In 2025, I read over 100 books. You’d think I’d be proud of how many books I read, but I don’t really care about that. What I am proud of is the wide range of genres and topics that I read. They’re not all represented in these best books, but I also read mystery, philosophy, classics, travel memoirs, psychology, science fiction, historical fiction, and even romantasy.
So, I read a lot of books and I wanted to share the best of them with my readers—in case anyone is looking for reading recommendations.
Obviously, these are just my opinions, so please don’t take them too seriously. If you read and disliked any of these books, I’m just happy to hear you’re reading! The books are split by Fiction and Nonfiction, and the order here just the order in which I read the books. I’ve only considered books that I read for the first time; re-reads were not eligible for this.
If you’re interested in reading any of these books, I suggest you check if your local library system carries it.
Fiction
1 – The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery (1926)
In this book, Valancy Stirling learns that she has only a year to live. She turns her entire life upside down to find happiness while she still can.
I picked this up on a whim at an independent bookstore because I recognized the author. As a girl, I loved Anne of Green Gables. I didn’t even know she’d written other books. I found some parts a little predictable, but I enjoyed Valancy’s story.
2 – The Second Chance Convenience Store by Kim Ho-Yeon (2021) (translated by Janet Hong and published in English in 2025)
In this Korean novel, the owner of a convenience store gives a job to a homeless man after he returns her lost wallet. The book follows the employees of the convenience store as they deal with their personal struggles and overcome their prejudice against the homeless man.
I enjoyed this book in its simplicity and its themes of humanity over corporate greed. The story of a homeless man who can’t remember how he became homeless was touching, a reminder that everyone deserves human dignity and kindness.
3 – The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (2019)
This book follows two main characters. Ead, a member of a secret organization, has to protect the Queen of Inys as dark forces rise. Tané, across the sea, becomes a dragonrider.
Some people might think this book is too long. (It’s 800 pages!) But those same people would probably happily read a trilogy of fantasy books. This is really just a trilogy in one volume. It took me a while to get into it, but then I finished the second half in just two days.
4 – Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett (2025)
This is the third book in the Emily Wilde series. Emily Wilde, who studies faeries, helps her faerie-prince fiancé reclaim his kingdom.
This cozy fantasy delivered what it promised: a lighthearted tale of Emily and Wendell settling in as the king and queen of a faerie kingdom. It was a nice, enjoyable read.
5 – Discontent by Beatriz Serrano (2023) (translated by Mara Faye Lethem and published in English in 2025)
A young woman has an outwardly great life and job, but she secretly hates them both. She survives by working as little as possible and drowning out her internal miseries in a constant stream of YouTube videos.
I liked the writing in this book, the details of everyday routines, the humor. It felt modern and very appropriate to our social media-obsessed times. The protagonist is pretty relatable in her anxiety, though perhaps not in some of the ways she deals with it. I enjoyed the comical commentary on modern-day capitalism.
A Quote from the Book:
“I couldn’t stand the idea of being forced to live that office pantomime in perpetuity just to pay for things like rent or food or a book or a weekend at the beach. I broke down every morning when the alarm beeped because life, lived this way, seemed like a badly written tragedy, boring and sterile, devoid of fun and, even worse, devoid of content, and so, on my way to work. I felt like grabbing strangers by the shoulders and asking them why they weren’t feeling like me.” (Discontent, Beatriz Serrano)
Non-Fiction
6 – Byron: A Life in Ten Letters by Andrew Stauffer (2024)
This is a biography of poet Lord Byron from his school days to the Greek Revolution.
This was such an interesting way to organize a biography. The letters presented here each correspond to a particular time in Byron’s life, thus maintaining a chronological narrative. I struggled to get into it at first but then acclimated to the style. Like him or hate him, Byron is and was a celebrity. I wanted to know more about what made him so famous.
7 – The Day the World Stops Shopping: How Ending Consumerism Saves the Environment and Ourselves by J. B. MacKinnon (2021)
This book posits the question: What would happen if we all dramatically decreased our consumption?
I like books that question whether the way we do things is the only way to do things, or the best way to do things. I read the second half of this book in one sitting, if that’s any indication of how well I enjoyed it.
8 – The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country by Helen Russell (2015)
This book covers a year in the life of journalist Helen Russell as she moves with her husband to rural Denmark. Denmark had just been named the happiest country in the world, so while settling in, she researched what made the Danes so happy.
The most interesting thing to me about reading this book was realizing how amazing Denmark is, and yet how out of place I would feel there. I loved the way Russell wove facts and interviews into the chronological month-by-month narrative.
A Quote from the Book:
“Everyone is paid a decent wage, everyone is looked after, and everyone pays their taxes, just as I pay mine. And if we all have marginally less money to buy more stuff that we don’t really need anyway as a result, well I’m starting to think it’s a deal worth taking.” (The Year of Living Danishly, Helen Russell)
9 – In Search of a Kingdom: Francis Drake, Elizabeth I, and the Perilous Birth of the British Empire by Laurence Bergreen (2021)
This book covers Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation around the world and the Spanish Armada. And how these two things led to the rise of the British Empire later on.
I grew up in the Bay Area, which is one of the places Drake landed. We have a lot of places named after him, so out of the many explorers of that age, Drake was of particular interest to me. His journey, and the reputation he earned because of it, were significant in neutralizing the power of the Spanish empire, thus creating an opportunity for the British.
10 – Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams (2025)
The author of this book was a director of public policy at Facebook during the time the company was beginning to expand across the world. In her memoir, she reveals the behind-the-scenes story of Facebook’s expansion-at-all-costs decision-making.
This was an engaging read, a book covering how optimism and good intentions really fell apart at Facebook. Probably no one comes out of this book looking good, not even the author. I won’t excuse Wynn-Williams from her part in making Facebook the force that it is in our lives, but I will say she wrote a fascinating book.
A Quote from the Book:
“Parents at work talk about how they don’t allow their teens to have mobile phones, which only underscores how well these executives understand the real damage their product inflicts on young minds.” (Careless People, Sarah Wynn-Williams)
Reflections
Only one of these books was a random find. Most others were books I specifically looked for based on the topic. Both Discontent and Careless People were books I discovered through BookTubers. A lot of BookTube recommendations are misses for me, but these were good.
For this coming year, I will try to read fewer books. I want to slow down, spend more time with each book, tackle some long classics and books in other languages. And I have other goals unrelated to reading. It’s actually hard for me to read less on purpose. (If you can believe it, this past year I had intended to read less, not more.) So we’ll see how it goes, but I highly discourage anyone from taking a reading challenge too seriously. Reading is supposed to be fun, and sometimes educational, but never a burden or a chore.
Happy reading to you all in 2026!
