My 25Favorite Reads of 2025

I read more than 165 books in 2025. So today I thought I'd sit down and look back on my reading year and share some of my favorites with you!

Watch Me

Tracking My Reading

I can never remember what books I've read. The only way to keep myself from constantly picking up books I previously read is to keep a log. The main way I track my reading is in Google Sheets. Yep, Geek-Alert! I keep a spreadsheet. I have been doing this for 6 years now, and I love being able to look at the data (especially when I'm at the library or bookstore and need to know if I've read a book before).

In addition to tracking the titles and authors of the books I read, I also track several other things.

• Format: Book, Audio, eBook

• Source: Library, Own, Spotify, Libro.fm, Audible

• Pages: How many pages was the book?

• Genre: Fiction or Nonfiction

• Sub Genre: I read everything from historical fiction to science fiction to self-development to fantasy

• I also track if it was part of a series, if it was read for a book club and if it's a re-read for me

2025 Data Summary

You might not care a ton about all my data, but here are a few interesting facts.

• Over 80% of the books I read came from the library.

• More than 50% of my books were Audiobooks.

• About 10% of my books were Non-Fiction.

• I read multiple books across 16+ genres.

• My most read genres were Women's Fiction, Romance, Family Fiction, Literary Fiction, and Historical Fiction.

  
  

My Rating System

One of the most important things I track is how I rate a book. I use a 5-star system, and this is what each rating means to me.

5 Stars: Everything about a 4 Star book, plus I wouldn't hesitate to reread it sometime.

4 Stars: I loved this book so much, I want to recommend it to everyone.

3 Stars: I thought the book was very good and I enjoyed it. I might recommend it to the right person.

2 Stars: Either the book seemed poorly written, or I didn't enjoy it, but I did push through to finish it. I wish I hadn't.

1 Star: I never use this rating. If a book looks like it's going to be a 1-star book, I DNF it.

DNF: Did Not Finish.

25 of My Favorite 4 and 5-Star Reads of 2025 (scroll down for shopping links)

Book Shopping Links

(As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you)

Sociopath  https://amzn.to/3KHfCsN

Body Thrive  https://amzn.to/490G4FA

Scream with Me  https://amzn.to/4s00yY1

The Love Haters https://amzn.to/4qcAqHt

Only Love Can Hurt Like This  https://amzn.to/48WhAgQ

In The Likely Event https://amzn.to/4p0lsDy

Before Dorothy  https://amzn.to/4qjV2xD

My Friends  https://amzn.to/48ZMpRT

The Road to Tender Hearts  https://amzn.to/3MHwKza

Remarkably Bright Creatures  https://amzn.to/4q8Sylu

Twice  https://amzn.to/4pEn5I8

Call of the Camino  https://amzn.to/4pE9MaG

The Briar Club  https://amzn.to/4j6KJdR

Beach House Rules  https://amzn.to/4anFd4r

The Poppy Fields  https://amzn.to/4aoH8Wq

The Other Side of Now  https://amzn.to/4pRByki

Sipsworth https://amzn.to/48KMD0f

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife  https://amzn.to/3KZSlCf

The Guncle  https://amzn.to/492vSwy

Wild Dark Shore  https://amzn.to/4aod3pP

House of Glass  https://amzn.to/3L7gI12

The Women of Arlington Hall https://amzn.to/4s5tOws

The Pines  https://amzn.to/4s5tOws

Wayward  https://amzn.to/3KHE0um

The Last Town  https://amzn.to/3MBY5mq

True Biz  https://amzn.to/3KHilT3

Bonus Books –

Anxious People https://amzn.to/495XCjW

A Man Called Ove https://amzn.to/4qgM9Vp

Project Hail Mary  https://amzn.to/4qi0kd8

Audible Membership: https://amzn.to/4aq1qPm

Books Info In Spreadsheet Format

Title	Author	Genre
		NON-FICTION
Sociopath	Patric Gagne	Memoir
Body Thrive	Cate Stillman	Self-Development/Ayurveda
Scream with Me	Eleanor Johnson	Social Sciences
		FICTION
The Love Haters	Katherine Center	Romance
Only Love Can Hurt Like This	Paige Toon	Romance
In The Likely Event	Rebecca Yarros	Romance
Before Dorothy	Hazel Gaynor	Literary Fiction
My Friends	Fredrik Backman	Literary Fiction
The Road to Tender Hearts	Annie Hartnett	Literary Fiction
Remarkably Bright Creatures	Shelby Van Pelt	Literary Fiction
Twice	Mitch Albom	Literary Fiction
Call of the Camino	Suzanne Redfearn	Women's Fiction
The Briar Club	Kate Quinn	Women's Fiction
The Poppy Fields	Nikki Erlick	Women's Fiction
The Other Side of Now	Paige Harrison	Magical Realism
Sipsworth	Simon Van Booy	Friendship Fiction
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife	Anna Johnston	Humorous Fiction
The Guncle	Steven Rowley	Humorous Fiction
Wild Dark Shore	Charlotte McConaghy	Suspense/Thriller
House of Glass	Sarah Pekkanen	Suspense/Thriller
The Women of Arlington Hall	Jane Healey	Historical Fiction
The Pines (book 1)	Blake Crouch	Science Fiction
Wayward (book 2)	Blake Crouch	Science Fiction
The Last Town (book 3)	Blake Crouch	Science Fiction
True Biz	Sara Novic	Coming of Age

There were many more great books, but these stood out as the best of the best (in my opinion). I hope you check out a couple of them and give them a read. There is bound to be something in this list of books that you will enjoy too!

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