Each December, I like trying again at my yr in books. My studying at all times finally ends up reflecting every part else in my life. It reveals what I’m inquisitive about, what’s impressed me, and the way I’ve grown. This yr, I really feel like actually obtained to fall again in love with studying a lot extra deeply.

For the primary time shortly, I wasn’t studying for analysis or a problem. I used to be simply studying for enjoyable, having fun with late nights turning pages, underlining favourite strains, and chasing that feeling of being utterly swept away. I dove into the romantasy craze, rediscovered my love of epic fantasy, and beloved quite a lot of fascinating reads on sociology, philosophy, and metaphysics.

All of it added as much as certainly one of my most satisfying studying years ever. It was enjoyable, thought-provoking—stuffed with books that made me assume deeply and really feel every part. Listed below are a few of my favourite reads from 2025.

Complete books learn: 93

Fiction to non-fiction ratio: 61:32

(Word: All hyperlinks are Amazon affiliate hyperlinks.)

Fiction

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

OMG. I don’t know if this was truly higher than the primary guide (which made my record final yr), or it’s simply that I’m effectively and actually hooked now, however I freaking beloved this guide. Greatest novel-reading expertise I’ve had in in all probability ten years. I used to be experiencing literal anxiousness towards the top because the suspense saved ramping and ramping. And the cliffhanger… no phrases. I used to be simply blissful I got here to the collection late sufficient that the third guide was actually every week from popping out once I completed this one.

A Court docket of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

I discovered the primary guide within the collection intriguing (regardless that it completely threw me when it shifted MMCs). However this one… this one was perfection. Liked the utilization of a single POV, the extremely wealthy characterization throughout the board, the attractive and scrumptious romance, the stellar worldbuilding, and the attractive prose. Tour de pressure.

A Court docket of Wings and Wreck by Sarah J. Maas

This one wasn’t fairly as electrifying because the earlier one (above), however the delectable and deep characterization, the well-realized world, and the deft development of plot and stakes makes it eminently readable and gratifying.

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Elegant. It’s a profound poem of magical realism that stays grounded within the unending appeal of its humor. Amidst the taken-for-granted absurdities of Orlando’s very lengthy life, there arises an nearly ineffable perspective on the infinities that reside inside us all amidst our unusual relationship to time—the paradox of our brief and finite lives feeling like they’re by some means connected to all issues and all time without delay.

Depraved: The Life and Instances of the Depraved Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

I began this guide a few years in the past once I was too younger to “get it.” Returning now, after watching the movie adaptation and the Broadway musical, I used to be delighted and swept away by the story, which in some ways is as totally different from the musical as it’s from the unique Wizard of Oz. The prose is a delight, as is Elphaba, the primary character. The primary half of the guide is by far the strongest, and the second half doesn’t pack fairly the identical punch as the primary, particularly these heady years of Elphaba as a budding radical at Shiz College. On the entire, I really feel that the place the musical falters, the guide is healthier, and the place the guide falters, the musical is healthier. Notably taken collectively, they’re a tour de pressure of that uncommon factor: a frothy leisure that’s highly effective in its thematic subversiveness.

Non-Fiction

The Easy Path to Wealth by JL Collins

One in every of my resolutions this yr was to get clearer on monetary technique (particularly as a self-employed individual). This guide was a favourite. It has a cult following and is pretty much as good as everybody says it’s. In my expertise to this point, I’d say that should you’re solely going to learn one guide on finance in your life, that is the one. Collins’s recommendation is straightforward, easy, and cuts to the chase. It’s a quick learn, and each web page is filled with stable, sensible recommendation.

The Important Rumi translated by Coleman Barks

If I might give this guide greater than 5 stars, I might. What can one say about Rumi that’s even adequate? Sacred transmissions and poetry of the soul. A lot knowledge and pathos and cheekiness and depth past depth. I’ll learn Rumi all my life.

The Social Building of Actuality by Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann

After I first picked up this guide again in 2017, the primary sentence blew my thoughts so onerous I actually couldn’t maintain studying: the declare that our conception of actuality is a social assemble, and that the sociology of data should uncover how this occurs. That concept stayed with me for years and in some ways utterly reshaped the best way I considered my life, the world, even about writing.

Coming again to the guide this yr, I lastly learn it by way of—and whereas it’s brief, it’s additionally terribly (and, for my cash, unnecessarily) dense. It’s an enchanting exploration of how a lot of what we take as “given” on this planet and in ourselves is definitely the results of collective human development. It’s not nearly why society seems to be the best way it does, however about why we’re who we’re and what meaning for our sense of id, company, and freedom. It’s the sort of guide I do know I’ll have to reread, however even one go is sufficient to crack open assumptions about actuality in ways in which by no means fairly shut once more.

Turning into Supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza

This was the third and closing guide by Joe Dispenza I learn this yr, and every one appeared to surpass the final in impression. I discovered it deeply inspiring, providing insights that not solely inspired me to reside a greater life but in addition helped me deliver extra construction and readability to practices I’ve already been exploring. Total, the expertise felt significant and helpful, leaving me with a stronger sense of route and understanding.

My Books

And if all these goodies aren’t sufficient to fill your To Be Learn pile subsequent yr, listed below are just a few extra! 🙂

Wordplayers, inform me your opinion! What had been your high books of 2025? What number of books did you learn? Inform me within the feedback!

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