Best of 2025!

 

Already time for the yearly roundup of some of my best reads this year. I always wait until the very last possible moment to post my list; you never know what you'll come across around Christmas! I like to give every book I've read this year a chance to appear on my favourites list, no matter if I read it in the first week of January or the last few days of December. 

I also create a statistical summary each year, for my own geekish pleasure. As I've said before, I don't think of reading as a competition -- I keep track of numbers and various stats for my own interest, not to prove anything or compare myself to anyone. 

Here are my reading stats for 2025: 

Total Reading: 190

Authors

Female: 170
Male: 17
Both/Neither: 3

Genre 

Fiction: 90

Non Fiction: 97

Poetry: 3

In Translation: 38

Ukrainian: 5

Russian (Ukrainian writing in): 3

Japanese: 9

Korean: 4

Spanish: 2

Swedish: 3

Norwegian: 3

German: 2

Quebecois French: 1

French: 1

Greek: 1 

Finnish: 1

Chinese: 1

Hungarian: 1

Bangla: 1

My Own Books: 34
Library Books: 144

Review Copies: 12

Rereads: 5
E-reads: 99

Author who I read the most from: 

9 - Dorothy Gilman (after discovering the Mrs. Pollifax series in March, I've now read up to #9 in the series)

2025's Weird Random Stat: 

Books with felines in the title: 6

I had an unusual year, in that I read more nonfiction than fiction. Probably why I felt like I had a number of reading slumps this year; if I can't read fiction, I turn to a lot of instructional craft books! I did get back to reading some poetry, which I am pleased by.

Like always, I read a big majority of women authors, and quite a few more library books than my own this year. But I am happy with all the great books I am able to find through the library! I am hoping to get a few more books off of my own shelves in the upcoming year, though. Even have a challenge for that! 

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And now for the Best of 2025!

These are titles that were memorable, unusual, or caught me with their great storytelling or rich characters. Just books that hit the right note with me when I picked them up! 

Despite not reading as much fiction this year, I found some great books. Some old, some new, some translated. Here were some that I enjoyed, or found very memorable. 

Starting with my Fiction Top Ten: 

Two powerful reads both set in Ukraine. Cecil the Lion Had to Die by Olena Stiazhkina (trans. by Dominique Hoffman) is probably my best read overall. Engrossing characters, great writing, innovative structure -- and an important story. #1 read this year! 

And then there's Endling by Maria Reva, which should have made it to the Booker shortlist this year. Timely story, quirky plot, another innovative structure reacting to the world's realities. Both rewarding reads. 

I also read a lot of Japanese and Korean books this year! These were two of my very favourites, but there were others that I really enjoyed as well. The Korean 'healing fiction' novel, The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon Somin (trans. by Clare Richards was really satisfying. The Japanese novel Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki (trans. by Jordan Taylor) was one I just read, and found it perfect for the holiday season. 

There were a couple of random finds that were unusual, feminist and fun reads for me. The Medusa Situation by Gabiann Marin was a truly random discovery on Hoopla, but this Australian story of the Greek Gods living in the suburbs was a delight. Katharine Stall's Den of Thieves was a paperback I've had on my shelves for a while but finally picked up, and found a rollicking, thoughtful tale of religion, conspiracy and resistance.

Early in the year I read Susin Nielsen's Snap, a story of three people finding unlikely friends in their anger management class. I've reread it once already. And Dorothy Gilman's The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax was the beginning of my Pollifax obsession this year! Such fun, with extra heart, in both books. 

I also read some older books, and found them to still be shockingly timely. Both about marriage and gender roles, really. Dorothy Canfield Fisher's The Home-Maker looked at gender roles from the viewpoint of a woman who didn't like domesticity, and a man who wanted to be at home with his children. Ursula Parrott's Ex-Wife was a darker read, about a young woman struggling with who she is once she is an ex-wife. Both still relevant. 

Then a couple of extras -- one children's book:

Wildcat Behind Glass by Alki Zei (trans. by Karen Emmerich) is a Greek classic, a children's novel about growing up under looming fascism. 

One Poetry Book:

Letters of the Alphabet by Lesyk Panasiuk (trans. by Katie Farris & Ilya Kaminsky) was a collection I read for work, and thought it was terrific. 

And one outstanding nonfic among the many crafty books I read this year:

Pink Eraser Art by Serena Rios McRae was really well written and designed, and got me into carving erasers into little stamps. I've only made a couple so far but it is so fun! (I didn't review this one). 

So these were some of the top reads of the year for me. As usual, some good Ukrainian reads, some older titles and craft work too. I love reading a wide variety of titles and found a bunch across a range of genres this year. Hopefully I'll be as lucky in 2026!

2026 Challenges Ahead

And now, looking ahead into 2026! What reading challenges will I take up in the new year? 

I'll start with the continuous ones that run over the calendar year ends. There is the Canadian Book Challenge, which runs July 1 - July 1 every year, with the aim to read and review 13 Canadian books. I'm halfway through, and have 5 books to read and review by the end of this round. 

Then there's my ongoing Century of Books challenge. I wanted to start this one in 2025 because I really liked the symmetry of reading books between the dates of 1925 and 2025. Although this is supposed to be done in one year, I didn't finish it in 2025, so I'm keeping at it until I'm finished. Hopefully by the end of 2026 but we will see if I can read and review 73 books by then! 

Of course I will also continue with the Women in Translation readalong in August, and have two rounds of the Literary Sewing Circle planned for 2026 (the first one starting around March). 

And the fresh 2026 Challenges are as follows! 

I want to try the TBR 26 in '26 hosted by the Rose City Reader this year - I didn't do too well on the 2025 iteration but am going to try again ;) The goal is to read 26 books from your shelves that have been there prior to Jan 1, 2026. I have LOTS to choose from! 

Rose City Reader is also hosting the European Reading Challenge  - it runs the whole year too, and you can sign up at various levels. I'm signing up for:

• FIVE STAR (DELUXE ENTOURAGE): Read at least five books by different European authors or books set in different European countries.
  
  

And I am jumping on the Japanese Literature Challenge once more. This one is hosted by Dolce Belezza, and this is the 19th year it is running. The goal is to read and review at least one Japanese book during January and February. 

And there's one more that will be easy for me, but I still want to sign up and share this one! The Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI), together with the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America (UNWLA) and with support from the HUCUS Foundation, announced a new long-term campaign: the Ukrainian Book Challenge. The campaign makes a simple ask: to buy at least one book in English about Ukraine or by a Ukrainian author – at least once a year. Participants are encouraged to take a selfie or record a short video with their chosen book, post it on their social media, and challenge five friends to do the same using the hashtag #UkrainianBookChallenge. So consider this my challenge to you, as well -- I have tons of suggestions and reviews here on my blog for you to consider -- try the Ukraine tag if you aren't on mobile and can see them at the bottom of my posts! 

Do you enjoy reading challenges? Are you doing any great ones this year that you want to share? Let me know! 

2025: Challenges Past

In 2025 I signed up for a few reading challenges. How'd I do? Some good, some partly good! I participated in some ongoing challenges that run over into next year, more about those in another post. 

The challenges specific to 2025 were are follows: 

More of a reading event than a challenge, Women in Translation Month in August was another great time. I read a bunch of titles, found some great books, and shared some reading lists and favourites from previous years. Definitely sticking with this one. 

Then there's the Literary Sewing Circle, a challenge I run, with two discrete rounds a year. There were two fun reads in 2025, and it will be returning in 2026. 

I signed up for a few challenges that I haven't participated in for a while. The first was the Japanese Literature Challenge hosted by Dolce Bellezza. It's been running for a long time and it is always fun to see what everyone else is reading. You only have to read one thing to participate, but in January I read and reviewed 2 titles, Mina's Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa, and There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura.

Next was the TBR 25 in '25, hosted by Rose City Reader. I definitely have a giant TBR of my own books on my shelves, which is what this one is focused on. I had hoped to get to 25 but I got sidetracked by all the library books! I read only 7 books that had been on my shelves prior to January 1, 2025. A few others of my own that I bought in 2025 but those don't count toward this one either :) 

And the final challenge I signed up for in 2025 was the What's in a Name challenge, hosted by Carolina Book Nook. This is an old-school one but I haven't done it for years! My results were only halfway there though - I read 4/6 in the categories for this one. 

I had a lot of fun with these even if I didn't meet them all. If you're interested you can find all the titles read for all the challenges in my planning post from the end of 2024. 

I'll be sharing what I'm planning on joining in on for next year, in my next post. 

Happy New Reading Year!

 And just like that it is 2025! I have so many plans for the year, at least for my reading. I shared some of the challenges I want to do this year in a recent post, but since then I've discovered another. It's an oldie that I did a few times back when book blogging was in its heyday. And I've discovered that it's still being hosted! So I'll jump in again for fun and nostalgia. 

The idea of this challenge is that you read something with a totally arbitrary category in its title. It can be rather entertaining to see what people choose! The host for this challenge, Carolina Book Nook, says:

In 2025, choose 6 books that have titles that contain:

Cardinal direction

Wanderlust

Crafting a Getaway / Barbara Emodi

First & last name

Dorothy Grant: An Endless Thread

Alliteration

Mina's Matchbox 

Deity

Crime

Murder While You Work 

There are examples for each category on her signup page if you're interested, too! 

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I'll also be sharing a lot of reviews for my final reads in the Century of Books project, over the next few weeks. I am trying to finish up this round as quick as I can so that I can go ahead and start another round for 1925-2025 -- even if the official challenge isn't running this year. Check out Simon at Stuck in a Book, the creator of this challenge, who has just completed his 2024 Century. And who does a lot of other very cool bookish things like his great podcast, Tea or Books. 

Best of 2024!

 

Already time for the yearly roundup of some of my best reads this year. I always wait until the very last possible moment to post my list; you never know what you'll come across around Christmas! I like to give every book I've read this year a chance to appear on my favourites list, no matter if I read it in the first week of January or the last few days of December. 

I also create a statistical summary each year, for my own geekish pleasure. As I've said before, I don't think of reading as a competition -- I keep track of numbers and various stats for my own interest, not to prove anything or compare myself to anyone. 

Here are my reading stats for 2024:

Total Reading: 186

Authors

Female: 161
Male: 22
Both/Neither: 3

Genre 

Fiction: 124

Non Fiction: 57

Poetry: 5

In Translation: 45

Ukrainian: 10

Japanese: 5

Arabic: 5

Spanish: 5

Quebecois French: 3

French: 3

Korean: 3

Polish: 3

Italian: 3

German: 1

Swedish: 1

Turkish: 1

Portuguese: 1

Russian (Ukrainian writing in): 1

My Own Books: 34
Library Books: 149

Review Copies: 3

Rereads: 7
E-reads: 78

Author who I read the most from: 

Susan Scarlett - 3 books, plus one under her real name, Noel Streatfeild

2024's Weird Random Stat: 

Books with the names of flowers/herbs or gardens in the title: 7

I picked up my reading numbers over last year, although not in all areas. I did get back to reading some poetry, which I am pleased by.

Like always, I read a big majority of women authors, and quite a few more library books than my own this year. But I am happy with all the great books I am able to find through the library! I am hoping to get a few more books off of my own shelves in the upcoming year, though. 

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And now for the Best of 2024!

These are titles that were memorable, unusual, or caught me with their great storytelling or rich characters. Just books that hit the right note with me when I picked them up! 

Starting with my Top Ten in Fiction: 

Two lighter reads that I found clever and enjoyable. The English Understand Wool was funny and surprising, as well as talking about fashion a bit. Miss Carter & the Ifrit was imaginative, touching and also quite philosophical in the end. I really liked both. 

And a few translations that I found very memorable and powerful. Elena Knows (from Argentina) was striking, with a great lead and a mystery driving the narrative. The Sea Cloak was a beautifully written collection of stories set in Gaza, powerful reading now. The Forbidden Notebook was a fantastic Italian read about a woman's life and autonomy, and how a diary shakes things up. 

There were two books that caused a double take in my reading! Both My Death and

Do Evil in Return were books that sprung unexpected events on me and made me look at the characters differently. Excellent reads! 

And there were some Ukrainian books that I loved this year, too. There were quite a few I enjoyed but these three were my faves. Days of Miracle & Wonder was a recent read, a collection of engaging stories which I really enjoyed. Forgottenness was a translation, a slower moving, thoughtful story about memory, Ukrainian history, existential crisis and more. Philipovna was a novelization of the writer's mother's story and it was striking and unforgettable, such dramatic moments of history and cultural trauma shared. 

There were also a couple of nonfiction titles that really stood out to me this year. Ukraine: a Spring for the Thirsty was a collection of interviews and essays about translation, publishing and Ukrainian literature. It was a fascinating, lively read, much more than I'd even expected, and I learned so much. Really great. Food Was Her Country was a poetic memoir by a Ukrainian Canadian filmmaker and writer, who I've read before; this one was fantastic as well. 

And I also have to add some outstanding books for younger readers. This year I discovered a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin by Eleanor Farjeon, called The Silver Curlew. It was a magical, delightful read. And Stitching Science was a pleasure all through! It combines scientific facts alongside beautifully stitched textile works illustrating scientific concepts from A-Z. I love science and I really love textiles so this was a big hit with me!

So these were my top reads of the year, and I enjoyed so many different kinds of books this year. I loved the settings, the historical contexts, found some marvellous characters and enjoyed the artistic themes in many of them. And I'm hoping that next year's reading will bring some new discoveries that are just as good. 

Challenges Past & Challenges Ahead

Last year I participated in a few yearlong reading projects, many of which are long term ongoing ones. I'm still going on with most of them for 2025. I haven't been joining many new ones lately, but there are two I'm going to add to my plans for 2025! Let's see if I can successfully incorporate some new challenges to the mix once more ;) 

Canadian Book Challenge 

It's the 18th year of the challenge & of my reading along. The goal is to read and review 13 Canadian books from July 1 - July 1. I've just finished review #14! How did that happen - I never finish ahead of time! But I'm going to keep reading Canadian and I'll restart again next July 1 as well. 

Century of Books

This challenge was first begun by Simon at Stuck in a Book; as I finish it every few years I just start it up again on my own. I began a new Century in 2023 & hoped to finish it in 2024 - I am just a handful of books away from completion so hope to get my final reviews in during January so I can start anew! 

Women in Translation 

This is more a readalong/celebration than a challenge, but I love to focus on #WIT during August especially, and will continue to join to fun in 2025. 

Literary Sewing Circle

And there's my own challenge, of sorts, the Literary Sewing Circle. This is a readalong I host on my sewing blog, Following the Thread, twice a year. We read a book together and then sew something inspired by our reading, usually one in the spring and one in the fall. We read a couple of fabulous books together in 2024, and have two more to explore in 2025. All welcome to join in!

And then there are the new ones I'm going to try to read along with! 

The first is Dolce Bellezza's Japanese Literature Challenge - it's in its 18th year in 2025. The goal is to read and review at least one work of Japanese literature during January and February. I sometimes participate by chance, but I'm making it a goal this year. 

READ: 

 Mina's Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa

There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura

The next new one is Rose City Reader's The TBR 25 in '25 Challenge. This is aimed at getting you to read 25 of the books from your own shelves in 25. Considering that I have many books but usually read more library books than my own, this is a perfect prompt for me in 2025. You can make a list ahead or read by mood - I am a mood reader so will not make a full list ahead of time but have ideas already! 

READ: 

There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job / Kikuko Tsumura 

The Bookshop / Penelope Fitzgerald

The Goldberg Variations / Nancy Huston 

The Door / Magda Szabo 

A Stranger in my Grave / Margaret Millar 

Den of Thieves / Katharine Stall 

The Joy Luck Club / Amy Tan 

And that's it for me. I hope that 2025 brings you both new reading adventures and all the literary challenges you could wish for!

Challenges Past & Challenges Ahead

Last year I participated in a few yearlong reading projects, many of which are long term ongoing ones. I'm still going on with most of them for 2024. I tried to rejoin the TBR pile challenge in 2023 but didn't get too far with that one! I'm not joining any new challenges in the new year, but will just try to keep up with the current ones. 

Canadian Book Challenge 

It's the 17th year of the challenge & of my reading along. The goal is to read and review 13 Canadian books from July 1 - July 1. I've only reviewed 2 so far! 

Century of Books

This challenge was first begun by Simon at Stuck in a Book; as I finish it every few years I just start it up again on my own. I began a new Century in 2023 & hope to finish it in 2024! 

Women in Translation 

This is more a readalong/celebration than a challenge, but I love to focus on #WIT during August especially, and will continue to join to fun in 2024. 

TBR Challenge update

I signed up to the 10th year of the TBR Challenge hosted by Adam of Roof Beam Reader -- but didn't get very far. Of the 12 books on the list, I only read and reviewed 2! I did finish another one but haven't reviewed it yet. Sheesh! New books seem to move to the top of the pile...

Literary Sewing Circle

And finally there's my own challenge, of sorts, the Literary Sewing Circle. This is a readalong I host on my sewing blog, Following the Thread, twice a year. We read a book together and then sew something inspired by our reading. We read a couple of fabulous Canadian books together in 2023, and have two more to explore in 2024. All welcome to join in!

I hope that 2024 brings you both new reading adventures and all the literary challenges you could wish for!