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?
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