Happy 2026! I read a lot of books in 2025 (114). 54 physical books and 60 audiobooks. 2025 felt like a slower reading year for me as I read more classics and longer biographies. I spent a lot of this year editing a personal project, which meant more audiobooks and less fiction.

Even though this was a heavier non-fiction year for me, the fiction I read made it nearly impossible to pick just a top five, so because this is my list and I can do whatever I like, I selected ten.

Top Ten Fiction (in order-ish):

My Friends, Fredrik Backman

No one can make me both cry and laugh on a single page except for Backman. This book is heartbreakingly human and so beautiful.

Life, and Death, and Giants, Ron Rindo

I will remember Gabriel for a very long time. This was a moving story about the power of community, sports, and found family. It really was a book about life and death and giants.

The Names, Florence Knapp

This book follows the same characters in three different scenarios. It's introspective, and the characters have stayed with me. Read with tissues.

The Road to Tender Hearts, Annie Hartnett

Darkly humorous, this book deals with messy characters in the most lovable way. This book was as quirky as it was profound.

The Correspondent, Virginia Evens

This book is told in letters and emails. I think it made an especially good audiobook. Read with tissues, it broke my heart in all the best ways.

Cursed Daughters, Oyinkan Braithwaite

This twisty family saga follows a family after the death of a cousin. It is funny and perceptive.

Broken Country, Leslie Clare Hall

Do not read this book unless you are prepared to cry. It is a tale about the choices we make and what we are willing to sacrifice for love.

Jane and Dan at the End of the World, Colleen Oakley

This book was honestly just a ridiculously good time. If you're looking for something light and in the vein of GET SMART, this will be for you.

Among Friends, Hal Ebbott

This book will not be for everyone. It was very literary, and the subject matter was rather dark. However, I found it to be a fascinating look at long-term friendship dynamics.

A Family Matter, Claire Lynch

This book was short, but packed a punch. This book is heartbreaking and hopeful as a daughter uncovers her family's secrets.

Top Five Nonfiction:

Everything Is Tuberculosis, John Green

Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves, Alison Wood Brooks

Family of Spies, Christine Kuehn

Outspoken: My Fight for Freedom and Human Rights in Afghanistan, Sima Samar

Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, Sarah Wynn-Williams

Top Five Audiobooks:

Elon Musk, Walter Isaacson

The Theory of Everything Else: A Voyage into the World of the Weird, Dan Schreiber

The Lion Women of Tehran, Marjan Kamali

Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver

How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith, Mariann Edgar Budde

If you're still reading, here's everything I read in 2025!

Fiction:

Colored Television, Danzy Senna — 4/5

A Cold Killing, Kate Alice Marshall — 3/5

The Favorites, Layne Fargo — 5/5

How to Age Disgracefully, Clare Pooley — 5/5

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, Benjamin Stevenson — 3/5

Good Dirt, Charmaine Wilkerson — 5/5

The Guncle Abroad, Steven Rowley — 4/5

Penitence, Kristin Koval — 4/5

Famous Last Words, Gilliam McAllister — 3/5

Long Island Compromise, Taffy Brodesser-Akner — 4/5

The Divide, Morgan Richter — 3/5

One of Our Kind, Nicola Yoon — 3/5

Jane and Dan at the End of the World, Colleen Oakley — 5/5

What We Leave Behind, Sue Halpern — 4/5

Wild Dark Shore, Charlotte McConaghy —5/5

Great Big Beautiful Life, Emily Henry — 3/5

Deep Cuts, Holly Brickley — 3/5

Daughter of Mine, Megan Miranda — 4/5

Everything Sweet Is Bitter, Samantha Crewson — 4/5

The River Has Roots, Amal El-Mohtar

My Friends, Fredrik Backman — 5/5

Lulu Dean's Little Library of Banned Books, Kirsten Miller — 4/5

Home of the American Circus, Allison Larkin — 5/5

Fair Play, Louise Hegarty — 3/5

Lime Juice Money, Jo Morey — 4/5

Excavations, Kate Myers — 4/5

A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens — 3/5

Atmosphere, Taylor Jenkins Reid — 4/5

A Family Matter, Claire Lynch — 5/5

Tilt: A Novel, Emma Pattee — 4/5

The Lion Women of Tehran, Marjan Kamali — 5/5

The Names, Florence Knapp — 5/5

What Kind of Paradise, Janelle Brown — 4/5

Finding Grace, Loretta Rothschild — 3/5

The Ghostwriter, Julie Clark — 4/5

The Art of Vanishing, Morgan Pager — 3/5

Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro — 4/5

The Polish Boxer, Eduardo Halfon — 3/5

The Road to Tender Hearts, Annie Hartnett — 5/5

These Summer Storms, Sarah MacLean — 3/5

Master and Commander, Patrick O'Brian — 3/5

Guatemalan Rhapsody: Stories, Jared Lemus — 4/5

Among Friends, Hal Ebbott — 5/5

Alchemy of Secrets, Stephanie Garber — 4/5

The Authenticity Project, Clare Pooley — 4/5

Forget Me Not, Stacy Willingham — 3/5

Frankenstein, Mary Shelley — 3/5

Life, and Death, and Giants, Ron Rindo — 5/5

Monastery, Eduardo Halfon — 4/5

Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver — 5/5

The Ten Year Affair, Erin Somers — 2/5

The Girls Who Grew Big, Leila Mottley — 4/5

Candide, Voltaire — 4/5

Cursed Daughters, Oyinkan Braithwaite — 5/5

Broken Country, Leslie Clare Hall — 5/5

The Horse, Willy Vlautin — 3/5

Spectacular Things, Beck Dorey-Stein — 4/5

The Many Daughters of Afrong Moy, Jamie Ford — 4/5

Best Offer Wins, Marisa Kashino — 5/5

The Correspondent, Virginia Evens — 5/5

Lightbreakers, Aja Gabel — 4/5

Grace & Henry's Holiday Movie Marathon, Matthew Norman — 4/5

Buckeye, Patrick Ryan — 5/5

The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights, Anonymous — 4/5

Nonfiction:

From Here to the Great Unknown, Lisa Marie Presley — 5/5

Heartbreak is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music, Rob Sheffield — 4/5

A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy, Tia Levings — 5/5

Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, Salman Rushdie — 4/5

Inside Out, Demi Moore — 4/5

Disney High: The Untold Story of the Rise and Fall of Disney Channel's Tween Empire, Ashley Spencer — 4/5

One Day I'll Grow Up and Be a Beautiful Woman: A Mother's Story, Abi Maxwell — 5/5

The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi, Wright Thompson — 5/5

Building Material: The Memoir of a Park Avenue Doorman, Bruno Stephen — 3/5

Lifeform, Jenny Slate — 3/5

I'm That Girl: Living the Power of My Dreams, Jordan Chiles — 4/5

No One Gets to Fall Apart: A Memoir, Sarah LeBrie — 3/5

We Are Experiencing a Slight Delay: Tips, Tales, Travels, Gary Janetti — 4/5

How to Survive a Bear Attack: A Memoir, Claire Cameron — 4/5

Everything Is Tuberculosis, John Green — 5/5

Elon Musk, Walter Isaacson — 4/5

Theft by Finding: Diaries, David Sedaris — 4/5

On Muscle: The Stuff That Moves Us and Why It Matters, Bonnie Tsui — 4/5

Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves, Alison Wood Brooks — 5/5

The Theory of Everything Else: A Voyage into the World of the Weird, Dan Schreiber — 5/5

Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Staying Put, Annie B. Jones — 5/5

The Tell: A Memoir, Amy Griffin 3/5

Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global, Laura Spinney — 3/5

Frog: The Secret Diary of a Paramedic, Sally Gould — 4/5

Outspoken: My Fight for Freedom and Human Right in Afghanistan, Sima Samar — 5/5

Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find and Keep Love, Amir Levine — 4/5

The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom, Shari Franke — 4/5

Big Dumb Eyes: Stories from a Simpler Mind, Nate Bargatze — 4/5

Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live, Susan Morrison — 4/5

Memorial Days, Geraldine Brooks — 5/5

To Shake the Sleeping Self: A Journey from Oregon to Patagonia, and a Quest for a Life with No Regret, Jedidiah Jenkins

Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted, Suleika Jaouad — 5/5

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, David Grann — 4/5

How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith, Mariann Edgar Budde — 5/5

Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service, Michael Lewis — 4/5

A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck, Sophie Elmhirst — 3/5

The Mailman: My Wild Ride Delivering Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home, Stephen Starring Grant — 4/5

Lost & Found: A Memoir, Kathryn Schulz — 4/5

Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything, Alyson Stoner — 5/5

Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, Sarah Wynn-Williams — 4/5

When the Going Was Good: An Editor's Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines, Graydon Carter — 3/5

Awake: A Memoir, Jen Hatmaker — 5/5

A Load of Balls: The QI History of Sport, James Harkin — 4/5

This American Woman: A One-In-A-Billion Memoir, Zarna Garg — 4/5

Like: A History of the World's Most Hated (and Misunderstood) Word — Megan C. Reynolds — 3/5

Raising Hare: A Memoir, Chloe Dalton — 4/5

Family of Spies, Christine Kuehn — 5/5

Honest Advent: Awakening to the Wonder of God-with-Us Then, Here, and Now, Scott Erickson — 5/5

Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America, — Bridget Read — 4/5