Door No. 2
"The life you have led does not need to be the only life you have." -Anna Quindlen

Life Well Lived

What I Read in 2025

Another year of reading has come and gone. 2025 is a year I don’t wish to relive for a variety of reasons. I still love to read - there’s a quiet peace that comes with a good book that I will always enjoy - but I felt in a bit of a slump when it came to books this year. I found myself asking whether it was me or the books that were the problem. Are my standards just extra high for impressing me or getting me out of my own head? Or are some of these books just… meh? Probably some of both if I’m being honest.

I read a bit less this year than I have in past years. Maybe it has to do with having two kids now (why is two SO MANY more than one??!), or with the slump, or with the easy entertainment that mindlessly scrolling provides after the kids are in bed (I got a Brick two weeks ago and it’s doing good things for me so far). Regardless, it is what it is.

THE STATS

This year I finished 49 books, with 16,014 pages.

I read an average of 1,334 pages per month. March was the highest reading month at 1,807 pages, and September the lowest at 693.

I read 15 nonfiction books (though none in April, September, or November) and 34 fiction.

There were more books I didn’t finish this year than in the past - it feels good to move on if something isn’t working for me. A couple of those I set down are ones I would probably really enjoy in a different headspace, it just caught me at the wrong time. I’ll keep them on my list for the future.

Three of the books on my completed list were ones I read with Kate. She’s getting more into chapter books now and it’s been fun to both read aloud to her and see her develop her own reading habit.

A couple of my favorites from the year were recommendations from my students. They know I love to read, and I sometimes read to them in class when I find something that adds life or context to the material we are discussing. It’s an honor to receive their recommendations, and even better when they turn out to be favorites.

The books

FAVORITE FICTION

  • Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

  • Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny

  • Orbital by Samantha Harvey

  • Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

  • James by Percival Everett

  • The Wedding People by Alison Espach

  • I See You’ve Called in Dead by John Kenney

  • The Awakening by Kate Chopin

  • The Hong Kong Widow by Kristen Loesch

FAVORITE NONFICTION

  • Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

  • You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith

  • Who Is Government: the Untold Story of Public Service by Michael Lewis

  • Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

  • Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez

  • Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer

OTHER FICTION

  • Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

  • The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

  • The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

  • The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

  • All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

  • Funny Story by Emily Henry

  • The Secret History by Donna Tartt

  • The Maid by Nita Prose

  • The Women by Kristin Hannah

  • The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

  • The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny

  • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

  • Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

  • Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

  • Monogamy by Sue Miller

  • You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon

  • Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

  • Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

  • I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

  • The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin by Alison Goodman

  • North Woods by Daniel Mason

  • Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

  • The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

  • The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis

  • The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

OTHER NONFICTION

  • Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

  • Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

  • The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

  • Callings by Dave Isay

  • The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory by Tim Alberta

  • Careless People by Sarah Wynn Williams

  • No Visible Bruises by Rachel Louise Snyder

  • The Tell by Amy Griffin

  • The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer

My TBR list is a mile long and getting longer. I will never read all the things I’d like to read. But there are a few I’m really looking forward to in 2026, and hoping they lift me out of the slump. I hope you get 5 stars across the board in your 2026 reading.

Nicole TombersComment