Welcome back to the book review, friends! This year I made a big effort to reduce my screentime and it paid off. I read more than any year since I started keeping track. Highly recommend keeping a book in your bag for when doomscrolling threatens. Even though a thread of melancholy runs through a lot of my top reads it's much more fulfilling.
Final count: 117 total, 54 nonfiction / 63 fiction
My top ten reads of 2025:
1. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans-- This is a beautiful book; I was sobbing by the end. It's about grief and connection and the love of words in both books and letters.
2. Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story by Leslie Jamison-- This one shattered me. I felt seen. “Whenever I spent hours of childcare writing nothing but terrible sentences, I always felt like I’d failed my daughter-- wronged her, even-- by squandering the time away from her. If I’d spent those hours with her, there would have been a moment, at least one, when she laughed so hard it lifted me out of my own body.”
3. Circe by Madeline Miller-- Is this a safe space to admit that I wasn't moved by Miller's The Song of Achilles? But this story hooked me and didn't let go. Trigger warning for everything that happens in Greek myths. Five stars.
4. A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko-- I joined an adventure book club this year and this was the first read. Thank goodness because what a great book. The author is funny and self deprecating but also extremely knowledgeable. I learned so much and looked forward every day to reading this.
5. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer-- I'd heard about this one for years but never checked it out. I felt so much dread with this one as the expedition progressed but it's fantastically written; I couldn't put it down. Man vs nature is one of the core conflicts for a reason.
6. The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science by Sam Kean-- Sam Kean is always great and this exploration of some dark scientific stories is no different. I knew some of these, and would argue that William Dampier doesn't belong with the rest, but I am also a piracy apologist.
7. Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin-- A glimpse into an anxious obsessive brain. I'm someone who is also prone to anxious rumination and spiraling thought patterns and it's exhausting. I wouldn't say that I enjoyed this exactly but it's worth reading once.
8. News of the World by Paulette Jiles-- I'm a sucker for a grumpy protector/found family story. This one is set in the West, post Civil War, and I loved it.
9. The T Shirt Swim Club: Stories From Being Fat in a World of Thin People by Ian Karmel-- One of the few books that made me laugh out loud this year. I recommend the audiobook as the author is a wonderful narrator.
10. Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt-- I don't even know what to say about this one. It was captivating and I'm not sure why. I think going in blind may be best.
Honorable Mention:
Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist by Daniel Pollack Pelzner
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick
What were your favorite reads this year?
As always books are alphabetical by author. Rereads are marked with *** and recommendations are bolded.
Nonfiction
The Valedictorian of Being Dead: The True Story of Dying Ten Times to Live-- Heather B Armstrong
The Third Gilmore Girl-- Kelly Bishop
Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine-- Uche Blackstock
The Art of Waiting: On Fertility, Medicine, and Motherhood-- Belle Boggs
Memorial Days: A Memoir-- Geraldine Brooks
Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations-- Alton Brown
In a Sunburned Country-- Bill Bryson
George, Nicholas, and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I-- Miranda Carter
Mr President, How Long Must We Wait?: Alice Paul, Woodrow Wilson, and the Fight for the Right to Vote-- Tina Cassidy
Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty-- Hillary Rodham Clinton
The Black Guy Dies First: Black Horror Cinema From Fodder to Oscar-- Robin R Means Coleman and Mark H Harris
The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt-- Kara Cooney
A Life's Work: On Becoming a Mother-- Rachel Cusk
Aftermath: On Marriage and Separation-- Rachel Cusk
Tracks: A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback-- Robyn Davidson
Warren G Harding-- John W Dean
Blue Nights-- Joan Didion
***The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World-- Edward Dolnick
A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon-- Kevin Fedarko
***Wishful Drinking-- Carrie Fisher
The Age of Edison: Electric Light and the Invention of Modern America-- Ernest Freeberg
The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd-- Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos
Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering-- Malcolm Gladwell
The White Darkness-- David Grann
Calvin Coolidge-- David Greenberg
The Man Who Caught the Storm: The Life of Legendary Tornado Chaser Tim Samaras-- Brantley Hargrove
American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America's First Paramedics-- Kevin Hazzard
Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story-- Leslie Jamison
Saving Michelangelo's Dome: How Three Mathematicians and a Pope Sparked an Architectural Revolutin-- Wayne Kalayjian
The Great White Bard: How to Love Shakespeare While Talking About Race-- Farah Karim Cooper
T Shirt Swim Club: Stories From Being Fat in a World of Thin People-- Ian Karmel
The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science-- Sam Kean
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt Everest Disaster-- Jon Krakauer
The Conquest of Everest: Original Photographs from the Legendary First Ascent-- George Lowe and Huw Lewis Jones
Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton-- Tilar J Mazzeo
Running with Sherman: The Donkey with the Heart of a Hero-- Christopher McDougall
This is Chance!: The Shaking of an All American City, a Voice That Held It Together-- Joe Mooallem
Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life-- Emily Nagoski
Unreliable Narrator: Me, Myself, and Imposter Syndrome-- Aparna Nancherla
Things I Learned From Falling: A Memoir-- Claire Nelson
Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History-- Keith O'Brien
Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home-- Nando Parrado
Lin Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist-- Daniel Pollack Pelzner
Between a Rock and a Hard Place-- Aron Ralston
Olive the Lionheart-- Brad Ricca
About Time: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks-- David Rooney
William Howard Taft-- Jeffrey Rosen
Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder-- Salman Rushdie
Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World-- Rob Sheffield
The Muse of the Revolution: The Secret Pen of Mercy Otis Warren and the Founding of a Nation-- Nancy Rubin Stuart
Dying: A Memoir-- Cory Taylor
Mom Genes: Inside the New Science of Our Ancient Maternal Instincts-- Abigail Tucker
It Ended Badly: 13 of the Worst Breakups in History-- Jennifer Wright
Buried in the Sky: The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day-- Peter Zuckerman and Amanda Padoan
Fiction
The Power-- Naomi Alderman
Persuasion-- Jane Austen
Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead-- Emily Austin
The Inheritance Games-- Jennifer Barnes
The Hawthorne Legacy-- Jennifer Barnes
The Tainted Cup-- Robert Jackson Bennett
Tell the Wolves I'm Home-- Carol Rifka Brunt
The Girls With No Names-- Serena Burdick
Kindred-- Olivia E Butler
When the Wolf Comes Home-- Nat Cassidy
We Could Be Heroes-- Mike Chen
Raven Black-- Ann Cleeves
***The Hunger Games-- Suzanne Collins
***Catching Fire-- Suzanne Collins
***Mockingay-- Suzanne Collins
Sunrise on the Reaping-- Suzanne Collins
The Naming-- Alison Croggon
The Twelve-- Justin Cronin
Star Crossed-- Minnie Darke
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?-- Philip K Dick
Great Expectations-- Charles Dickens
The Safe Place-- Anna Downes
The Mighty Red-- Louise Erdrich
The Correspondent-- Virginia Evans
James-- Percival Everett
The Hunting Party-- Lucy Foley
The House of the Seven Gables-- Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Old Man and the Sea-- Ernest Hemingway
News of the World-- Paulette Jiles
The Friend Zone-- Abby Jimenez
The Unicorn Woman-- Gayl Jones
Tales From the Cafe-- Tushikazu Kawaguchi
Small Things Like These-- Claire Keegan
Faker-- Gordon Korman
You Know Me Well-- Nina LaCour and David Levithan
Station Eternity-- Mur Lafferty
On Turpentine Lane-- Elinor Lipman
The Mapmaker's Children-- Sarah McCoy
Circe-- Madeline Miller
The Holdout-- Graham Moore
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper-- Phaedra Patrick
Ellie and the Harpmaker-- Hazel Prior
The Man in Lower Ten-- Mary Roberts Rhinehart
Eleanor and Park-- Rainbow Rowell
Last Call at the Local-- Sarah Grunder Ruiz
Survive the Night-- Riley Sager
***The Alchemyst-- Michael Scott
***The Magician-- Michael Scott
***The Sorceress-- Michael Scott
***The Necromancer-- Michael Scott
***The Warlock-- Michael Scott
***The Enchantress-- Michael Scott
Where'd You Go, Bernadette? -- Maria Semple
In Five Years- Rebecca Serle
***Bartimaeus: The Amulet of Samarkand-- Jonathan Stroud
***Adventures of Huckleberry Finn-- Mark Twain
The Language of Silence-- Peggy Webb
Project Hail Mary-- Andy Weir
All Systems Red-- Martha Wells
Artificial Condition-- Martha Wells
In My Dreams I Hold a Knife-- Ashley Winstead
The Distant Dead-- Heather Young
The Storied Life of AJ Fikry-- Gabrielle Zevin
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