2025 has been a very good year for me so far on the reading front. This year has been a year of learning how important rest and recovery is for my mind and body. Outside of work, the pace of my life has slowed down significantly and as a result, opened up room for more reading.
As we come close to the mid point of 2025 I wanted to share with you some of the book I’ve loved so far. I will be linking the books I’ve read but rest assured, none of them were sent to me for review nor are there any affiliate links – the bellow are book I have simply adored and want to share with others.
The Birds, The Rabbits, The Trees
By Briony Collins
The Birds, The Rabbits, The Trees took me on a journey and it was a journey that took a shard glass to my soul through raw, visceral language. This is the harrowing depths of rage and deep pain that forces you, as the reader, to confront some of the cruelest parts of people. It was beautiful, it hurt me and I loved it.
If you like poetry that explores darker themes such as grief and abuse then I’d give this a read.
For those of you with keen eyes, Briony was the person who wrote the quote for my book.
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea
By Axie Oh
This was my recent holiday read that was meant to last me the whole week. I finished half of it on the plane journey there and finished it by mid week leaving me bookless and refusing to spend €15 on a book in the airport (why are books so expensive in airports?).
This is a very easy fantasy read that is based off Korean Legend. This book was a breath of fresh air compared against the lore heavy books I spent last year reading. It follows a young protagonist, has beautiful world building and surprisingly complex characters. It’s more on the YA side with a rich plot, if I had to sum it up in one word it would be sweet.
Art and Fear
By David Bayles and Ted Orland
This book was a wake up call as a creative but a wake up call where the authors’ held my hand and uttered kind words to me throughout.
Art and Fear not only goes over how to make art but also the things that stop us from creating art and offers ways or working around the things that stop us. It draws from the experience of two artists and I will be recommending this book to everyone I know who creates art (not just writes). If you’re struggling with creating art, I would say give this book a read.
White Nights
By Fyodor Dostoevsky
White Nights was… different. I can’t quite remember how I ended up reading this Novella but I’m glad I did simply because I have never seen loneliness be depicted so perfectly before and I doubt I will ever read something that captures it the way Dostoevsky did. It’s not a love story, it’s a story that talks about an idea of love.
This book won’t be for everyone, but if you want to read something so different to anything you’ll find on the shelf in a chain bookstore then I’d say give White Nights a go.
So there we go, my favour reads of 2025 so far.
For the first time in a long time by TBR pile is looking a little on the thin side. If there are any books that you’ve read this year that you have adored then please share them!
My current reads:
Poetry – Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong
Fiction – We Shall be Monsters by Alyssa Wees
Non-fiction – Nudge by Cass R. Sunstein and Richard H. Thaler
Lost in the Story 
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