It’s an interesting task and a daunting one to choose your favourite books of the past year. To make it easier for me I have divided them into four different types of books so there will be four blogs over the next few days.
We start with novels. I am not including crime fiction here because I read so many I decided that they could have their own list. This selection today includes literary fiction, classics, science fiction and fantasy. Many of them were read as part of my challenges to address the to-be-read piles that are a feature of my life so I am glad that I finally tackled them. I read all of these books in 2025 for the first time and thought that they were brilliant – if you click on the title it will take you to my review of the book.
I am surprised at how many of these books are historical novels and pleased at how they take place across the world. They are all books that stay with you and make you think about people, relationships and power.
Getting the list down to ten was a monumental task as I have read some excellent fiction of all types this year but here is my final list (in no particular order). I recommend them all highly.
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. A story set during Covid and in a bookstore with a Native American main character. It’s about inequality and the meaning of life. Clever and thoughtful.
Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers. One of a very loosely linked set of books set in the future among the stars. This one looks at what happens when your mission is completed and how you might struggle to keep your identity in a complicated galaxy. Touching and interesting.
The Promise by Damon Galgut. Set in South Africa it’s about a white family over the past fifty years or so. A promise is made to give a house to their black servant but this never seems to happen. The book concentrates on family members as they attend a series of funerals. Clever and thought provoking.
Letters from Constance by Mary Hocking. A woman writes to her very different friend from before WW2 and on to the 1990s. This is a book about the changes in opportunities for women but also about hidden secrets. Moving but powerful.
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky and translated by Sandra Smith. The Germans are about to enter Paris during WW2 and a variety of people flee the city. This book follows them and details what they encounter in the first few days of occupation and then how they accommodate the changes in their country. Unsentimental and honest.
The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson. A novel set in Canada around WW2 that talks about the life of two brothers who have a lifelong rivalry which affects everyone they know and which involves betrayal and death. Thoughtful and powerful.
Monsignor Quixote by Graham Greene. A Spanish priest sets out on a journey in his car with an atheist friend when he is made a bishop almost by mistake. It’s about faith and friendship and the importance of truth and integrity. Funny and moving.
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather. About establishing the Roman Catholic church in New Mexico when it becomes part of America in the nineteenth century. The story shows us the challenges and the rewards of bringing the Christian faith and the institutions of the church to a new place. Interesting and moving.
Written on the Dark by Guy Gavriel Kay. An epic fantasy set in a world of royal courts and power plays between nations. A tavern poet becomes caught up in events beyond his control and the author introduces us to a range of other characters who play different parts in the story which unfolds. Clever and beautiful.
Poor Caroline by Winifred Holtby. Set in the 1930s Caroline is determined to create films that will be uplifting and a good influence on their viewers. She enlists in her task a number of people, each of whom has their own reasons for being part of this and all of whom will eventually let Caroline down. Satirical and sad.
Anne Is Reading 