My 2025 in Books

Posted on by Julia Dath

It was a magical year of reading, and there’s no better way to wrap things up than to share my 2025 reading list.

In 2025, I read 42 books. More than half of those were checked out from my local library. Thank goodness for community resources!

My most read genre was romance. I’ll be frank here: it has been a tough year for me, and reading has become an important piece of maintaining my sanity. I’ve been keeping things lighter than in years past with my reading selections. There’s nothing wrong with a cheesy fluffy romance novel to get you through the week! Romance holds such an interesting place in the literary canon. On one hand, it’s extremely popular. On social media, romance is easily the most discussed genre on my feed by a mile. At the same time, there’s a lot of negative rhetoric online that reading romance is “less than” or requires less intellectual work to write and consume.

I staunchly disagree with this. And in my year of romance reading, I’ve come to appreciate just how complex and deeply human the romance genre is. Just like with every kind of book, not every story in the genre is great. But romance takes a lot of heat for this. And the positioning of a genre majority read and written by women as less intellectual is not lost on me.

I’m all for the cheese sometimes, too. It’s all in good fun. Ladies, read whatever you want, regardless if people think!

The question of why some of us naturally gravitate towards literature and others do not has always fascinated me. I started this blog as a way to share the books I enjoy because, in many ways, reading feels so tied to my identity. I see myself as a storyteller and a lover of stories. The opportunity to escape reality and step into another life has always appealed to me.

I don’t think there’s a single answer for why some of us find ourselves in love with stories and others do not. For me, I am just thankful to know that I will always have this literary world to wander off to when life gets hard. I will always have a place to learn new perspectives even when life has fallen the way of the familiar. And books will always be an old friend ready to share a new idea.

My reading list for the year combined the new and the old. Te return of the Hunger Games franchise was my most anticipated read of the year, and I am happy to say that I really enjoyed Sunrise on the Reaping. Collins continues to be masterful in her commentary as she navigates releasing these books during ongoing political turmoil. The implicit warnings remain clear, and the expanded cast of characters fits neatly into the world she has crafted.

Thank you to all of you for following on this Julia’s Bookshelves journey. I continue to be quite active on TikTok and Instagram, so follow me there for more bite-sized bookish insights.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy new year!

2025 Notable Reading Highlights

The Undisputed Favorite – Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I cannot stop thinking about this book. Eighties, astronauts, and a love story. I cried through the last few chapters. This was just a good story and made me feel exactly how I want books to make me feel.

The Longest Read – Alchemised by SenLinYu

Have I read more than 1000 pages of a story before? Yes. But not in one single book. Alchemised is the slowest of slow burns, and comes with a laundry list of content warnings, but I do think the hefty page count is a worth journey if you are a seasoned fantasy reader. Just be prepared for a lot of heartbreak, gore, and violence along the way.

Most Read Author – Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

I genuinely have no idea how Ali Hazelwood keeps pumping these books out, but I do know that I am going to continue reading them. Deep End was a fun sports romance. Lukas Blomqvist I am obsessed with you.

Standout Memoir – Bottom of the Pyramid by Nia Sioux

I grew up on Dance Moms, so I was very excited to read Nia’s memoir. It is a poignant reflection on her lived experience as a young girl in the spotlight. I was so impressed by Nia’s creativity, kindness, and bravery in the way she shared her story.

My 2025 Reading List Highlights Continued:

Fiction

Nonfiction

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