Writers are first and foremost readers. I’ve heard some writers complain they don’t have time to read anymore, and I get it, but I also don’t get it. After all, reading is our first love, the thing that set us on the writing path. I’ve had more time than usual to read this year, but even if I hadn’t, I’d still make time. The girl with her nose in a book – that’s me (also, a VERY different version of Lisbeth Salander!).
Last year I read 59 books, and I managed to top that with 60 books this year! As always, I don’t have a number I strive for, and many of these “books” were short story or novella length, but hey, it all counts.
I also didn’t set myself a particular reading challenge for 2025, and now, looking back at what I did read, I can see that a lot of it was somewhat disappointing. I won’t set myself a specific challenge again in 2026, but I do think I will try to be more focussed and more discerning.
So, without further ado, let’s have a look at the books that shaped my reading year.
(PS: If any of these books interest you, please consider using my affiliate links. They won’t cost you any extra, but I will get a small commission to fuel my book-reading habit. Thanks!)
Books I Read for Review
This year I resumed my post at the book reviewing website I used to work for, and I chose to read the following three books. While I’m not allowed to review them anywhere else, I think it’s safe to say that one of them was quite good, one was clearly written by AI and didn’t live up to it’s potential, and another one wasn’t really my cup of tea and needed a lot more polish. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which were which!
Books About Travel
At the start of 2024, I planned a wonderful 2-week trip to France over Christmas, which didn’t pan out (fortunately, as things turned out), but I did get to travel vicariously through the country via this guidebook. If you’re a planner like me, this book is great and has lots of detailed maps. My only complaint was that the text is very small and proved to be challenging for someone who’s avoiding her first trip to the optometrist.
Books on Writing and Marketing
As someone who needs to deep-dive into research before I can do anything, I will always be reading about writing and marketing. This year’s selection of books was extraordinarily good, barring a few exceptions. I will particularly recommend The Intuitive Author, Playing the Short Game, and Sustain Your Author Career, if those seem interesting to you.
Other Non-Fiction Books
I need more non-fiction in my life! I can’t recommend Pandora’s Jar enough, and Alexandria was fascinating and has instilled in me a deep longing to visit this ancient city.
Books that were Okay
Reading is subjective, and although some of these have rave reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, they just didn’t do it for me, for whatever reason (although some of them were really enjoyable in parts, but had issues overall, in my opinion). Don’t let that deter you though – you might just love them.
Books that I Liked
This list is quite eclectic and although they weren’t perfect, they were all enjoyable in their own ways. JA Andrews and HG Parry never disappoint, and I also particularly liked JT Lawrence’s The Highfire Crown with its South African setting, as well as the general weirdness of Piranesi, Gideon the Ninth, and The Knight and the Butcherbird.
Books that I Loved
I loved every book on this list! Alix E Harrow is always an insta-buy for me, and this year I had the pleasure of discovering Des Brown’s writing as well. But my favourites by far seemed to be the three young adult romances – which is a total surprise because I am so over YA and I generally prefer my romance as a side story!
So, favourite book of the year? Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes was by far the best of them all, with a close second and third going to Marissa Meyer’s With A Little Luck and Tweet Cute by Emma Lord!
I can’t wait to see what books 2026 has in store for me!
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? What was your favourite book of 2025? Do you have any recommendations for books I should read in 2026?
