Best Books I Read in 2025 (Shallow Thoughts)

Best Books I Read in 2025

Happy New Year!

Time for an annual "Best Books of the Year" list. As always, these aren't all new books this year; they're just new to me. (Or even a beloved re-read, but this year I'm not listing any of those.)

I read 41 books this year. A little sparse by past years' standards, but more than double last year's nadir, so that's good.

I've included Amazon affiliate links that bring me a very modest Amazon credit if you buy them that way, but no pressure, and most of these are probably available through your local public library.

Nonfiction

I didn't read a lot of nonfiction this year. But there were a few real gems.

Frostbite, Nicola Twilley

This is a new book this year, and it's wonderful. I'd heard the author on several podcasts, so I was prepared for interesting facts; but the full book is so packed with fascinating detail that the snippets she mentioned in interviews don't even begin to cover it. I dragged my feet a little before starting the book because the topic of refrigeration didn't sound fascinating; I'm so glad I finally got past that. I'll probably want to re-read it eventually because there are so many wonderful tidbits and I'll never remember all of them (even though I kept notes, something I hardly ever do for books I read unless I'm trying to study an academic subject). Really, I learned so much, including many questions I'd wondered about but never seen discussed.

I also liked her eye for detail: with many nonfiction books, I find that what I read raises more questions than answers, and the author never seems to realize that or to answer the questions that seem so obvious to me. With Frostbite, almost every time I wondered about a question, it was answered within a few pages. That was also true of the next book on my list:

Bringing Columbia Home, Michael D. Leinbach

This is another book where I dragged my feet despite seeing it recommended. The Columbia space shuttle disaster was a long time ago and I'd read about it at the time, and really, how much did I care? I'm glad I finally picked it up. It's very well written (by the launch director who also led teams during several of the recovery stages) and engaging from beginning to end. In addition to the discussion of what caused the accident, the process of recovering all the pieces, spread over hundreds of miles and requiring thousands of both paid and volunteer workers, was unexpectedly fascinating.

99 Percent of Everything, Rose George

Recommended by a friend after I raved about Frostbite. There's so much I didn't know about what's involved in the shipping industry, and some of the dysfunction therein. A very interesting read.

Fiction

Several new (to me) discoveries this year in fiction, as well as a few authors I already knew and loved.

Fledgling, Octavia Butler

Speaking of things I've been trying to talk myself into reading, I've been meaning to sample some Octavia Butler for years but kept putting it off because, well, descriptions make her sound more like someone you ought to read rather than someone you'd actually enjoy.

I finally got past that. I started with The Parable of the Sower because it seems her most talked-about work. It was readable enough, but it was depressing and didn't seem to be going anywhere in particular, and when I looked again at plot summaries, I decided it wasn't for me.

Then I found Fledgling, her last novel. It's a vampire story, sort of, but not a horror story at all, and with all sorts of interesting nuances and good character development. It rapidly supplanted my previous favorite vampire novel, Michael Talbot's The Delicate Dependency (long out of print but recently available again).

The Bullet that Missed, Richard Osman

Late last year, Dave and I discovered the Thursday Murder Club series. They're all good, but this, the third book in the series, was the best yet.

Now or Never: Thirty-one on the Run, Janet Evanovich

Okay, Stephanie Plum books are basically brain candy, but it's good candy, and this was her best in a while. I have no idea how Evanovich manages to keep it fresh after so many books, but she does.

The Pot Thief Who Studied Georgia O'Keefe, J. Michael Orenduff

More fun brain candy. I realized it had been years since I'd read a Pot Thief book, checked and discovered there were several new ones I hadn't read yet. I especially enjoyed this one: I'd forgotten how much fun Pot Thief books are, well written and fast paced with snappy dialog.

The Bezzle, Cory Doctorow

(or buy direct from Cory's website including the DRM-free ebook.)

I admit, I'm a Cory Doctorow fangirl. This one isn't his best, but it has some interesting ideas (I wasn't previously familiar with the term "bezzle") and I enjoyed it, though I found the ending abrupt and would have liked a teeny bit more resolution.

Trail of Lightning, Rebecca Roanhorse

A friend introduced me to Roanhorse with this novel set in a post-apocalyptic Navajo Reservation. The main character is a sort of Navajo Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's an interesting blend of tradition and science fiction, with complex characters and a compelling plot. The sequel, Storm of Locusts, is pretty good too, and I'm looking forward to more. (Another Roanhorse series, starting with Black Sun, is also worth a look, though I didn't like it as much as the Navajo monster slayer series.)

La Belle Sauvage, Philip Pullman

Someone reminded me that Philip Pullman wrote a second trilogy after His Dark Materials (worst trilogy name ever!) I found La Belle Sauvage really fun, and I loved the main character. I found myself looking forward to the nightly reading, and making excuses to carve out additional time during the day to curl up with the book, something I seldom do.

The second book is fine but not nearly as much fun; it's a bit of a grind. I haven't read the third yet.