Best of 2025!

 

Already time for the yearly roundup of some of my best reads this year. I always wait until the very last possible moment to post my list; you never know what you'll come across around Christmas! I like to give every book I've read this year a chance to appear on my favourites list, no matter if I read it in the first week of January or the last few days of December. 

I also create a statistical summary each year, for my own geekish pleasure. As I've said before, I don't think of reading as a competition -- I keep track of numbers and various stats for my own interest, not to prove anything or compare myself to anyone. 

Here are my reading stats for 2025: 

Total Reading: 190

Authors

Female: 170
Male: 17
Both/Neither: 3

Genre 

Fiction: 90

Non Fiction: 97

Poetry: 3

In Translation: 38

Ukrainian: 5

Russian (Ukrainian writing in): 3

Japanese: 9

Korean: 4

Spanish: 2

Swedish: 3

Norwegian: 3

German: 2

Quebecois French: 1

French: 1

Greek: 1 

Finnish: 1

Chinese: 1

Hungarian: 1

Bangla: 1

My Own Books: 34
Library Books: 144

Review Copies: 12

Rereads: 5
E-reads: 99

Author who I read the most from: 

9 - Dorothy Gilman (after discovering the Mrs. Pollifax series in March, I've now read up to #9 in the series)

2025's Weird Random Stat: 

Books with felines in the title: 6

I had an unusual year, in that I read more nonfiction than fiction. Probably why I felt like I had a number of reading slumps this year; if I can't read fiction, I turn to a lot of instructional craft books! I did get back to reading some poetry, which I am pleased by.

Like always, I read a big majority of women authors, and quite a few more library books than my own this year. But I am happy with all the great books I am able to find through the library! I am hoping to get a few more books off of my own shelves in the upcoming year, though. Even have a challenge for that! 

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And now for the Best of 2025!

These are titles that were memorable, unusual, or caught me with their great storytelling or rich characters. Just books that hit the right note with me when I picked them up! 

Despite not reading as much fiction this year, I found some great books. Some old, some new, some translated. Here were some that I enjoyed, or found very memorable. 

Starting with my Fiction Top Ten: 

Two powerful reads both set in Ukraine. Cecil the Lion Had to Die by Olena Stiazhkina (trans. by Dominique Hoffman) is probably my best read overall. Engrossing characters, great writing, innovative structure -- and an important story. #1 read this year! 

And then there's Endling by Maria Reva, which should have made it to the Booker shortlist this year. Timely story, quirky plot, another innovative structure reacting to the world's realities. Both rewarding reads. 

I also read a lot of Japanese and Korean books this year! These were two of my very favourites, but there were others that I really enjoyed as well. The Korean 'healing fiction' novel, The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon Somin (trans. by Clare Richards was really satisfying. The Japanese novel Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki (trans. by Jordan Taylor) was one I just read, and found it perfect for the holiday season. 

There were a couple of random finds that were unusual, feminist and fun reads for me. The Medusa Situation by Gabiann Marin was a truly random discovery on Hoopla, but this Australian story of the Greek Gods living in the suburbs was a delight. Katharine Stall's Den of Thieves was a paperback I've had on my shelves for a while but finally picked up, and found a rollicking, thoughtful tale of religion, conspiracy and resistance.

Early in the year I read Susin Nielsen's Snap, a story of three people finding unlikely friends in their anger management class. I've reread it once already. And Dorothy Gilman's The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax was the beginning of my Pollifax obsession this year! Such fun, with extra heart, in both books. 

I also read some older books, and found them to still be shockingly timely. Both about marriage and gender roles, really. Dorothy Canfield Fisher's The Home-Maker looked at gender roles from the viewpoint of a woman who didn't like domesticity, and a man who wanted to be at home with his children. Ursula Parrott's Ex-Wife was a darker read, about a young woman struggling with who she is once she is an ex-wife. Both still relevant. 

Then a couple of extras -- one children's book:

Wildcat Behind Glass by Alki Zei (trans. by Karen Emmerich) is a Greek classic, a children's novel about growing up under looming fascism. 

One Poetry Book:

Letters of the Alphabet by Lesyk Panasiuk (trans. by Katie Farris & Ilya Kaminsky) was a collection I read for work, and thought it was terrific. 

And one outstanding nonfic among the many crafty books I read this year:

Pink Eraser Art by Serena Rios McRae was really well written and designed, and got me into carving erasers into little stamps. I've only made a couple so far but it is so fun! (I didn't review this one). 

So these were some of the top reads of the year for me. As usual, some good Ukrainian reads, some older titles and craft work too. I love reading a wide variety of titles and found a bunch across a range of genres this year. Hopefully I'll be as lucky in 2026!