In 2025, I read 44 fiction books. That’s 19 more that I'd expected I would read, which I'm thrilled about.

To explain the cautious 25-books-per year estimate: I didn’t have much time or energy for reading last year. I am a naturally voracious reader, but 2024 was tumultuous, so I wanted to give myself some wriggle room this year. Turns out I didn't need it at all.

One way I cracked that was by forcing myself to have a book on me at all time so I could read where I stood or sat. I made reading one of the priorities around which the rest of my life would bend (including, and especially, my screentime).

So I read on the way to work and back (with these Loop earplugs muffling the sounds of the city to a gentle hum). I read at the gym between sets, in the metro to and from events, while waiting for friends at a restaurant, etc etc. Of course, nothing was as soul-nourishing than spending an entire day flitting between coffee shops in Jayanagar and finishing an entire book that way. But I stole moments where I could, and they added up quite nicely.

I also stopped putting pressure on myself to read books as soon as I got them, as if it were food I had to eat immediately, instead waiting until I felt called to one. It got to feeling rather like browsing a personal bookstore, and I was pleasantly surprised each time I went through my stacks. I found that I read more willingly and interestedly that way.

Two other big accelerators this year were—surprisingly—the Kobo Clara BW I bought a few months ago, and a yearly membership to a couple of local libraries. Highly recommend both.

Scroll down for the entire list of fiction I read this year. I haven't recorded my non-fiction (books, magazines, journals and the like) because those tend to live in a different mental space for me, more work and study-adjacent than pure leisure. This is my 'reading for the joy of it' list, where I get to live in other worlds for a while.

The year in stats

Every fiction novel I read this year

If you want to see my notes on a few books, check out my Goodreads.

Everything Under by Daisy Johnson (★★)

Tion, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius by Jore Lüis Borges (★★★)

Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin (★★★)

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (★★★★)

The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng (★★★★)

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng (★★★★)

Butter by Asako Yuzuki (★★★)

The Details by Ia Genberg (★★★★★)

All Fours by Miranda July (★★)

Samskara by UR Ananthamurthy (★★★★)

The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence (★★★)

The Book That Broke The World by Mark Lawrence (★★)

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende (★★★)

The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng (★★★)

Ghosts by Dolly Alderton (★★★★)

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (★★★★)

Yellowface by RF Kuang (★★★)

James by Percival Everett (★★★)

Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico (★★★★)

The Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq (★★★)

Boulder by Eva Baltasar (★)

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao (★)

The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini Nagendra (★★★★)

Hamnet by Maggie O’ Farrell (★★★★★)

The One-Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais (★★★)

Murder Under a Red Moon by Harini Nagendra (★★★)

Babylonia by Costanza Casati (★★★★)

Graveyard Shift by ML Rio (★★★★)

Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett (★★★★)

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (★★★★)

Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz (★★★★)

Katabasis by RF Kuang (★★★★)

The Will of the Many by James Islington (★★★★★)

Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb (★★★)

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton (★★★★)

Blood Over Bright Haven by ML Wang (★★★★)

Vicious by VE Schwab (★★★)

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (★★★)

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (★★★★★)

Good Material by Dolly Alderton (★★★)

Enlightenment by Sarah Perry (★★★)

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami (★★★)

The Devourers by Indra Das (★★★★)

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix (★★★)