As 2025 begins (and I STILL patiently await my new bullet journal), I’m diving into one of my other favorite pastimes: reading. This year, for my 2025 reading journey, I’ve set an ambitious yet exciting goal to read 25 books (that’s only 1 more than last year). While I love audiobooks for their convenience, I’m challenging myself to physically read at least 12 of those titles, one a month. In this blog post, I’ll share my carefully curated To Be Read (TBR) list, my strategies for staying on track with this goal, and how I plan to balance reading with life’s other adventures. If you’re a fellow book lover or looking for inspiration for your own reading goals, this post is for you!
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2025 Reading Journey TBR
I thought we would start my 2025 reading journey with my current TBR. I’ve compiled a list below but I thought I would pull out a couple of titles to talk about directly. It’s clear that my favorite genre to read is fantasy but I like to switch things up a little bit time and time again because too many dragons and faeries can get a little confusing. I am currently in the middle of the Throne of Glass series and reading The Assassin’s Blade. While I’m physically reading that, I am also listening to The Last Cuentista while I work.
Upcoming titles I’m super excited about are first and foremost, Onyx Storm. When Fourth Wing first came out I told my husband that reading felt stale to me and I really wanted to get into a series that hadn’t been already released so I had something to look forward to. Man did it deliver. We are just one week away from my most anticipated book of 2025! I’m also really looking forward to the next Hunger Game’s prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping! We all love Haymitch and when I saw Suzanne Collins was writing his story I didn’t think twice about clicking pre-order. My husband is even looking forward to it!
When I don’t buy a book or I’m listening a book on audio, I usually get it from the physical library or Libby. For example, I am listening to The Last Cuentista on Libby, but I got Anne of Avonlea from my local library. As I complete my reads, I will post updates with reviews which will include if the book was owned or borrowed from the library.
- The Assassin’s Blade – Sarah J Maas — Next one up in the Throne of Glass Series. Reading it in the Romantic Order
- The Last Cuentista – Donna Barba Higuera (Newbery Medal Winner) — I was influenced by Meet Me in the Media Center
- Anne of Avonlea – Lucy Maud Montgomery — Watched Anne with an E on Netflix and read the first book and had to read the next one
- Onyx Storm – Rebecca Yarros — Influenced by TikTok to start the series and this is the next one up!
- Sword Catcher – Cassandra Claire — Loved her other two series and was excited to see she had another series out. Got this Christmas 2023 and still haven’t read it.
- The Ragpicker King – Cassandra Claire — This one might not happen this year.
- Bewitched – Laura Thalassa — I’m 1/3 of the way through this. Almost DNFed it up I’m going to pick it up after putting it down a few months ago to see if it’s better with fresh eyes. I’m curious about half of the plot but the other half is like eh.
- Darkly Dreaming Dexter – Jeff Lindsay — We’ve been watching the original series and the new series they have out so I thought this would be a good Audiobook this year.
- The Dressmakers of Auschwitz – Lucy Adlington — I always read a WW2 novel. This one is on audio on Libby.
- Sunrise on the Reaping – Suzanne Collins — Hunger Games was the first series I picked up on my own when I really started reading as an adult and I loved it. Super excited for this new addition.
- One Dark Window – Rachel Gillig – Influenced by Big Spoon Little Spoon
- Two Twisted Crowns – Rachel Gillig – It’s the second one in the series.
- Variation – Rebecca Yarros — I should probably read a different book from Rebecca Yarros. I’m hoping the library or Libby get’s this before I find time to read it.
- Queen of Shadows – Sarah J Maas — Just continuing the series
- Empire of Storms – Sarah J Maas — Just continuing the series
How I Stay on Track
So I am fully aware that reading 25 books in a year doesn’t seem like a huge task for some, but it’s a pretty lofty one for me. I almost didn’t make my goal of 24 books last year (I fell behind with my audiobooks). There are a few ways I stay on track to make sure I meet my goals for my 2025 reading journey.
Firstly, I set a goal that every day, I am going to read 10 pages of whatever book I’m currently reading. If I’m reading it on my kindle, I figure out what percentage I have to read based on the number of pages in the book. I don’t count audiobooks in this daily number. I figure most books I read are about 300 pages so if I read 10 pages a day I can get a book read in about a month. Now sometimes I read more, which is always a great day. Last year I went a few days without reading any pages. This year, so far (it’s been 2 weeks), I’ve stuck to reading 10 pages each day!
I keep track of what I read in a couple of different ways. This is slightly obnoxious but it works for me. The first thing I do is use Goodreads to set my goal for the year. I love the “community” on Goodreads so I like to at least keep my annual goal on that platform. To track my daily reading, I use Bookmory. This app allows me easily track how much I’ve read any given day, even if I forget to log it (I found this more difficult on Goodreads). The app also has a really great way to look back each day to see what you read. Another thing Goodreads is not good at. Finally, gives you the option to DNF a book and provides a really cool calendar that shows what book you read each day.
The last thing I do to stay on track with my reading is keep a reading journal. I’ve created my own because none of the other one’s really fit what I wanted to track. I have a printable version in the shop or you can order one off of Amazon. I love all of the colors and having it in a physical notebook is really appealing to me. This is my third year tracking this way and I love it. Since I only read 20-30 books a year, I’ve been able to keep in all in one book. You can check out a flip through of my 2025 Reading Journal Here!
How I Balance Reading and Life
As I said before, you’re probably laughing at me for going on about the struggle to read 25 books in a year when some people read into the 100s. Here’s the thing, we all live different lives! I work from home, but I work two part-time jobs, have two small side gigs, take care of my 83-year old grandma, raise an active 8-year-old, foster a loving relationship with my husband, volunteer at church, am an active member of the PTA, and try to blog when I can. It’s a lot! So maybe I do have time to read more books, but sometimes, my brain is just tired and wants to zone out so the reading doesn’t always happen.
A couple of ways that I’ve been trying to balance reading and life is to listen to audiobooks while I’m working. Sometimes, I find I can’t really listen to fiction while I work, so I focus more on memoirs for the audio books usually. I also try to read my 10-pages a day before bed as my wind-down time. I’ve been making more of a point to get me and the 8-year old to bed earlier so I not only have time to read to her, but to get my 10-pages in as well. It seems to be working so far! Some other times I try to read is during a longer car ride while my husband drives, while I wait in the pick-up line at school, while I wait in the waiting room at the doctors office, while I’m waiting for dance class to be over, or while my husband watches wrestling. Even if I get a couple of pages in it’s better than none.
As I embark on my 2025 reading journey, I’m excited to challenge myself, discover new stories, make more time for one of my favorite hobbies, and share the adventure with you! Whether you’re here to find inspiration for your own reading goals or simply curious about my TBR list, I hope this journey sparks joy and motivation for us both. Let’s dive into this literary year together—one page at a time!
