My Favourite Books of 2025
Well, here we are at the end of 2025 already, which means it is about time for a round-up of my favourite books I read this year! According to my library slip, I saved $529.76 on library books this year, and according to the list I keep in my notebook, I read 90 books in total! Of those 90 titles, 56 were new reads and 34 were re-reads. I enjoy reading before bed, and this year I really made a point of going to bed at a reasonable hour so I had time to read a chapter or two before sleeping, and the result is that I finished so many books this year that it was actually hard to narrow down my list to my absolute favourites for this post. However I did eventually manage to whittle it down to a list of 13 titles that I really enjoyed and would like to share with you.
The Path of Loneliness by Elisabeth Elliot
Right at the top of the list is The Path of Loneliness by Elisabeth Elliot. I wouldn’t say that I am a lonely person in general, but we all face periods of loneliness in our lives, so I really valued her thoughts about how to walk through those times in a godly manner. Elliot was widowed two times, so she was definitely qualified to write a book on living through loneliness and suffering.
“Our loneliness cannot always be fixed, but it can always be accepted as the very will of God for now, and that turns into something beautiful.”
I should have written my thoughts on this book right after I read it, because it’s been over half a year and I am struggling to remember key points. However, despite this fairly lacklustre review, this was one of my favourite books of the year!
Deep Roots, Good Fruit by Kristin Elizabeth Couch
These first few books were all tied for favourite in my list this year, and I loved this book by Kristin of the blog The Palest Ink. This book is about the fruits of the Spirit, and only one of the stories in the book was shared previously on her blog, so I was happy that it was all new content. (Her first book, It Began on Washington Street was a collection of stories previously published on her blog) Each chapter in the book deals with a different fruit of the Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. She shares stories and examples, as well as scripture and exhortation. It will definitely be a book I revisit in the future.
Lies Women Believe by Nancy DeMoss
And this was another Christian book I really enjoyed this year. I first heard about this book years ago, so when I came across it in the thrift shop, I knew it was one to buy. I have liked every Nancy DeMoss (now Wolgemuth) book I have read, and have already shared several in my year end book roundups for the past few years. Each chapter features a different topic, such as “Lies Women Believe About God”, “Lies Women Believe About Marriage” etc. Then within that chapter, she goes through different “lies” and gives biblical answers to them. At the end of each chapter there are additional reflection questions. This book is good for personal study, but also would be a good choice for group discussion.
God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew and John and Elizabeth Sherrill
This was a re-read. I haven’t read this book for years, and thoroughly enjoyed reading it again. Brother Andrew was a Dutch missionary who became a missionary during the post-WWII, Cold War years. He was given some unique opportunities to enter Communist countries and then began smuggling and distributing Bibles as well as encouraging the isolated churches in the Soviet countries (many of whom hadn’t had any contact with the churches in the West since the rise of the USSR.) This book chronicles many of the stories of his early days as a missionary and how he started the ministry Open Doors, which is still operating in many closed countries around the world today.
The Valley of Fear by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Now on to the fiction! I purchased the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes stories “in two handsome volumes” this spring. I read the entire collection, but my favourite one was definitely The Valley of Fear. It is a murder mystery, with a lot of convoluted twists and turns and backstory. When I finished reading the book, I thought that it seemed like it might have been based on a true story, and it was! I won’t tell you any details about it, because I don’t want to spoil the story for you, but once you’ve read it, make sure to look up the true story it was based on too.
The Girl in the Wall by Ruth E. Hampton
This is another re-read, but the last time I read it was over 10 years ago so I had forgotten pretty much the entire story. Reading it the second time was just as good as the first time. It’s a story about a girl who is boarding in an old Victorian house while she attends journalism school. She finds fragments of a diary that was stuck behind the wall for years, and then begins to unravel the mysteries of the past, while mysterious things are also happening in the present day. After thinking about this story for over 10 years, I was so happy to find a copy online, since it wasn’t in the library system. If you can find a copy, I highly recommend reading it. And the book obviously gets bonus points too for the great 70’s cover illustration and typography.
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
The obligatory, and much enjoyed, annual Dickens novel: this year Our Mutual Friend. I don’t listen to very many audio books, but it seems that I do manage to listen to one Dickens novel each year, and I always thoroughly enjoy it. Our Mutual Friend opens with a scene of a boatman fishing bodies out of the river Thames, so you know it’s going to be a good one! This was Dickens’ last completed novel, and the story features a mystery within a mystery. The reader knows things that the characters don’t, but then somewhere along the way, it is revealed that characters know things the readers don’t! I listened to this version on Youtube (it was about 35 hours long) and Mil Nicholson was an excellent narrator. I am always amazed by narrators who can do so many unique voice impressions.
The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie
I don’t usually include Agatha Christie books in my lists because I have read almost all of them before, so they aren’t “new” reads, but I really should because they are some of my favourite books to read when I want something enjoyable and not too hard. My favourite one this year was The Pale Horse. It is one of her standalone mysteries which features a witch, a medium and an occultist offering the “removal of rich, unwanted relatives”. There are lots of twists and turns, and I never solve the mysteries myself, so the ending is usually a surprise to me. This one had a great reveal at the end!
Anna and Her Daughters by D.E. Stevenson
The copy I have of this book (from my Gramma) no longer has the dust jacket, but I think this is what the original 1958 artwork would have been. I read this book when I was 17 and it’s one of those stories that instantly feels nostalgic: sometimes you read a book at exactly the right time in your life. I re-read it again this year and while it didn’t feel quite the same, I still enjoyed it thoroughly.
This story follows Anna and her daughters who discover that they cannot afford to live in London after their father dies, so they move back to Anna’s hometown in Scotland. It’s a meandering story, narrated by the youngest daughter Jane, about their adjustment to life in the country. The story takes place over several years, and while it does feel rushed in some places, I like these kind of commonplace, everyday stories. It’s not the sort of book that will have essays written about it, but it’s the kind of cozy, comforting read you want on a snowy day, curled up under a blanket with a cup of tea. I haven’t read any of D.E. Stevensons other novels, but I would like to read some more!
At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
I read Bill Bryson’s The Body: A Guide for Occupants in 2020, and really liked his writing style. He has a rambling way of narrating and bringing together topics that really have no business being in the same book at all. In this History of Private Life, he tours us through his home, a parsonage built in 1851 and with this jumping off point, leads into discussion about everything from the discovery of steel to the history of salt and pepper. The book really covers a wide variety of topics, and does so in a, mostly, humorous way. For example, an excerpt of a discussion on stairs:
“People fall in different ways in different countries. Someone in Japan, for instance, is far more likely to be hurt in a stair fall in an office, department store, or railway station that is anyone in the United States. This is not because the Japanese are more reckless stair uses, but simply because Americans don’t much use stairs in public environments. They rely on the ease and safety of elevators and escalators. American stair injuries overwhelmingly happen in the home- almost the only place where many Americans submit themselves to regular stair use.”
Of course, history is also full of tragedies and heartache, so not everything is covered in a lighthearted manner. (The chapter on the nursery, or childhood was quite sad and depressing, so maybe skip that chapter.) But over all, this was an interesting book about all sorts of things, and it’s the sort of book you can easily pick up and put down as you have time.
Maud: The Illustrated Diary of a Victorian Woman adapted by Flora Fraser
I started reading this book while visiting my friend in 2024, and when I left I knew I was going to have to get myself a copy, so I was very happy when I received it for Christmas last year. This book is the real life illustrated diary of a 29 year old Victorian woman named Maud Berkely who lived on the Isle of Wight. The diary covers the years 1888- 1901. Maud lived what could be called a rather boring middle class Victorian life, but some people have a flair for storytelling and turning the mundane into the engaging and Maud was one of these sorts of people. Paired with her own ink and watercolour illustrations, this was a very engaging book that kept me interested from beginning to end.
My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme
I have only watched a couple of episodes of Julia Child’s TV show The French Chef on Youtube, and have never read Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but I watched the movie Julie and Julia years ago, and wished that they had completely skipped the Julie part, so we could see more of Julia’s story!
This autobiography chronicles how Julia first became interested in French food while living in Paris in the 1950’s, and follows her as she enrols in Le Cordon Bleu, writes a cookbook and eventually has her own TV show. She shares such a passion for food and cooking in every page of this book, and while French cooking has never been the sort of food that draws me in, I couldn’t help but start to feel hungry while reading it. I think that French cooking is not a very approachable style of cuisine (for example, I would say that Italian is a much more beginner friendly cooking style, in general) so it is interesting to see that Julia thought this herself, hence why she wrote such an exhaustive (and exhausting for her!) cookbook specifically for an American audience.
“I had run into many Americans who had gone to France and been inspired by the wonderful taste of the food there- “Oh that juicy roast chicken!” they’d exclaim. “My, that sole normande!” Though some returned to the U.S. convinced that such wonders could only be achieved by the magic of being born French, the savvier ones realized that the main ingredient in such succulent dishes was hard work coupled with proper technique.”
If you like food, and reading stories of people’s lives, and if you also wished the movie had been called just “Julia“, then this book will definitely interest you.
Tasting History by Max Miller
And finally, still on the topic of food, I love the Youtube channel Tasting History with Max Miller. He shares historical recipes, and the history behind the foods, with a heaping side of humour, so of course I knew I would love his cookbook as well. I always forget that libraries also have cookbooks, but I remembered to check this one out! I am glad I did as I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the history of the recipes, from the ancient world (Stew of Lamb), up until 1914 (Texas Pecan Pie). However, as I am gluten free it’s not the sort of cookbook I would likely cook from, as many recipes use wheat, so it was a good thing I was able to borrow it from the library. When I looked up the book online, I saw a negative 3 star review that said, “The recipes are old and some ingredients are unavailable today.” Yep, I would say that is a pretty good description- and a fairly good recommendation too!
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For the last two years I have done a book challenge, or “book bingo”, which was fun and helped to get me out of a reading rut. However, I have decided to not do a challenge this year, and instead just read whatever catches my fancy as so many of the books I read this year didn’t even fit into the prompts anyways. Reading can be fun, and educational, and it can be easy or hard…and I would rather not box myself in so tightly this year. I have a ton of books on my TBR, and I want to read whatever I’m in the mood for, without trying to fill in a list. (But, if you would like to do a reading challenge this year, you can find my previous prompts in this post from last year.)
So, what were your favourite books of 2025? Have you read any of these books? And are you thinking of doing a reading challenge, or just reading whatever strikes your fancy? What book are you most excited to read in 2026?
I hope your 2025 has been a great one, Dear Readers, and here’s to 2026!
