In 2025, I wrapped up the year with 29 books, just one short of my revised target of 30. My original goal was 54 (ambitious, I know), but halfway through the year, I humbled myself and adjusted it to 30.
And guess what? I still missed it by one book… but honestly, I’m calling it a win.
Here are my top 6 favourite reads of the year, the ones that lived in my head rent-free. The kind of books that, every time I spot them on a bookstore shelf, I instinctively reach for them and let out a soft sigh of gratitude for having read them once.
I didn’t include The Summer I Turned Pretty series in my top picks because that one’s a given (and lowkey, I prefer the Amazon series over the books hehe).
And for future me (and anyone curious), here’s the full lineup of everything I read last year:
- The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom
- Have A Little Faith by Mitch Albom
- The Stranger In The Lifeboat by Mitch Albom
- Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
- Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
- Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
- Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
- The Little Liar by Mitch Albom
- I Hope This Finds You Well but Natalie Sue
- The Magic Strings of Frankie Prestoby Mitch Albom
- The Convenience Store by The Sea by Sonoko Machida
- Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
- A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- The Simple Seerah Part 1
- The Simple Seerah Part 2
- The Simple Seerah Part 3
- As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
- The Beekeper of Aleppo by Christy
- Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell
- Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
- The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
- It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
- We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han
- Book Lovers by Emily Henry
- People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
Looking back, reading has become my little escape, and sometimes, my way of making sense of things. I explored different genres this year, from light romance to more introspective reads, but somehow I always find myself gravitating back to historical fiction. There’s just something about stories rooted in real pain, resilience, and humanity that hits different and lingers longer. My absolute favourites have to be The Little Liar by Mitch Albom, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh, The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. They are all equally heartbreaking and beautiful in their own ways. These are the kind of stories that don’t just stay in my head rent-free… they stay in my heart.
