Top Titles of the Year (2025)

We’re in the final stretch of the year, so I wanted to look back and share some of my favorites with you. I keep a spreadsheet of what I read (finished books only) and include a reason why I picked that book up. Therefore, my categories of favorites will follow my reasons for reading. Over the year, I finished 80 books, as I slowed down for a number of life reasons, in addition to not finishing quite a heap of books.

One thing that has me feeling reflective and a bit sad is I don’t remember feeling truly passionate about many books this year. I’m sure part of it was living in a different state for four months, graduating, starting a business, and doing intensive job training for 200 hours before things smoothed out, though smoothed out isn’t the right phrase, either, as it is clear that there are many ways Nick and I are still struggling with the difficulties of those four months apart. We’re great; please don’t misunderstand me. But we’ve become clingy, sentimental, and easily saddened when reminded of our time separated. Therefore, if my post seems lackluster, please know that I did my best.

best books someone else picked

Oftentimes, I’m not picking the book we read in book club, but I still try to participate with gusto. Here are my top three books that I read that someone else chose:

Everything is Tuberculosis by Hank Green — education beyond an American perspective
Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls — both family history and political history of China
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham — old-fashioned spooky kids

best educational reading

Some of these books were for my last semester of school, but others struck my interest.

The Interpreter’s Quick Guide to Self-Employment (2nd ed.) by Rosemary Johnson and Brent Bocian — a bridge from college to career, highly specific to my field and American tax laws, how to start a business, etc.
Orchid of the Bayou by Cathryn Carroll and Catherine Hoffpauir Fischer — insightful memoir of a Deaf woman going from small town to university
Why We Can’t Wait by Martin Luther King, Jr. — essays on the Civil Rights Movement behind the scenes and beyond the feel-good classroom talk points

best horror

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy — a disability narrative and the mysteries of parenthood
Suffer the Children by Craig DiLouie — how far would you go to keep your child alive, even for one more hour? A desperate, emotional story.
Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio — like Scooby Doo for adults

best books from random, small categories

Boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring by Zach Plague — thoughtful slaying of the ivory tower art scene
Submerged by Hillel Levin — true crime book set during a pre-internet investigation in a neighboring city to my home
Fat!So? by Marilyn Wann — joyfully fat, flabulously fun throwback to the zine days in the 1990s

books that led to the best book club discussions

Perfume by Patrick Suskind — oddly reminded me of Quasimodo in Hotel Transylvania
Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. — leaves you with loads of ideas to ponder even if you don’t like the book
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier — my feelings on Maxim and the narrator change with every read.