mid-year reading update
how my 2025 reading is going
How has your reading year been so far?
I’m not quite sure how, but I’ve read 61 books so far this year. I’m trying to stop myself feeling like I must justify how I read so much (people still think it’s impossible for someone who works full-time and has other hobbies to read a lot). The simple answer is you make time for it, plus I try to read a little every day and I am a naturally fast reader - sue me!
For those of you who enjoy stats, here are some overviews from my StoryGraph:
What is the best book you’ve read so far this year?
I went back and forth on deciding this but it has to be White Teeth by Zadie Smith. It was a book that made me eager to come home from work so I could read more of it, which I haven’t experienced in a while.
White Teeth is lauded as a modern classic and one of the best novels of the 21st century, and while reading it I became mad at myself for not picking it up sooner. It’s an incredible, sprawling piece of fiction. How Smith uses teeth as symbolism for humanity / identity / historical and cultural roots (and how these can be upended by colonialism) is truly genius. The fact that she published this masterpiece of a book when she was my age is enough to make me spiral for a week.
Best sequel you’ve read?
There is a noticeable lack of series within literary fiction, so I don’t tend to read many and therefore not many sequels. The only ‘sequel’ I’ve read this year is Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, a second prequel in The Hunger Games universe which follows Haymitch’s games (it still counts).
I can’t claim it’s the best-written book ever, it is still very YA which is a writing style I have obviously grown out of. But it provided me with a much-needed dose of nostalgia, taking me back to when I read the original trilogy as a 12 year old. Collins did a great job at adding some background to characters we meet in the original series (and in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) as well as continuing to connect and expand the world of The Hunger Games (I like to imagine she has it all pinned on a board like in a Mike’s Mic video.) I’m very excited for the film adaptation coming out next year, especially after seeing the insane cast list!
New release you’ve not read yet but want to?
One of my 2025 reading goals was to stop chasing the latest releases and ‘buzzy’ books, which is going well so far, but these are some 2025 releases I’ve had my eye on but haven’t read yet:
Sky Daddy by Kate Folk
Girl on Girl by Sophie Gilbert
The Lamb by Lucy Rose
Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild
Most anticipated releases of the second half of the year
Dead and Alive by Zadie Smith - a new essay collection from Zadie Smith (out on 30 October 2025)
Seduction Theory by Emily Adrian - described as for fans of Conversations With Friends and Vladimir (out on 14 August 2025)
What was the biggest disappointment of the year so far?
Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley was a book I was excited for - a campus novel set in the early 2000s about navigating your twenties, first love, and loving music. Unfortunately, it fell very short of its promise.
Many negative reviews point to the unlikeable characters as a major flaw. Personally, I enjoy books with unlikable characters, but most of the characters in this book were written to be unlikeable for the sake of it. The characters lacked depth and didn’t have any other personality traits besides being really into music (…..isn’t everyone?). The book attempts to posit a ‘will-they-won’t-they’ dynamic between two characters, Percy and Joe, but their characterisation along with the messy pacing means they lacked the emotional pull and chemistry needed for that to work, so it was all just underwhelming.
That being said, I’m still curious to see the screen adaptation - maybe Saoirse Ronan can make the protagonist less annoying.
What is the biggest surprise of the year so far?
Probably my current read, which is Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. It’s been left on my bookshelf for a while as I thought it’d be too ‘commercial’ and saccharine for me, but so far I’m enjoying my time with it.
The premise is rather simple: a woman recounts her youthful love affair with a now-famous actor to her three grown daughters. It’s slow and sweet, and an ideal spring/summer read - I got through about 100 pages on the beach yesterday. Quite a nice change from the dark and depressing novels I usually pick up.
Who is your new favourite author?
According to my StoryGraph, one of my top read authors of the year so far is Patrick Radden Keefe, and I would definitely call him a new favourite author.
Last year I read Say Nothing, an absolute feat of narrative non-fiction chronicling the Troubles conflict in Ireland, and it ended up being one of my favourites of 2024. I read Empire of Pain and Rogues earlier this year, both of which were incredible, and I recently bought a copy of The Snakehead. If you’re wanting to read more non-fiction, I definitely recommend his work.
Who is your new favourite fictional character?
Demon from Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. The novel is a beautiful, heart-wrenching coming-of-age tale set against the opioid criss in southern Appalachia. Kingsolver’s craft at characterisation shines all the way through this book, but it’s especially apparent with the book’s protagonist, Demon. Through him, Kingsolver writes a powerful tribute to those just like him: resilient, brave survivors who have clawed their way out of poverty, loss, and addiction.
A book that made you cry?
I famously don’t cry often at books. The last book to make me cry was Betty by Tiffany McDaniel back in 2021, but after four years another book has taken its place and made me cry: The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke.
Winner of the 2025 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, this book tells the interwoven stories of two nine-year-olds: Max, who needs a heart transplant, and Keira, whose tragic death leads to her heart being donated. The book explores the complexities of organ donation, the medical advancements in transplantation, and the impact on both the donor and recipient families. I thought this book was just incredible - so deftly written, with so much intelligence and compassion, and also a riveting read, despite the difficult subject matter. One of the best non-fiction books I’ve read.
What is a book that made you happy?
I read Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly while sick in bed back in March and it really cheered me up. I don’t often find books ‘funny’ (because humour in books is so subjective and therefore hard to do) but I always enjoy books set in New Zealand or Australia because the sense of humour is very similar to UK humour.
What is the most beautiful book you’ve bought this year?
I didn’t buy these books so this answer may be cheating, but this is my Substack and I make the rules. By far the most beautiful books on my shelves are these Vintage Collector's Classics which Vintage Books kindly sent to me! They are quite simply works of art.
What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
I’m committed to staying true to my 25 books for 2025 list, so some books I still need to read from that are:
A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara (I have tentatively decided to read it this summer….)
Human Acts - Han Kang
Beloved - Toni Morrison
Freedom - Jonathan Franzen
Homesickness - Colin Barrett
Any plans for the rest of your reading year ahead?
So far it’s been quite an average reading year, I’ve sadly only rated 4 books five stars. But it can only go up from here, and I have a lot of books I’m still excited to get to. One of my longer-term goals is to equalise my fiction and non-fiction reading, so I want to prioritise more non-fiction in the second half of the year.
Let me know your reading highlights of the year so far or if you have any recommendations, I always love hearing them 💌
So much love for Ann Patchett & Tom Lake! Have you read any of her other novels? I've always thought her books get a bad rap as "mom books" when her work really is so literary and well done, have loved everything I've read by her
The audiobook for Tom Lake was read by Meryl Streep and I fear it’s ruined all other audiobooks for me since it was perfection….