I kept my target of reading 52 books this year and I ended up reading 53, rushing to read one on the morning on new years eve as I had forgotten one earlier in the year! But still that's no bad thing.
I'm sure you all know I'm a book worm by now, so no surprises here on the numbers, audio books were such a game changer for me, and I often wonder how much I'd enjoy my main work (small batch production) without them. I do also listen to a lot of podcasts and the like as well.
Book highlights of the year - Fiction
Not sure where to start with this as there were so many good ones.
Classics -
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury - I can think of no better time than now to read this book. It's surprising how long ago it was written, but my goodness it rings true of today.
War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy - Always wanted to read this and this year I gave myself that opportunity. Not sure what I was expecting, but even though it's huge and has a huge number of characters I found it easier going than I thought. The war scenes were some of the best I've read and dare I say some bits near the beginning with the teenagers is almost a little trashy. Glad I read it, but might not be one I re read often!
A Month In The Country - A beautiful calm book, just enjoy feeling like you're in a village in the 1920s, about a man with shell shock recovering while restoring a mural on a wall in a church.
Far from the Madding Crowd - Gabriel Oak deserved so much better. That's all I say!
Grapes of Wrath - Bleak, but worth reading. But bleak
Day of the triffids - Great bit of sci-fi fun, loved it.
Fiction -
Jasper Fforde - completely bonkers world building, almost gave up and then suddenly I was there and loved it - can't wait for the third one in this series.
The Devils - Joe Abercrombie - Probably my favourite author and he's done it again. A cast of characters I love, loads of action and funny to boot. Incredible writing.
Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir - Great cosy Sci-fi, every bit of this was fun, and written in a way to keep you reading.
Misery - Stephen King - I could not stop reading this. I was hooked. I wanted to turn away but couldn't. Such a great book.
Bob Mortimer - Satsuma complex and Avocado Hotel - Just fun books, light reading at it's finest. I love these.
The Black Tongue Thief - special mention for a great audio performance, one review said it was "alright except for the non native English speaker" I thought that was odd so gave the sample a listen - he is Irish! And every paragraph he reads like it's poetry, very much a fantasy book, with magic and the like, but very fun, a pleasure to listen to.
Non Fiction -
Malcolm Gladwell - This year I started (on my brother's recommendation) to read Malcolm Gladwell. I got through four of his this year, they make incredible audio books as include the interview recordings and look at fascinating subjects. I was utterly hooked on each one. Not always the happiest of subjects, but ones really worth reading about.
Everything is Tuberculosis - John Green - Again another incredible book about a subject I knew less that perhaps I should. very eye opening, especially about how we treat and cure things only when it suits.
Less - Patrick Grant - A book that puts into words a lot of what I think. Beautiful turn of phrase and I'm going to urge more people to read this book. Superb.
A particular highlight - Reading Terry Pratchett to my boy. We've been loving reading the truckers series together and the books have quite often made him (and me) laugh out loud. my teen years were spent reading Pratchett so I'm hoping we can read lots of these together in the future.
The Children Of the Famine - Marita Conlon-Mckenna - I read this to the girls and I can see why it's an Irish classic. A trilogy of books about the Irish famine, the middle book about a girl of 13 moving to America on her own, it's history that should certainly be taught a lot more, especially when there are a lot of people that want Britain to be "great again", a lot suffered for that so called greatness. Docks shipping grain off to England while Ireland starved, it's made the girls and I look a lot more into that time period.
Books that didn't quite hit the mark for me -
Of thorn and Briar. It just wasn't what I wanted it to be, I think I wanted it to be another Burn (by Ben Short) and it just felt a bit flat, but maybe that was my expectation rather than the book itself. Also I felt that there was some underlying contradictions in opinions that I couldn't quite place my finger on, I do think it is a well written book though and I did enjoy it, just didn't fill me up (if that makes sense).
Shogun Part 2 - Honestly I was so invested and then it just ended in such a flat way, wrecked the whole thing for me.
Craft Land - James Fox - just felt a bit w&nky, just didn't feel right to me and I love books about craft. Skimming too softly and with too much reverence between the crafts. In one bit he talks about how much thought goes into stroke of the chisel of a stone carver, and as a wood carver I have to think that it's just crap, because I'm normally thinking about what I'm going to cook for tea, not that if I make a bad stroke the piece is ruined, otherwise nothing would be made.
The lion Above The door - Onjali Q. Raúf - I loved, laughed and cried at The Boy At the Back Of the Class, but this one was just too slow, I read it to my son and I think it struggled to hold both of our attention, I think if it was shorter it would have been better (for us anyway), still a good book, just not in the same league as the other I just mentioned.
So there you go, my books of 2025. I think 52 is a good target, not saying I'll get there this year, but I like having an aim. My wife and daughters are going to share their reading lists as well in the next week or so.
What was your favourite book you read in 2025? Anything you think I'd like?
