Books Read in 2025

Find your 2026 reading inspiration in this list of books read in 2025. We have memoirs, biographies, non-fiction science, self help, contemporary fiction, book club fiction, Christian fiction, current events fiction, middle grade novels, YA fiction, non fiction, mystery, fantasy, chick lit, historical fiction, and women’s fiction. There is something for everyone.

Every year I keep a list of books read (here’s my 2024 reading list). This is my shortest list thus far, because it’s been a really intense year, but there should still be something for everyone! Please share your book recommendations in the comments.

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Memoirs

Letters to a Young Therapist by Mary Pipher

Mary Pipher’s Letters to a Young Therapist is an unusual book, and I wasn’t sure where to put it. But she talks about her work as a therapist, so I decided it fit in the memoir section. Unusual format aside (it is, literally, a series of letters that she wrote to a young therapist she was supervising), I enjoyed this thoughtful book. I’m not a therapist, but I think a lot of things that she writes about working in a therapeutic relationship will also work in any relationship. My favorite quote from the book is: “in all of us, the potential to be good is there, if only someone will take the time to help us discover it and make it bloom.”

A Promised Land by Barack Obama

I hadn’t realized that Barack Obama’s A Promised Land would end before he even finished his first term; it’s a long book for four years. It did offer an interesting back stage look at US politics, and I especially enjoyed the parts where he talked about his relationship with his wife and daughters.

Biographies

The World She Edited by Amy Reading

I wanted Amy Reading’s The World She Edited to focus more on New Yorker editor Katharine S. White’s actual editing. Instead it is a very thorough accounting of this woman’s life and the lives of the people around her, particularly her husband, renowned author E.B. White (Charlotte’s Web, The Trumpet of the Swan). So more the world she lived in while working as an editor, really. It is a very detailed telling of her life. It did have enough interesting information that I made myself finish the book, and I also added it to this list. It’s very rare that I fail to finish a book (eventually – sometimes I take years), but I do sometimes leave them off this list. This one deserved to be included for its educational value.

Sisters in Science by Olivia Campbell

Olivia Campbell tells the largely unheard stories of some of science’s most brilliant World War II era minds in Sisters in Science. The book is engagingly written, and well worth a read.

Non-Fiction Science

The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver

Nate Silver’s The Signal and the Noise is a pretty technical read, even though he is clearly doing his utmost to make it accessible. I struggled most when he got to topics that I really don’t care about – playing poker, in my case. It turns out I find baseball more accessible, even though I have watched exactly one baseball game in my life. I think it’s worth a read, even a skim read, since it explains a lot about how much we know, how we know it, how can be predict more effectively, and what the limitations are.

Self Help

True to You by Kathleen Smith

I don’t like the title of this book; True to You somehow feels almost oppositional to what the book is about, but I do recommend Kathleen Smith’s explanation of family systems therapy, as well as her examples about how it works in practice. Ignore the title and read the book.

Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt

I like the honesty in Michael Hyatt’s Free to Focus in that he acknowledges that if you aren’t able to focus then you are probably trying to do too much.The book also includes a nice selection of printable worksheets (download them for free on the author’s website) that can help you work through the concepts in the book.

Love Your Enemies by Arthur C. Brooks

I really appreciated Arthur C. Brooks’ emphasis on making room for people to have different beliefs and opinions in Love Your Enemies. I think this was my favorite quote from the book: “Values are supposed to be positive. Even if people disagree with them, they aren’t supposed to harm others. We can’t beat someone over the head with charity, for example. If we do, it’s no longer charity. It’s impossible to maintain the moral content of our values and use them as a weapon at the same time.”

Contemporary Fiction

The Sign for Home by Blair Fell

I read books in part to learn about people and places who are different from me. Blair Fell’s The Sign for Home is the perfect expanding my horizons read. I learned so much about the complications of being deaf blind, working as a sign language interpreter, and much more through this book. The characters were imperfect, complex, and felt very real. The pacing was excellent, and I wasn’t sure how it would all work out up until the very end. There are some loose ends, but it feels resolved enough to be a satisfactory read.

Some Other Time by Angela Brown

I found the premise of Angela Brown’s Some Other Time intriguing. A woman who is planning to get a divorce is sent into an alternate reality where she never married her spouse. It’s not a storyline I’ve seen done before. Overall I enjoyed the book, but the pacing was not quite right and there were a couple of plot twists I didn’t love. I do think it’s worth a read just because the idea is so original.

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell’s Slow Dance is the love story of two people with a lot of baggage falling in love – very slowly. The plot took its time (including some jumping around timelines), but the characters were interesting and not your standard stereotypes.

Book Club Fiction

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

I had thoroughly enjoyed The Storied  Life of A.J. Fikry, so when several of my siblings recommended Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by the same author I was intrigued. I didn’t love this book, possibly because I am really not a gamer and also because it feels very sad. But Gabrielle Zevin is a very gifted author, and I would read another of her books.

Christian Fiction

Husband Auditions by Angela Ruth Strong

Angela Ruth Strong writes Christian chick lit in Husband Auditions. I enjoyed her character development, although I didn’t love the end of the story.

Classic Fiction 

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

My 15-year-old Lily and I are working through Jane Austen’s novels; this was our first complete read after the short story, Lady Susan, which I hadn’t even heard of until we started in on this project. I forgot how dense Austen’s early writing was, but we made it through and enjoyed the plot and characters in Sense and Sensibility. 

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Since we started reading all of Austen’s novels, I’ve been struck by how much easier some of them are to read than others. Pride and Prejudice is much easier to read than Sense and Sensibility, and it’s in the writing (and not only because the plot is so well known.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Lily and I had mixed feelings about Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. It doesn’t really feel like the guy deserves the girl in the end, although that is as seen through a modern lens.

Current Events Fiction

Table for Five by Izzy Bromley

I’ve never seen a book tackle a topic like homelessness as smoothly as Izzy Bromley takes it on in Table for Five. It is a significant focus of the book, but the book is really all about relationships and the importance of human connection. I hope it also helps all of us see the people in our lives who are unhoused more empathically.

Life Derailed: A Novel by Beth Merlin and Danielle Modafferi

Beth Merlin and Danielle Modafferi’s Life Derailed takes on the topic of AI replacing humans, but while it is a major focus of the book, it was clear that neither author was an AI expert. It was a fun read, but nothing I’m eager to revisit.

Middle Grade Fiction 

The Blossoming Summer by Anna Rose Johnson

I discovered Anna Rose Johnson last year, and loved her first two books. I appreciated that, in The Blossoming Summer, she highlights the pressure children sometimes feel to make everything work for their families. It’s a real thing for the right personality, and good to see it represented in the book. I didn’t find this book quite as engaging as her first two novels, but it is definitely still worth a read, and I will continue to watch for new books by this author. 

Daring Darleen by Anne Nesbet

I read Anne Nesbet’s Daring Darleen to my 12-year-old, and we thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the young female heroine in this historical fiction middle grade fiction adventure. We also got to learn a little about the early film industry, and the book features real life cinematography pioneer Alice Guy-Blache.

The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass

Friendly ghosts and a charismatic cat make for a delightful read in Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass’s The Lost Library.

Lisa and Lottie by Erich Kastner

Erich Kastner’s Lisa and Lottie is the book that inspired the Parent Trap movies! My 12-year-old and I enjoyed this as a bedtime read aloud. I hadn’t heard of this book until recently, but Erich Kastner is also the author of the better known Emil and the Detectives, which I remember reading as a child.

Young Adult Fiction

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

Jessica Day George offers a novel take on the twelve dancing princesses novel in Princess of the Midnight Ball. I especially enjoyed the knitting soldier in this book, which I read out loud to my 13-year-old (we both enjoyed the story)

Princess of Class by Jessica Day George

The sequel to Princess of the Midnight Ball (there are three books in this series), Princess of Glass offers a harrowing take on the classic Cinderella glass slippers story. Don’t worry, it all works out in the end. I read this one to my 13-year-old as well, and we didn’t like it as much as the first book but still enjoyed the story.

Non Fiction

The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Allen

I wanted Allen to talk more about the how of thinking on paper in The Notebook, but it was still an interesting read. The highlight for me was stumbling upon the section about Bullet Journal developer Ryder Carroll, since he went to my high school. 

Mystery

Murder on the White Cliffs: A Cozy Historical Murder Mystery (The Posie Parker Mystery Series Book 8) by L.B. Hathaway

I’m really not a mystery, but I got L.B. Hathaway’s Murder on the White Cliffs for free and gave it a go. The plot, however, improbable, did seem to hold together. It may have been more transparent if I had read books 1-5, but this worked as a standalone read. I still don’t particularly enjoy mysteries, but this one had me curious enough to finish it – and perturbed enough to not go looking for the rest of the series.

Fantasy

Slippers and Thorns by Erin Halbmaier

I hadn’t heard of Erin Halbmaier, but I somehow stumbled across Slippers and Thorns and enjoyed the read. This book takes the rather unusual approach of taking fairy tale characters after their happily after endings, and it turns out even fairy tale character married life gets pretty complicated.

Chick Lit

Summer at Tillingford Hall by Flora Dunn

This book had some charm, but I didn’t love Flora Dunn’s Summer at Tillingford Hall enough to pick up the sequel. The characters were interesting enough, but they just didn’t draw me in. I think maybe with the right editor, though, I could have been pulled in and truly loved this book.

Some Like It Scot by Pepper Basham

Pepper Basham writes comforting, warm books with just the right amount of humor to help a person make it through a tough time, and that’s when I read Some Like It Scot. Like a lot of chick lit, it is mostly light and fun, with some serious elements; in this case losing a sibling, searching for somewhere that feels like home, and struggling with self confidence. It’s always a little risky to set a book in another country, but this one works because the protagonist is American so it’s through an American lens. I was thrilled to have a tall (very tall, in fact) female protagonist represented. Take a moment to read the author’s note at the end of the book.

Southern by Design by Grace Helena Walz

Grace Helena Walz crafts charming chick lit in Southern by Design. I really enjoyed the evolution of the main character and her relationship with her mother especially. I’ll definitely be watching for more novels from this author.

Storybook Ending by Poppy Alexander

Poppy Alexander’s Storybook Ending is definitely a fairy tale chick lit story. I found the characters likeable and interesting. I also enjoyed the plot, although I felt like it all came together too quickly in the end.

The 12 Days of Christmas by Poppy Alexander

Like Storybook Ending, Poppy Alexander’s The 12 Days of Christmas is a fairy tale. I felt that this one came together better than Storybook Ending, though, and I love that she shared her own personal recipes at the end of the book.

The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan

Sarah Morgan delivers warmhearted second chance fiction in The Book Club Hotel. I felt like all of the characters were well developed and very likeable apart from a couple of minor role villain figures.

Snowed In for Christmas by Sarah Morgan

Sarah Morgan’s Snowed In for Christmas has Hallmark-level happy endings, but it’s more rewarding because the characters are better developed.

Plot Twist by Bethany Turner

Bethany Turner’s Plot Twist is a cute rom com with a fair number of twists and turns and a surprise twist that I felt really worked.

The Summer Skies by Jenny Colgan

I’ve read a few books by Jenny Colgan over the years, and I think that The Summer Skies is my favorite. Having a daughter who is a pilot definitely helps, but the characters are also quite lovable.

Close Knit by Jenny Colgan

I really enjoyed Jenny Colgan’s Close Knit and it featured some characters from The Summer Skies, as well as mentions of characters from a few of her other books. That’s always fun.

Sweetshop of Dreams by Jenny Colgan

As you can tell, I was on a bit of a Jenny Colgan kick for a while. I enjoyed Sweetshop of Dreams for the depth of personality in its older characters.

The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan

I enjoy Jenny Colgan, and The Secret Christmas Library was a nice enough read, but it didn’t resonate as strongly with me as some of her other books.

You Belong With Me by Mhairi McFarlane

Despite the You Belong With Me title, author Mhairi McFarlane had me guessing all the way to the end of the story about what would ultimately happen. Not your typical chick lit! It was a mostly fun read, with lots to think about regarding the ups and downs of fame. And the ending worked, despite the twists and turns along the way.

Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane

Mhairi McFarlane’s Mad About You has much more mainstream characters (in my opinion) than You Belong With Me. This was a fun, character driven read. 

Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay

Katherine Reay’s Dear Mr. Knightley is Daddy Long Legs meets Jane Austen fan fic. Quite the combination! I don’t love the Daddy Long Legs premise, and I only tried this book after Audible recommended it to me several times. I really liked the lead character. Things resolved themselves really quickly in the end after being dragged out a bit leading up to the denouement.

Historical Fiction

The Seamstress of Acadie by Laura Frantz

I didn’t know anything about French-speaking Acadians before reading Laura Frantz’s The Seamstress of Acadie. I did a little research, and the history seems accurate. Because the Acadians were religious Catholics, this book has strong Christian elements, but the focus of the story is historical.

Women’s Fiction

The Restoration of Celia Fairchild by Marie Bostwick

Marie Bostwick’s The Restoration of Celia Fairchild has some chick lit elements, but it felt closer to women’s fiction to me. I enjoyed the author’s sense of humor, the humanity of most of her characters, and a few fun plot twists. The cousin twist was my favorite, and I didn’t see it coming enough that mentioning it doesn’t feel like a spoiler..

Halfway to You by Jennifer Gold

Jennifer Gold explores the connections between us and the ways we create distance in Halfway to You. The plot felt very unrealistic to me, but I enjoyed the character development.

Always You and Me by Dani Atkins

Second chance fiction usually feels like chick lit to me, but Dani Atkins’ Always You and Me stays serious throughout and so feels more like women’s fiction. I like that the characters in this book are all flawed in human ways, that the characters have to accept one another’s flaws as being pieces of who those people are, and that it has a nice redemption arc. 

A Change of Heart by Sonali Dev

Sonali Dev’s A Change of Heart is apparently part of a series, but it does work as a standalone novel. I enjoyed much of the book, but it was very intense and also featured scenes that were a lot more graphic than I personally like. The relationships also didn’t always feel healthy. That being said, the writing is excellent and the author absolutely had me caring about the characters. So this is a mixed feelings read for me.

The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick

Phaedra Patrick’s The Messy Lives of Book People feels like an extremely unlikely plot, but I enjoyed the characters and the story worked – despite the improbabilities built in. 

Window on the Bay by Debbie Macomber

Debbie Macomber explores life transitions as two women become empty nesters in Window on the Bay. This was a relatively (but not completely) predictable read, but still enjoyable.

What books did you read in 2025? What should we read in 2026?

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MaryAnne Kochenderfer

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MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.