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| I sure hope audiobooks count because that's what I mostly used this last year... |
Happy New Year, friends!
I love this time of year for the feeling of fresh starts and reflection. Especially because reflection can involve list-making, which is one of my favorite things. These next two days on this blog will have several lists, and here's the first, all about what 2025 looked like through the lens of the books I read!
I'll write some thoughts on my top 10 books at the end, but I usually had something to say about each of these which you can check out on my Goodreads account HERE. If you want to compare this list to the previous years, here is a link to my label "What I read in".
Key: If it has an asterisk (*) then I listened to an audiobook version. If I cried during it, it has a tilda (~). If I talked about it on my blog, then the post is linked in the title.
New-to-me fiction (novels/short story collections, etc.):
The Night Circus - by Erin Morgensen
The Red Tent - by Anita Diamant ~
The School for Good and Evil - by Soman Chainani *
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street - by Karina Yan Glaser *
Spindle - by W. R. Gingell
Timeline - by Michael Crichton * (I started reading this in a physical copy, but then switched to an audiobook)
Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy - by Karen Foxlee *
The Early Cases of Hercule Poirot - by Agatha Christie *
Keeper of the Lost Cities: Legacy - by Shannon Messenger
Last Bus to Wisdom - by Ivan Doig
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared - by Jonas Jonasson
Geek Girl - by Holly Smalle *
Gaudy Night - by Dorothy L. Sayers
The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden - by Karina Yan Glaser *
Betsy-Tacy - by Maud Hart Lovelace *
Beartown - by Fredrik Backman ~
Pippi Longstocking - by Astrid Lindren *
The Chronicles of Harris Burdick - by Chris Van Allsburg, Lemony Snicket, Tabitha King, Jon Scieszka, Sherman Alexie, Gregory Maguire, Cory Doctorow, Jules Feiffer, Linda Sue Park, Walter Dean Myers, Lois Lowry, Kate DiCamillo, M. T. Anderson, Louis Sachar, & Stephen King
Fangirl - by Rainbow Rowell
Scaramouche - by Rafael Sabatini
The Top-Secret Journal of Fiona Claire Jardin - by Robin Cruise
The Forgotten Magic of Zoey Turner - by Erin Stewart
Total: 23
New-to-me non-fiction (essays, memoirs, etc.):
Boy: Tales of Childhood - by Roald Dahl *
May, Lou, and Cass: Jane Austen's Nieces in Ireland - by Sophia Hillan
Maus I: My Father Bleeds History - by Art Spiegelman
Total: 5
Novel rereads:
Who Could That Be at This Hour? - by Lemony Snicket *
All the Crooked Saints - by Maggie Stiefvater ~
When Did You See Her Last? - by Lemony Snicket *
Anne of the Island - by L. M. Montgomery
Shouldn't You Be in School? - by Lemony Snicket *
Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights? - by Lemony Snicket *
The Carnivorous Carnival - by Lemony Snicket *
The Slippery Slope - by Lemony Snicket *~
The Grim Grotto - by Lemony Snicket *
The Penultimate Peril - by Lemony Snicket *
The End - by Lemony Snicket *~
Total: 12
A lot of Lemony Snicket, I know...
Grand Total: 40
Of those:
- 19.5 were audiobooks, which is about 49%.
- 3 were translated from another language (all of them share that language, as it was Swedish. That's what going to Stockholm for a week will do to one). I hope for more hispanic lit this year as that was a favorite of mine in 2024.
Books I "DNF"-ed:
My Calamity Jane - by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows. Rule of Wolves - by Leigh Bardugo. A Red Herring Without Mustard - by Alan Bradley. Going Solo - by Roald Dahl *. Not If I Save You First - by Ally Carter *.
My 10 Favorite New-to-Me Books of 2025:
1. Beartown - by Fredrik Backman: There are not enough words to describe this book. It is hard and sharp around the edges as the characters put up their defenses and learn to not trust each other. It's about what happens when a sport such as hockey takes over everything and disintegrates community. Yet through the horrific events, people grow stronger and learn to stand up for what is right. It's painful, glorious, and amazing. It's finding joy in a game and learning what it means to be teammates.
2. Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy - by Karen Foxlee: A marvelous modern-day fairytale almost, where it's about finding magic and going on an adventure to protect people. It's lowkey what I was expecting yet did not get from The Little Prince - by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Absolutely adorable and I will protect the two main characters at all costs.
3. Geek Girl - by Holly Smalle: I ADORE the TV show (season 2 is possibly coming this year??) and this book was just as much fun. Harriet is one of the most relatable fictional characters of all time. She's trying to fix her life and the solution that pops up has the potential to make everything both better and infinitely worse. It's playful and heartfelt and full of struggles of talking and trying to be normal.
4. The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden - by Karina Yan Glaser: This is just so adorable and makes me wish my town had a community garden. I listened to this while doing a lot of work on my own garden which made me feel closer to the Vanderbeekers. Such a sweet sequel (I liked it better than the first even *gasp*) and the knit-bombing was my absolute favorite part.
5. And Then There Were None - by Agatha Christie: Iconic and shocking. Absolutely incredible how once the momentum gets going it never. ever. slows. down. Pacing perfection. It's such a famous mystery but also suspense and horror and tragedy which put together is a masterpiece from Agatha Christie.
6. The Early Cases of Hercule Poirot - by Agatha Christie: If the previous book was a showcase of Ms. Christie's writing power, this one demonstrates her comedic timing. I'd been reading this for a couple of years so I lost track of how many times I giggled while listening to this. Hastings and Poirot are such an underrated duo and I loved the cleverness and burns that were present in every story.
7. Boy: Tales of Childhood - by Roald Dahl: I think Roald Dahl's books are best enjoyed being read aloud and Dan Steven's narration on this one fits the bill. Dahl takes tales of mischief and tales of abuse and tales of excitement and wraps them up in each other in a delightful way.
8. The Red Tent - by Anita Diamant and Catholicity and the Emerging Personhood - by Daniel Horan: These are a tie because they were both read for the same theology class and therefore are intertwined for me. Horan's book is so gentle as it examines a new way to perceive others and I have incorporated "whole-making" into my life. Meanwhile, Diamant's story is a retelling of the story of Dinah and is heartbreaking and brutal. I think it is such an important perspective to have for those who know Jacob's story, even if it was a little much for me at times. It's about forgotten narratives and abuses being painted as liberation, all of which are a magnificent scream to not be abandoned.
9. The Chronicles of Harris Burdick - edited by Chris Van Allsburg +14 amazing authors tell the tales: Any book of short stories I pick up is going to be read over several years, and this last year had some of the best for last. I remember getting this book for Christmas AGES ago and thought it was a boring book about boats and didn't even consider opening it up. I was so wrong as it is about more than boats, but caterpillars and harps and chairs and houses and magic. Such a creative concept and so well executed by a stunning cast, if you will.
10. Gaudy Night - by Dorothy L. Sayers: It took me a while to get into this, but when I did, oh boy. It was so much fun to explore the foibles of humanity and try to figure out what would lead to a mind that would do such cruel things. Both Harriet (the second one of this post!) and Peter grew on me and I would not mind another story with them. I'm in luck because that exists.
Since I finished school this year, I feel like I was finally able to get back into reading, which makes me so happy after the last few years!
Thank you all for reading! What are your top 10 books of 2025? Have you read any of these? Are there any other Swedish books I should read? Do you know any other fictional characters named Harriet besides Harriet Manners and Harriet Vane?
Wishing you all a most wonderful year. See you soon for my top movies of 2025!
Chloe the MovieCritic
