How has everyone survived the winter storm? Here in New Hampshire, it got frigid and snowed a ton but we didn’t lose power or experience any real discomfort. I know that things weren’t so easy for many others, so I’m hoping for the best for you. Other than being distracted by the weather, I’ve been terribly distracted by the news. I have a lot to say about it but the goal of today’s post is on a different topic:
Today I’m checking back in on my 2025 Reading Goals. We’re already almost a whole month in 2026 so I feel like I’m late with this, but that’s okay. I enjoyed so much of what I read last year and I can’t wait to share some of the details with you. I’ve also included my top 5 books from 2025, so feel free to scroll to the bottom if you’re here just for that!
✔️ Translated Works
One of my goals was to read 12 books translated into English in 2025. I ended up doubling that goal and reading 24!
✔️ Female Prize Winners
Another goal was to read 6 Women’s Prize for Fiction winners and 6 female Booker Prize winners: done!
✔️ Han Kang Completist
Han Kang won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature for her “intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”
When I started the year, I hadn’t read any of her work. I finished them all in 2025.
- Human Acts
- The Vegetarian
- Greek Lessons
- The White Book
- We Do Not Part
❌ Ann Patchett – Work Towards Completist
I planned to read 6 Ann Patchett works in 2025 — and read none!
After finishing the Han Kang list, I became less concerned with focusing on certain authors and decided to let this goal go. I don’t know when I’ll return to it but I’m sure I will at some point.
(½ done) Homer – Emily Wilson Translations
I listened to the audio of The Iliad but never made it to The Odyssey. I definitely want to listen to that one this year because I want to be prepared for the movie this summer.
❌ Toni Morrison Re-Read?
I decided not to tackle a reread of all of Morrison’s novels in 2025. I have a plan for 2026 which I will share soon.
My goal was to read 54,000 pages in 2025, but I fell a bit short. That’s two years in a row that I missed this one! I’m trying again in 2026.
Top 5 Books of the Year:
Just a few sentences about each book:
- Ripeness by Sarah Moss: Loved being with Edith as she remembered her time in Italy helping her sister through an unplanned pregnancy. My favorite book of the year!
- The Correspondent by Virginia Evans: Sybil and her letters stole my heart. I laughed and cried in turns.
- On the Calculation of Volume (I-III) by Solvej Balle: Full of cozy details. Who knew repeating November 18th could be so fascinating?
- Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey: Although it’s set during an Alaskan summer, it felt like a winter fairy tale. I loved the wild setting and the man who turned into a bear.
- The Book of Records by Madeleine Thien: this book set me spinning and made me want to steep my brain in the classics.
I feel so lucky to be a reader. I love being able to learn new ideas and about lives other than my own. I love being able to turn to a book when life gets too overwhelming and when things in the real world feel hopeless. I read every single day in 2025 and wouldn’t have it any other way – it absolutely helped me make it through the hard moments we all experienced over the last year.
My next blog post will be my 2026 Reading Goals, which are already underway. And until then – I hope you’re managing things right now. Please take good care.
The Cozy Burrow 
Wow, just wow. You open new worlds to me in these posts. So grateful for your sharing. (I’m in the midst of The Correspondent right now and absolutely loving it.)
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Jordy! I’m so glad you’re reading The Correspondent – I loved it so much!
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Congratulations on all you’ve read in 2025 and thank you for sharing. I am grateful for being a reader and it is really my focus in retirement. I have learned much from you. Blessings and gratitude!
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Reading is a great retirement focus! Thank you for such kind words, Linda. I hope things are going well!
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What a fantastic reading year you had, Katie! I have read some of these books, but not all! You have grown my TBR list considerably this morning! Ha! Thank you! (and my library only has Vol 1 of Solvej Balle’s books… I have placed it on hold and am hopeful they will be adding others!) We got snow and if western PA knew how to plow, it would not be any issue… But, of course… we have lots of issues!
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I hope you’re able to get the rest of the Balle books too, Kat. And I hope you love the first book as much as I did. 🙂 I hope the snow is cleared out by now! We also got a ton but things were cleaned up pretty quickly, luckily.
Have a great weekend!
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It seems like you had a very successful reading year! I am still working my way through the Women’s Prize winners, and I hope to get 6 more this year. My 12 year old is VERY into The Odyssey and a musical called Epic. I didn’t know there was a movie coming out this year, she is going to be so excited.
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You did great! And extra huzzahs on the translation reading! 😀
Reading is such a wonderful escape portal, but also a way to learn and expand our horizons “safely”. And escape. Such an escape.
Stay warm, stay safe ❤
It’s actually snowing here today, after only sleet last weekend, but shockingly colder. An excellent weekend for hibernation: crochet and books! And eating all the cookies I made yesterday to prepare 😉
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For some reason, this post didn’t show up in my feed, so I’m only just seeing it now. I know I say it all the time, but I’m always amazed by how much reading you get done, given everything else that fills your days, and how many of your goals you achieve. I usually set a number of books I want to read, but it’s kind of arbitrary. Really, my only read goal is to read books that add something to my life, be that teaching me something, making me think or feel, or bring me some joy. I think in recent years I’ve been doing a better job of reading books that are actually worthwhile to me and not spending my time on books that I don’t care for.
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No worries, Sarah. Sometimes blogger posts don’t show up in my feed — I think the different systems have a hard time syncing up sometimes.
I love your evolving outlook on reading. Like you, I’m reaching a point where I really want to feel like I’m learning something from what I’m reading. Sometimes it’s hard to predict what those lessons could be from books and sometimes they’re a disappointment when they don’t fulfill my expectations. I still love a good story but appreciate it when I walk away with a deepening perspective on my life and the lives of others with experiences different than my own. The challenge for me is to put those lessons into words!!
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Wow, you really did a great job on those reading goals. I admire how much if your reading is literary fiction and translation. Not easy! Meanwhile I am coping with the world by reading very fluffy fluff. 🙂 But it’s what I want. I took an extended break from posting and reading blogs, so I am just catching up now.
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Thank you, Laila!! And there is absolutely nothing wrong with reading exactly what you need right now. I certainly went through a STRONG romantasy period that lasted almost an entire year a couple of years ago. It was the only thing holding my attention and I couldn’t bear the idea of NOT reading! And all of the literary fiction was still there when I was ready to return to it – and it will be the same for you! ❤️
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