Discussion - My Year in Books 2025

This Week's Topic

My Year in Books - 2025

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Another year that was full of books! I was successful with my challenges which is expected because, sorry not sorry, I select challenges I know I can complete. I will admit that the Literary Escapes can get a little dicey, but I made an early push to be sure to get all those states checked off. 

Goodreads Challenge

I always set my Goodreads Challenge to the same number because I know I can read/listen to five books a week. Though I surpassed my challenge by reading 315 books, I continue to read less than the previous year which I contribute to my declining audiobook listening. Why does Goodreads insist on cutting off our challenge early???? The year ends December 31, and Goodreads needs to accept that. 

My total number of books read was about the same as last year (2024 wrap up), only 4 less. I am pretty much only getting through one audiobook a week and with my increasing family responsibilities, I have trimmed my weekly TBR to four book. I am still pleased with my reading because I did read some great books. 

I am ashamed of my shelf book (single digit percentage-wise!!), and I did NOT move the needle on that at all. It was 8% last year too. I would like to get this higher this year since every year I set a goal to read more shelf books. When comparing 2025 to 2024, I read slightly less new releases, but my library borrows rose from 57% to 63% of the books I read. 

It seems authors are loving green eyes and/or red hair more and more because the percentage of book I read with main characters having one or both of these features increased from 41% to 50% of the books I read. Maybe because I read quite a few romances set in Scotland and Ireland? Not sure, but there were a lot of characters with those traits. 

Did I notice any trends with my reading? I continued to read Asian lit. I really love how cozy these stories tend to be. I read more celebrity book club books. I know! Crazy! But I saw the books at the library, and they appealed to me. I would say that most rated high for me, but I attribute that to knowing what I like. 

I had some disappointments with authors I have loved before. I don't think I will be requesting ARCs for these books, but I may still borrow any of their new releases from the library. I have a thing about hoping all my ARCs will be solid reads. I am not a fan of hate reading or pushing through and writing DNF reviews is not something I love to do. 

The numbers:

• 108 books were by new-to-me authors (34%)
• 89 books were ARCs (28%)
• 72 books were audiobooks (23%)
• 197 books were borrowed from the library (63%)
• 181 books were new releases (57%)
• 25 books were from my shelves (8%)
• 157 book features characters with green eyes and/or red hair (50%)
• 54 earned a 5-star rating (17%)

There are a couple of sites that generate graphics based on your Goodreads shelves, and I found this one interesting. I have made a big push to read more backlist, and I was impressed to see I read books from 19 publication years. 

I was able to complete all my reading challenges, and even finished my state challenge early. I was impressed. 

Read Around the USA

Alphabet Soup

Monthly Motif

Keyword Reading Challenge

Buzzword Reading Challenge

Buzzword Book Cover Challenge

The Discussion Challenge

My goal every year is to post at least one discussion a month. There were a few months where a different kind of post, such as a Top Ten Tuesday, actually was like a discussion, and therefore, there were a few more than twelve. But I am thankful for Shannon and Nicole for hosting this challenge for so many years and pushing me to post discussions. I will miss you Nicole!

Now it's your turn!

Did you meet your reading goals? Did you notice any changes or trends in your reading? 

How was your reading in 2025?
Let us know in the comments!