Ride by Will Leitch
• A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang
• The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
• The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
• The View From Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani
• Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
• Baby City by Freida McFadden
• You Belong with Me by Mhairi McFarlane
• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
• Circe by Madeline Miller
• It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan
• The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
• Frankie by Graham Norton
• A Keeper by Graham Norton
• Everyone Is Lying to You by Jo Piazza
• The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
• Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
• The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston
• Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It by Richard V. Reeves
• The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbinsa
• Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3) by J.K. Rowling
• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
• The Family Game by Catherine Steadman
• Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
• The Push by Ashley Audrain
• Leather & Lark (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #2) by Brynne Weaver
• Butcher & Blackbird (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #1) by Brynne Weaver
• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
• The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
• The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young
• Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5) by Sarah J. Maas
• Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass, #4) by Sarah J. Maas
• Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
• Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore
• The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin

Here are some of my thoughts on the books:

Books I Didn’t Expect to Love So Much (in a good way!)

Circe by Madeline Miller – A retelling of a Greek myth? Didn’t know that I could love a book like this so much. Read it!

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and its sequel, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green – I can’t just pick one of these books – they go together. It’s rare a sequel is just as good as the first book, but these two books are equally great and should be read together. So fun and different!

The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb – After reading the first few chapters, I didn’t think I could read any more. It deals with an awful family tragedy, and I didn’t WANT to read any more. But I’m glad I did. Were there tears shed? Yes …. but after the first few chapters the book dove into other topics that were truly interesting and it was a sad but good read.

Frankie by Graham Norton – Yes, Graham Norton can write – and this book was heartwarming, cozy, and delightful. Read it!

Books That I Couldn’t Put Down

Note – I’m not saying these were the best books I read this year. They were books that yes I enjoyed, but also books that I found either the plot so gripping or books that left me on the edge of my seat so that I had to keep reading.

Kill for Me, Kill for You by Steve Cavanagh – A fast-paced psychological thriller about two strangers who agree to swap murders. Twisty and dark, it kept me turning pages late into the night.

Books Surprised Me (Not saying these were my favorite books – but I didn’t dislike them like I thought I would!)

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney – I will be the first to admit that I’m not a lover of Sally Rooney — I have read most of her books and my brother loves her, but I’m not usually a big fan. Intermezzo was the first book of hers that I really really enjoyed. I often find her characters unrelatable and unlikeable, but this book was different.  I’m glad I read it!

Of Boys and Men by Richard Reeves – Honestly, I didn’t think I’d enjoy a book about why boys are struggling in today’s society – especially as a woman – but it really surprised me. As a mom of two boys, it made me pause and look at things differently. The book dives into the challenges boys and men face in education, work, and family life, and it opened my eyes to perspectives I hadn’t considered before. It was thought-provoking and gave me a lot to reflect on.

Books That I Liked the Concept of More Than the Actual Book

Like I’ve said before, I’m not saying these weren’t good books. They had good concepts and I know people who enjoyed each of them! But I think I loved the idea behind them and had high expectations – and somewhere in there, the book didn’t meet the expectations for me.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab – I LOVED The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, so I expected to love this story. And I really liked the first parts of it, but the ending fell flat for me. I stopped liking the main character and didn’t enjoy how it all wrapped up.

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid – I read a few books about refugees this year, but this wasn’t my favorite. I read it in book club, and we had a great discussion, but there were a few too many holes in the book for me. Oh well!

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid – I love TJR, but this wasn’t my favorite book. I thought the whole astronaut training portion was so interesting, but I didn’t love the relationships in the story. I didn’t think they were very developed … at least compared to her other books!

Some questions for you:

• What are you reading right now?
• What was your favorite book of 2025?
• What book did you recently read that you recommend?