Breinthewild

I read a lot and I wrote a lot last year (compared to the previous couple of years) and a few changes in my habits are responsible for most of the ground gained. First, I made a goal of writing at least one word on a project every day. Second, I made a goal of reading 50 books in 2025 and actually attempted to stay on track throughout the year.

I did not manage to write every single day. However, I did write steadily enough to make 2025 one of my most successfully years for word count ever, which was awesome. I plan to continue the habit in 2026 and hopefully increase that word count further.

The book reading was also a wild success. Aided heavy by my local library system and Libby, I blasted through 52 books last year. Only one of those was a reread. Even more notably, an enormous portion of the books I read I not only enjoyed but loved enough to recommend to others. (List is featured in a bit, don’t worry). I used Goodreads to keep track of my reads throughout the year and compared it to my previous years. In 2025, I enjoyed a whopping 37 out of 52 books, an enjoyment rate of over 70%. Compare that to 31% in 2024 (out of 37 books) or 32% in 2023 (out of 36 books).

In addition, there’s only one book in 2025 I recall DNF-ing, another record low. My theory for why this year was such a good time?

I stopped taking book recommendations from TikTok.

I am always on the lookout for new and interesting reads (especially in genres outside of my usual sci-fi/fantasy fare). Because of that, new apps and social media sites that feature discussions of books are of great interest to me. I gave TikTok a shot and after much trial and error I have finally realized the app’s preferred genres are not just not for me. No shade. Nothing personal. I’m just looking for different fish in a different sea. I took that to heart last year and it really paid off. I dusted off some classics, tried new books from authors I love, and tried a bunch of new authors (recommended by actual people, not an algorithm). For the sake of this article, I’ve split all my reads from 2025 into four categories:

Hits – I loved it

Misses – Not for me

Mehs – Enjoyable but didn’t quite hit the spot

So Wild I Created a 4th Category – I have no idea what just happened but I think I liked it?

HITS

Subcategory: New Authors (to me this year)
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
The Tainted Cup/A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett
The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives by Dallas Willard
Dungeon Crawler Carl/Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman

Special mentions: While all of the above books were a delight, I have a particular soft spot in my heart for three: Remarkably Bright Creatures, The Tainted Cup, and Dungeon Crawler Carl.

Remarkably Bright Creatures is the epitome of a cozy read for me. A cute down-to-earth story with surprising elements and a lot of heart (not to mention a Giant Pacific Octopus). I adored it and immediately sent recommendations for it in all directions.

Ditto for The Tainted Cup, a fantasy story I didn’t realize I’d been craving until I sank my teeth into it. Instead of steampunk or cyberpunk, it’s biopunk world, where everything is genetically engineered. The deeper you journey into its strange-yet-familiar setting, the further the fantastical curtain pulls back, and the more intriguing the world building gets. It’s a masterclass in mixing and matching genre elements in a way that makes all of them stronger and I was on the edge of my seat trying to unravel the mystery at the story’s heart. It was such a good time I started reading it again immediately after I finished AND immediately put a bunch more books by the same author on hold from the library. Bravo.

In keeping with my getting-into-things-waaaay-after-they’re-cool habit, I’m a bit late to the game for our last special mention, Dungeon Crawler Carl. This is a good thing, because I was able to acquire all seven books in the series immediately upon reading book one and now do not have to wait for nearly as many torturous release dates. Do I normally purchase every book in a series immediately after reading the first one? Nope But for this series, I’ve made an exception. I love these books so much I’ll likely write a separate, real review on them but for now, know this: I’ve never read anything quite like Dungeon Crawler Carl. I can’t for the love of me explain anything about the plot in a way that makes sense, but all you need to know is it WORKS, it is HILARIOUS, and I AM OBSESSED.

Subcategory: Books by authors I already enjoy

More special mentions: A Sorceress Comes to Call, Yellowface, Holly, Sunrise on the Reaping.

My T. Kingfisher experience was similar to my Naomi Novik one. For both authors, I read one book by them that was highly praised and found it personally meh but with quality writing. I gave them both another shot with a second book that immediately rocketed to the top of my favorites list. For Novik, that book is Spinning Silver. For T. Kingfisher, it’s A Sorceress Comes to Call. I tend to be quite picky with my fairy tale retellings, particularly if they’re marketed as “dark” or “horror.” It’s a fine line between darkness for shock value and that which actually adds to the story (looking at you, Neil Gaiman). Kingfisher threads the needle perfectly. This retelling of the Goose Girl (of all things) is haunting and unsettling and beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed it and, as with The Tainted Cup, it immediately sent me on a quest to find and read more of the author’s works.

Yellowface was an interesting one for me. The book itself has stirred up some controversy, both for its themes (white author pretends to be Asian to sell books) and how the novel itself handles those themes. I don’t really have anything to say on those topics, so I can only judge the book by my level of enjoyment reading it, which was high. It’s written in a gossipy, celebrity tell-all style that matches the main character’s narrative. It’s just plain fun to read. The absolute audacity and outrageousness of the plot is both hilarious and horrifying while also close enough to reality I could see parts of it happening in real life. For what it’s worth, I found it a worthwhile read.

My next special mention, Holly, came as a total surprise. I’ve read several Stephen King books at this point and feared they would all end up shuffling into the same category of mixed bag. King is undoubtedly a genius. The sheer force of his writing skill and character work has dragged me through narratives that, in the hands of a lesser writer, I would have DNF-ed. No matter how confusing, gratuitous, or spasmodic the story line gets, I’m locked in until the end. However, I don’t always look back upon the story I’ve finished with the kindest eye. I’m a sucker for quality endings (see: Wheel of Time) which is a piece King seems to struggle with. I keep reading him, if nothing else for the masterclass on sentence structure, but feared I might never “get the hype.”

Until Holly. For whatever reason, this book hit all my favorite things. Unbreakable female protagonist. Unraveling a mystery. Serial killers that are absolutely insane (but somehow believable). I didn’t realize until after finishing the book that it’s part of a series but outside of a couple mysterious references to “the past” that mattered not at all. I had an absolute blast reading this book and thought the ending was fantastic. For whatever reason, this one stuck.

Subcategory: Books my husband suggested
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

The downside of such a background is, as you read further, the more you realize a lot of literature is in conversation with what has come before. It’s a lot like how leveled memes work. If you don’t know the references, you miss a lot of the context that makes it enjoyable. I’m playing catch-up with the classics but that’s not a bad thing. I get to read through them at my pace, with an adult’s eye, rather than speed-reading/Sparknote-ing my way through in a panic just trying to finish this freaking essay before the due date. When I encounter these stories now, I find them more enjoyable and enriching. (All this to say Shakespeare is a blast).

Subcategory: Middle of a series I already enjoy

Artificial Condition/Rogue Protocol/Exit Strategy by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries)

Lirael/Abhorsen/Clariel by Garth Nix (Abhorsen)

Both of these series I started in 2024 and (mostly due to library hold times) continued in 2025. The next book in the Murderbot Diaries is on hold from the library right now and I can’t wait to get it. The sci-fi novellas are quick, delightful reads, and the main character (the aforementioned murderbot) is among my favorite main characters of all time.

[Side note: while I love The Murderbot Diaries enough to purchase the series, I haven’t yet simply because the pricing seems… insane? I’m a huge fan of authors being paid the maximum amount of money for their work (hooray!) but justifying $25-$35 per hardback novella (or $18 for paperback) when each comes in at around 40k words is difficult. (Compare that to Dungeon Crawler Carl the first book of which clocks in at about 127k words (over three times as long!) and is available in hardcover for about $20). I’m not sure if this price point is by design or simply because of the distributor or what but for now I’ll bide my time and wait for a paperback set release or something.]

Meanwhile, I obtained the Abhorsen series by Garth Nix this year for about $11. It’s a little bit older which is probably played into the lower cost but the entire series is excellent. It follows a family of good necromancers who go by the title of Abhorsen. The fantasy world is split into the old kingdom of the north (swords and magic) and the new kingdom to the south (electricity and tanks) and neither specialization works well in the other world. Magic diminishes the further south you go, modern technology crumbles the further north you go. This setup, plus the wonderful characters and magic system make the series unforgettable. Finishing the books was almost a sad experience, merely because I knew there were no more to read.

Onto the next category! (And if you’re counting and realized we haven’t hit 37 premium books yet, never fear. It’s because some are hiding in the INSANE 4th category).

MISSES

Again, this section is record-low compared to previous years, mostly because I tried to be more selective about what I picked up. Half the list are books by authors I’ve previously read and enjoyed (Christie, Bardugo, Sapkowski) whose latest offerings just didn’t hit. For instance, At Bertram’s Hotel felt boring and contrived, lacking the usual spark I love from Christie.

One Perfect Couple was my venture into another genre I don’t usually read. It’s meant to be a salacious reality-tv-gone-wrong kind of tale and it was easy to get through. However, I spotted the twists from miles away and the villain absolutely killed the story for me (not in a good way). They set him up as the bad guy by mentioning he’s vaguely conservative AND has a podcast, oh nooo. I get that this is not a genre for subtlety or nuance but dang, we couldn’t play with the stereotypes even a little? It was a pulpy, quick read and killed time while I was waiting at the airport, so mission accomplished I guess.

The Familiar is best described by this:

It’s an utterly incomprehensible mesh of historical and magical elements, neither of which works particularly well. The main character is a plucky orphan with world-breaking levels of magical power who has to be constantly nerfed in order to not break the plot into a thousand pieces. When she eventually does break the plot at the climax, I actually rolled my eyes. There is also a “romance” in this book that I wish I could have skipped. I’m not the biggest romance fan but I was feeling precisely zero chemistry between the two, which made those sections a slog. The plot is also strangely political but not in a good way (like all those talky senate scenes in the Star Wars prequels). The writing itself isn’t bad but it all hangs together poorly, in my opinion.

If Wishes Were Retail was a decent read. It was cute and cozy and I have much fewer critiques of it than the other books in this section. However, the story felt utterly lost. Several times while reading this book, I caught myself saying out loud: “is this Young Adult? Is it Middle Grade? Is it Adult?” because I honestly couldn’t tell. It felt like it was going for a Legends and Lattes feel, written in a Middle Grade style, narrated by a Young Adult main character, but peppered with randomly adult themes. Parts of it were cute but the utter mess you had to wade through to get to those sections weakened the emotional impacts to almost nothing. In addition, the tonal whiplash from serious events to a wisecracking teenage cracking wise was brutal. I’m still not sure what this book was trying to be or say. I was rather confused when I finished it and—months later—I remain confused.

Finally, some of The Witcher books also fell into the dislike category. I read through the five book Ciri arc this year and while overall I enjoyed the series, there were a few sections I struggled with. In particular, the first half of book five, The Lady of the Lake, I found to be a miserable experience. For some reason this series about a gruff, witty man fighting monsters and facing the world in his own practical, grim-faced way while attempting to raise/retrieve a young girl has devolved into (spoilers) an ancient elf king high on elf cocaine trying to have sex with said girl? And he fails because he’s not into humans like that and then overdoses on elf cocaine and dies. No, I am not kidding. Yes, this is a major plot point for some reason. (End spoilers) There were a few incredible scenes in the book that “saved” it (somewhat) from being a one star review but moments like that really dragged down the narrative. The entire series ranks at about three out of five stars for me and I struggle recommending it.

MEHS

Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
Both Sides of Time by Caroline B. Cooney
Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao
Moon Called by Patricia Briggs
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

I don’t have a ton to say about the books in this section. All were a good time but most simply didn’t hit the nail on the head for me. Two are sequels that, in my opinion, are heavily overshadowed by other, better books in the series (Rhythm of War and Heavenly Tyrant). Fairy Tale was enthralling in typical King fashion but stumbled in the pothole of unsatisfactory endings. The rest all had extremely interesting concepts but the characters and plots didn’t really pull me in. All of these entries save Fairy Tale are part of an ongoing series and while none put me off the concept of finishing those series, they definitely slowed my momentum to checking them out.

SO WILD I CREATED A 4TH CATEGORY

Murder, She Meowed by Rita Mae Brown
The Gunslinger by Stephen King
The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny
When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

The books in this section were all a little odd. I enjoyed almost all of them (I’ll let you guess which ones made it to my favorites list) but they are strange in a way that’s hard to quantify. I’m not opposed to strange books but these made it hard for me to figure out whether I loved them or if I was just taken by the oddness. Special mentions to Murder, She Meowed, When the Moon Hits Your Eye, and The Grey Wolf.

Murder, She Meowed is a murder mystery book, except the main point of view character is a cat? (A cat is also listed as a coauthor for the book). This is apparently an extensive and well-loved series I stumbled into at random. Someone bought the book for me for $2 from Goodwill to use in an art project. I didn’t end up using it and read it instead. I’m still not sure if it’s my thing exactly, but for what it is, I thought it was pretty funny.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye is absolute shenanigans (in classic John Scalzi fashion these days) about how the world reacts when the moon turns into cheese. Scalzi has a lot of political points to get across and a great deal to say about egomaniacal billionaires. None of this is particularly subtle (nor is it meant to be) but overall the book was a kooky and interesting time. It reminded me a LOT of the Kaiju Preservation Society (by the same author) but I didn’t have as much fun with either book as I did with Scalzi’s other kooky anti-billionaire sci-fi work, Starter Villain. (Side note: I think I’m going to start referring to these as his anti-billionaire series.)

The Grey Wolf also gets a special shout-out because I got it on Libby while jet lagged and waiting for a plane and somehow completely missed the fact that it is book NINETEEN in a series. I loved the cover. That’s legitimately why I picked it. Whoever did the artwork for this book, huge kudos. I thought the book itself was a palatable mystery novel (though about halfway through I realized I was missing eighteen books’ worth of backstory, RIP). I was confused but still enjoyed it. Maybe someday I’ll go back and read all of them.

That’s my book wrap for 2025. If you have any recommendations for my 2026 (or beyond) reading list, feel free to drop them below!