My January was pretty busy with trying to meet various deadlines (including the dreaded tax return) so it’s only now that I’ve managed to consider all the books I read in 2025 and to put together a list of favourites. Looks like it was another great year of reading!
The Art of Space Travel by Nina Allan
Nina Allan’s stories are exquisite. Atmospheric and rich with the beauty of the everyday, they are also tinged with a sense of wonder; of otherness. As short stories go, these are actually quite long (word-count wise they may technically be considered novelettes or novellas), yet I remember savouring each paragraph, each sentence, as I tried to analyse how the trick is done: how can such a long story keep its momentum, making me want to race to the end? Sadly, I still haven’t worked out just how Nina does it, but as I still have many more titles of Nina’s to read I might just find out one day! (And isn’t the cover gorgeous?)
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The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis
I know lots of friends who loved the Netflix series, but I was keen to read the book before I saw the series. And I’m really glad I did because the series omitted some things in the book which (I thought) gave it more depth and subtlety. Given how this is a novel about chess (a game I assumed was too complex to write well about) it was incredibly exciting. Following a rags to riches plot, Beth’s journey from drug-addicted orphan to chess champion makes for a compelling – and thought-provoking – read.
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The Creator by Aliya Whiteley
I’m a big fan of novellas, and since Whiteley’s The Beauty is one of my favourite novellas, I was excited to read The Creator. This novella is trademark Whiteley – weird, imaginative and very readable – and includes themes I adore: mad scientists, body horror, and questions about what it means to be truly creative. Great stuff!
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Scablands and Other Stories by Jonathan Taylor
Some short story collections can feel a bit samey, but this was not one of them. There is such an incredible range here, in terms of tone, setting, characters and themes, that I never knew what to expect next. Taylor’s writing is highly lyrical and some of the lines were so poetical I had to underline them just so I could go back and savour them. I also particularly appreciated (and am rather jealous of) Taylor’s writing about music – something that I think is very hard to do well. A hauntingly beautiful collection.
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Mistress and Commander by Amelia Dalton
I think I read this memoir around the time that everything was kicking off with The Salt Path (or should that be The Pinch of Salt Path?) and so I couldn’t help but wonder about the nature of memoir and the telling of truth while reading it. I am sure that most people expect the author of a memoir to sometimes cut out boring bits and to add embellishment… but embellishment is one thing, lying is another. Of course, as readers, we have no way of knowing if a memoir is complete fiction or not, but I do believe that when a person of integrity tells their story as truthfully as possible it shines in a special way. Dalton’s story of her son’s far-too-brief life, her sudden need to commandeer a trawler and to learn everything and anything about sailing around Scotland as her marriage begins to flounder, does shine. I also happened to meet Dalton (and corresponded with her briefly) and she was absolutely lovely. I’d love to be able to sail around the West Coast of Scotland one day, and if I ever get the time/money, I’ll be booking myself onto one of Amelia’s tours!
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Opacities by Sofia Samatar
This was a book that made me say Yes, this is what means to write, to create art. To submerge oneself in words. An erudite exploration of what it means to write, and whether it is possible for an author to take themselves (and their identity) out of their writing, it made me think deeply about the many connections between authors of all generations, their works and their relationship with the writing community. I’m a big fan of Samatar’s lyrical prose, and here it is playful as well as poetical, compressed yet expansive with ideas. Writers who want to feel seen will love this book.
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The Parallel Path by Jenn Ashworth
Another memoir! Yet a memoir by a writer of fiction who is highly aware of the challenges of the form – of the “look at me” nature of a memoir and of how that doesn’t sit well with introvert authors who prefer to hide themselves away in their fictional worlds.
Finding herself in stasis, even after Covid had loosened its grip on the world, Ashworth decided to walk the Coast to Coast path, and her detailing of that journey is a poignant, highly intelligent (and sometimes amusing) exploration of the nature of care, grief and resilience. She has inspired me to do more walking, and one day I hope to walk the Coast to Coast.
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Lobster Boy by Rodman Philbrick
My son and I both read this story about a boy who has one goal: to fix his boat. Though we have little experience of boats and fishing we concluded that a) it’s brilliant and b) a successful story can be about any topic – no matter how obscure – as long it has heart. This one does big-style.
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Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce
This is the third book by Joyce I’ve read and given its themes – fairy land and the fae – I adored it. Joyce is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. Well-known and well-loved in the British fantasy scene, I am sad I never got to meet him. I think we would have been kindred spirits.
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The Martian by Andy Weir
Considering The Martian is one of my favourite films I wasn’t sure if I really needed to read the book. After all, I’m a busy woman! But given how my daughter, who is dyslexic, urged me to read it, I decided I would. Of course I loved it, and though I can see why the filmmakers decided to edit out certain parts, I particularly appreciated the bits of humour that didn’t make the cut in the film. (Like ‘nothing tea’. If you know, you know.)
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I try to keep my lists short and these posts succinct but I really want to mention my happy discovery of the Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators series (my son and I read The Mystery of the Talking Skull and thought it good fun), and also When The Mountains Called, by Shannon Baker, a novella with a rebirth plot and Christian themes (very much my thing). Lastly, Precious Dreams and Living Nightmares by my friend Kevin Burke had me in floods of tears.
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I hope that one (or more) of these books sounds like it could be your next best read. 🙂
Happy 2026!