Reading Round-up 2025

I read like an absolute fiend this last year -- 189 books in total. Books have always been my preferred escape method and I burrowed into them this last year for comfort and distraction. Perhaps it's no accident that I didn't do much writing! Or if I did, it didn't really lead anywhere -- yet. Fingers crossed for a more productive 2026 on that front.

Kids/YA v Adult

I read just over a third children's and young adult books, and about two thirds adult books. Last year I did less nostalgic mining of my bookshelves for old favourites, and made a conscious decision to read more new YA fiction, making my way through the Notables list of the CBCA awards, which led me to discover a lot of really good authors and books I probably wouldn't have found otherwise. I think I'll probably do the same again this year. One old favourite of the kids' books I did enjoy was Antonia Forest's The Player's Boy and The Players and the Rebels, the former of which I haven't read since high school -- it stood up very well!

Male v Female Authors

Quite a few more blokes in the mix in 2025! I discovered some new-to-me writers like Percival Everett and George Saunders, as well as James Rebanks and some YA Australian authors that, honestly, I might not have picked up if I wasn't reading my way through a list. A warning against my own prejudices.

 

Fiction v Non-Fiction

A little bit more fiction last year than the year before, I think, but still a pretty healthy proportion of non-fiction books.

 

Sources

 

Where would I be without my libraries? All the Notables YA books came from my local library, which bumped up that total. The secondhand category includes books from street libraries as well as bought from Brotherhood Books, secondhand books shops and op shop finds. I borrowed some books from friends and some from my daughters. New books is mostly gifts (some to myself!) I read far fewer books from my own shelves in 2025, and a lot of those were adult books: I revisited some high school favourites like The Leopard, A Month in the Country and I Heard the Owl Call My Name.

 

Author origin
 

Some significant changes from 2024 in this chart! I read fewer UK authors, and more American ones -- particularly surprising since I'm almost boycotting US culture at the moment in other fields. I also read a lot more Australian authors, thanks to the Notables challenge, plus a good proportion of First Nations authors. I also read one Irish book, three from New Zealand, two by Canadian authors, one Italian, and one with a mix of nationalities.

 

Highlights

I started a Helen Garner binge at the beginning of the year but didn't finish, thanks to the plethora of  other books jostling for my attention. But I will definitely reread more of her non-fiction this year. 

 

In fiction, I also binged on Curtis Sittenfeld, Barbara Pym and Eva Ibbotson, all delightful in very different ways. I'm loving the current crop of Regency/Austen era lady detective novels around at the moment -- more, please! Sarah Moss's Ghost Wall was a haunting miniature masterpiece.

 

In non-fiction, standouts for me were Kate Grenville's Unsettled and also Searching for the Secret River. I revelled in Ruth Park's autobiographies, Fishing in the Styx and A Fence Around the Cuckoo. John Higgs' history of Dr Who, Exterminate! Regenerate! was a deep pleasure to read.  Martin Flanagan's Question 7 took my breath away.