I managed to get myself into a great reading routine in 2025.
I would put Joaquin to bed, then spend an hour or so between his bedtime and mine just sat in bed, reading my current book. It’s been beating my old routine of scrolling until lights off. My reading also increased when I stopped buying books, and started using the library. What a game changer when you’re on maternity pay.
By June I’d hit my total book count target for the year, for the first time ever. I’ve found my genres and styles that I enjoy reading most, and starting building up a little collection of go-to authors. I really enjoy reading now. So, I thought I’d share my books of 2025 so far – and my honest thoughts on them. Let me know if you’ve read any of these, or any recommendations!
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A Tale for the Time Being – 7/10
This was another ‘found diary’ book’, like ‘Four Seasons in Japan‘ that I’d recently read. A woman in British Columbia finds the diary of a young girl after the 2011 tsunami in Japan, and makes it her mission to translate her story. It’s a dark story, and the translator gets pulled into finding her own life taking on a need to discover what happens.
I was totally torn over this book. I both loved and hated it. It was told from two people’s perspectives, and I loved one of them and didn’t enjoy the other. For me, I would’ve enjoyed it if it had only been the one storyline – but then it would’ve lost the plot a little bit perhaps. A word of warning, there’s also some quite triggering bullying involved in the story, which I found upsetting, and it didn’t relate to me.
I also think the idea of someone finding a diary and slowly translating it had been done in Four Seasons in Japan, which I’d read very recently, and that kind of ruined this one for me.
The Lantern of Lost Memories – 8/10
A character reaches the end of their life, and wakes up in a photography studio. A man is offering them a cup of tea, and explaining that they can choose one moment from their life to relive and remember.
A shorter novel, and one I had in between longer ones. We were going to Bolton for a couple of days, so I grabbed a quick read. This was an easy read, with an alternative idea on what happens after you die. It was a unique idea, and the stories all flowed together. I almost felt like it could’ve been longer when I got to the end of it.
Love Me, Love Me Not – 2/10
This is the story of a perfectionist who has managed to get everything in her life in an order she’s satisfued with. Until she finds out she’s adopted. Thrown into a new normal, she tackles handling the change, as well as everyone around her.
I’m sorry to say this was a big nope from me – however, I strangley can see why others might enjoy it. I just didn’t like the main character, and I found the other characters unbelievable. I felt like the story went round in circles and didn’t really get anywhere. It wasn’t a book that I enjoyed reading.
She and Her Cat – 10/10
Neighbourhood cats take on the challenges of their female owners. Four women face different life hurdles, and their cats experience it with them – from finding independence to helping with grief.
Another shorter book, but I loved this one. It’s based on neighbourhood cats, and told from their perspective. And it’s more believeable than that sounds. You follow their stories, and watch them all interlink by the time you get to the end. A cute little read.
Must I Go – 1/10
The main character, in her 80s, has lived her life as fully as she feels she could. She raised children, greeted grandchildren, and now lives alone. In her space, she takes on the role of annotating the published diary of a previous lover, from her younger days.
I absolutely hated this book, if I’m being totally honest. I hated the main character, I thought she was mean and nasty. And the whole book was spent mocking others from her point of view, while she was obsessing over a man. I couldn’t sympathise with her, and I couldn’t let myself just let go and get into her story at all.
Asa: The Girl Who Turned Into a Pair of Chopsticks – 4/10
This was three short stories, and completely bonkers. As the title suggests, the first one is about a girl who turns into a pair of chopsticks. I mean, that’s quite bizarre. For me it was almost too bizarre. I enjoy books that turn weirdness into a moral or explains itself, but this doesn’t.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow – 10/10
The story of a man and a woman, but by no means a romance. You follow the lives of two friends from their first meeting as children, through to adulthood. Their share a love of videogames and videogame creation, and carry this through their story.
I loved this book, and it was the first book to make me cry in a long, long time. It felt like we were absolutely flying through the timeline, but also didn’t feel at all rushed. I cared so much about the characters, and I wanted them all to do well.
Butter – 9/10
A journalist befriends a woman in prison, convicted of the murders of several of her lovers. They build a connection through food and cooking, and it changes everything for the journalist. It’s based on a true story.
This was one on my list that had been recently released, and was still in the popular lists, so to speak. So it came with big expectations. It fulfilled them for me. But – it was another one that left me feeling like it was missing something for me. It was as though it didn’t hit the perfect mark, but I can’t put my finger on quite what that is. I wonder if it’s because it followed Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and I just loved that book so much. I still loved it, and would still recommend adding it to your reading list.
The Honjin Murders (Detective Kosuke Kindaichi #1) – 9/10
After the excitement of a wedding in a small village, there’s a tragic murder. A murder that seems impossible – two victims found with wounds that could not be self-inflicted, in a locked room. No evidence of entry or exit, and an exciting mystery to unfold.
This was an interesting book. I’d read that it was the Japanese equivalent of Poirot, and I can see the connection. An unusual crime-solving character, a seemingly unsolvable murder, and twists and turns in every chapter. It was really enjoyable, and something different.
Hot Milk – 9/10
A daughter and her mother arrive in Almeria, Spain. The mother has a mysterious illness that doctors can’t diagnose, and Spain is their last hope. While working with a local medical professional they uncover more of their relationship as well as finding out more about themselves.
Originally I marked this book down a little, but I found that I couldn’t stop thinking about it once I’d finished it, and decided I’d enjoyed it more than I thought. It’s strange, I can’t really tell you much of what happened, just that I enjoyed reading it.
Murder on the Orient Express – 5/10
Someone’s been murdered on a train. And most of the passengers have secret reasons to hate the victim. Luckily Hercule Poirot is aboard, and he has a special talent for solving the unsolvable.
This was at a little bit of an unfair advantage from the off. I’ve enjoyed the films of this novel, so I already went into it knowing the ending, and I think that took something away from it for me. Every interview I read, I knew what the conclusion would be, and it was hard to be surprised by the twist at the end. I think if I hadn’t ever seen the films I would’ve enjoyed it much more.
Yellowface – 4/10
An author has just watched her friend, and fellow author, die in her own apartment. She calls the services, but while she’s waiting, she can’t help but notice a new novel sitting on the desk – it would be a shame to waste it.
I was gutted to not love this book. It was one of the recently published books on my to-read list, and when my library had it available I basically ran to get it in my paws. But it just wasn’t for me. I didn’t feel like a lot happened after the first ‘event’. I didn’t really like the character much, and I didn’t ever really manage to connect with the storyline.
Small Pleasures – 9/10
A lady has written into a local paper claiming to have a daughter from a virgin birth. As impossible as it seems, everything in her story and evidence seems to add up – so a journalist must get to the bottom of it. In doing so she gets herself entangled within the family more than she could ever have known.
My first holiday read in Menorca, and one I’ve since seen a lot of people taking on the plane with them. I enjoyed this book, and I’d gone into it unsure if I would or not. I wasn’t sure if the storyline itself would be for me. But I found the characters so likeable that the storyline was almost a bonus to reading about them. It was very clever, but in ways I won’t spoil for you!
Water Moon – 10/10 (at least!)
Inside a magical pawn shop in a mysterious world, a new owner wakes up to find a precious item stolen, her father missing, and the shop upside down. Thus begins a journey through paper worlds, night markets in the clouds, and haunting enemies, to get to the bottom of what happened and why.
This book was by far the best book I’ve read so far this year, and one of the best I’ve ever read. If you like Studio Ghibli, you’ll like this. In fact while I was reading it I couldn’t stop imagining the scenes in my head as a Studio Ghibli film. It’s fast paced but not confusing. It’s whimsical, but not totally silly. It offers magical explanations for things that happen in ‘our world’ daily.
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