My 2025 in Books + Top 10 Reads of the Year & 2026 Reading Resolutions

2025 marks the 15th (!!!) year I’ve been tracking my reading, which honestly always blows my mind whenever I try to keep count. Signing up in Goodreads years ago definitely paid off as I don’t think I’ll be able to keep track of all these things if I don’t have that long-standing online account where I track things. I have half a mind to browse through the last 15 years (that might be a thing in the next couple of months) but we shall start with the year that has passed. Here’s the 2025 Reading Recap from your resident procrastinator! I know it will haunt me if I skip posting this review post this year so I hope posting this at the tail-end of February is not too late.

2025 Reading, in numbers

Here are my quick reading stats for 2025:

In bullets, these are a couple of patterns and observations I had this year:

Still kept to my standard target of 24 books for the year that I targeted from 3 years ago. The number of books I’ve read this year significantly decreased though, compared to the 54 of last year.
My average rating for the year stayed the same! Keeping to almost the same average (short) length of books as well. I hope to increase this in 2026.
Distribution between fiction and non fiction was almost the same as last year but I read less non fiction this year. Six of my 10 favorite books of the year are non fiction though — and I think this is the first time that non fiction dominated my favorites in a given year! I’ve come a long way from reading purely fiction. And I think I can confidently say that I am finally able to flesh out the type of non fiction that I like. That gave me some confidence in my sense of identify. Because these books are (almost always) not usually the ones pushed to me by social media algorithms but books I actually try to seek out myself. 😌
The print (this includes digital as well) versus audio ratio evened out! I find this really positive, as I lugged around hardbacks and printed books more this year. I hope this is an indicator that my attention and focus is improving to be able to read more printed things — and thus, being more intentional with my reading time.
I want to continue reading more books written by women next year and also try to increase the translated books in my read-list as well!
I’ve read a couple of books in a series this year (and a lot of multiple books in one series as well) but I really do want to spend some time reading standalones this 2026.

A couple of other notable themes as well:

Experiencing the joy of going into a bookstore blind

This year, I discovered a lot of really great books by browsing blindly in bookstores. A lot of them ended up becoming some of my favorites for the year. It made me rediscover that giddy feeling of browsing the shelves and having a book suddenly hold your attention for whatever reason: a catchy title, a familiar author, an interesting cover, and having an intense pull to buy it. Social media has been so full of overhyped books lately (and they unfortunately have a huge sway on me) that finding these random books almost felt like I have autonomy over my choices again.

Discovered an amazing new-to-me author: Ella Risbridger

Hanging out by the Food and Cooking section led me to one of my favorite books and reading experiences of the year: Ella Risbridger‘s Midnight Chicken. It ended up becoming my favorite non-fiction read of the year (a tall order, considering my 2025 non fiction line up — a lot of them ending up in my top 10!). I still remember how emotional I got once I finished that Acknowledgement/Writer’s Note at the end (goes to show that you should be reading these things! a lot of times in my experience, it fleshes out and completes the whole book). It was one of my most emotional reads of the year, surprisingly because this book is generally classified as a cook book. To me, it is so much more. I purchased two more books from her after this.

The year of food and cooking

Last 2024, I read this essay anthology called In the Kitchen from Daunt Books Publishing (short review). It became one of my top reads of that year, and it made me seek out books that center food, cooking, and a life told (and remembered) through eating. I loved that I discovered a new ‘genre’ of books to obsess over and that it just never failed to bring me so much joy. It also partially inspired a series in my Substack called “In Transit: Everything memorable I ate in <place>“. I love talking about food — so it is logical to think that I love reading about people talking about food. In the Kitchen is still the undisputed love of my life in this genre, but this year brought me a couple of books that I cherish as well.

Books Read

There are all the books I’ve read this 2025 (and linked those which I’ve written short/full length reviews across platforms):

I’ve made arecap of all the books I’ve read by quarter or month-by-month (if time and my attention span permitted it) throughout the year, with short commentaries on each. I’m particularly proud of this series, as this is the second year I’ve stuck religiously to it: Quarter 1| Quarter 2(+ Mid-Year Check-In) | Quarter 3| October & November| December.

2026 Reading Resolutions

Here are my 2026 Reading Resolutions, with a couple items carried over from 2025:

Post at least 5 full reviews in the blog. In hopes of reviving this blog again.
Make at least 1 Reading Diary entry in my Reading Journal. Not to be confused with my book journal.
Read at least 2 Filipino-authored books.
Read at least one thriller (that is not a cozy murder mystery) /horror book. Because maybe I am missing out? Let’s see.
Read at least one of the “big” fantasy books in my shelf. (from 2025)
Read more translated fiction. (from 2025)
Maintain an actual book journal. (from 2025)

Here is a quick recap of my 2025 Reading Resolutions:

Read more historical non-fiction. NOT ACHIEVED.
Read more translated fiction. ACHIEVED. Last year, I read 6. This year, I read 7. I count that as a win. 😄 But still carrying this over to 2026 because I want more.
Read more honkaku / shin honkaku novels. NOT ACHIEVED. I have not read any. Lol. Carrying this over to 2026.
Read at least one of the “big” fantasy books in my shelf. NOT ACHIEVED. Carrying this over to 2026.
Maintain an actual book journal. PARTIALLY ACHIEVED. I gave up halfway in the year. Carrying this over to 2026.
Read more printed books. ACHIEVED. Half of the total books I’ve read this year is in print and I loved it.

My Top Reads of the Year

This is the first time that I actually ranked my top read of the year:

10. Glucose Revolution: The life-changing power of balancing your blood sugar by Jessie Inchauspe – Eye-opening. An informative take on glucose and how it affects a lot of things, even those that we don’t know about or expect.. Something that I actually find useful in my day-to-day life and overall pursuit of wellness.

9. In the Company of Witches by Auralee Wallace – This is the best out of all the witchy books I’ve read this 2025, and the perfect cozy autumn and spooky season read. The closest to having the Practical Magic vibes — the coziness to it but ALSO the darkness too. This book is also very much grief-forward, which is (I find) something that resonates so much with me.

8. Tiny Moons: A Year of Eating on Shanghai by Nina Mingya-Powles – A memoir about eating, and documenting a very specific time in one’s life. A nice meditation on identity and memory through food (something I’ve been very drawn to lately). This little book gave me mushy feelings that felt like a mix of hope and inspiration. It was nice.

7. Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jessie Q. Sutanto – This was my first 5-star read of the year. This book grabbed me and wrapped me in its embrace. Ultimately, I gave in. It was a reminder never to discount a book based on genre, and a kind of ‘coming home’ to the way I read and rate books: always, always by how they made me feel. Loneliness, isolation (especially for older people), found family, good food, good company, and good ol’ amateur sleuthing. A worthy successor to one of my favorite reads last 2024.

6. The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong – This is a book that challenges the way I look at stories, AND stories worth telling. On writing a book without any improvement arcs, because that is how a lot of people’s lives are and these stories are rarely ever put in the spotlight. We are (at least, I am) conditioned to wait for that moment when it all makes sense: a point when the story reaches a pinnacle, someone gets the girl or the boy, a dream is realized, or something finally unfolds. But real-life often usually is not the case – you hope for it and you never know if it will actually come, but you keep on living because what can you do anyway? This is one of those few books that I found very hard not to think about long after I finished it.

5. Comfort Eating: The joy of secret snacks by Grace Dent – Another food-themed book, this just feels like a warm hug. The book is full of food-related memories that are sure to tug at your heartstrings, especially if you grew up in the UK during the 80s, or if you’re simply someone who cherishes the role food plays in one’s life. It’s a lovely reminder that food and the experiences around it is a universal language we all understand.

4. In Search of Perfumes: A lifetime journey to the sources of nature’s scents by Dominique Roques – This ticked all the boxes of what a good non-fiction book for me is: a perfect blend of culture, people, travel, and nature. It is also very informative without being too technical. But most of all, I love how much respect and appreciation pulses through the whole book from the author to the raw materials and the people that cultivates it. It was definitely a love letter to the perfume industry. Not usually a book I would go for — but one I am happy to have discovered and loved.

3. How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart by Florentyna Leow – Leow captures vividly that feeling of falling in love with a place (and it’s people along with it), and then being able to describe in heartbreaking accuracy that slow (or maybe it happens all at once) disillusionment that makes one leave a ‘home‘ behind – like growing out of it, inevitable. It’s a meditation on friendship, and finding your place. Of appreciating the little things, and making a life for yourself. An early favorite of the year.

2. Midnight Chicken (& other recipes worth living for) by Ella Risbridger – My top non-fiction of the year. This book came out of nowhere, right when I needed it, enveloping me with comfort and quiet understanding. It’s about dealing with the day to day heaviness of things, about love, about the happiness, and comfort that cooking AND eating brings, of the memories attached to it. I can’t quite classify this book: a cook book, or a memoir, or something else, something new. Perhaps, trying to pin it down as one thing is doing it a disservice. What I do know is this: it’s one of the most affecting books I’ve read this year, and maybe ever. Books like this remind me of the joy in stumbling upon something unexpected in a bookstore. It also makes me want to write. And isn’t that one of the best feelings in the world when you’re reading?

1. Heart the Lover by Lily King – My top fiction book of the year, and my favorite of 2025. My God, what a book. What started as a foray into young love, quickly turned into a heartfelt meditation on loss, friendship, grief, purpose, and love — all kinds of love. A book that is simultaneously about books, reading, and writing — but also spotlights that rich human experience that comes from being alive. There is just something about how Lily King paints a scene. How every quiet conversation felt loud, with just the minimal amount of dialogue between the characters. It’s in those liminal spaces that her writing shines through: how it can feel like a chasm, where a lot of things are said without being spoken. I think this is the first time in a long while that my chest ached that much while reading a book. This book hurt. But I wanted more of it. The moment I read the first sentence, I knew I was a goner. A solid 5 out of 5, through and through.

RUNNER-UPS

Impractical Magic by Emily Grimoire
Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico
A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon
Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King
On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle – I know I rated it a bit lower but I just can’t get this book out of my head.

Here’s to another year of great books, and reading — along with the pleasure and community it brings. 🥂

Previous Year in Books Recaps: 2024 Year in Books | 2023 Year in Books | 2022 Year in Books | Best Reads of 2021

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