It’s one of my favorite times of the year to browse around the bookstore, so I wanted to share the books I’ve read this year to give you some ideas on what to buy…and what not to buy…for yourself or the people on your list.
Good, bad, and in-between, here’s my 2025 reading list. I’ve noticed lots of these are marked way down right now, so it’s a good time to buy.
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Night Came with Many Stars, by Simon Van Booy
This is one of my new favorite authors, and this story is breathtaking. The opening chapter reveals a widowed father in rural Kentucky who has been out drinking and playing poker, and he has gambled and lost his daughter in the game. It then skips around through the generations to reveal the trauma but also the beauty in their stories. Van Booy has a way of writing a sentence that will knock the breath out of you, and he did the same with a simple blank page of paper in Sipsworth. I’m not quite finished with this one yet, and it has hard content in it, but if you can stomach that then I highly recommend it.
Rebecca Sue, by Kathleen Norris
I was so looking forward to this book this year. In fact, I preordered it about 6 months before it came out. As a mother to a child with special needs, I was really looking forward to veteran Christian spirituality writer Kathleen Norris shedding a hopeful, insightful light onto her view of deeper meaning in the disability experience. Instead, this kind of reads like a log of her sister’s behaviors, quirks, and challenges over the years. I was just hoping for a bit more reflection rather than reporting.
The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
This debut novel this year was picked by my friend Kristi for our book club, and it was unanimously loved. In fact, I bought several copies to give as gifts. It’s the story of an older, single woman told through letters. She writes to her children, her neighbors, her best friend, and the authors she reads…and they all write back. I’m amazed at how much can be communicated when you restrict yourself (as a writer) by not having a narrator to fill in the gaps. Highly recommend, especially to women with older kids or empty nests.
Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi
This was everyone’s favorite book this year, and while I liked it I do think it had issues. That said, he landed the plane well and when I finished it I felt really satisfied. I think it will make a great cozy Hallmark style movie one day. I read the self-published version, and he’s since sold it to Atria. I assume they’ll do an edit on it and clean up some of those issues.
Everything Sad is Untrue, by Daniel Nayeri
I’ve written about it before, and I’ll write about it again. This is one of my favorite books of all time. Everyone (tween to adult) should read it. It’s the story of Daniel’s family’s escape from Iran (a place he adored), their lives as refugees, finally landing in America. He calls his mother the “unstoppable force,” and her faith, passion, and perseverance are central to this book’s narrative.
Exodus, by Leon Uris
We read through this in one of my high school English classes. I chose it for several reasons: 1) I remembered reading it and loving it in high school, 2) it covers the birth of the nation of Israel so it fit for World Literature, and 3) it is a good text for students to identify propaganda. It’s a really fun adventure story that was written in the 1950s, and it definitely has several problematic aspects. But if you like novels about history, war, romance, and the Jewish identity, you’ll enjoy it.
The Great Divorce, by C. S. Lewis
This intellectual experiment about what life after earth might be like was a fascinating read for my students, and I’m always refreshed when I read Lewis. If you haven’t read this one before, you should definitely give it a try. It’s a short one.
Sandwich, by Catherine Newman
I love the way Catherine Newman writes about family, especially about her children. In a world where so many writers and entertainers complain about their kids, Newman basks in her delight of them. This book is about a family vacation to the beach, where the central figure Rocky (a middle-aged woman) is navigating relationships with her newly adult children and her aging parents.
Failure: A Love Story, by Philip Dawkins
One of my former students, now at Samford University, texted me this year and said she thought I should read this play, and she was right. It was really clever and unexpected, about three sisters who live above a clock shop. They will die in reverse order, youngest to oldest, but this story is about the power of love over personal success.
Two Old Women, by Velma Wallis
I wanted to find an ancient Native story to include in my world literature class, and this novella was a great fit. It’s the story of two old women who are left behind by their tribe because they are too weak to help and are taking up resources needed by the younger in the tribe to survive the winter. Ultimately, it’s a story of strength, hope, and rebirth.
This Is Happiness, by Niall Williams
This is the story of a small rural town in Ireland called Faha, on the eve of the town being connected to the electric grid. It’s an examination of life before-and-after, and Niall’s beautiful, lyrical writing takes you to another world. This is a story about the complexity of human relationships and the courage it takes to choose to change. Currently on my bedside table is the follow-up book, Time of the Child.
The Night Diary, by Veera Hiranandani
I do love a good YA novel, and this one delivers. It’s the story of a young girl in India on the eve of partition. Her mother has died, and she must escape her home with her father and twin brother. The story is told through journal entries she writes to her mother. It’s a very easy, quick read that’s appropriate for kids, too. And you’ll have your mouth watering for Indian food when you read her descriptions of her beloved cook’s meals.
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, by Dan Sijie
This is a short novel about two intellectuals in China who were sent to work on farms during the Cultural Revolution. They sneak a box of books with them, and this becomes the connection point with a woman they love—a little Chinese seamstress. I first read this in college and loved it, and I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading it this year.
Lila, by Marilynne Robinson
This book was chosen by my friend Cristina for our book club, and I’m glad I had the accountability of book club to make me finish it. This wasn’t an easy read for me. Robinson writes in a beautiful, dense, stream-of-consciousness style that had me confused and inspired all at once. But, the longer I stuck with it the more I felt comfortable with her style—and the ending definitely paid off. Finish this book.
Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
I love this graphic novel about the revolution in Iran, told from a young girl’s perspective. Of course, this is a hugely successful series with a movie as well, but if you haven’t read the books I suggest you give them a try. It’s something different that will expand your view of the world a bit. You can read it in an afternoon.
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, by Satoshi Yagisawa
I adored this little rom-com novel. I read it last January when it was cold and snowy outside, and it was the perfect backdrop for this cozy story about a girl who runs away from her life to live in the upstairs apartment at a bookshop on a street full of bookshops. It’s under 150 pages, a page-turner, and just a super easy, light read. Highly recommend for a fun break.
Foster, by Claire Keegan
I adore Claire Keegan’s restrained, simple way of telling a complex story. Her books are short, but every single word is packed with meaning. This story about an older, childless couple who takes in a foster child for a short time is incredibly moving and doesn’t take any easy ways out.
Horse, by Geraldine Brooks
I love Brooks’s style of taking an inspiration point (in this case, the painting of a horse) and jumping around through time to tell its entire story. I’m not someone who really is into horses all that much, but I found this story really powerful and moving. Highly recommend anything by Brooks.
On my TBR list for 2026:
The Teacher of Nomadland, by Daniel Nayeri
More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, by Satoshi Yagisawa
When Things Are Alive They Hum, by Hannah Bent
The Names, by Florence Knapp
Vera, or Faith, by Gary Shteyngart
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong
So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men, by Claire Keegan
Orbital, by Samantha Harvey
Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders
Black Woods, Blue Sky, by Eowyn Ivey
Spilled Milk 
