My Top Books of 2025

 

Hello, everyone and Happy New Year! As the end of 2025 is approaching, it's time to reflect on all the book we've read during the year. I won't deny that the best and worst books lists are some of my favourite content online, and now it's time to show you my top reads of 2025. 

In general, this year had been pretty mid for me with many disappointing reads. However, I managed to find some books that I really loved. In fact, these are almost all the 5* I've given in 2025 (apart from the books in this list, there are also 2 more books that I gave the highest rating). 

So, let's get right into my top books of 2025:

#10 The Vagina Bible - Jen Gunter

In my no. 10 spot, we have one of the first non-fiction books I've read in 2025. The Vagina Bible by Dr. Jen Gunter is an important read as there are so many things that we know wrong about our own bodies. This is not a book you will read for its literary merits, but it's factual and insightful. Moreover, I think that it's great to own and refer to whenever the need arises. These are the reasons why I had also included it in my non-fiction recommendations post. 

#9 Death in her Hands - Ottessa Moshfegh

Can I just say how much I love hot pink covers? And this combination with yellow just pops out so much! Eye-catching cover aside, Death in her Hands came as a surprise to me. It was one of my impulse buys as I hadn't read anything by Ottessa Moshfegh before. In this book, we are following Vesta, an old woman, that finds a mysterious note during her daily walk in the woods. The note talks of a dead body, but there in no dead body there. So, Vesta's paranoia deepens by the day and she progressively gets more and more unhinged. I also loved that you could read this book as an allegory for writing - it's something that deeply resonated with me. 

#8 Greek Lessons - Han Kang

If you've been reading my reviews, then you won't be surprised that Greek Lessons ended up in my top books of 2025. My feelings haven't changed since my review of this Han Kang novel. It is a caleidoscope of a novel that focuses on language and communication, which part of us is constructed by language, and how fragmented we are left when it fails. This is the introspective kind of novel I just love.

#7 One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This - Omar El Akkad

The second non-fiction book in my top books of 2025 is none other than One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad. This is a book that you've probably around seen, and with good reason. This is an impactful and reflective read. It's not an easy one, by any means, but it has so much to offer. Since we are entering a new year, it is a great opportunity to take a moment to reflect on what's going on in the world, how we perceive the events, and how media is presenting them to us. 

#6 Death's End - Liu Cixin

I might still be in the middle of numerous other series, but I did manage to find the Remembrance of Earth's Past series. I had read The Three Body Problem a few years back, The Dark Forest last year, and Death's End earlier in 2025. Having completed it, I can confidently say that this was a 5* series for me. The concept was so unique, and the science scratched the itch I have for all science and space things related. 

#5 To Be Taught If Fortunate - Becky Chambers

The next book in my list is another sci-fi pick. I read To Be Taught If Fortunate by Becky Chambers during Summerween, and it quickly became one of the most impactful reads of the year. In this book, we are following a group of scientists that visit some exoplanets to explore and catalogue. Just like other Becky Chambers's book, it has a cozy vibe. However, it also delves into important conversation about space exploration and the future of humanity. I don't really know why, but the epigraph had me in tears. You can read more of my thought on it in my mini review.

#4 A Head Full of Ghosts - Paul Tremblay

There is no denying that in 2025 I've discovered my love for horror. Even though I had been reading my occasional horror novel (mostly Stephen King or some horror classics), there were so many authors that intrigued me. Paul Tremblay was one of them, and I decided to give A Head Full of Ghosts a try. And let me just tell you that it won't his last book I'm going to read. In this book, we think that we are getting a possession story. But is it really one? The real horror is how we treat teenage girls and how we present mental illness a entertainment. Honestly, I haven't yet got over that ending.

#3 My Heart is a Chainsaw - Stephen Graham Jones

I had never imagined that one of the first horror books that I would give 5* to would be a slasher. I think that I've already mentioned that when I picked My Heart Is a Chainsaw, I was a bit disappointed in horror as nothing seem to be really working for me. And this book changed everything (immediately after MGIAC, I read A Head Full of Ghosts). Yes, Stephen Graham Jones has a very distinct writing style, but I loved every second of it. I can't wait to read the following installments of the series, which I hope will happen in 2026. 

still #3 The Buffalo Hunter Hunter - Stephen Graham Jones

This is the reason why this is just "My Top Books of 2025" and not "My Top 10 Books of 2025". If not for the reread that you will see later, this is one of the two most memorable reads for me this year. The vampire element of the story, the historical setting, the writing style, Good Stab's voice, everything worked so amazingly in this book. Between The Buffalo Hunter Hunter and My Heart Is a Chainsaw, I feel that I'm on the verge of solidifying Stephen Graham Jones as a new favourite author.

#2 The Lord of the Rings trilogy - J.R.R. Tolkien

The books in the top 3 spots are interchangeable and I had so much difficulty in putting them in order. The only reason why I chose to place The Lord of the Rings in no. 2 was simply the fact that it was a reread. It had been so many years since the last time I read these books, and this reread brought everything back. I loved every page of these three books and my love for the franchise was renewed. Shortly after finishing rereading the series, I rewatched the Lord of the Rings films, the Hobbit films, and the 2 seasons of Rings of Power. And I will be starting 2026 with a Hobbit reread - you can understand how important this world is to me. 

#1 The Emperor of Gladness - Ocean Vuong

Do you know what happiness is? For your most anticipated book of the year to end up being the top book of the year! What can I say more about The Emperor of Gladness that I haven't already mentioned in my review? It is a tender book that deeply touched me. It was the only book that I've read in 2025, which I didn't want to rush so that I wouldn't have to say goodbye to these characters early. When I ended up finishing it, I just needed 5 minutes to cry and just stare at the void. No other book managed to make me feel this way, so it's only natural that this is my top book of 2025 and probably one of my all time favourites.

Have you read any of these books and what did you think of them?

Which are your top books of 2025?