It’s crazy but we’re about halfway through 2025 so what have your favorite reads been so far this year and are there any titles you’re really looking forward to reading in the months ahead?
Personally Playground by Richard Powers remains my favorite read of 2025 so far!
I absolutely loved Orbital, by Samantha Harvey. Need to be in the mood for a quiet, immersive read, but so worth it. I think I may read it again before the year is out.
I’m on a Percival Everett kick right now. The Trees was a twisted bit of business that kept my attention all along the way. I am currently reading James, and I think I see already why it won the National Book award.
I don’t normally gravitate specifically to award winners, it’s just worked out that way this year.
My favorites so far are Nesting by RoisinO’Donnell
Wild Dark Horses by Charlotte McConaghy
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon has been my best read so far this year. Historical fiction is my favorite fiction genre and the author did a wonderful job of keeping the story moving while remaining historically accurate and informing the reader about that time period.
I’ve been on a hot streak this year. Here are my favorites:
Frozen River
The Wager
The Antidote
Becoming Madam Secretary
Isola
The Creation of Half-Broken People
The Quality of Mercy
The Emperor of Gladness
The Lilac People
Wild Dark Shore
As far as what’s coming up, I don’t think I approach books with anticipation at all. I’m always like, “Hmmm, this looks good. Guess I’ll read that next.” (Yeah, I’ve got impulse control issues…)
The Man Made of Smoke
The Ghost Writer
A Killing Cold
Wild Dark Shore
Broken Country
House of Glass
All the Colors of the Dark
I have a stack of books waiting for me.
That’s a lot of favorites! Lol
What can I say? I had a lot of books I loved this year, LOL. If I had to narrow it down, though, it would be:
The Antidote
The Creation of Half-Broken People
The Emperor of Gladness
The Frozen River
Time of the Child
Shopgirls
Looking Forward to
Broken Country
The Correspondent
Aftertaste
Broken Country is my favorite read so far this year.
Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson
Long time Gone by Joshua Moerling
The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict
The Jackel’s Mistress by Chris Bohjalian
Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coban
This American Woman by Zarna Garg
The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom
I have read Lilac People, Frozen River, Becoming Madam Secretary, The island of Sea Women,Tom Lake,Before Dorothy, Erased. And I am in the middle of The Things We cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer.
The Frozen River has turned out to be one of my favorite books of all time. I especially liked the fact that it is based on an actual person’s life. Just finishing Return to Sender. Craig Johnson has long been one of my favorite authors, and I even liked the Longmire Series on TV. Unusual for me because the actors they choose to play the parts are rarely what I imagine when I’m reading. Only Killers and Thieves is on my TBR shelf. Looking forward to it and Things in Jars.
Here’s a list of my most memorable reads as of July, 2025:
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman;
When we Flew Away by Alice Hoffman;
The Frozen River by Ariel Lahon–reread;
The Jackal’s Mistress by Chris Bohjalian;
The Ride of Her Life by Elizabeth Letts;
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
The Book of Everlasting Things by Aanchal Malhotra; and
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
I rarely reread a book. I first read the Frozen River while vacationing in Mexico in 2023 and then reread it this past spring. Definitely one of my all-time favorite titles.
From the technologically challenged, I would love to know how you created this image.
I agree that The Frozen River is one very special book for me also. I find that Craig Johnson writes books with such literary quality that it is immaterial that they are ‘westerns’. He writes about human behavior and relationships that transcend period, or location. I am wondering if Longmire will retire soon. Be prepared when you read Only Killers and Thieves for behavior that I found to be challenging and it will stick with you a long time.
I am very interested in your list. It has books I have been considering reading, as well as books I have already read. My favorite books are historical fiction with an ingredient of suspense, or mystery. My TBR is filled with such books and the most difficult task for me is to choose one to read. Lists like yours are frequently the nudge I need to pick one. Thank you.
I have read at least 2000 books and frequently I go back to review which books I read in each year back to pre-2000. I built the list laboriously by looking at my borrowing from the Denver Public Library. I rarely buy a book, so I had to work at the list. I mention this because when I look at the list certain books pop-out with a memory jolt and the pleasure I had in reading the book comes to mind. The Frozen River will be one of those that pop for me.
