One of the things I love most about reviewing my annual reading list is seeing the variety of genres, styles, and subject matter I spanned in a year. It’s the same sense of pride I feel when someone says “Wow, you’re really all over the place” after I share what I’m currently reading.
Every reader has their preference. Maybe you only want to read third-person POV. Or character-driven stories over plot-driven stories. Or historical nonfiction over historical fiction. I’m a firm believer that you should read what you like. And what I like just so happens to be varied.
Whether I’m reading for entertainment, education, or a bit of both, my ultimate goal with reading is to expand my mind and experience different things—and variety gives me that. That’s not to say I won’t go back and reread old favorites or gravitate to my “comfort genre” of fantasy for some escapism. But I want books that challenge me, that teach me new things, that give me a different way of looking at and understanding the world around me. Variety is the spice of life, after all.
So that’s my challenge to you in the coming year. At least once in your reading list, step outside your comfort zone and pick up a book that’s different from what you typically read. You don’t need to do a complete pendulum swing, but give yourself the gift of variety. I promise it’ll either open up a new world of reading options for you, or it’ll teach you something you didn’t know about yourself.
And if you need ideas, here are some recommendations for you from my 2025 reading list…
Favorites
The Ministry of Time (Fiction) by Kaliane Bradley
Whew, where do I begin with this one? You think The Ministry of Time is going one way, and then it completely throws you for a loop. For a time travel story, it’s remarkably fresh, bringing together elements of Arctic exploration history, government conspiracy, budding romance, and fish-out-of-water in the modern world. It’s an easy, light read that I’d highly recommend for anyone wanting to dip their toes into sci-fi thrillers. (Also, I believe the BBC has plans to adapt this into a TV series, too.)
A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon (Nonfiction) by Kevin Fedarko
This is nature writing at its finest. Two journalists decide to hike the length of the Grand Canyon and head out. Oh, except they’re amateurs who know nothing about desert hiking or the layout of the Grand Canyon. A Walk in the Park details everything from near-death experiences and the devastation of native lands to the fascinating backgrounds of the mentors who helped them along the way and the unforgettable views only the canyon’s most dangerous hikes provide.
Bright Young Women (Fiction) by Jessica Knoll
I remember picking this up and being worried about it being too “true crime” for my personal tastes, but I walked away pleasantly surprised. Bright Young Women reimagines the Ted Bundy murders from the perspective of the victims, exploring the trauma that comes with being a survivor of violent crime, how relationships are formed or broken after such experiences, and what it takes for victims to actually get justice. It’s heavy, for sure, so keep that in mind. But it didn’t have that exploitative, sensationalized feeling that other true crime stories lean into.
All the Colors of the Dark (Fiction) by Chris Whitaker
When I tell you I was GUTTED after reading All of the Colors of the Dark. I don’t mean gutted in the sense of being emotionally devastated, but rather more along the lines of “That was incredible, and I don’t know what to read after this.” A true page-turner that balances a serial killer mystery, small-town family drama, and a slow-burn romance between childhood friends. I couldn’t put it down—and when I finally did, I wanted to read it again. Honestly, I’d add this to my favorite reads of all time.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter (Fiction) by Stephen Graham-Jones
Nobody is doing horror like Stephen Graham Jones right now. (Okay, so I might be a little biased because he’s one of my favorite authors, but I stand by what I said.) If you want a story that combines indigenous mythology with vampire lore and rebukes of colonialism that will haunt you, break your heart, and deliver an ending with satisfying vengeance, then the The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is right up your alley.
Also Recommend
Outside of my favorites, these were other books I read and enjoyed in 2025.
- Abundance (Nonfiction), Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein
- Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism (Nonfiction), Sarah Wynn-Williams
- Empire of the Dawn (Fiction), Jay Kristoff
- Everything Must Go: The Stories We Tell About the End of the World (Nonfiction), Dorian Lynskey
- Fahrenheit-182: A Memoir (Nonfiction), Mark Hoppus
- Frankenstein (Fiction), Mary Shelley*
- The God of the Woods (Fiction), Liz Moore
- Gone Girl (Fiction), Gillian Flynn*
- The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild (Nonfiction), Bryan Burrough
- The Inferno (Fiction), Dante Alighieri*
- The Knight and The Moth (Fiction), Rachel Gillig
- Leslie F*cking Jones (Nonfiction), Leslie Jones
- Mickey 7 (Fiction), Edward Ashton
- Murder of Sex Island: A Luella Van Horn Mystery (Fiction), Jo Firestone
- Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology (Fiction), Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
- Of Monsters and Mainframes (Fiction), Barbara Truelove
- Onyx Storm (Fiction), Rebecca Yarros
- The Pairing (Fiction), Casey McQuiston
- Pure Innocent Fun: Essays (Nonfiction), Ira Madison III
- The Rainbow Age of Television: An Opinionated History of Queer TV (Nonfiction), Shanya Maci Warner
- Real Americans (Fiction), Rachel Khong
- Sense & Sensibility (Fiction), Jane Austen*
- So Far Gone (Fiction), Jess Walter
- The Shutouts (Fiction), Gabrielle Korn
- The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History (Nonfiction), Karen Valby
- You Didn’t Hear This from Me: Notes on the Art of Gossip (Nonfiction), Kelsey McKinney
- You Dreamed of Empires (Fiction), Álvaro Enrigue
- Your Favorite Scary Movie: How the Scream Films Rewrote the Rules of Horror (Nonfiction), Ashley Cullins
- When Harry Met Sally (Screenplay), Nora Ephron
- White House Wild Child: How Alice Roosevelt Broke All the Rules and Won the Heart of America (Nonfiction), Shelley Mickle
- The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook (Nonfiction), Hampton Sides
- Witchcraft for Wayward Girls (Fiction), Grady Hendrix
*Re-read
Not My Bag
As always, I want to clarify that these books aren’t necessarily bad. Sometimes, we just don’t jibe.
- Beautyland (Fiction), Marie-Helene Bertino
- The Emperor and the Endless Palace (Fiction), Justinian Huang
- Wolf Hall (Fiction), Hilary Mantel
- World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments (Nonfiction), Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Time to dive into my 2026 reading list now!
Featured image by JACQUELINE BRANDWAYN on Unsplash
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