In 2025, I had something of a New Year's Resolution to keep a book on the end table beside where I sit and read when I have a few minutes instead of scrolling or playing games on my phone. My average phone screen time is now usually under 2 hours a day, and my reading list has exploded! So here you go, my reading list from 2025.
- The Beautiful and Damned - F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Chemistry - Weike Wang
- Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion - Carolyn Keene
- Devil's Food Cake Murder - Joanne Fluke
- Joan is Okay - Weike Wang
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder - Joanne Fluke
- O Pioneers! - Willa Cather
- Strawberry Shortcake Murder - Joanne Fluke
- Jonah's Gourd Vine - Zora Neale Hurston
- Blueberry Muffin Murder - Joanne Fluke
- Lemon Meringue Pie Murder - Joanne Fluke
- An Immense World - Ed Yong
- This is a Love Story - Jessica Soffer
- Cat Got Your Killer - Sofie Ryan
- Fudge Cupcake Murder - Joanne Fluke
- Wild Dark Shore - Charlotte McConaghy
- The Whore's Child and Other Stories - Richard Russo
- Sugar Cookie Murder - Joanne Fluke
- Peach Cobbler Murder - Joanne Fluke
- The Lost Carousel of Provence - Juliet Blackwell
- Therapy - David Lodge
- Death Comes for the Archbishop - Willa Cather
- Doom and Bloom: The Case for Creativity in a World Hooked on Panic - Campbell Walker
- The Paris Key - Juliet Blackwell
- Science and the Near-Death Experience: How Consciousness Survives Death - Chris Carter
- Cherry Cheesecake Murder - Joanne Fluke
- Stone Yard Devotional - Charlotte Wood
- Rental House - Weike Wang
- Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
- Small Rain - Garth Greenwell
- The Vineyards of Champagne - Juliet Blackwell
- Out Stealing Horses - Per Petterson
- Letters from Paris - Juliet Blackwell
- Flight - Sherman Alexie
- Key Lime Pie Murder - Joanne Fluke
- Asylum Hotel - Juliet Blackwell
- Carrot Cake Murder - Joanne Fluke
- Audition - Katie Kitamura
- The Sea - John Banville
- Brooklyn - Colm Toibin
- Cream Puff Murder - Joanne Fluke
- Tilt - Emma Pattee
- Plum Pudding Murder - Joanne Fluke
- Apple Turnover Murder - Joanne Fluke
- Gingerbread Cookie Murder - Joanne Fluke
- This Summer Will Be Different - Carley Fortune
- Anne of Green Gables (Complete & Unabridged) - Lucy Maud Montgomery
- The Bromance Book Club - Lyssa Kay Adams
- The Light Fantastic - Terry Pratchell
- Meet Me at the Lake - Carley Fortune
- Undercover Bromance - Lyssa Kay Adams
Early in the year my husband commented that, if I kept up the pace I was on, I would read 50 books before the end of the year. At the time, I said that I would probably slow down at some point, but as the year went on and I hadn't appreciably slowed down, 50 books became my unwritten goal. As you can see, I actually surpassed that goal.
I don't have a goal for a number of books for this year, but I do want to continue to read instead of play or scroll on my phone. I don't want a number goal because I feel like that influenced what I read near the end of the year. I wanted to keep it fast and easy so that I could make sure to reach that number goal. I want to try to avoid that this year. Less than 50 books is definitely acceptable.
In this list, I have a couple of books that are often read in youth or adolescence (The Nancy Drew book and Anne of Green Gables). The Nancy Drew book was one that I had checked out multiple times in elementary school, but I was pretty sure that I never actually finished it. I wanted to follow through on that. Anne of Green Gables was one I never read as a kid and Next Summer Will Be Different referenced it a bunch so I thought I'd read it.
Obviously there are A LOT of Hannah Swensen Mystery books (by Joanne Fluke) on the list. The first one I read was out of order (I found it for sale at my local library for $1) and I wanted to try to get caught up from the beginning to where I started. I'm kinda sick of Hannah at this point. I may read some more of them in the future, but not right now and not back to back.
I read several books by authors from other countries: Canada, Australia, Norway, England, and Ireland.
I read books based on recommendations from the New York Times, from my local librarian, and from my husband (a retired English literature professor). I read some books that just looked interesting when I picked them up and read the description. One book was from a cozy mystery series that I was already following. And some were written by an author whose cozy mysteries I had enjoyed in the past, but has now branched out into mainstream fiction.
Some books I bought new. Some books I bought used. Some came from the library. Some were e-books I checked out from the library. Some my husband already owned.
There were romance novels, a science fiction novel, cozy mysteries, mainstream modern fiction, award winning novels, classic novels, book that have been made into movies, and a few nonfiction books as well. It was a very eclectic year of reading.
