{"id":526,"date":"2025-12-28T17:32:28","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T23:32:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/?p=526"},"modified":"2025-12-29T14:04:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T20:04:23","slug":"a-look-back-at-2025-every-book-i-read-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/readersgottaread.com\/?p=526","title":{"rendered":"A Look Back at 2025: Every Book I Read This Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I started this blog one year ago, and my very first post<\/a> shared my TBR pile for the new year. The start of a new year is always exciting \u2013 it\u2019s a time for fresh starts, new goals, and of course, new books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As motivational speaker Charlie \u201cTremendous\u201d Jones famously said, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cYou will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

As 2025 comes to a close, it felt fitting to look back at everything I read this year. Below is my complete 2025 reading list, broken down by month, along with my favorite and least favorite books of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What I Read in 2025: Complete Book List<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

*(Books marked with an asterisk are ones I would read again.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

January<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. The Happiest Man on Earth: The Beautiful Life of an Auschwitz Survivor<\/a> <\/em>by Eddie Jaku*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Alias Grace<\/a> <\/em>by Margaret Atwood<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. God Spare the Girls<\/a> <\/em>by Kelsey McKinney<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Our Nazi:An American Suburb\u2019s Encounter with Evil<\/a> <\/em>by Michael Soffer*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

February<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. The Social Graces<\/a> <\/em>by Renee Rosen*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Esperanza Rising<\/a> <\/em>by Pam Munoz Ryan*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. The Boyfriend<\/a> <\/em>by Freida McFadden*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. It Starts with Us<\/a> <\/em>by Colleen Hoover*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

March<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Slave Stealers: True Accounts of Slave Rescues-Then and Now<\/a> <\/em>by Timothy Ballard*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Every Other Four: The Journal of Cpl. Matthew D. Wojtecki<\/a> <\/em>by Matthew Wojtecki<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. To Heaven and Back<\/a> <\/em>by Mary Neil<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. Have a New Kid by Friday<\/a><\/em> by Dr. Kevin Leman*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

April<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

13. Reminders of Him <\/a><\/em>by Colleen Hoover*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14. Within Arm\u2019s Length: A Secret Service Agent’s Definitive Inside Account of Protecting the President<\/a> <\/em>by Dan Emmett*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

15. The Personal Librarian<\/a> <\/em>by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray<\/p>\n\n\n\n

16. The Women<\/a> <\/em>by Kristin Hannah*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17. Cradles of the Reich<\/a> <\/em>by Jennifer Coburn*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

June<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

18. The Governess of Penwythe Hall<\/a> <\/em>by Sarah E. Ladd*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

19. The Books of Two Ways<\/a> <\/em>by Jodi Picoult<\/p>\n\n\n\n

July<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

20. The London Bookshop Affair<\/a> <\/em>by Louise Fein*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

21. The Thief of Lanwyn Manor<\/a> <\/em>by Sarah E. Ladd*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

August<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

22. The Kitchen House<\/a> <\/em>by Kathleen Grissom*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

23. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis<\/a> <\/em>by <\/em>J.D. Vance*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

24. Anxious Generation<\/a> <\/em>by Jonathan Haidt*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

25. The Next Ship Home<\/a> <\/em>by Heather Webb*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

September<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

26. The Ark and the Dove: The Story of Noah’s<\/em> Wife<\/em><\/a> by Jill Eileen Smith*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

27. Maybe Someday<\/a> <\/em>by Colleen Hoover*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

October<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

28. Miriam<\/a> <\/em>by Mesu Andrews<\/p>\n\n\n\n

29. The Frozen River<\/a> <\/em>by Ariel Lawhon*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

November<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

30. The Outsiders<\/a> <\/em>by S. E. Hinton<\/p>\n\n\n\n

31. Wish You Were Here <\/a><\/em>by Jodi Picoult<\/p>\n\n\n\n

32. Those Who Save Us<\/a> <\/em>by Jenna Blum*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

December<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

33. Little Fires Everywhere<\/a> <\/em>by Celeste Ng<\/p>\n\n\n\n

34. The Book of Lost Names<\/a> <\/em>by Kristin Harmel*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

35. In the Manger<\/a><\/em> by Max Lucado*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

36. Hatchet<\/em><\/a> by Gary Paulsen*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

37. Boy: Tales of Childhood<\/a><\/em> by Roald Dahl*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, I will finish reading the Bible on December 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best and Worst Books of 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n