My Books of the Year and Reading Wrap Up 2025

This post marked the end of year 2025 on this blog. And what a year it has been! Looking backward, I'm quite proud of what I have achieved. Starting the year, I was about 10 books behind in my personal A Century of Books challenge. I started it in 2024, planning to read 100 books (one for each year from 1925 to 2024) in two years, allocating 50 books for each. And so, there was about 60 books I had to read during 2025. It sounds achievable, but I didn't count on the four months of Tax Course I have had to attend for work, which meant my reading and blogging dwindled severely during that months. Fortunately, I have bounced back after that, and have been zealously reading those 60 books in time, while still be able to join (and enjoy) some yearly events/challenges I regularly join in, and have reviewed them all. In short, I did it, 2025 !!

To recap my 2025 in reading and reviews, here are some stats, as well as the winner of my favorite read of the year:

CHALLENGES COMPLETED

A Century of Books - 2024-2025 (a personal challenge)

inspired by Simon @ Stuck in a Book

Books read: 100 of 100

Here's the list of the titles with link to the review posts

Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge 2025

hosted by Carol @ Carol's Notebook
Books read: 20 of 20
Here's the list of the titles with link to the review posts


BOOKS READ

Total Books Read: 84 🎊

🎉 BEST READ OF 2025 🎉

And to close this post, as well as this hectic yet wonderful year of 2025, I will reveal my BEST READ OF 2025!

It's been a tough competition, since I have read so many unexpectedly delightful titles this year. Here are they, with link to the review posts. You would see what I have read, my favorite of each month, the semifinalists, and lastly... the winner of best read of 2025 - my version. Happy scrolling! ;)

Battle for Top Twelve

JANUARY
1. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg - 1967 2. The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai - 2013 3. The Bird Found the Body by Bailey Booth - 2023 4. The Black Spectacles by John Dickson Carr - 1939 5. The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart - 1908 6. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis - 1999 7. The Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata - 2016 8. Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa - 2013
WINNER OF JANUARY: Sweet Bean Paste


FEBRUARY
9. The Summer Book by Tove Jansson - 1972 10. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery - 1926 11. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith - 1998 12. The Hollow by Agatha Christie - 1946 (re-read) 13. The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford - 1945
WINNER OF FEBRUARY: The Hollow


MARCH
14. Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns - 1984 15. Tea Is So Intoxicating by Mary Essex - 1950 16. Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale - 1927 17. Crook o' Lune by E.C.R. Lorac - 1953 18. Ten Way Street by Susan Scarlett - 1941 WINNER OF MARCH: Cold Sassy Tree APRIL 19. A Daughter's a Daughter by Mary Westmacott - 1952 20. Pigs Have Wings by P.G. Wodehouse - 1952 21. Love for Lydia by H.E. Bates - 1952 WINNER OF APRIL: Love for Lydia MAY 22. High Rising by Angela Thirkell - 1933 23. The Venice Murders by Merryn Allingham - 2025 24. The Dalai Lama's Cat by David Michie - 2012 WINNER OF MAY: The Dalai Lama's Cat

JUNE
25. The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo - 2005 26. Wish You Were Here by Rita Mae Brown - 1990 27. Missing or Murdered by Robin Forsythe - 1929 28. Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie - 1948 29. The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher - 1987 30. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons - 1932 31. The Black Cabinet by Patricia Wentworth - 1925
WINNER OF JUNE: The Shell Seekers


JULY
32. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle - 1989 33. The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain - 2014 34. Jacqueline in Paris by Ann Mah - 2022 35. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery - 2006 36. A Picture of Murder by T.E. Kinsey - 2018 37. The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden - 1958 38. Garlic, Mint, & Sweet Basil by Jean-Claude Izzo - 2003 39. The Martian by Andy Weir - 2011 40. The Upside Down River by Jean-Claude Mourlevat - 2000 WINNER OF JULY: The Red Notebook AUGUST 41. Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary - 1983 42. The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon Somin - 2023 43. The Swiss Summer by Stella Gibbons - 1951 44. Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym - 1977 45. The Hidden Staircase (Nancy Drew) by Carolyn Keene - 1930 46. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George - 1959 47. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yōko Ogawa - 2005 48. Crooked House by Agatha Christie - 1949 (re-read) 49. Mister God, This is Anna by Flynn - 1974 WINNER OF AUGUST: The Swiss Summer SEPTEMBER 50. Weekend at Thrackley by Alan Melville - 1934 51. Murder by Firelight by Meryn Allingham - 2025 52. Tea on Sunday by Lettice Cooper - 1973 53. Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris - 2001 54. The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas - 1995 55. The Murder at Sissingham Hall by Clara Benson - 2013 56. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout - 2008 57. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell - 1960 58. Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald - 1979 WINNER OF SEPTEMBER: The Persian Pickle Club OCTOBER 59. Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh - 1938 60. Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian - 1981 61. The Theft of the Iron Dogs by E.C.R. Lorac - 1946 62. Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart - 1965 63. The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman - 1985 64. The House Without a Key by Earl Derr Biggers - 1925 65. Crocodile on the Sand Bank by Elizabeth Peters - 1975 66. Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman - 1965 67. Chasing Vermeer by Blue Baillett - 2004 WINNER OF OCTOBER: Goodnight Mister Tom NOVEMBER 68. Notes from an Island by Tove Jansson & Tuulikki Pietilä - 1996 69. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech - 1994 70. Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer - 1953 71. In the Mountains by Elizabeth von Arnim - 1920 72. Genderang Perang dari Wamena by Djokolelono - 1972 (an Indonesian Children Fantasy) 73. All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot - 1976 74. Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson - 1991 75. Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck - 1961 76. Picture Miss Seeton by Heron Carvic - 1968 WINNER OF NOVEMBER: Seven Years in Tibet DECEMBER 77. Still Life by Louise Penny - 2005 78. Richardson's First Case by Basil Thomson - 1933 79. Mrs. Lorimer's Quiet Summer by Molly Clavering - 1953 80. The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier - 1969 81. Constable on the Hill by Nicholas Rhea - 1979 82. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli - 1990 83. Landscape in Sunlight by Elizabeth Fair - 1953 84. The Woods in Winter by Stella Gibbons - 1970 WINNER OF DECEMBER: Richardson's First Case The Lucky Semifinalists JANUARY and FEBRUARY: Sweet Bean Paste vs. The Hollow
Winner: Sweet Bean Paste MARCH and APRIL: Cold Sassy Tree vs. Love for Lydia
Winner: Cold Sassy Tree

MAY and JUNE: The Dalai Lama's Cat vs. The Shell Seekers
Winner: The Shell Seekers

JULY and AUGUST: The Red Notebook vs. The Swiss Summer
Winner: The Swiss Summer

SEPTEMBER and OCTOBER: The Persian Pickle Club vs. Goodnight Mister Tom
Winner: The Persian Pickle Club

NOVEMBER and DECEMBER: Seven Years in Tibet vs. Richardson's First Case
Winner: Seven Years in Tibet


The Final Round

JANUARY/FEBRUARY vs. JULY/AUGUST
Sweet Bean Paste vs. The Swiss Summer
Winner: The Swiss Summer

MARCH/APRIL vs. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
Cold Sassy Tree vs. The Persian Pickle Club
Winner: The Persian Pickle Club

MAY/JUNE vs. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER
The Shell Seekers vs. Seven Years in Tibet
Winner: Seven Years in Tibet


And the WINNER is....
((drumroll))

🎊 THE PERSIAN PICKLE CLUB 🎊
by Sandra Dallas

Though the other finalists, The Swiss Summer and Seven Years in Tibet would remain two of my favorites, each in their genre, Sandra Dallas' The Persian Pickle Club was on another level. It has a complete package of every element that I always enjoy in a book (love, friendship, a bit of mystery, the struggle (and triumphant) of the weaker, and a plot twist that is structured perfectly with a wholesome ending). The moment I closed the book, I have predicted that it might be my favorite read of the year; that kind of book would be hard to beat. And I was right. One thing I have not predicted is, that I would read three books from Stella Gibbons this year, surpassing any other writer (except Agatha Christie, which I am rereading through). In retrospect, 2025 has been a nice surprise for me. Thanks to A Century of Books and other reading challenges/events I participated in, I have read many books that I wouldn't have thought of reading, and found many gems I haven't even known exist.

How about you? Have you had a good year of reading in 2025?
What's your favorite(s)? Have you read mine?