2025 Reading Roundup
I read fewer books, but I loved what I read… mostly.
swinging with my niece… no books in sight
I’ve always enjoyed reading.
But my reading rhythm fluctuates.
Actually, the difference between age 12 and 21 really gets me.
As a kid, I’d borrow boxes of books at a time from friends and the library. Dozens of adventure novels, historical fiction, and Archie comics at once and I’d power through multiple novels in a week.
By contrast, right out of college I was burnt out. The textbook tsunami nearly drowned me so for about a year afterwards I let my mind rest. I read nothing. Until I found The Hunger Games. It captivated me brought me back into reading. I’ll always love The Hunger Games for that.
Last year saw a dip in my reading volume too. I completed 13 books which was less than half from the previous year. But it makes sense – The year prior I graduated from another degree so my mind was probably resting again.
But the 13 books I did finish were interesting to me!
BY THE NUMBERS:
Novels = 10
Non-fiction = 1
Plays = 2
Canadian Authors = 2
Longest = 607 pages, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Shortest = 119 pages, Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner
Angels in America: Parts 1 & 2 by Tony Kuschner
Let me get this out the way. Do printed plays count as books? I don’t know.
But these are published with ISBN numbers, run longer than 100 pages, and have entries on Goodreads. So I’ve included them.
Okay. These are heartbreaking.
I’m grateful I live in a time where gay art centers queer joy (see Heated Rivalry, Schitt’s Creek, TJ Klune, and others). But it feels important that I be familiar with the queer canon that was forged in eras of much deeper grief and fear.
This isn’t a literary oeuvre I could ever spend extended time in, but I was really impressed and feel glad I read them.
Queer by William Burroughs
By contrast, this is a sad gay book I didn’t enjoy at all. Since Luca Guadagnino was making the film adaption with Daniel Craig, I thought I was in for yearning and ache like Call Me By Your Name. Instead, it features the loneliest man in the world who’s just awful.
The book probably serves a purpose, but it wasn’t for me.
Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown
Now we’re talking!
Red Rising fever seemed to be everywhere this year.
A YA dystopia set on Mars. I was feeling Ender’s Game or The Hunger Games vibes.
Brown writes with such cinematic visuality and rhythm. Riding the waves of his story was a thrill and I enjoyed these three the most of all.
The House on the Cerulean Sea & Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune
I. Love. Klune. Under the Whispering Door was my introduction to him and I was smitten.
These two novels follow a case worker investigating an orphanage for magical children.
The first novel is so charming. I laughed out loud numerous times at the wit and moxie of the children. And laughing while reading is not common for me.
I’m… not sure what happened, but the second book is not as good. I’m glad I read it, but it didn’t charm me like the first one.
I Think We’ve Been Here Before by Suzy Krause
I love Suzy!
This is the first of two books I read this year written by friends.
I Think We’ve Been Here Before is Suzy’s third novel and the coziest apocalypse story I’ve ever read. I recommend reading it Christmas time.
By My Own Betrayal by Cydnie Trenholm
I love Cydnie!
This is the first volume of her Christian thriller trilogy and it is a ride! An assassin who comes to Jesus and becomes an FBI informant.
I’m not sure why it feels important to say, but this is an autumn read.
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The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Who can say no to quirky Japanese magical realism?
I’ve enjoyed other Murakami titles more (especially IQ84 and Killing Comendatore) but this was interesting. It definitely triggered my claustrophobia around being trapped underground!
The Lord of Eternal Night by Ben Alderson
A gay vampire re-imagining of Beauty and the Beast. The enemies to lovers of it all and the biting repartee was entertaining. I dig the idea but I wanted the execution to be better than it was.
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
The only non-fiction I read all year. I began it in the final months of 2024 with a group of filmmaking friends to guide discussion and nourish our writing practice. I finished it this year at an unhurried pace.
I love that Cameron’s approach to unblocking creative flow sets the table with all these options and invites engagement without any prescriptive pressure. This is one I’ll return to someday.
When I see them lined up like that they feel like so few books.
It’s tempting (in the wrong way) to make my 2026 reading goal some version of “read more books.” But I think there are better goals than just the numbers.
So here are my current intentions for reading this year:
Follow what interests me. Don’t “should” on myself about what to read.
Let myself DNF a book when I get partway through and realize it’s not for me.
Prioritize the books I’ve borrowed from people.
Read a lot of novels.
Read a couple non-fictions that interest me.
Tentatively plan to double the number of books I read from 2025.
Read outdoors more – especially on a blanket.
Do you have a top book or two from your last year? Or any intentions for your 2026 reading?
I’d love to hear any titles you loved in 2025 or are excited to read in 2026!