Favourite Reading of 2025

My annual summary of the books that I enjoyed the most last year. Note the emphasis on “most enjoyed” rather than “the best”, which I’m not qualified to judge.

Issue #85: Saturday 24 January, 2026

Reading

Note: Perry Middlemiss and I also discussed our 2025 reading on a recent episode of our podcast.

Favourite Books Overall 2025

Links on titles below go to reviews in other issues of this newsletter.

1. The Overstory, by Richard Powers
2. Wild Dark Shore, by Charlotte McConaghy
3. Intermezzo, by Sally Rooney
4. Down Cemetery Road, by Mick Herron
5. The Book of Dust Trilogy, by Philip Pullman
6. Shroud, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
7. Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf
8. Let Me Tell You, by Shirley Jackson
9. Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams
10. The Tusks of Extinction, by Ray Nayler

Richard Powers is such a great writer. I loved his Bewilderment, and The Overstory was just as good or probably better. I’m looking forward to reading more of his work.

Only two works of science fiction in my top ten reads last year, which probably says something about how my reading tastes have changed over the years.

Honourable Mention

• Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Favourite Crime 2025

1. The White Crow, by Michael Robotham
2. Death at the Sign of the Rook, by Kate Atkinson
3. The Unquiet Grave, by Dervla McTiernan
4. I Hear the Sirens in the Street, by Adrian McKinty
5. Taken, by Dinuka McKenzie

Favourite Thriller 2025

1. Down Cemetery Road, by Mick Herron
2. Karla's Choice, by Nick Harkaway
3. London Rules, by Mick Herron
4. Joe Country, by Mick Herron
5. The Last Voice You Hear, by Mick Herron

Favourite Science Fiction 2025

1. Shroud, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
2. The Tusks of Extinction, by Ray Nayler
3. Cage of Souls, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
4. Julia, by Sandra Newman
5. In the Days of the Comet, by H. G. Wells

Favourite Fantasy 2025

1. La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
2. The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman
3. The Rose Field by Philip Pullman
4. The Last Song of Penelope by Claire North
5. The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke

Favourite Historical Fiction 2025

1. The Midnight Watch, by David Dyer

Favourite Literary Fiction 2025

1. The Overstory, by Richard Powers
2. Wild Dark Shore, by Charlotte McConaghy
3. Intermezzo, by Sally Rooney
4. Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf
5. Let Me Tell You, by Shirley Jackson

Favourite Non-Fiction 2025

1. Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams
2. Outrageous Fortunes by Lucy Sussex
3. Churchill’s Bomb by Graham Farmelo
4. Billy's Halo by Ruth Mckernan
5. The Tell-Tale Brain by V. S. Ramachandran

Possibly Boring Statistics About My Reading

Each year I love to analyse my reading in various ways. In 2025 I only managed to read 44 books, so these statistics aren’t as indicative as they have been in previous years.

Anyway, for what it’s worth, here are some pie charts for your entertainment.

Genre

This year’s emphasis on “literary” or “non-genre” reading is a little unusual for me, as is the amount of fantasy I read.

Gender of Author

Pretty poor going on the gender balance this year, but again with only 44 books read it may not be overly indicative of my general reading balance.

Format of Book

A little explanation about the above formats. “HTML” means that I read the book in raw HTML source code as part of producing the title for Standard Ebooks.

Nationality of Author

A lot of books by British authors this time around! I’m not entirely sure why. Usually my percentage of Australian authors is higher than it was last year.

Page Length of Book

The longest book I completed was Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens: and I read it all in raw HTML source code format, too! The shortest book was The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke, really just a short story with nice illustrations.

Next Issues

Next issue will be a “normal” review issue. The one after that will cover my favourite watching of 2025.

If you’d like to make a modest contribution to my efforts in this newsletter, I’d love it if you would buy me a coffee.