2025 Reading List

I ended with 146 Books on the year. Here are my favorites across a few different categories:

• I loved the detailed worldbuilding in Isles of the Emberdark by Brandon Sanderson. It follows a trapper and navigator in a dangerous Pacific Islands-like locale as he tries to save his people’s unique culture in the face of colonization and modernization. The premise might sound cheesy, but I couldn’t put down the book. If Sanderson isn’t quite your speed, I also really enjoyed the worldbuilding in A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett. It’s the second in the series, but it can be read as a standalone.
• Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry was my favorite historical fiction read of the year. It has a slow pace, but is written exceptionally well and completely pulled me into a rich set of classic western storylines. If that’s too slow for you, The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth is a much faster paced spy novel that felt similarly authentic.
• If you’re looking for a more conceptual, contemplative story, I really enjoyed The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard. It covers a unique take on time-travel where journeying to the next valley over means stepping 20 years into your own future or past and the implications that has on society. The Afterlife Project by Tim Weed also covers time travel in a unique way, and is written very similarly. Alternatively, A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness is more of a young adult horror novel, but still scratched some of the same itch for me.
• My favorite magical academia book was The Incandescent by Emily Tesh. It follows a professor at a magical English prep school, but focuses on the mundane details of day to day life with a background in the fantastical rather than something overtly magical like Harry Potter. Alternatively, Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang is less grounded in the day-to-day and more focused on magical research. Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor doesn’t have any magic, but does capture the academic struggle.
• For a weird mind-bending book, I devoured Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde. It features a very odd caste (and magic?) system predicated around what colors people can see, and boasts an equally distinctive writing style. The West Passage by Jared Pechacek made me feel a similar way, reminding me of a Russian-inspired Wizard of Oz.
• I also read a bunch of classic science fiction with aliens, space battles, and all that jazz. Salvation by Peter Hamilton was my favorite and kicks off a great trilogy covering alien conspiracies, socialism, and gender identity. I’d also recommend The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey and The Forge of God by Greg Bear in this genre.
• Finally, if you’re just looking for an easy, enjoyable read, Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir covers a Rapunzel-esque princess who has to save herself from the tower when all the princes aren’t up to the task. Or, for a more sci-fi angle, Stars Uncharted by S. K. Dunstall is a light approachable space opera.

Happy reading!