bookish things · lists · music · random · travel

Reflecting on 2025: Life, Books, and Fun

kristen

I can’t believe 2025 is already over! It was a year that was simultaneously short and the longest year ever. I cannot fathom how we are…back here. Again. All I will say is that there is one very specific front-page headline that I am eagerly awaiting. You’ll know it when it happens. I have champagne waiting for the blessed event. 

And now on to more pleasant topics.

Highlights of 2025

Music, Concerts, and Road Trips

One of the absolute highlights of this year was all of my daughter’s rock concerts. She plays bass and sometimes sings or plays the drums, and she and her band are honestly quite good. I love seeing her grow, not just as a musician, but as a very fun and interesting young lady. Some of my favorite songs she performed this year include “War Pigs” (Black Sabbath), “Sugar, We’re Going Down” (Fall Out Boy), “Bang Bang” (Green Day)*, “Pretty Handsome Awkward” (The Used – she played drums on this one), and “Welcome Home” (Coheed and Cambria).

*Dear Mr. Allen, please make them play “Basket Case,” “American Idiot,” and/or “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” And then something by The Cure and Sisters of Mercy. I would love to hear them do “Friday I’m In Love” and “Lucretia, My Reflection,” respectively. Just a suggestion. Love, me.

Another bit of rock band–related news: a few weeks ago, my daughter and her band played an open mic night at one of the Alice Cooper Teen Centers. They did so well that a manager from the center reached out a couple of days later to ask if they’d be interested in playing a local festival at the end of January. They said yes, and the timing couldn’t be better, since my dad will coincidentally be in town that weekend. So, rock on!

We also took a road trip to LA to see My Chemical Romance, just the two of us. It was the first time I’d driven to LA alone with my daughter, and it was so much fun. We blasted music the entire way there and back, the concert itself was absolute fire, and it felt like one of those perfect trips that will stick with me forever.

Another fun concert experience was seeing the Pixies in Phoenix. The show itself was fantastic. The standing-room-only venue, however, was not. I am officially Too OldTM for that nonsense. My feet hurt, my soul hurt, and I want everyone to get off my lawn while I retreat to my crypt and disintegrate into dust.

Theme Parks and Family Adventures

We also did a girls’ trip to LA – me, my daughter, and my mom – for a full theme park extravaganza. We started at Universal Studios, where we drank butterbeer and rode all the rides. Then we went to Knott’s Berry Farm, where I got on a roller coaster so violently fucked up that I almost fainted halfway through. I’m not kidding. We finished strong with two days at Disneyland and California Adventure, where we also met up with one of my coworkers who lives in LA. We had a lovely dinner with her and her husband at a spot you can only get into if you have Disney annual passes, so that was awesome. I can’t help it. I love Disneyland and CA Adventure and try to go every year. I really wish I lived close enough to justify an annual pass.

Small Shifts That Made a Big Difference

One of the most meaningful changes I made this year actually happened just a few weeks ago: I started taking intentional time in the morning for myself.

I have to get up between 5:30 and 6:00 on weekdays to get my kid up and out the door for school, which is brutal for both of us, as neither of us is remotely a morning person. Because I work from home, I used to roll out of bed and straight into work while also trying to get her ready. That was… not great.

Now, once she’s off to school, I sit with my tea and my journal and write morning pages. I aim for three pages, but since my current journal is small, that’s usually easy. I fully plan to keep writing exactly as much or as little as I want once it’s full. I alternate between stream-of-consciousness writing and prompts from The Book of Alchemy by Suleika Jaouad. After that, I read for 15–20 minutes. 

This simple routine has made me happier overall and more productive at work without actually cutting into work time at all.

Reading Life: 2025 in Review

Bookish News

The best bit of news in this category: My friend, Judith Starkston, has a new book coming out soon, Achilles’ Wife, a retelling of the story of Achilles and Deidamia. She sent me a review copy, and I’ll be posting my thoughts as soon as I finish it. I’m very excited about this one!!

If you haven’t already, you should also read her Tesha series, which is pure historical fantasy fun centered on a real-life Hittite queen. I bet it’s quite different from other fantasy series you might already be familiar with.

2025 Reading Stats

  • Total books read: 57
  • Pages read: 16,924
  • Hours listened: 3 days, 15 hours, 53 minutes
  • DNF: 8
  • Shortest book: Rappaccini’s Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (48 pages)
  • Longest book: The Secret History by Donna Tartt (559 pages)

Ratings breakdown:

  • 3-star reads: 13
  • 4-star reads: 17
  • 5-star reads: 10

Most-Read Genres:

  • Historical fiction: 13
  • Classics: 13
  • General fiction: 10
  • Sci-fi: 9 

It genuinely surprised me to realize that I read more classics AND more general fiction than sci-fi this year! That has never happened before.

Favorite Books of the Year (with links to my reviews, if I did one)

Apparently, I read a lot of witchy books this year, and I regret nothing.

I also apparently didn’t write reviews for every book I read, which I had intended to do. I will be adding that to my 2026 goals. 

I recently learned that Victorian Psycho is being adapted into a film and that Jason Isaacs is involved. YAY! Unfortunately, if they stick to the plot, there’s really only one role he could play, and it’s the revolting father, Mr. Pounds. BOO. Still, I’ll watch it anyway, especially since he more than made up for it with his portrayal of Moth in The Salt Path, which remains one of my top three favorite nonfiction books of all time.

Letting Go of Reading Challenges

I’ve decided to give up reading challenges in 2026. They served their purpose for a long time, but lately reading has started to feel performative and competitive, something I did to hit an arbitrary number rather than to truly engage with what I was reading.

Instead, I want to focus on taking good notes, reading more slowly, and actually learning something from what I read. I’ll still read plenty of brain candy books, but I also want to spend more time with classics and nonfiction, even if that means reading fewer books overall.

I’ve followed a reading challenge for at least the past ten years, so this feels like a real experiment. My prediction? It will be my best reading year in at least the last five.

Favorite Things from This Year

  • My cousins’ group chat. After our grandmother died, nearly 2 years ago now, we realized she had been the primary source of family updates. One of my cousins started a group chat, and it’s been one of the best things to come out of a hard loss.
  • Our new kitten, Zero. We’ve only had him for a few weeks, but he’s already part of the family. Our resident cat, Fairie, now plays with him, grooms him, and occasionally tolerates snuggles. Our dog, Pixie, loved him immediately, as did we. He’s just the sweetest little thing.
  • My Instant Pot. I’ve had it for years, but this was the year it truly earned its keep. It is largely the reason my kid got fed most days while I wrestled with a malaise I can’t quite shake. One-pot dump and bake recipes are lifesavers. 
  • Prose and Petticoats (YouTube). Emmelie Arents’s channel helped me rediscover my love of classical literature after years of thinking I was permanently burnt out on it from grad school. Plus, her aesthetic is exactly what I want my house to look like.
  • The Read Well Podcast (YouTube). Hosted by Eddy Hood, this channel focuses on slow, close reading and was instrumental in my shift away from reading challenges. I am extremely grateful for it.
  • Close Reading Poetry (YouTube). Hosted by Dr. Adam Walker, whose stated goal is to bring content that is usually confined to the academy to a much broader audience. This kid is like 30, has a PhD from Harvard, and an infectious enthusiasm for literature. Despite the channel’s name, it isn’t all poetry, and even if it were, don’t let that scare you. He breaks down literary and academic concepts in a way that’s accessible, engaging, and genuinely fun for non-specialists. I’m so glad I stumbled across his channel and am seriously considering joining his Versed community. I miss real academic discussion, and this feels like a wonderful way to return to it.
  • Brook and Bramble Farm (Instagram). I have serious kitchen envy, and a growing suspicion that I may need to rethink my entire remodeling vision. Seriously, I want this lady’s kitchen.

Looking Ahead: Goals for 2026

  • Sleep more. Truly. I think I might die if I don’t.
  • Write more. Or, like… at all. I have specific projects I want to work on. Maybe I can aim for even 100 words a day on said projects.
  • Read slowly. Take notes. Apply the ideas. This concept really resonated with me this year. Yes, I know the word “resonated” is now ruined because of AI, but it fits here and I’m using it. I promise this post is not AI-generated. Also, thanks, Eddy Hood, for this motto, which I have cheerfully stolen from you for this post!
  • Deep-dive reading projects. Because I am an ubernerd, I’ve created a personal course of study for Tolkien’s lesser-known, non-Hobbit/LOTR works, as well as one for Arthurian legend. I’ll be working through these over the next year or two. One day I will do the same for The Hobbit and LOTR as well. But it is not this day.
  • Slow living. Basically, I want to live like a Hobbit: cook things, eat bread, read books, take naps. Gardening is questionable since I kill plants, but maybe I can manage a terrarium. Or a rock garden.
  • Home updates. Renovate and update what I can afford, learning to do what’s safely DIY-able. I am not fucking around with electricity or major plumbing.
  • Possibly quitting social media. My blog automatically cross-posts to FB and IG, so I don’t count that. I’m tired of doomscrolling and the time suck. I gain nothing of value from social media. YouTube stays, though, because it’s how I learn things and how I exercise. 

Books I’m Excited to Read Next

As always, I acquired a substantial book haul this year. Some highlights include:

  • Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati
  • The Painter’s Muse by Emmelie Arents
  • The Apple by Sally Coulthard
  • Orbital by Samantha Harvey
  • The Lake Witch trilogy by Stephen Graham Jones
  • The Amber Owl by Juliet Marillier
  • The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer
  • What Is Literature and Other Essays by Jean-Paul Sartre
  • The Gilded Page: The Secret Life of Mediaeval Manuscripts by Mary Wellesley
  • A variety of Star Trek books that got away from me over the last couple of years

Decluttering Wins

Early in the year, I did a serious unhaul, especially in the kitchen. Anything with only one function was fair game.

Rice cooker? I have an Instant Pot. Gone. Mandoline? I own a good chef’s knife and would prefer not to serve finger skin with dinner. See ya! Forty-two wooden spoons and spatulas? I kept my two favorites of each and ditched the rest.

My kitchen is now more efficient, less cluttered, and far more pleasant to cook in. I love what I own, I actually use it, and it’s made me more creative in the kitchen, which feels like a small but meaningful victory.

I plan to do a major digital declutter as well. I’ll do a big photo dump onto IG and then I can delete most of the pics in my phone and Google Photos! I should also go through my docs and get rid of a lot of them. 

As this year comes to a close, I’m less interested in resolutions than I am in paying attention. I tend to break resolutions anyway. For me, paying more attention will mean more tea, more good books, more time to notice what’s working, and more time with my daughter.

I’m curious what filled your cup in 2025. What were your big wins? And as we turn toward 2026, what are you hoping to linger over a little longer?

Leave a comment