2025 in books

In 2025, I read 88 books, missing my goal of 100 due to a bit of a TV-induced slump in the middle of the year.

I was perturbed the previous year to see my most-read genre as crime/thrillers (not thinking of myself as a “crime reader”), and was gratified to see fantasy dominating once again in 2025, with thrillers and sci-fi next in line. Self-image and reality are aligned once more.

Favourite series

I absolutely fell in love with Rachel Neumeier’s “Tuyo” series. I picked this up because I read a sci-fi novel by Neumeier, the excellent “No Foreign Sky”, and it doesn’t have a sequel. In the absence of a sequel, I wanted more Neumeier. I was initially a bit sceptical about Tuyo, but I absolutely loved it and all the other books I read in this series. It starts off with Ryo, a young warrior offered as a sacrifice to enemy soldiers, and expands into a large and sprawling story about two very different cultures (one nomadic, one agrarian), who must find a way to work together when they encounter various difficulties (sorcerers and such, it’s a fantasy series).

Most baffling re-read

I raced through three or four of the Wess’har series by Karen Traviss, which I initially read in 2010 and remember really enjoying at the time. I quite liked them for the nostalgia value, but whoof, they are very militaristic sci-fi and the main character, a woman, is so derisive of every other woman. Very “not like other girls” in a way that made me roll my eyes this time around.

Best cozy novel

Definitely Sangu Mandanna’s “A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping” which is an immensely pleasurable found-family fantasy novel. There’s a magically animated skeletal rooster! An author who can make a skeletal rooster cozy is one who deserves your time as a reader. Truly lovely.

Best annoying character

I think I’ve had this experience with a few of Meg Bignell’s novels – I always really enjoy them, but the main characters always drive me a bit nuts. In “The Good Losers”, our main character is tremendously frustrating but also very funny and a great narrator, which makes up for it. Such fantastic characterisation, black humour and a very Australian and specifically Tassie feel to the story. 

Most beautiful writing

Tricky, but I think I would go with Robbie Arnott’s “The Rain Heron” which is a strange but gorgeous novel. A surreal dystopian fable. I’ve been meaning to read another book of Arnott’s, but keep putting it off because I want to really immerse myself in it – I don’t think his books are ones for casual reading.

Best children’s novel

You know that type of children’s novel that feature long sections on children laboriously learning some esoteric skill over a period of time? Like novels set in magic schools or novels where children are training to be knights or warriors? Monica Furlong wrote a couple of lovely books in the 80s centred around young girls taken in as apprentices and learning to spin, weave, make herbal medicines, and make a little magic. I loved these books as a kid – they have a very historical-novel feel, this beautifully evocative world full of the ordinary magic of making bread or cheese as well as the more otherworldly variety. I was thrilled to discover newly recorded audiobook copies of these books, and had a wonderful time listening to the first, “Wise Child”. 

Best unexpected read

I sometimes get sent advance copies of books to read, and serendipitously received “Beth is Dead” just after watching an adaptation of Little Women. “Beth is Dead” is a modern reimagining of Little Women, in a world where the girls’ father has written a fictionalised story of their life and been heavily criticised for the direction it takes. It’s a murder mystery with characters that are both familiar and surprising. And what a fantastic cover.