If I had to describe 2025 in one word, it would be read.
I read more than I ever have before — over 70 books, give or take a few that blurred into each other by the end. Paperbacks, hardcovers, Kindle pages, voices in my ears through audiobooks — stories followed me everywhere. Into quiet mornings, restless nights, long walks, messy emotions, and empty hours that needed filling.
Books didn’t just entertain me this year.
They kept me company & kept me sane.. Here is a wrap up from Goodreads
Books as Companions, Not Escapes
There were days when the world felt too loud and days when it felt unbearably silent. Books stepped into both spaces. They gave shape to feelings I didn’t yet have language for. They distracted me when my mind spiralled. They grounded me when everything else felt untethered.
Some books arrived exactly when I needed them.
Others simply sat beside me, saying nothing, but reminding me I wasn’t alone.
In many ways, reading became a form of emotional regulation — a way to sit with myself without needing to fix anything.
A Year of Book Clubs, Conversations & Shared Stories
2025 was also the year I leaned into reading as a shared experience.
I joined book clubs, participated in discussions, listened more than I spoke, and sometimes spoke too much because a book had cracked something open. Hearing how the same story landed differently for someone else was humbling. A sentence that passed me by could devastate someone else. A book I struggled through might be another person’s favourite.
These conversations expanded my reading life beyond the page. They reminded me that books don’t end when you finish the last chapter — they continue in dialogue, disagreement, and reflection.
When Reading Became Too Much
Somewhere around October, I felt it.
The fatigue.
Just felt tired and dint want to touch a book, didnt want to go anyqhere that had books.
By November–December, I hit what I can only describe as reading burnout. For the first time all year, I couldn’t pick up a book without feeling tired. Words felt heavy. Stories felt demanding. And so, I did something unfamiliar but necessary — I stopped.
No guilt. No targets. No forcing…..I let myself take a break.
That pause taught me something important: even the things we love can become overwhelming if we don’t allow space. Reading, I realised, is a relationship. And sometimes, relationships need breathing room.
Learning to Listen: Audiobooks & Patience
This was also the year I truly embraced audiobooks, thanks largely to Audible. At first, it felt like cheating — like I wasn’t really “reading.” But slowly, listening taught me patience. It asked me to surrender control, to move at the narrator’s pace, to stay present. Audiobooks accompanied me on walks, chores, and days when my eyes were too tired but my mind still craved stories. They softened my all-or-nothing approach to reading and reminded me that stories find us in many forms.
Books I Loved, Books I Didn’t — And That’s Okay
Not every book was a win. There were books I didn’t enjoy at all — books that made me pause and genuinely wonder what the author was thinking while writing them. Some felt indulgent, some undercooked, some painfully disconnected from the promise they made. And then there were others — quiet, devastating, luminous books — that will stay with me for years. Books I’ll return to. Books I’ll recommend cautiously, knowing they might not be for everyone, but were deeply for me.
2025 taught me that it’s okay to dislike a book. It doesn’t make me a bad reader. It makes me an honest one.
What Reading Gave Me This Year
Reading gave me:
- Solace in dark moments
- Companionship in empty spaces
- Language for feelings I couldn’t articulate
- Permission to pause, stop, and begin again
Most importantly, it taught me to be gentler with myself — with my attention, my energy, and my expectations.
As I step into a new year, I don’t know how many books I’ll read. Maybe fewer. Maybe slower. Maybe differently.
But I know this:
Books will always be there — waiting patiently — just as they were all through 2025…. Onwards to 2026…
