2025 Year in Review (Books)

 

 In 2025, I read 342 books! I listened to audio books, read e-books, and read book-books.

46 audio books

126 e-books

170 books

July 2025 was my best reading month with 37 books read. August 2025 was my best reading month for number of pages read!

The first book review of the year: Cloaked in Beauty by Karen Witemeyer! The last book review of the year was the NASB 1977 Inductive Study Bible!

I mostly-mostly read books I enjoyed or LOVED, loved, loved.

1 book was 1 star
5 books were 2 stars
89 books were 3 stars
112 books were 4 stars
135 books were 5 stars

I reread 80 books while 262 were new-to-me!

79% of the books I read were from the library! (Other sources being bought, gifted, review copy, or read online from Project Gutenberg, etc.)

My genres:

Bibles 5.1%
Christian fiction 7.4%
Christian nonfiction 10.8%
speculative fiction 15.1%
historical fiction 8.0%
romance 0.3%
realistic/general fiction 3.7%
poetry 1.1%
play 0.3%
picture books 21.3%
board books 7.4%
nonfiction 5.4%
classics 5.1%

early readers/early chapter books 5.7%
graphic novels/comic books 2.0%
mystery 1.7%

My top ten books

The Blue Castle. L.M. Montgomery. 1926. 218 pages. [Audio book, Library, 5 Stars]

Kidnapped From Ukraine Under Attack. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2025. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, mg realistic fiction, mg fiction, survival, war stories]

Kidnapped From Ukraine #2 Standoff. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2025. 288 pages. [Source: Library] [realistic fiction, family, drama, war] [5 stars]
Pocket Bear. Katherine Applegate. Illustrated by Charles Santoso. 2025. 272 pages. [Source: Review copy] [5 stars, J fiction, J fantasy, animal fantasy, toy fantasy]
Stitch: Reimagining Frankenstein. Padraig Kenny. 2025. 208 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, mg speculative fiction, mg fantasy]
Skipshock. Caroline O'Donoghue. 2025. 400 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, YA dystopia, YA speculative fiction, YA romance]
The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum. Thornton W. Burgess. 1914. 139 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, classic, children's classic, animal fantasy]
The Tides of Time. Sarah M. Eden. 2025. 368 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, time travel, adult romance, historical fiction]
The Secret of Honeycake. Kimberly Newton Fusco. 2025. 368 pages. [Source: Library] [j historical fiction, j fiction] [5 stars]
Becoming Real: The True Story of the Velveteen Rabbit. Molly Golden. Illustrated by Paola Escobar. 2025. 48 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, nonfiction picture book, book about books, author biographies]

Honorable Mentions:

Wolves at the Door. Steve Watkins. 2024. [December] 288 pages. [Source: Library] [MG historical, MG fiction, world war II, 5 stars]
19. My Wonderful World of Slapstick. Buster Keaton with Charles Samuels. 1960. 340 pages. [Source: Library] [adult biography, adult autobiography; film-making, show business, comedy]
Death in the Jungle. Candace Fleming. 2025. 346 pages. [Source: Library] [YA nonfiction, nonfiction, true crime, 5 stars]
Echoes of the Sea. Sarah M. Eden. 2025. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, adult romance, adult historical, proper romance, clean romance, time travel]
Westfallen. Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares. 2024. 384 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars] [MG speculative fiction, MG science fiction, MG dystopia, TIME TRAVEL, alternate history]


© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews