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The best books I read in 2025
Writing is a struggle. These days, more than ever, I wonder: Who cares? What’s the point? It’s easier to stay silent and keep scrolling.
I wrote about this question years ago in my essay Why Bother, where I shared a Liz Gilbert quote about the importance of sharing, and the pain of staying silent: “Any talent, wisdom or insight you have that you don’t share becomes pain.”
But reading my old writing, it doesn’t connect with me anymore. I’m a totally different person now. Grief and loss has completely changed me.
I also wonder about the audience—you, the reader. Yes, you! Do you still read newsletters? Do you see my words, or do they simply fade into in the endless ocean of emails? How about books? Are you able to pull yourself away from the magnetic claws of the infinite scrolling feeds long enough to make it through a chapter?
The data supports my worries: As a global society, we are reading less than ever.
As a reader, it’s disconcerting. As a writer, it’s deeply discouraging.
This post by Aishwarya Roy lays out the ugly reality:
If you read even one book in 2026, you belong to an endangered species. Yep. We live in a time where attention is mined and sold back to us with a never-ending buffet of reels.
Surveys in the U.S. found that 40% of adults didn’t read a single book in 2025, and most of those who did, read only a handful, with the typical American finishing about two books last year.
This isn’t just an American quirk. Similar trends show a third to almost half of adults in other countries reporting NO books read in a year. And educators are sounding the alarm as schools cut full novels from curricula in favour of “bite-sized” digital excerpts. We skim headlines, hoard screenshots, save posts we’ll never return to, while entire lives wait patiently between two covers.
Reading has slowed down SO much that now it feels almost rebellious... to sit, to feel, to imagine without being interrupted. Oh, to stay with a thought longer than a scroll.
So pick. up. that. book. Any book. Nope, not to be productive, not to brag about it, but to remember what it feels like to be fully inside another mind, another world. One book is enough to remind you that depth still exists, and that you still do, too.”
Oddly enough, reading these depressing stats actually encouraged me to write this post. As I thought about the trends, the downward direction of literacy rates, and the increased difficulty these days to find a moment to read, I thought to myself: Maybe I can do something about it. A tiny thing. Anything.
Every year since 2017, at the end of the year I’ve shared a little post with the best books I read that year. Here I am again, to keep that tradition alive.
If any of these books speak to you just a little bit, and you end up reading it, or it gives you the spark to pick up another book you had in mind, then I will feel happy that I did something.
These are dark, depressing times. The world seems to be ending in more ways than we can count. Many of our problems are caused by egomaniacal bullies taking advantage of the ignorance of people.
Education is empowerment. Reading is rebellion.
And so I present to you my teeny tiny rebellion: A little post about books. Enjoy.
The Pearl and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Steinbeck is an absolute master. I think I read Of Mice and Men a long time ago when I was a kid, but I certainly didn’t remember its impact because it really hit me this time. Both of these novels kept me captivated throughout—powerful, emotional, and heart-wrenching stories. Steinbeck does not waste a word. I love his writing. I’ve just started reading East of Eden, which is his masterpiece. I’m loving it so far. Every chapter is like a wonderful short story. I’m going to take it slow with this one, and cherish it.
What We Fed to the Manticore by Talia Lakshmi Kolluri
A stunning collection of short stories, each written from the perspective of an animal in the wild. Each story is so touching. It gives us the perspective of animals in a way that I didn’t even really know was possible. It’s inspiring to me with my own stories. I think everyone should read this book. We really all need to understand the perspective of animals, and the way she does this is just incredible.
Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
This is the true story of a woman who fell in love with a baby hare who showed up in her backyard, and how she reimagined her life to take care of it. The way she talks about each stage, every step, every moment, every look, is so touching and so moving. As I spend time taking care of birds and animals, and think about how each tiny interaction can mean so much, her book really helped reinforce that belief, reminding me to slow down. Read more in my past newsletter on the book:
Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Interpreter of Maladies is a set of wonderful short stories that puts you into the perspective of a South Asian immigrant coming into the United States. The Namesake is a novel that does the same on a larger scale (you might know this tale from the film adaptation.) There are many aspects to these stories that I could personally relate to, but even without that, her writing and character development make the journey more than worthwhile.
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
There are a lot of books on grief I read, and I’m not sure any of them really impacted me, other than this one. I suppose it’s because he’s just so authentic and raw in his portrayal of what grief is like. There are many moments where he articulates the weird, strange, and disturbing thought processes that we go through when we are suffering from grief.
The Metamorphosis and A Hunger Artist and Other Stories by Franz Kafka
I’ve heard about Kafka all my life, but somehow never read any of his works. Interestingly, it was my own writing that led me to him: In an effort to rekindle my creative writing efforts, I had sent a couple of my short stories to an editor for feedback. One of them, he said, reminded him of Kafka, and that one of Kafka’s stories, A Hunger Artist, could be a great model to work off of for the story. It was really encouraging, and gave me a bit of a boost. After that, I read everything by Kafka I could find. I love his stories. He really is a master of the short story form—he puts you deep into the thoughts of his charcaters. I have much to learn from him, and I plan to read them in more detail as I reread and revisit some of these stories over the coming months.
I hope you find a spark somewhere in this list! Oh, and do let me know: What was your favorite book of 2025?
P.S. If you’re looking for more of my book lists, you can find them all on my website bookshelf, or jump directly to each year: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017.
"Do you still read newsletters? Do you see my words, or do they simply fade into in the endless ocean of emails?" I do! Often. Some definitely slip through. XD Thanks for the book recs! I've been meaning to get to that Lewis one.