I’ve seen a number of other bloggers writing year-end book reviews and commentary on what they read (shoutout specifically to Manu, SuperBetsy, and Jeremy Keith), and I decided to join the fun!

I already keep a reading list of every book I finish (see here), so the following list is copied from there.

Books I Read (Finished) in 2025

1. Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter by Kate Conger, Ryan Mac; 408pp (01/07/2025)
2. Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen; 20h47m (02/03/2025)
3. Team: Getting Things Done with Others by David Allen, Edward Lamont; 9h46m (03/08/2025)
4. Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams; 400pp (03/24/2025)
5. We Are Legion (We Are Bob): Bobiverse, Book 1 by Dennis E. Taylor; 9h56m (05/08/2025)
6. The Invisible College: The Invisible College, Book 1 by Jeff Wheeler; 10h39m (06/08/2025)
7. Making It So: A Memoir by Patrick Stewart; 18h50m (09/05/2025)
8. The Sword of Shannara: The Shannara Series, Book 1 by Terry Brooks; 26h21m (10/26/2025)
9. Magician: Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist; 17h16m (11/30/2025)
10. Magician: Master by Raymond E. Feist; 18h22m (12/21/2025)

Commentary

This year I read fewer books than in any other year since I began keeping track. I debated why, and I think it came down to a few reasons:

• Early in the year I picked up a new iPad, which is often what I look at in the mornings while having morning coffee. This is sometimes a positive, as it means that I skim emails, prepare for the day, and can explore topics that interest me. However, it has had a negative impact on my reading habits, as mornings are when I read physical books.
• In either May or June (I don’t recall the exact date), I had a failure in my primary server, which ended up taking it offline for a few months while I debated what route I wanted to take. That happens to be the same server I host my audiobooks on. While there was no data loss (thankfully - I keep multiple backups), it did mean that my book-listening plan was disrupted for a few months, and the solution I used in the interim had more friction. I eventually rebuilt my original workflow, which is working much better. 🙂
• I spent more time listening to podcasts than audiobooks this year… looking back, I’m not sure that was the right decision for my goals.