The 2025 Reads

Because why not

There’s nothing quite like getting hit with the flu right before Christmas. I was the last soldier to fall, and taking time to recuperate has meant finishing Middlemarch, which will be undoubtedly be visited on this list—and reflecting on what I’ve read over the past year, clearly. I re-read some favorites (looking at you, Abandonment to Divine Providence and That Hideous Strength) and encountered some new ones to add to that list.

I’ve never done one of these posts before, and after seeing some from others I’ve decided to go with a condensed list focusing on the books that impacted me the most, by category, and writing a tidbit about a few of them (in bold). Basically, it’s my way of saying what I would want to put in your hand this year. I’d love to hear what your favorite reads of 2025 were in the comments!

Spiritual Reading

Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean-Pierre de Caussade

The Long Loneliness by Dorothy Day

Practice of the Presence of God by Br. Lawrence

The Life by St. Teresa of Avila

The Intellectual Life by A.G. Sertillanges

Though knowing a good bit about Servant of God Dorothy Day, this was my first time reading The Long Loneliness. When I told my spiritual director I had picked it up, he nodded and said: “you two will get along,” which is how reading this book felt. It’s been a while since encountering a (one day) saint felt like meeting a friend, but Dorothy Day really pierced my heart.

Theology/Social Philosophy/Humanities

The Art of Living by Dietrich von Hildebrand

Chastity: Reconciliation of the Senses by Erik Varden

How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell

Technopoly by Neil Postman

The Glass Cage by Nicholas Carr

It’s tough to categorize the “technology” books, because many of them fall into a social philosophy/ethics sort of category. I really enjoy those. However, I really believe Bishop Erik Varden’s Chastity is the most significant contribution to our understanding of human sexuality/bodiliness since John Paul II—I am not exaggerating. As someone working in the field of sexual brokenness and also just a human being, this book was pivotal.

Work/Psychology

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

The Soul of Shame by Curt Thompson

The reading I pick up during work hours tends to be in the psychological or business realm, since I find those are the areas I need the most education and formation for my job and I’m far less likely to pick them up for fun. Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership falls into neither of those categories, and ended up being more of a spiritual read for me than anything. A friend, who also leads a nonprofit, recommended it to me. I felt met by Ruth Haley Barton’s honesty and eloquence when speaking about the state of one’s soul in ministry—it went far beyond burnout, into a realm that was a lot more personal and deeply formative.

Fiction

That Hideous Strength by CS Lewis

The Dry Wood by Caryll Houselander

Madame Dorthea by Sigrid Undset

In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

Middlemarch by George Eliot

It’s really hard to pick from this list this year. A few re-reads, but In This House of Brede was a first for me, and I found it completely captivating. I even took it on a silent retreat with me and read it for hours during recreational time. I felt completely immersed in convent life, and all the more at peace because of it.

Middlemarch is my most recent finish, as of this week. I had picked it up a few years ago, made it halfway through, and left it at the beach on vacation (tragic!). My SIL generously sent me her own copy, and this year I picked it up again starting from the top. I feel like I could write a whole essay on this book, and it deserves it—but simply put, I think Dorothea is now on my list of truly beloved fictional characters.

Parenting

Hunt, Gather, Parent by Michaeleen Doucleff

Small Animals by Kim Brooks

I haven’t really read “parenting” books until this year, because I found they made me more unsettled and under-confident than not. This year, I found it helpful to read several and allow myself to take what fit with our family and our priorities and let go of what didn’t. I found myself drawn to works that especially focus on what motherhood or parenting in general looks like in other cultures; I think we lose something if we only draw from our own for wisdom.

Hunt, Gather, Parent was an important read for me in this regard. The writing was both personal and robust, as Doucleff went and experienced this different approaches and applied them for herself. While some of it didn’t necessarily fit with our family, the focus on encouraging personal responsibility in children and respecting their purpose were very helpful.

Small Animals by Kim Brooks was such an interesting read, as its essentially a memoir on a mistake. But, Brooks’ writing is gripping and she names a lot of the pressures and challenges of motherhood in the US in a way I had never read before—some parts of this book made me feel deeply seen.

Honorable Mention:

I am about halfway through Paul Kingsnorth’s Against the Machine (i.e. the book of the year for angsty Substack writers), and loving it. My husband read it first, as much of his studies and interests have been in the realm of technology and ethics, and he could hardly put it down. Kingsnorth speaks to deeply, spiritually felt experiences and questions so many of us have—it is not an easy read, but a moving one just the same.

There you have it—some of my favorite reads from the year. A goal for 2026 is to read more history, as that’s a category I’ve neglected and I want to learn more. If you have any suggestions, let me know!