What Did You Read in 2025?

Katelin: When I was quite little, perhaps 6 or 7 years old, I remember Valerie opening the top drawer of her writing desk, pulling out a lined piece of paper, and writing something down. “What is that?” I asked. Valerie carefully explained how important it is to write down all the books you read so you can remember them. “Maybe 5 years from now you need to remember just what book that very important bit of information was in and if you neglected to write it down that wonderful bit of information might be lost forever.” There were several years between then and now that I did not track what I read, and I really wish I had. But now I keep track, and it is great fun to see some patterns that you might not pick up on if you didn’t take the time to reflect.

Valerie, do you still keep track on a lined sheet of paper, or have you upgraded your tracking methods?

Valerie: I’m currently using a composition notebook that I decorated with all my favorite stickers. I started using it in 2016. I wish I still had my teenage lists on lined paper!

Katelin: I am afraid the lined piece of paper method has not served me well; I lost my earlier lists too. I now have a notebook I have been keeping track in, and what's nice is I can see a little bit of a trend emerge. This year I read 51 books. 31 were either physical books or kindle books and 20 audible books. I see that I finish quite a lot of books January and February and then I think I hit a reading splurge late summer. Reading outside while the kids are playing has always been a favorite of mine.

Valerie: Oh, I get that! Years ago, one of my littles figured out he could get more outside time if he handed me my book first and then asked if we could play outdoors now. This year I read 76 books. I absolutely love looking back at my eclectic lists! I read sixteen children’s books this year. I don’t think I’ll ever outgrow them! Among my favorites: We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly and The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall.

Katelin: Did you find any series you really liked this year? I absolutely loved Hannah Nicole Maehrer’s Assistant to the Villain Series. The fourth book comes out in 2026 and I am really looking forward to devouring it the week it comes out.

Valerie: Thank you for getting me started on Assistant to the Villian! I love Evie! My other lovely series discovery this year was also in the cozy fantasy genre: The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune and the sequel Somewhere Beyond the Sea. In addition, I continued with a favorite fantasy series by reading Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. Possibly my favorite Hunger Games book yet. I think I need to reread them all to make sure!

Katelin: My daughter approves of your series choices! I also hit a bit of nostalgia this year and reread some of my childhood favorites including a few from the Harry Potter series, A Secret Garden and A Little Princess. Oh! And I discovered Sara Crewe which is an earlier version of A Little Princess.

Valerie: Oh, such good choices, Kate! My comfort re-reads this year were Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.

Katelin: Any books you did not enjoy that you finished anyway? I know this will be unpopular, but I did not enjoy reading Wicked. I made myself finish it though because of all the hype around the movies. I suppose I did appreciate and understand the movies better having read the book, but the movie diverts from the book quite a lot, so I am not convinced it was worth my reading time.

Valerie: You are bringing up all the feels for me here. Part of me thinks that all books are worth our time, because we learn so much about the world and ourselves through reading even books we don’t care for. But we only have so many minutes! If I find myself stalled out on a book, picking it up and putting it down after just a couple of pages over and over, I return it to the library. And I feel so bad about it. I definitely do not keep a list of my reading fails! There are a few unmemorable books on my 2025 list, but none of the forgettable ones were non-fiction. Only 11 non-fiction books this year, but each one was an experience I’d recommend. Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green was perhaps my favorite among them. I was also riveted by All Thirteen by Christina Soontornvat.

Katelin: Oh I am laughing! I just reread my list of books and the non-fiction books (9 for me) were a bit unmemorable. 7 Considerations for Data Lake Migration was useful at the time but have to admit I forgot I read it! You are right once I commit to a book it's rare for me to fully abandon it, I am always sure there is some value there.

Valerie: Do you read books for seasonal occasions, Kate? I like to read a book from the ALA list of most-banned books during Banned Books week each year, which falls in September or October. This year’s pick was The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. I love that that this tradition gives me an excuse to expand my view of the world, this year giving me a reason to read a classic that I assumed I had read years ago, and to my surprise I discovered this work of art was brand-new to me.

Katelin: You know how I re-read a few Harry Potter books last year? For some reason those books are holiday books for me. Is it because there are great Christmas scenes in most books? Maybe, but I also know that I am more likely to read the big epic series in the winter months. I like adventure when it is too cold to go outside for my own adventures. I also like to hold a physical book in the winter while wrapped up in blankets. I enjoy audiobooks all year round, but colder months have more physical books for me and that's a fact! (because I have the data 😊 ).

Valerie: I’m so glad you count your audio books as books you’ve read! I firmly believe that a book that’s been read to you counts as a book you’ve read! It’s all about getting those words inside us, either by eye or by ear. Or wait, maybe it’s not all about the words? I proudly recorded The Arrival by Shaun Tan, a wordless graphic novel, on my 2025 list. It was a memorable experience between two covers and absolutely counted as a book to my heart.

Katelin: I do appreciate a graphic novel! I gifted my son a graphic novel cookbook for the Holidays and I fully intend on asking if I can borrow it to read in 2026!

Valerie: Do you find yourself beta reading when you read in your free time?

Katelin: Oh that is a great question! One of my common comments when I Beta Read is “This section yanked me out of the story.” Some authors have the need to explain bits about their world that take the reader out of the world and out of the story and as a reader it is then hard get back into the story. I also really struggle when someone writes a physically impossible scene. I don’t mean out of this world, space jumping extravaganza, I am there for that fun! I mean when the author writes about the characters long, loose, cascading hair covering her back down to her hips and then the next paragraph her admirer is drawn to the details of her backless dress. Hello! Her amazing hair is obviously covering her back! Then feeling a personal connection with that character, I knew she would never make such a silly error as to wear a backless dress and then not put her hair up in a perfect chignon to highlight the make of the dress. As you can see, not only did this flaw in story telling take me out of the story, but it's also still irking me today. So, yes I am afraid my desire to smooth out stories creeps into my enjoyment reading, but I do tone it down. I rarely keep a list of notes of the issues.

How do you stop Beta Reading/editing or do you still edit published books? Find any of those missing comas Valerie? Does it delight you to find them or frustrate you that it made it past all the checks pre-publishing?

Valerie: Although it’s hard to for me to ignore punctuation gaffes during beta reading, I find that I turn my internal editor completely off when I read for fun! (Except for the first few pages after we finish a big beta reading project, that is.) It’s sort of like dating vs marriage. Look for the flaws when you are dating and during marriage, just enjoy each moment.

Have you planned out your reading for 2026, Kate? I have a little notebook that I write titles in, but I also have a flurry of little paper scraps with titles on them. And some nice, typed-out lists of titles. And a few online articles with book lists that I’ve bookmarked.

Katelin: I love that you have a nice, typed out list of titles! My TBR pile is towering at the moment, and serving as a plan to start out 2026. I understand the tiny little paper scraps too. I have a note taking app that is full of book titles, movie titles, book quotes I want to keep and not yet sure where they need to belong, and the fact that I need to buy another ketchup and bottle of vanilla at the next grocery run. Do you think our numerous lists all over add to the fun or is a recipe for missing some gems? I am seriously considering using Fable to record my reads in 2026. https://fable.co/ . Hmmm. Just starting the year out this might be a good experience. Would you be up for recording 2026 reads as well?

Valerie: Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun! More lists, more better, I say (because I’m going to keep listing in my battered old notebook, as well.) See you, Kate, and also perhaps you, Constant Reader, on Fable! Happy Reading!