At the end of 2024, I challenged myself to read the most books that I’ve ever read. As we got around to setting resolutions, I settled on 30 books.
Man, was that an optimistic goal.
As you can tell, I didn’t quite get there. According to my GoodReads account I’m about 11 books shy. I was tempted to power through them over the Christmas period, but didn’t think that this would be the most enjoyable way to consume exciting new stories.
However, the 19 books that I did read brought me a little closer to hitting my previous record, which I got to in 2021 when I decided to become a professional book reviewer. If you went to University, you’ll remember just how awkward it was when no one had read the week’s set texts, and had nothing to contribute to the seminar. It seems like having a set amount of time to get through books before discussing them with other reviewers, book-club-style, is the best form of motivation.
Even though I missed by 30-book target this year, I’d still wholly recommend checking out each of the books that I did get through in 2024. I’ve split the list into fiction and non-fiction in case you’re only interested in one or the other, but I’ve also made you a reading calendar to organise your reading each month. I used to think that I struggled with motivation until discovering that this is all a myth – which you can read about here.
Each of the books that I’m about to recommend comes with an affiliate link, and using that to make your purchase may generate a small kickback to me at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting my writing!
Here are 19 incredible books for you to read in 2025.
The Fiction
The Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkien
I read Fellowship of the Ring during my time at University, but have loved the movie series since before I can remember. The film adaptations remain fairly accurate, though it was so interesting getting to finally see some of the differences between the two mediums for myself. Scenes like Helm’s Deep that cap off The Two Towers happen pretty early on in the novel, and Frodo’s quest is actually splintered away from the likes of Aragorn and Gandalf into a separate volume, so you’ll find yourself jumping about in the timeline a little. Tolkien included a very handy timeline at the end of Return of the King which will help you contextualise the rest of the story once you’ve consumed all that he has to offer.
If you’re a fan of fantasy, you’re doing yourself a disservice to have not read these novels, to see where so many modern tropes come from. When I was at University, we discussed how Tolkien was inspired by and adapted many medieval tropes, so it was fascinating to see how he continued to develop them in the rest of his tale – especially in the two that I’d never read before.
Click here for the compete collection.
Levanthria, by AP Beswick
I’ve never read a fantasy series, start-to-finish, purely in audio format – but these novels work tremendously well for lighter listening in the car or while doing the dishes. Beswick was inspired by and adapted lots of traditional English folklore stories – some inspiration being more obvious than others – and set in the fictional world of Levanthria. There are five main stories in the series, with a few smaller tales to supplement your reading. I’d recommend them all, but read them in the order that they were released; the writing of this indie author improves tremendously over time.
A Forest of Vanity and Valour (Levanthria #1)
Having followed Beswick on Instagram for a while, I was excited to delve into the debut novel from the Levanthria series. Overall, I had a really good time. The plot was paced and exciting and he really made me care quite deeply for his characters. That being said, there were some decisions that I didn’t agree with and would have done differently; likewise, certain players would have benefitted from more time to breath so that we could get a better sense of who they were.
Finally, some of the writing could have been a little tighter – but it’s a fun time. If you’re after a quick summer read, this is the one.
A Sea of Sorrow and Scorn (Levanthria #2)
Just like Beswick’s first book in the series, I enjoyed this tale a lot. The idea of stories inspired by English folklore is compelling, even if I don’t always like how all of the characters have been handled. Beswick nonetheless persuades me to read on through a plot that continues to be well-paced. I don’t think that I felt the significance of this quest quite as much as I did in the first novel, but I’m feeling that level of excitement that I had when The Avengers films were first releasing, knowing that it’s all leading towards a grand confrontation. Equally, magic, fantasy and adventure is always a good time.
I thought that the dual narration worked well together, though I’d have preferred if the central characters were narrated by their voice actors during each others’ respective chapters, rather than hearing a more feminine or masculine voice being used by the current reader, to help support immersion.
A Frost of Fear and Fortitude (Levanthria #2.5)
Short and sweet, read in an afternoon on 2x speed on Spotify. I wasn’t sure where the explicit link to Father Christmas was (unless I missed it, or whether this is explored further in the sequel), but I enjoyed the pacing and simple story of this novella. The character choices were all well-expanded on too, which I find has been a weakness of the novels from the main series.
I’ve always been a fan of novellas set in a wider universe of stories, so I’m excited for Beswick to come out with more. It’s also a pleasure to see his writing style develop more as he continues to flesh out his work.
A Kingdom of Courage and Cruelty (Levanthria #3)
Each of Beswick’s books is more enjoyable than the last. You really get a sense that his writing improved over time, and that makes the reading experience more enjoyable.
The story itself was visceral and all-go. There are still elements from his plots that I’m not the biggest fan of, but the characters are, on the whole, well-developed.
A Stone of Destiny and Despair (Levanthria #4)
This was my favourite of Beswick’s books prior to the finale. It’s where you could really feel everything starting to culminate. I felt as if the return of old faces, who were given more time to develop relationships with each other and with us, helped to sell it to me. Plus, basing the story loosely on the sword in the stone, and having that key weapon central to the overarching plot, is an easy way to get me excited.
A House of Powder and Plot (Levanthria #4.5)
I actually finished this book just in time for Bonfire Night, making it a perfectly-timed read. Inspired by the real-life Gunpowder Plot that attempted to assassinate James I in 1605, this has been Beswick’s most successful rehash of a piece of UK history to date. The characters feel fully fleshed out and I loved the contribution to the overarching storyline, despite being a side-step novel. Highly recommended for a quick jaunt into Levanthria, but equally essential for the wider plot, despite being a ‘.5’ release.
A War of Chaos and Fury (Levanthria #5)
Beswick split his final book into two parts. Here are my reviews of both:
Part 1: It’s fast paced and I felt that each character had their purpose really clearly defined. However there were some tropes, like the treatment of some female characters, that I felt had been done before in his works and were unnecessary. The book wasn’t ruined by any stretch of the imagination, but I felt that they were a little tired.
Part 2: This is the best of Beswick’s books so far, filled with countless pages of action and, at times, hyper-violence. The majority of characters that he brought together to the epic finale to his seminal series were well fleshed out and developed. Many of their plot points felt fairly well-concluded, with only a handful of characters leaving me wanting more. There were some twists near the end which really took me by surprise, but it did a stellar job of satisfying most of the threads that had been left hanging throughout the narrative.
As ever, I don’t think that his writing style has quite achieved the very height of what he’s capable of, but I’m looking forward to seeing how he continues to develop as an indie author.
Rivers of London #1 and #2, by Ben Aaronovitch
Oh my goodness, I love this urban fantasy series. Set in the mean streets of London, PC Peter Grant finds himself able to use magic to solve crimes. The writing is simply electric, the characters hilarious and the plot incredibly engaging. The first tale really helped to establish a sense of scene and scale in the UK’s capital city, helping to establish some key elements that will play larger roles later in the series (that being said, at the time of writing, I’m still only on the third book in the massive series of novels).
The second book, Moon Over Soho, is arguably more readable than the first. His characters continue to be hilarious – I was actively laughing at loud at most of what Grant and his mentor, Nightingale, said, and the plot invites readers to continue reading without being too complex. I did guess the ending of this one, but only about 50 pages out.
The Notorious Scarlett and Browne, by Jonathan Stroud
I read the first in this series back when I was a professional book reviewer, and it was my favourite of the bunch – so I was gutted when it didn’t win the award that I was helping to decide on.
It’s very rare that I’ll give out five stars to anything, but I simply love this book series. It’s fast paced, the characters are all interesting and fleshed out, and the plot simple yet thrilling. I think that I preferred the first in the series, and it’s probably better as a one-off if you were to read each separately. However, book 2 has left some great holes open to explore in the series finale, which I am absolutely buzzing for.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
Apparently Zevin’s book absolutely blew up on ‘BookTok’ (not that I would know), but I was bought this as a birthday present – and it was, by far, my favourite book of 2025; I absolutely devoured it. From start to finish, it was difficult to put down. While I went in expecting all of the usual romance-genre cliches, as the author described, this isn’t a romance. Zevin’s writing is delightful and digestible, with fully-fleshed out characters that made me laugh, made me cry, and all things in between. I cannot recommend this highly enough – for fans of good stories, fans of video games, or fans of intriguing tales.
Non-Fiction
The 5am Club, by Robin Sharma
This was enjoyable once I got into it, but it offers an unusual way of exploring strategies through a self-help book that I did find quite jarring at first. I’d recommend it, but it’s very different to other self help books I’ve read before in the way that it tells a fictional story to get its points across.
Will I take much away from the learnings here? Absolutely; its messages on trying to seize the day and not devolving into doom scrollers are timeless, and something that I’ve since written about in my own time. But in this age, I saw it as more of a reminder of what I should be doing, rather than anything revolutionary.
Very easy to digest though, so if you’re curious, give it a read. For my full review, click here. Already convinced? Click here to buy yours.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, by Stephen R Covey
This book is broken down into 7 habits, with actionable steps to take if you want to improve your life for the better. It was one of ‘The’ productivity books, alongside Atomic Habits (which I read and reviewed here), that helped me to rethink the way that I conduct myself personally, but also professionally.
In fact, I wrote about the 7 habits of highly effective TEACHERS a while back, which you can read here.
No Longer Human, by Osamu Dazai (Translated by Donald Keene)
This book is, without doubt, a product of its time. It is inherently misogynistic and uses dated language, but was nonetheless an interesting insight into life for one man in Japan in the 1930s. I was recommend to read this as one of Japan’s ‘seminal’ reads, and I got through it prior to my 3-week trip to Japan earlier this year (I also used Duolingo to prepare myself for their complex language).
I’d recommend that you read it, but with an awareness that it is a bleak, depressing, autobiographical account, so not particularly for the faint of heart.
The New Cold War: How the Contest Between the US and China WIll Shape Our Century, by Robin Niblett
I officially started this book on the 6th October, but realistically I read it at the end of the month over the course of 3 days. Niblett makes it exceptionally easy to understand the state of the world from a geopolitical and economic point of view, bringing readers up to speed on the interrelationships between a host of different countries.
I agree with other readers on GoodReads in that it is quite America-centric, but then there is only so much that you include in around 165 pages. I’d personally much rather Niblett’s approach, rather than one that tries too hard to be all-encompassing. Plus, getting an alternative view from an eastern perspective would probably be more enlightening than Niblett trying to cover it, too, anyway.
I also had the pleasure of seeing Niblett at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, where he expanded on his ideas. If you get the chance to see him speak, I’d highly recommend you do.
On a side note, it feels weird to state how much this book excited me, since I love learning about the Cold War, yet this feels almost like a ‘Cold War – the Sequel’. And that’s certainly not something that we should be getting actively excited about.
To get informed and get your own, click here.
Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You, by Ali Abdaal
I’m a fan of Ali’s and have been since the Pandemic, so I was exceptionally excited for his debut book.
As a fan of his Youtube page, I feel like I’ve already heard a lot of what he discusses before – except he goes into a lot more science-backed evidence and discoveries. I devoured this book on 2x speed via Spotify and enjoyed the extra detail on these lessons – I’ll be incorporating these into my life.
I think the book is a good jumping on point for new fans. It’s written and read colloquially which makes it so readable. Listening to the book made it feel like listening to one of his podcasts.
In his next book, I’d like to see more of the content he’s not yet tackled on his YouTube channel. Highly recommended but that’s what it would take to climb up to five stars from me! Check it out for yourself.
2025 Reading Challenge
I’m challenging myself to read 25 books this year – including physically and via audiobook. If you’ve got access to Spotify, use that (its UI is so accessible). If you don’t, then no worries – your local library has access to hundreds of free copies via BorrowBox, so sign up there before spending your cold hard cash on Audible. Regardless of your platform of choice, I’d suggest listening on a speed multiplier. I opt for 2x speed, since I can still easily understand and digest everything that’s being said while spending half the time engaged – but there is so much more to the benefits of speed listening, which you can read about here.
I tend to prefer digesting non-fic through my ears, and fic with my eyes, but you do you. We’re going to add more of the non-fic audio books to your summer playlist to accommodate for any plane journeys or beach days you might get to enjoy.
January
Audio: Feel-Good Productivity
Physical: The Two Towers
February
Physical: Return of the King
March
Audio: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Physical: A Forest of Vanity and Valour
April
Physical: A Sea of Sorrow and Scorn
May
Audio: The New Cold War
Physical: The Notorious Scarlett and Browne
June
Audio: A Frost of Fear and Fortitude (It’s really short, so you’re better off reading this one with your ears than your eyes)
Physical: Rivers of London
July
Audio: The 5AM Club
Physical: Moon Over Soho
August
Audio: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Physical: A Kingdom of Courage and Cruelty
September
Audio: No Longer Human
Physical: A Stone of Destiny and Despair
October
Physical: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
November
Physical: A War of Chaos and Fury, part 1
December
Physical: A War of Chaos and Fury, part 2
Are you going to stick to my recommendations in 2025, or read your own books? I’d love to hear any of your reading recommendations in the comments below.
While you’re here, why not try…
- The First 90 Days: How to survive (and thrive) as a new Head of History
- 7 Brutal Questions to Course-Correct your Life before 2026
- Stop wasting time and start teaching: How to super charge Google Forms with Brisk AI and Gemini
- Automating Google Classroom: 8 features that save teachers hours each week
- What I learned from tracking my food intake for a month
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