My Top 25 Books Read in 2025

 

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In honor of the year 2025 coming to an end, I have decided to list the top 25 books I have read this year. I have read 190 books this year, so it’s safe to say that there are at least 25 of those books that I feel should go on this list!

 

For me, this was certainly the year for reading books! This year, I have read more books than I have for one year than for any other year. I know I haven’t been keeping track of my reading progress each year for very long, but I don’t think I have ever read as many books in one year as I did this year.

 

This year, I read a total of 190 books! That’s a lot of books, but I read a lot for pleasure, for book reviewing purposes, for my work as Executive Editor at Twisted Dreams Press, as well as for research (for the articles and books I write). I am the only person reading the MANY manuscript submissions at Twisted Dreams Press, and so it’s a good thing that I like to read a lot!

 

I have read several manuscripts for Twisted Dreams Press this year and some of them were published as books this year as well. I have had the honor of editing some of the books published by Twisted Dreams Press this year. However, I am not counting the manuscripts I have read; only the ones which were later published as books. (Silly me, not including them in my lists when they came out. However, I will include them in my list of books that I have read this year, which will be posted on December 31!) Some of those published books have made it to this list.

 

My best month for reading was December, when I read 17 books.

 

My worst month for reading was February, when I read only 6 books.

 

In putting together this list, I included the books which met the following criteria:

 

· I enjoyed reading the whole book

· It is a book that I could read several times and never tire of it

· It is a book which I want EVERYBODY to know about!

 

Some of these books are books which I reviewed, some of them were books I just picked up to read for pleasure, one is a book I read for research purposes (#7), and some of them are books I had the privilege to read as Executive Editor of Twisted Dreams Press.

 

Here are my Top 25 books read in 2025:

 

This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer

 

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

 

Trapped Verse by Lindsey Goddard

 

You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World Edited by Ada Limón

 

Girl in the Creek by Wendy N. Wagner

 

The Home by Judith Sonnet

 

Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay

 

The Cryptids by Elana Gomel

 

The Hole in Your Life: Grief and Bereavement by Bob Rich, Ph.D.

 

Semiosis by Sue Burke

 

My Side of the World and Other Tales of Death: A Collection by Beka Wueste

 

Mommy's Boy: How My Doggie Soulmate's Love Rescued Me by Jennifer Huston Schaeffer

 

The Haven Horror by Hokunani Sorci

 

Founding Courage: Courage and Character in the United States of America by Kirk Ward Robinson

 

Turn Your Back on the Shore: The Surf Poetry Collection by Scott Rosin

 

We'll Always Be Here: An Anthology of LGBTQ+ Horror edited by James G. Carlson

 

Enduring the Sickness: Four Works Concerning Isolation, Society, And Surviving the Ailments That Have Been Cast Upon Us by Andrew Buckner

 

Your Guide to Climate Action: How to Move Beyond Your Footprint and Make a BIG Impact by Ryan Hagen

 

Cauldhame by Bill Davidson

 

Death in the Cards by Susan E. Rogers

 

The New Adventures of Horror Clown: The Life and Good Times of a Serial Killer by Otto DeFay

 

I Just Called to Say You Killed Me by J. Rocky Colavito

 

Dreadful Seasons by Kurt Newton

 

Redhead Town: Dystopian/Vampire Novella by Deborah Sheldon

 

Vampire Verses by LindaAnn LoSchiavo