It has been a long year full of reading, from the light-hearted easy reads to the novels that took up more of my time and brainpower, and some surprises thrown in for good measure. 2025 has been a year I am unlikely to repeat again, and you’ll see why in a bit, so without further ado, let’s get into my 2025 reading review.

Books read: 185

Yeah. It was a lot. I will say that there are about 15 manga volumes in the mix, but the number of novels is still far higher than my 2024 tally. I have noted in several discussion posts that I will be reducing my reviews and books read in 2026, and for good reason. There is no way I would be able to keep up with this number of titles while completing my PhD data collection and analysis. Not only that, but I found myself straining to fit in the books I needed to in a month and hit reader burnout for the first time in a long while.

On a positive note, my reading spanned many genres, from translated foreign lit to homegrown novels, romance to science fiction, and I even had a few poetry books, short story collections, and non-fiction reads in the mix. My reading hit the variation I was hoping for, and this is something I am prepared to carry through into my 2026 reads. I enjoyed the diversity immensely, and plan to read just as widely, if not more so.

Did I meet all of my goals in 2025?

To an extent, I succeeded, such as my no-reading tally and having more fun with reading, but the non-fiction reviews didn’t really happen. I know now that I really do not want to read non-fiction for fun, which is perfectly fine! I also found out that classic books are not my forte, despite being a literature graduate. My physical TBR had mixed results, but they lean towards success, given I only got new books and series after finishing the list earlier in the year, and now I have a number of physical books to get read before I buy more physical books.

What are the plans for 2026?

I’ll leave this for a later post, but I think I might put in a few restrictions for myself to keep myself in check and ensure I don’t push myself. Thinking about my reading over the last year has really made me consider how much I read and what I get out of it intellectually, emotionally, and physically. There are positives and negatives to my reading, and I need to evaluate them fairly to get a sense of where I am and where I want to be headed in 2026. This could be quite interesting, especially for those who wouldn’t consider putting a restriction on themselves for their reading goals – after all, isn’t reading supposed to be a freeing and educational pastime? Why would I want to hinder myself?

Wishing you all a lovely, happy, and exciting New Year and a wonderful 2026. See you in the New Year with some new plans and reviews!