Happy Friday! I hope you’re having a wonderful holiday season. We’ve been soaking up lots of family time this week, and I’m excited to head into a full week off work. Before we ring in the new year, I’m sharing my five favorite books of 2025, including what inspired me to pick them up and what I loved most about each one.
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
If I have to select a book that is my absolute favorite of the year, it has to Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I have the same bedtime each night, so if I’m staying up late to read a book, you know it’s excellent. Tears were shed. I received the hardcover for my birthday this summer from a friend, and to get the full experience, I requested the audiobook via Libby as soon as I could.
Atmosphere is set in Houston, Texas in the 1980s and the main character, Joan Goodwin, is a professor at Rice University. She learns that NASA is looking for female astronauts, so she applies. We follow her journey over the next four years as she navigates relationships and training at Johnson Space Center. The book has a dual point of view; Julia Whelan and Kristen DiMercurio are excellent narrators! The story is so layered – it’s about women in a male-dominated field, toxic family relationships, and risking it all to be with your soulmate.
In full transparency, it’s books like this that make me question all my other 5-star ratings for other books. I feel like I should give this book 6 stars; it’s definitely one of the best books I’ve ever read!
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon was our January 2025 selection for book club at Rakestraw and it was the perfect winter read to kick off the new year! I had a feeling it was going to be a favorite because I love Lawhon’s other works. Set in Maine in 1789, Martha is a midwife who is called to examine the body of a man who is frozen in the river. What she discovers is that it’s the same man accused of a horrific crime against another woman, and Martha has all the details catalogued in her diary. Make sure you read the Author’s Note because this one is based on a true story about a woman who is often forgotten to the history books.
The Women by Kristin Hannah
I picked up The Women by Kristin Hannah at Orinda Books last year when I met up with some bookish friends for our quarterly literary society. It’s 1965 when nursing student, Frankie McGrath, joins the Army Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War. She finds her true strength and courage at war and then reclaims her identity when she comes home to an unwelcoming America. This work of historical fiction is about friendship, loss, hope, betrayal, love, and resilience.
The Art Thief by Michael Finkel
I read the paperback version of The Art Thief by Michael Finkel for book club at Rakestraw Books, and I have to admit that I don’t think I would have picked it up without the nudge. It’s a true crime story about one of the most prolific art thieves to ever exist. The setting takes place across Europe from 1991 to about 2005. As others have said, this story is “stranger than fiction!” I brought it everywhere with me and had to force myself not to google how it all ended. This is a great book for anyone interested in historical fiction, museums, and books about white collar crime!
The Book of Alchemy by Suleika Jaouad
I borrowed both the e-book and audio versions of The Book of Alchemy by Suleika Jaouad from my local library after spotting it on a list of books about writing. I have been journaling my entire life and this book felt like a perfect companion to that habit. It shows how journaling can help us move through both the challenges and the joys of life. With essays and prompts from 100 authors and writers, including Elizabeth Gilbert, Gloria Steinem, Dani Shapiro, John Green, and Ann Patchett, there is so much inspiration! Even if you only have five minutes a day, this book offers something meaningful to read and plenty to spark or renew a daily writing practice.
I enjoyed sharing my top 5 books of the year with you and hope you found something to add to your TBR for 2026. If you are interested in all the books I read in 2025, and those I loved, check out the complete list! You can also review my mid-year reading report.
Questions for your weekend:
- Have you read any of the books above? What did you think?
- What were YOUR favorite books of the year? Give us some recs!
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