My Reading List for 2025 and my problem with book envy

My reading list for 2025 is so exciting.

But it will probably change. This is the list I have so far. Maybe it will give you some great ideas about what to read. In my monthly newsletter, you can find out which books I actually read that month and how I liked them.

I’m not ADD, except when it comes to book-buying and book-longing (aka. book envy). Every new book that catches my attention (which are most), gets added to my mental or physical book list. I actually keep myself from visiting Barnes and Noble’s and the library, except on rare occasions because my heart hurts with envy to read and have it all. I seriously lust to read books, own them, critique them, and talk about them. Am I crazy? Are you like that?

I have more than a year’s worth of books in my she-shed office that I’ve bought, intending to read but haven’t yet; some of them are on this 2025 list. I am holding myself accountable to move them off the “to-read” piles. Unread books stress me out. They twist up my gut like an unmade bed or dirty dishes on the counter–an emotional travesty of universal proportions. These things should not happen.

I must have books to read.

You are probably smarter than me. You make use of public libraries, ebooks, and audio books. I also employ their services on rare occasion. But I am hopelessly and forever in love with the written page. I must highlight sentences (even fiction), put exclamation marks in the margins, scribble questions or disagreements next to questionable ideas, or dog-ear the page corners. I’m visual, and I remember where something was written on the page. So if I want to access that special quote or concept, I must own the book with reliable highlighted sections that I will want to use later. Hopefully the page has a sticky tab on the side so I can find it without scanning the whole book (which I also enjoy).

This is my process.

I didn’t keep track of my reading so well in 2024, but I’ll tell you a couple books that made an impact on me last year. I thoroughly enjoyed:

The Shepherd’s Life by James Rebanks–a memoir of traditional sheep farming in the Lake District; who would have thought that local sheep farming would be a page-turner?

The Awe of God by John Bevere–a daily consideration of the fear of the Lord; riveting and challenging.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride–a beautifully-written, powerful, funny, & suspenseful novel about culture, racism, & loyalty; I could not put it down.

I have a dear friend, who recently passed away, who was a Kindle aficionado. She was as proud of her Kindle library as I am of my physical library, most of it pictured in my she-shed above. Many times, my friend espoused the use of Kindle highlighting, explaining how I could mark and later find something I’d highlighted previously on a Kindle. The idea did not take.

I love paper pages.

Find your own book process–whatever helps you read and retain. Reading grows you mentally and emotionally. But you must find the right books for you. Pairing people with books they will love is also a favorite hobby of mine; it was one of the things I loved about teaching middle and high schoolers.

Some of my reading suggestions below are books that have been around for awhile–this is not necessarily a “new” book list. Please forgive my lack of genres in the fantasy, science-fiction, or horror. (I don’t love these genres). I do love a good dystopian, but I haven’t found one that’s begging me to read it; if you have a suggestion, I’m all ears! Before forming my list, I consulted reviews from various reviewers, but of course, you never know if you love a book until you read it. And sometimes you read a book at the wrong time for your life, and it doesn’t take, so you try again later.

And now for the stacks of books I’m considering and recommending for 2025 (so far):

Biography/memoir–

The River of Doubt by Candice Millard (this looks good–about Teddy Roosevelt)

Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas (this has been on my bookshelf for awhile; I loved the movie, and Bonhoeffer’s life & writing is fascinating)

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin (another book I’ve had for a long while–the 2012 Lincoln movie was based off this)

I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott (essays about finding yourself after you’ve accomplished your goals)

84, Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff (based on a true story of 2 unacquainted book-lovers who write letters to each other)

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb (called “one of the best books of the year” in 2020)

Devotions/self-help—

The 40-Day Sugar Fast by Wendy Speake (reading this now, as I embark on my yearly sugar fast)

New Morning Mercies by John Paul Tripp (I haven’t read any of John Paul Tripp’s work, but I’m a huge fan of his father–Tedd Tripp’s– writing)

Insanely Practical Leadership by Stephen Blandino (a friend of ours, and an amazing leader and writer!)

Nonfiction/self-help–

Speak with No Fear by Mike Acker

Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan

Classic Fiction I’ve never read–

Gilead by Marilyn Robinson (Opraph’s book club; I started once and couldn’t get into it, so I need to try again–audio might be the ticket this time)

East of Eden by John Steinbeck (I love Steinbeck’s shorter works but haven’t gotten into his longer works; he said this was his greatest work)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (teacher’s pick coming-of-age story)

Fiction, historical fiction, literary fiction, romance—

The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry (I love her books–well-researched, historical; this one is set in the Lake District)

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

The Time in Between by Maria Duenas

Mystery/Cozy Mystery—

The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny (I enjoyed some Louise Penny mysteries last year)

The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett

A Peculiar Combination by Electra McDowell

Nonfiction/justice/culture–(these have been on my shelves for the past couple years. I’ve been working my way through all the great justice & culture books, and I’ve got these big ones left)

The False White Gospel by Jim Wallace

Rethinking Incarceration by Dominique DuBois Willard

Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein

Christian nonfiction–

The House that Jesus Built by Natalie Runion

Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes by E. Randolph Richards

Insanely Practical Leadership by Stephen Blandino (he’s a friend of ours and a terrific writer and leader!)

some celebrated Shakespeare plays I haven’t read but want to—

Henry VI Parts 1-3 (3 different plays about the same person)

Othello

King Lear

Short stories—

Table for Two by Amor Towles (I love his novels!)

Books I could re-read every year, so I always recommend them:

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Our Town by Thornton Wilder

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

The Giver by Lois Lowry

A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman

Julius Casesar, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

short stories by Katherine Mansfield, Edgar Allen Poe, and Kate Chopin

poetry by Robert Frost and Emily Dickenson

The Little Princess and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Okay, now I’m having trouble not including all my favorites. I’m just going to stop listing them. Check my Goodreads and Pinterest for more book recommendations and lists, although I’m woefully behind on updates.

There’s just never enough time to read everything you want, much less talk about it…

I’d like to throw in a new C.S. Lewis book to my 2025 list that I haven’t read yet, probably one of his collections of letters. Depending on how my year feels, I will likely tweak the heavy/light and fiction/nonfiction ratio. The Bible will be another regular read; I haven’t decided what to focus on this year–I usually choose Bible books in their entirety, mixing up my reading with poetry, history, prophecy, epistles, and the gospels. Sometimes, I read through a study, but usually I like doing my own Bible study.

Since I’m not reading for school any more, I read for pleasure and information. I read to inform my spiritual understanding and teaching. I read because I want to challenge my thinking or perspective. I want to learn from someone I trust. And sometimes, I want to escape into a world that’s funny or clever or romantic. Sometimes, I just want to laugh out loud or cry deeply over a character.

What about you?

Why do you read?

Do you prefer audio, ebook, or paper books?

Find your preferred style and genre. It will make all the difference in finishing books and remembering what you read. Mostly, reading good books impacts you, entertains you, and develops you.

Please share your book suggestions! What should we read in 2025?

Indulge my book envy. I think this is a good problem to have.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for joining me in reading. And let us all know what you’re reading!

Happy New Year!

 

In addition to my book friends, here are two Blogger-Book Reviewers to consider checking out:

Rachel, at PaceMoreLibri

Anne, at ModernMrsDarcy