Hello from Florida! It's been a couple of weeks since I last checked in here, but we've made the annual trek south, opened the house, and are settling in for the season. We arrived later than usual this year, but I'm very happy to be missing the snow in CT today!
As promised, I'm back with one final 2025 reading wrap-up post. (I posted my 2025 favorites here.) Today I'll share statistics and reflections from 2025, plus my intentions for 2026. I expanded my tracking spreadsheet last year and came up with some interesting (to me, anyway) bits of information. Feel free to skip right to the reflections and intentions.
2025 By The Numbers
57 books read
79% fiction, 21% nonfiction
11% books in translation
16% classics
16% rereads (an all-time high!)
45% new-to-me authors, 55% repeat authors
70% female authors, 30% male authors
format:
print/ebook only - 27%
audio only - 1%
read/listen combination - 73%
source:
own/purchase - 50%
library - 50%
year published:
frontlist (2024, 2025) - 54%
backlist (2023 and earlier) - 46%
2000s - 84%
1900s - 13%
1800s - 3%
length:
under 400 pages - 86%
over 400 pages - 14%
average rating:
4.2 (Same as last year. I typically don't finish or rate books I'm not enjoying.)
2025 Reflections
2025 was my second year of skipping the goodreads challenge and, at this point, I'm ready to consider that a permanent change.
One book per week continues to be a comfortable reading pace and I think this year's numbers are slightly higher because I read several shorter books. However, without the goodreads challenge I am not actively avoiding longer books.
I continued to stay active in the Modern Mrs. Darcy book club in 2025. Between the monthly selections, community reads and projects, and a small World Literature book club, MMD drove nearly 55% of my reading selections. Community reads were especially successful.
I did a lot of rereading 2025. This was especially enjoyable for classics (Mansfield Park, The Enchanted April, The Great Gatsby) but probably not necessary for book club selections I'd read just a year or two ago.
I leaned even more into read/listen combinations in 2025! I tried to obtain an audio version of every book I read and was mostly successful thanks to hoopla, libby, and audible. Most of the books I chose to listen to, I ended up also borrowing a print copy to check quotes, photos, maps, etc.
I was shocked by the number of new releases I read in 2025! No wonder there are still so many unread books waiting on my shelves...
2026 Intentions
My primary intention for 2026 is to read fewer new release while concentrating on backlist tiles, especially books I already own.
The slow, real-time read of Dracula with a few MMD members last summer/fall was a very successful reading experience. I'd like to try a slow or chapter-a-day read of War and Peace in 2026. [Our travels this month have already set me back, but I am attempting to get caught up. I'm not fully committed yet...]
Try all of the MMD book club main selections, but feel freer to DNF if they're not working for me. I can always go back and finish them later if the author talk inspires me.
Continue making a monthly list of reading possibilities. This helps guide my reading in a planned direction while still allowing for spontaneity.
I'm feeling ambivalent about The Storygraph. I experimented with it last year and found it didn't add much to my reading life beyond an attractive monthly graphic. Plus, my reading community is all on goodreads. I think I'll give it up.
How did your 2025 reading year go? Will you be making changes in 2026?
That must feel so nice that you're in FLA now. Time to walk the beach! It seems like you've figured out what works for you for your reading and what you want to do this year. I'm trying out the Storygraph this year along with Goodreads. Just to see the graphics. I'd like to read a bit more nonfiction and maybe more books in translation. Enjoy your reads.
ReplyDeleteSusan - It's great to be back in the FL sunshine, but we woke to a wind chill of 31 this morning. So cold for here, but not enough to prevent a walk the beach! I'll be curious to hear what you think of Storygraph. Good luck reading more nonfiction and books in translation. With the end of the World Lit book club, my translation numbers will likely decrease.
DeleteYay! You're back in Florida. I'll bet it feels great to see that familiar view with a gorgeous sunset. I'll bet you're very happy to miss that snowy weather up north!
ReplyDeleteGreat year of reading, JoAnn. I'm keeping my Goodreads challenge, but am trying to ignore that goal while I dive into longer books this year. I also have several that I want to re-read, which are almost all BIG books. Wonder what that tells me? Like you, I read a lot of new releases in 2025. I'm going to actively seek out older books on my shelves and try to get to some that have moved with me more than just once (Nebraska to Texas to Nebraska to Oregon -- I'm looking at you!). Once I finish my slow read of The Winds of War, I plan to try The Annotated Frankenstein, which my husband loved. I'm also looking at Lust for Life (Irving Stone), although that's not too long.
My stats and thoughts are here if you're interested.
Happy reading! Enjoy your beach walks, too.
Les - It's good to be back and I'm encouraged by the further post-hurricane recovery of both foliage and homes. I saw some video of snow up in the panhandle ... wonder if Tina saw any of that! Hope we can both get to some of those older books on our shelves. I want to prioritize the books on my shelves here this winter (most of my tbr is in CT now) but I also LOVE the library here, so it's a balancing act. I've never read Frankenstein and have it on my list for the fall. Good to know there's an annotated edition.
DeleteI didn't see any video of the snow in the panhandle, but I know it's been cold there. My brother lives in Lincoln, and we still have lots of friends there. Their low this coming Friday is supposed to be -3 (without windchill). I sure don't miss that weather! As far as the annotated Frankenstein book, I assume there are several. Rod says this one is really good, though. Leonard Wolf provides the introduction and notes (annotations). There are wonderful maps, drawings, and photographs, as well. I'm excited to read it... maybe this fall.
DeleteToo funny. When you mentioned the panhandle, I was thinking of Nebraska, not Florida! Lol!
DeleteLes - This made me laugh. It's all about context, isn't it? I didn't know that region of Nebraska was referred to as the panhandle!
DeleteWell, I wasn't terribly clear about that either! Lincoln is not in the panhandle. The panhandle is in the west, on the border of Colorado! It typically gets a lot more snow that the southeast portion of the state.
DeleteI gave up on Storygraph. Much as I wish Goodreads would put in a half-star function, all the functions on Storygraph felt unwieldy and, well, like work rather than like fun.
ReplyDeleteAmy - That pretty much sums up my experience with Storygraph. We'll see if I miss it...
DeleteI do the Goodreads challenge each year, but don't stress if I don't complete it (like in 2025, I was a few off). Actually, I'm that way with all my reading challenges. I enjoy the journey, but don't stress if I don't complete them.
ReplyDeleteHelen - That is the perfect attitude to have with challenges! Wish I could get there, but they mostly just stress me out.
DeleteNice to hear about your reading last year, JoAnn and I'm glad you guys have transitioned down to Florida. Back to the lovely beach photos! I don't really have goals this year other than to participate in the book groups that I enjoy. And I'm also planning to reread whatever books I feel like reading. I have a bunch on my shelves that I loved in the past and I think it might be time to revisit them. Nice that you participate in the Modern Mrs. Darcy book group. I used to listen to her 'What Should I Read Next?' podcast. Might get back to that at some point. Have a good week and some fun reading!
ReplyDeleteKay - I appreciate your low-key approach to reading goals... I could be an over-thinker!;-) I really enjoy the MMD book club and it seems to fill the void of no longer having an in-person group. I enjoy quite a few bookish podcasts and sometimes listen to What Should I Read Next, but they do take away from my audiobook time! Hope your week is off to a good start.
DeleteWe're north of Tampa now with my husband's job. We're wondering why on earth we've woken up to temps in the mid-30s for several days! But we look at temps back home if we start to feel sorry for ourselves. I love The StoryGraph graphs but using it in addition to GoodReads does double my time tracking my books. I'm sticking with it but we'll see. I set my GoodReads goal at my usual 100 but I was just thinking this morning that I should set it lower so that I give myself some breathing room for longer books. I always meet that goal but I think I unconsciously avoid very long books because of it. Of course, I also start to get antsy if a book takes too long, just because I'm ready to move on to something different.
ReplyDeleteJen - That's a great place to be for the winter, but maybe not this week! We're looking at slightly warmer temps through the weekend. Tracking is a decision I seem to revisit every year. We'll see if I miss Storygraph...
DeleteWell this will teach me to be sure to hit Publish when I type out a comment!
ReplyDeleteI thought I had left one a few days ago.
Anyway, I did sig up for the Goodreads challenge again but I don't worry about finding particular books to be sure I make the number. I usually go low.
I have Great Gatsby on my Classics list and I like the sound of the Austen book. Welcome back to Florida!
Tina - I've been caught by not hitting the publish button, too! I enjoyed revisiting The Great Gatsby last year by way of that annotated edition... the cover is really pretty, too. It's good to be back in Florida :)
DeleteMy goal is always to read more new releases and I tend to get lost in the backlist, so I laughed when I read that yours is the opposite!
ReplyDeleteI love slow reads of big books--very satisfying to relish the story, character, and words instead of rushing on ahead.
I still set a GoodReads challenge but accept that it is entirely fluid, and I often change it depending on my pace.
Hope winter in FL is good to you :)
JaneGS - That is pretty funny! I decided to go ahead with a chapter-a -day W&P. Of course, I got way behind while traveling and getting things set up here, but I caught up today. I'm surprised that I'm enjoying it, but it's very good so far. The goodreads challenge was just a stress for me. I hated opening the page and seeing "you are X books behind" all the time. Winter is off to a good start here... the foliage and construction recovery has been impressive!
DeleteGreat job in 2025 and I really like your goals for 2026. I'm hoping to read more backlist and more books off my library lists and shelves - and not force myself to finish a book I'm not enjoying.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Katherine. I hope you achieve those goals, too.
DeleteI hope to read more books I've been meaning to read for a while as opposed to reading a lot of new releases. I've found new releases don't always speak to me; maybe they are aiming at a younger audience, and if that is so, and if they do so, then I say well done.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing a slow read of The Brothers Karamazov, a chapter a day. It hasn't hooked me yet, but it also hasn't turned me off. There were pages and pages of what felt more like philosophy than plot, but maybe these will work their way into the story.