Quitting my full-time job and studying for (and passing!) the CFP® exam meant I had more time last year to read books. Finishing my two-year study journey meant I finally had more capacity to read non-fiction (previously, my non-fiction brain slot was taken up with reading about tax, estate, retirement, insurance, investment, and general financial planning).

I read some non-fiction bangers this year, many of them on themes of politics, wealth, society, technology, and how these impact our lives. 

I also read a lot of mysteries last year to wind down while studying in the first half of the year, and read a mixture of other fiction over the year. 

I finished 45 books last year, and while I fell off a bit on the blog with my month-in-review posts in the fall (which was busier than anticipated and also I got sick a couple times; I have drafts and will go back and publish these later), I feel pretty satisfied with my reading life. Of course, I would like to continue to push back against the machines and spend a little more time reading, so that’s a 2026 reading resolution, but I’m excited to keep reading this year! 

Choosing superlative “best” books of the year is a little fraught, but it’s helpful for me to look over what I read last year and see what stuck with me. Keeping track of my reading helps me remember what I have actually read, and helps the themes, characters, prose, and ideas stick with me more than just reading and immediately moving on from a reading experience. I don’t want to just consume books mindlessly; I want books to be a part of me in a real way, and I want to be in conversation with them. 

So here are my Top 10 from 2025:

1. Enshittification, by Cory Doctorow 
2. The Sabbath, by Abraham Joshua Heschel
3. The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans 
4. Careless People, by Sarah Wynn Williams
5. The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman
6. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner 
7. Dissolution, by Nicholas Binge
8. The Tainted Cup, by Robert Jackson Bennett 
9. Parliamentary America, by Maxwell Stearns 
10. The Haves and Have Yachts, by Evan Osnos 

Honorable Mentions: The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien; The Goblin Emperor, by Katherine Addison; The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner; and Gaudy Night, by Dorothy Sayers. These are honorable mentions because they are all re-reads of books that I love, and I really enjoyed them once again, I just wanted to give a chance to some new-to-me books. 

What were your favorite books of 2025? What are you looking forward to in 2026? Any book resolutions?