Season 8, Episode 22: Our Top Reads of 2025!

On this episode of Currently Reading, Kaytee and Meredith are deep diving into their top reads of 2025. This year, they alternate between reads and superlatives. From best Cheeto chapters to books that made them uncomfortable, the year had some amazing books and experiences.

Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site)

. 

. 

. 

1:35 - Ad For Ourselves

1:54 - NYT Article about book podcasts “Seven Podcasts for Bookworms”

2:27 - Currently Reading Patreon

5:23 - Some Stats From Our Reading Lives

7:07 - 68% of reads were backlist (Kaytee)

7:38 - Kaytee read 230 books

7:59 - Meredith read 127 books

8:54 - 64% female/36%male authors (Meredith)

9:09 - Average rating of 4.1 (Meredith)

10:53 - 44% Kindle, 13% audiobook, poetry 4% of total reads, 17% nonfiction (Meredith)

12:28 - 22% romance, 20% fantasy, 14% as literary (Kaytee)

14:34 - 32% authors revisited, library serendipity #1 recommendation source followed by Elizabeth Barnhill, Roxanna and Betsie Ikenberry (Meredith)

16:13 - Katie Proctor #1 recommendation source, followed by the indie press list, libro. Fm, and Meredith (Kaytee)

17:55 - Berkeley and Random House biggest publishing houses, followed by Harper, William Morrow, Atria and Flatiron Books (Kaytee)

18:21 - Minotaur, Atria and Random House biggest publishing houses (Meredith)

19:57 - Our Top 10 Reads of 2025

20:27 - Superlative #1: Book or books you will recommend most from this year?

20:39 - A Rebellion of Care by David Gate (Kaytee)

21:20 - So Far Gone by Jess Walter (Meredith)

23:25 - The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark (Meredith #10)

24:08 - You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith (Kaytee #10)

24:28 - Awake by Jen Hatmaker

24:30 - I Thought It Would Be Better Than This by Jessica Turner

25:30 - Superlative #2: Which book would be hardest to shelve in the library?

25:51 - Turns of Fate by Anne Bishop (Meredith)

26:02 - The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

27:01 - My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows (Kaytee)

27:55 - Royal Gambit by Daniel O’Malley (Meredith #9)

29:32 - Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor (Kaytee #9)

30:31 - Superlative #3: The book we wanted to throw across the room

30:38 - Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor (Meredith)

32:23 - Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown (Kaytee)

33:11 - The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

33:57 - A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos (Meredith #8)

35:53 - My Friends by Fredrik Backman (Kaytee #8)

37:16 - Superlative #4: The book that made you the most uncomfortable

37:29 - Eager by Ben Goldfarb (Kaytee)

38:57 - Sandy Hook by Eilzabeth Williamson (Meredith)

40:25 - Forensics by Val McDermid (Meredith #7)

41:52 - Forensics by Val McDermid (Blackwells edition)

42:24 - Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver (Kaytee #7)

42:52 - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

43:42 - Superlative #5: The best picture book that you read aloud this year

44:15 - No, David! By David Shannon (Meredith)

45:07 - The Creature of Habit by Jennifer E. Smith and Leo Espinosa (Kaytee)

46:35 - The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Meredith AND Kaytee #6)

47:33 - CR Season 7: Episode 46

49:09 - Superlative #6: The best audiobook experience

49:23 - Woodworking by Emily St. James (Kaytee)

50:19 - This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead (Meredith)

51:38 - North Sun by Ethan Rutherford (Meredith #5)

52:53 - This Changes Everything by Tyler Merritt (Kaytee #5)

53:01 - I Take My Coffee Black by Tyler Merritt

54:31 - Superlatives #7: Longest and shortest book read this year

54:46 - A Little Daylight Left by Sarah Kay (Meredith shortest)

55:03 - The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan (Meredith longest)

55:34 - The Answer is No by Fredrik Backman (Kaytee shortest, amazon link)

55:53 - These Truths by Jill Lepore (Kaytee longest)

56:20 - The Stand by Stephen King

57:16 - The Unseen World by Liz Moore (Meredith #4)

57:25 - The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

58:50 - This is Happiness by Niall Williams (Kaytee #4)

59:57 - Superlative #8: Best book outside your wheelhouse

1:00:09 - The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan (Meredith)

1:01:07 - The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (Kaytee)

1:01:30 - Erasure by Percival Everett

1:01:32 - A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

1:03:34 - The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (Meredith #3)

1:07:15 - Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa (Kaytee #3)

1:07:31 - Pride by Ibi Zoboi

1:08:56 - Superlative #9: Your favorite new to you author

1:09:08 - Swordheart by T. Kingfisher (Meredith)

1:09:31 - Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood (Meredith)

1:09:48 - Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope (Kaytee)

1:10:12 - The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope

1:11:03 - Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito (Meredith #2)

1:12:37 - Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar (Kaytee #2)

1:14:07 - Superlative #10: The most milkshake book/cheeto chapter book you read this year

1:14:50 - The Other Side of the Wall by Andrea Mara (Meredith, Blackwell’s link)

1:14:57 - All Her Fault by Andrea Mara

1:15:53 - The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson (Meredith)

1:16:35 - The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett (Kaytee)

1:18:14 - Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hockhauer (Meredith #1)

1:20:57 - Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell (Kaytee #1)

1:23:13 - book print etsy shop

Support Us:

Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch

Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon

Bookish Friends Receive:

• The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. January’s IPL is our annual visit to Fabled Bookshop in Waco, Texas.

• Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business. 

• All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller

• From the Editor’s Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry

• The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts

Connect With Us:

The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads

The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna

Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans

Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!