Ever since lockdown when I read voraciously and on more than one occasion ordered the same book twice, I’ve kept lists of all the books I’ve read in any one year. I give the ones I particularly enjoyed a 5* rating which is a quick way of reminding myself to look up other works by the same writer. So now, lucky people, as the year draws to an end I’ve decided to share my 5* reads of 2025 with you! I should say that the following are books weren’t all published in 2025! I like to mix it up, catch up with a few classics and with great books I’ve missed from previous years. It’s a varied list, because that’s the way I read – a mix of novels, short stories and non-fiction. Hopefully something for everyone!
Listed in categories in alphabetical order of author surname (not that I’m a nerd or anything…)
Novels
Xan Brooks, The Clocks in this House all Tell Different Times
Oisín McKenna, Evenings and Weekends
Jojo Moyes, One Plus One
Elizabeth Strout, Anything is Possible
Short Story Collections
Denis Johnson, Jesus’ Son
Alice Jolly, From Far Away They Saw Us Burn
Nick Royle, Paris Fantastique
Joy Williams, Concerning the Future of Souls
Thrillers
Nicci French, The Last Days of Kira Mullen
Liz Moore, Long Bright River
Liz Moore, The God of the Woods.
Classics
Anthony Trollope, Dr Thorne
Vita Sackville West, All Passion Spent
Non-fiction
William James, Varieties of Religious Experience
Josiah Osgood, Lawless Republic
Margaret Willes, The Curious World of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn
