Best Books of 2025 – A Year in Review

Every year, at the end of the year, I look back on all the books I have read the year before and list my favorites overall. This year, as always, my goal was 100 books. Just as last year, I didn’t make my goal. I only finished 82. I’m pretty sure lowering my goal to 75 for next year makes sense. This end-of-year rehash post means that you don’t have to bother to read any of my other posts over the course of the year. 2025 was a really strong reading year with thirteen 5-star books and twenty-one 4.5-star choices.

2025 reading stats:

Books finished: 82
Fiction: 67 (82%)
Non-fiction: 15 (18%), including 9 memoirs
Authors of color: 10 (12%)
Male/Female authors: 61 female (74%), 21 male (26%)
Audiobooks: 21
Average rating: 4.1
Repeat authors: 34 (41%)

5-Star Books