Wednesday, 31 December 2025

My Reading Year 2025

I read a lot in 2025! My reading goal for 2025 was 35 books, which I surpassed reading 45 titles this year - over 15,500 pages! When planning for 2025, I had a stack of books on my to-be-read pile, and managed to read only a handful before I got distracted, as I always do, by other titles. 

So here's what I read in 2025:

Fiction

This was the year I finally immersed myself in the Elizabeth Strout universe. I began the year with Olive Kitteridge, Strout's Pulitzer Prize winning novel. I jumped ahead to her latest novel, Tell Me Everything, which was shortlisted for the 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction. I then went back to the beginning and read her debut novel,  Amy and Isabelle. I am now fully converted to her genius and plan on exploring more of her work next year.

Another author that I have had on my radar for years but never conquered was Hilary Mantel. This year I read two-thirds of her Cromwell Trilogy with the Booker Prize winning Wolf Hall and its sequel Bring Up the Bodies.  I have started the final novel in the series, a hefty hardback of The Mirror in the Light, but will not complete it this year. 
Literary award longists added many titles to my reading list. Among my favourite novels this year were by Australian authors - Melanie Cheng's The Burrow (Stella Prize), Emily Maguire's wonderful Rapture (Stella Prize) Fiona McFarlane's linked short stories in Highway 13 (Miles Franklin Award), and Evie Wyld's ghostly tale, The Echoes (Victorian Premier's Prize). The 2025 Women's Prize introduced me to two heartbreaking novels which I still think about: Yael Van Der Wouden's The Safekeep and Roisin O'Donnell's Nesting. Carys Davies' lovely novel Clear (RSL Ondaatje Prize) was also brilliant. 

I wanted to read Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead ever since it was published and won the Women's Prize (among other accolades) in 2023, but I felt compelled to re-read Charles Dickens' David Copperfield first. I am so glad I did, as it greatly enhanced my reading of Kingsolver's remarkable novel. Having recently tidied my bookshelves, I find that I already possess a number of her novels so I look forward to exploring her back catalogue.

Other titles that had been languishing unread on my shelves finally moved up the to-be-read pile. I loved Anne Enright's The Green Road and am slowly working my way through all of her books.  Alex Miller's A Brief Affair, Penelope Lively's Heat Wave, Sarah Waters' The Paying Guest and Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here were great reads in 2025. I also finally read Barbara Trapido's Brother of the More Famous Jack which I had heard about for years. 

Some of the series that I have been following had new novels published. I really enjoyed Suzanne Collins' Sunrise on the Reaping, Tara Moss' The Italian Secret and Philip Pullman's The Secret Commonwealth. I have been saving Pullman's latest and last novel in the Lyra Bellaqua series - The Rose Field - but will read that next year. 

Taylor Jenkins Reid's Atmosphere, a novel I read without any expectations, was such a beautiful, heartbreaking story it left me sobbing. Another great standalone novel was Liz Moore's The God of the Woods.

I love a good crime thrillers, especially 'Aussie Noir'. This year I read Hayley Scrivenor's Girl Falling, Chris Hammer's  Legacy (another Martin Scarsden pageturner), Jane Harper's Last One Out and Garry Disher's Sanctuary. I read two Irish crime novels by Dervla McTiernan - The Scholar and  The Good Turn in the DS Cormac Reilly series. I enjoyed the latest in the Strike/Ellacott series by Robert Galbraith, The Hallmarked Man. I also started Mick Herron's Slow Horses series after being gifted a box set of his novels, and will undoubtedly work my way through these next year. 

Non-Fiction

This year I didn't read as much non-fiction as I had planned to and will need to rectify this in 2026.

I really enjoyed the Quarterly Essays this year. I have subscribed for the past decade and each year there are usually one or two on topics that I am not that interested in. This year I read George Megalogenis' Minority Report (QR96), Hugh White's Hard New World (QE98) and Sean Kelly's The Good Fight (QE100).

I read Anne Applebaum's Autocracy Inc when it was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction.  Janet Malcolm's essay collection Nobody's Looking at You, had been lingering unfinished for a while so I was pleased to have completed that. 

I read two memoirs this year which I loved. I borrowed Kate Grenville's Unsettled from my mother after she raved about this personal journey of reconciliation. Hannah Kent's Always Home, Always Homesick was such a delight - transporting me to Iceland and making me long to read Burial Rites again. 

I will read anything Helen Garner writes, including a book about footy - The Season. I also loved her book with Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein, The Mushroom Tapes, about the trial of Erin Patterson who bumped off her husband's family with a deadly beef wellington.

My last book for the year was Niki Savva's Earthquake on the 2025 federal election


Best of 2025

I read so many great books this year. If I had to whittle down the 45 into my absolute favourites for 2025, without any hesitation I would pick Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead and Hannah Kent's  Always Home, Always Homesick.  


I would give honourable mentions to:
Well, that's my year of reading! A new year starts tomorrow and I cannot wait to discover new books and rediscover old favourites. Happy New Reading Year!

Posted by at