Hello, bookworms! I’m excited to write to you as a fellow bibliophile and chat about my for-fun reading. Shedding the agent hat and all the stats that came with it––time to put on the regular ol’ reader hat, cozy up by the fire with a blanket and mug of hot peppermint cocoa, and discuss the reading year!

I knew my year was turbulent as a reader, but seeing the stats on StoryGraph made me laugh/cry. It was like looking at a heart monitor––roughly every 6 weeks had a spike in reading 2-4 books, followed by a 4- to 6-week dip in no reading at all. I “participated” (using this loosely here) in two book clubs, showing up when I read and finished a book. Since I live the Quality vs Quantity lifestyle with my reading, I DNF quite quickly if a book isn’t working for me. It was a big deal for me to show up to those book clubs, haha!

This year I read 26 books, which were predominantly emotional, adventurous, mysterious, reflective, and dark in terms of moods. My top genres were fantasy, historical, and a tie between romance and contemporary. Nearly two-thirds of the books were adult fiction. 46% of my reading was via audiobooks (gosh, I love them!), which rose a smidge from last year. And a grand total of *drumroll* 9 books received 5 stars.

Fantasy Favorites

The Shadow of the Gods || Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands (#2) (audio)
Ruthless Vows || What the River Knows (audio) || Thornhedge

Other Favorites

You Deserve Good Gelato (nonfiction; audio) || The Only One Left (mystery)
The Square of Sevens (historical literary mystery; audio) || Just for the Summer (romance)

What did you read this year that were standouts for you? What did you gravitate to? Did you also have an up-and-down year, or were you reading at a steady pace? Do you read in formats other than paper books?

I hope you have a wonderful reading year in 2025!