I love hearing about what media people are engaging with and love seeing the best of the year lists come out. I don’t always go back and review my favorites from the year, but this year I decided to join the fun and list my favorite books and music of the year. Reading is my most established (and favorite) habit, so I had a lot of great books to choose from. I’m trying to get back into listening to more new music, so I had fewer favorites. I hope next year that I have more new music I’ve listened to a lot and love. I also added in the Goodreads graphic of all the books I have read (to date) this year. 
My favorite books of 2025:
5.)These Heathens by Mia MacKenzie. I really loved this short book set in the south during the 1960s. It follows Doris, a seventeen-year-old from rural Georgia, who travels to Atlanta for an abortion. The story takes place over the course of one weekend, and features several Civil Rights leaders (Martin Luther King, Coretta Scott King, and Malcolm X among others). I often love long, sweeping books set over decades, but this year I’ve realized that I also love books set in a constrained time period.
4.) Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe. I really enjoyed this novel about how a young woman deals with an unexpected pregnancy by setting up an OnlyFans account to support herself and her son. Something about this really worked for me, and I loved the large cast of flawed but deeply loveable secondary characters.
3.) The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. I’ve written about this one before, and the hype was so worth it for me. I loved Sybil, and I found it mind blowing that the author was able to craft such an incredible epistolary novel (which seems like a super challenging structure to pull off) on her debut released novel. The characters felt so real to me, and I still think about this book often. This book was a perfect combination of hard and hopeful for me.
2.)The Will of the Many by James Islington. This book checked so many boxes for me. As someone who grew up in the era of Harry Potter, I was there for this epic fantasy set in a school for magic. However, the characters were incredibly well-developed, and I loved how the author was continually complicating what appeared to be a simple good vs. evil conflict. The stakes were super high, and I devoured this book.
1.) Homeseeking by Karissa Chen. I wrote about this in my November read recap, but I still think about it all the time and it is probably my most recommended book of 2025. The relationships between the two main characters and their families felt so developed and nuanced. Up until yesterday, it was the only book that made me cry all year. Then I read the ending of Wishtree to my daughter and got all choked up. But, the point stands, that it was a hugely evocative and memorable reading experience for me.
Honorable mention: Good Things by Samin Nosrat. A few months after getting it, I am still obsessed with it. I love the way Samin writes about gathering and community, and the recipes have all been hits! A rare cookbook I look at several times a week.
Favorite Albums of 2025:
*DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS by Bad Bunny. I love how this feels like a modern, updated version of classic latin music vibes like I might have heard when my grandparents had parties. Favorite tracks: NUEVAYol, WELTITA, BAILE INVoLVIDABLE
*Gumshoe by Samantha Crain: Love her voice and the lyrics on this folk album. Some favorite lines: “smartest cookie in the whole tin,” “played like Boxcar children in the wilderness,” and “you’re my Nancy Drew/Nine lives in the afternoon/on the ball, you got the scoop.” Favorite tracks: Ridin’ Out the Storm, Gumshoe, Dart, B-Attitudes
*The Art of Loving by Olivia Dean. Gorgeous voice and the perfect beats for a cozy afternoon and evening at home puttering around the kitchen. Favorite tracks: Nice to Each Other, Man I Need, Let Alone the One You Love, So Easy (To Fall in Love)
Honorable Mention: I Walked With You a Ways by Plains. This last one didn’t come out this year, but it is probably my favorite new-to-me album. It was apparently a COVID collaboration by two songwriters who couldn’t go on tour for their new albums, and decided to work on this project together during lockdown from separate locations. My kids know most of the words at this point because I have played it so often. Katie Crutchfield’s voice is incredible and soothes my soul, and it is definitely more of a country album than her other work. Favorite tracks: Abilene, No Record of Wrongs, Last 2 on Earth.
Please jump in on the comments with some of your favorites reads and songs of the year, so I can queue them up in 2026!
My favorite books of 2025:
5.)These Heathens by Mia MacKenzie. I really loved this short book set in the south during the 1960s. It follows Doris, a seventeen-year-old from rural Georgia, who travels to Atlanta for an abortion. The story takes place over the course of one weekend, and features several Civil Rights leaders (Martin Luther King, Coretta Scott King, and Malcolm X among others). I often love long, sweeping books set over decades, but this year I’ve realized that I also love books set in a constrained time period.
4.) Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe. I really enjoyed this novel about how a young woman deals with an unexpected pregnancy by setting up an OnlyFans account to support herself and her son. Something about this really worked for me, and I loved the large cast of flawed but deeply loveable secondary characters.
3.) The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. I’ve written about this one before, and the hype was so worth it for me. I loved Sybil, and I found it mind blowing that the author was able to craft such an incredible epistolary novel (which seems like a super challenging structure to pull off) on her debut released novel. The characters felt so real to me, and I still think about this book often. This book was a perfect combination of hard and hopeful for me.
2.)The Will of the Many by James Islington. This book checked so many boxes for me. As someone who grew up in the era of Harry Potter, I was there for this epic fantasy set in a school for magic. However, the characters were incredibly well-developed, and I loved how the author was continually complicating what appeared to be a simple good vs. evil conflict. The stakes were super high, and I devoured this book.
1.) Homeseeking by Karissa Chen. I wrote about this in my November read recap, but I still think about it all the time and it is probably my most recommended book of 2025. The relationships between the two main characters and their families felt so developed and nuanced. Up until yesterday, it was the only book that made me cry all year. Then I read the ending of Wishtree to my daughter and got all choked up. But, the point stands, that it was a hugely evocative and memorable reading experience for me.
Honorable mention: Good Things by Samin Nosrat. A few months after getting it, I am still obsessed with it. I love the way Samin writes about gathering and community, and the recipes have all been hits! A rare cookbook I look at several times a week.
Favorite Albums of 2025:
*DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS by Bad Bunny. I love how this feels like a modern, updated version of classic latin music vibes like I might have heard when my grandparents had parties. Favorite tracks: NUEVAYol, WELTITA, BAILE INVoLVIDABLE
*Gumshoe by Samantha Crain: Love her voice and the lyrics on this folk album. Some favorite lines: “smartest cookie in the whole tin,” “played like Boxcar children in the wilderness,” and “you’re my Nancy Drew/Nine lives in the afternoon/on the ball, you got the scoop.” Favorite tracks: Ridin’ Out the Storm, Gumshoe, Dart, B-Attitudes
*The Art of Loving by Olivia Dean. Gorgeous voice and the perfect beats for a cozy afternoon and evening at home puttering around the kitchen. Favorite tracks: Nice to Each Other, Man I Need, Let Alone the One You Love, So Easy (To Fall in Love)
Honorable Mention: I Walked With You a Ways by Plains. This last one didn’t come out this year, but it is probably my favorite new-to-me album. It was apparently a COVID collaboration by two songwriters who couldn’t go on tour for their new albums, and decided to work on this project together during lockdown from separate locations. My kids know most of the words at this point because I have played it so often. Katie Crutchfield’s voice is incredible and soothes my soul, and it is definitely more of a country album than her other work. Favorite tracks: Abilene, No Record of Wrongs, Last 2 on Earth.
Please jump in on the comments with some of your favorites reads and songs of the year, so I can queue them up in 2026!
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