Favorite Books Read in 2025

This post details my reading for 2025 and my recommended books.

One of my favorite recaps of the year is about all the books I read. I’ve always enjoyed reading, and I’ll always be glad for the year I came back to it. It takes motivation (like a goal and desire) and convenient tools (like an e-reader and a library card) to get into a reading routine. (Here are a few more tips for reading more.)

Of course, solid recommendations also help. I’ve learned that they’re very subjective, so take a person’s recommendation or an award list with a grain of salt. For example, I read a book this year that made it to multiple best-of lists, and I hated it. So, as with most recommendations in life, tailor your choices to your preferences.

All that said, read on to learn about what I read this year!

Book Stats of 2025

Here’s a quick look at all the books I read this year.

• Books read: 56
• Pages read: 20,169
• Average book length: 360
• Average rating: 3.3/5
• Shortest book: 115 (You Better Be Lightning)
• Longest book: 544 (Onyx Storm)
• Non-fiction: 11
• Memoirs: 9
• Romance: 17
• Historical fiction: 4
• Audiobooks: 29
• Books for book club: 9
• Books that became movies: 4

Favorite Books of 2025

Here are 14 books I read and recommend. You’ll find a variety of genres on this list. Some themes I found among my favorites were memoirs with grief, novels involving multi-generational families, and feel-good romances. I hope you find a future read on this list!

Real Americans by Rachel Khong

This is a tale of two time periods. In one, Lily and Matthew, two opposite people, fall in love. In another, Nick, raised by Lily, decides to search for answers. This immersive novel will make you consider the ability to alter your destiny.

Historical fiction
Destiny, family, privilege

The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

June Farrow is waiting for the madness that has plagued the women in her family. She starts hearing and seeing things. I can’t say too much without giving things away, but know this story stayed with me and was a beautiful story about love.

Fantasy
Magic, romance, mystery

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

“I am Ana. I was the wife of Jesus.” It’s unknown whether Jesus was ever married, but this meticulously researched novel shares what the story could be if he had been. From the wife’s perspective, this book focuses on her life while illustrating Jesus’ humanity. It gives additional details to the lives of the other women in his life, like his sister and mother, who are briefly mentioned in the bible because of patriarchy. I enjoyed this book because it shows a perspective I hadn’t considered before. While some might think the book is blasphemous, I think it shows depth of love and respect and can enhance a person’s understanding of Jesus.

Historical fiction
Jesus, feminism, reverence

This Motherless Land by Nikki May

How do the choices of others affect our life path? Funke and Liv are cousins whose lives come apart and together by the choices of others, misunderstandings, and fate. I like the way the story unfolded, though frustrating at times and slightly predictable at the end. If you want a story spanning multiple generations, you’ll like this one.

Fiction
Belonging, identity, friendship

The Wedding People by Alison Epach

This was an unexpected favorite book of mine this year. Lila, a bride who has planned every detail of her wedding, including booking out the entire inn for her guests, didn’t plan for Phoebe, a sad woman at her rock bottom, who had booked a room as a romantic getaway with her husband. They become unexpected and somewhat unwilling friends bonded by the wedding drama. This book is funny! Note – there is a trigger warning for suicide.

Fiction
Humanity, humorous, gentle

The Women by Kristin Hannah

This novel is centered around Frankie, who joins the Army Nurse Corps in 1965 to follow her brother’s path to Vietnam. She endures the destruction and heartbreak of war. The journey is a bit predictable, but the story is still engrossing. You’ll cheer Frankie on from start to end. The Women is a tribute to women who have served the country.

Historical fiction
War drama, female empowerment, heart

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

In Emily Henry’s new book, she veers a bit from her usual romance to a more contemporary novel. This book reminded me of Taylor Jenkins Reed’s books. In this one, you’ll meet Alice and Hayden, both writers who are competing for the opportunity to write Margaret Ives, heiress of a tabloid-favorite family. You’ll find the dialogue and banter I like in Henry’s books, and the slow burn of two people getting to know each other.

Romance
Enemies-to-lovers, mystery, drama

A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung

In Nicole Chung’s second memoir, she finds understanding in the lives of her adoptive parents. In sharing this story, she also analyzes grief, guilt, and inequalities of life in the U.S. This book resonated with me because it describes what it’s like to care for your parents when they become elderly.

Memoir
Grief, adoption, legacy

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

Charmaine Wilkerson’s book Black Cake was one of my favorite books a few years ago, so I was looking forward to her new novel. Wilkerson has a way of unfolding a story with chapters of past and present, and this story involves Ebby, a traumatic event, and a centuries-old jar that has been in her family for generations.

Historical fiction
Contemporary, mystery, family

One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune

Carley Fortune is a popular romance author, and her books are focused on summer love. In this one, Alice is a photographer looking for inspiration while taking care of her grandma, and Charlie is a dreamboat perfect man. The story unfolds perfectly, complete with a sassy grandma as a supporting character, and you’ll be wishing you could experience the summer magic of Barry’s Bay yourself. This book is related to Fortune’s book Every Summer After – Charlie is the brother of that book’s leading man, Sam – and it would be more enjoyable to read that book first, though not necessary.

Romance
Summer, light-hearted, family

Between the Mountain and the Sky by Maggie Doyne

This memoir will make you cry. In 2005, before starting college, Maggie Doyne took a gap year and traveled to Nepal. That experience called her to build a home in Nepal, adopt 50 children, and start a non-profit organization. The memoir details the entire journey and her thoughts throughout the process. As if the story isn’t fascinating enough, Doyne’s writing pulls you in, and you feel the depths of her emotions. This book will remind you of the needs of others and inspire you to lend a helping hand.

Memoir
Inspiring, thoughtful, heart-warming

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

“A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon.” This novel is set on Shearwater, a (fictional) remote island near Antarctica, where researchers had been cataloging the world’s largest seed bank. This story is filled with detailed nature descriptions, secrets, and beautiful illustrations of love in multiple forms. If you want an epic tale, this is one!

Fiction
Nature, mystery, relationships

Heartwood: The Art of Living with the End in Mind by Barbara Becker

This memoir is heartbreaking and heart-expanding. Barbara Becker shares stories about her experiences with grief and death, challenging readers to not be afraid of death and to prepare for it thoughtfully. This is a book to savor.

Memoir
Grief, inspiring, heartfelt

You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson

I hadn’t heard of Andrea Gibson until her death this year. Her journey with cancer is what many know about her, and she is also a talented poet. Her writing is raw, progressive, and honest. From climate change to dying, Gibson’s book shows vulnerability, acceptance, and a call-to-action.

Poetry
Honest, thought-provoking, raw

Reading Goals for 2026

I’m keeping my goal of 55 books in 2026. Per last year’s goals, I did branch out to more science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary fiction.

This year I want to read classics I’ve missed, including:

• 1984
• Little Women
• Pride and Prejudice
• Animal Farm
• Wuthering Heights
• Lord of the Flies
• The Scarlet Letter
• Brave New World
• The Diary of a Young Girl

What was your favorite book this year? Send me a recommendation!

P.S. Here are my book recaps for 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017.