Favorite Books of the Year (So Far)
Two book vlogs back to back? Awesome!!
In this video I talked about my favorite books of 2025 (so far). I determine my ultimate favorite book of the year through a bracket system, which I talk about briefly in my video. I pick a favorite for each month, and every four months I pick a favorite from that season. Here are my monthly winners so far, as well as my other five star favorites:
January
Heavenly Tyrant (Iron Widow Book 2) by Xiran Jay Zhao
After suffering devastating loss and making drastic decisions, Zetian finds herself on the seat of power in Huaxia, but she has also learned that her world is not as it seems. Revelations about an enemy who dangles one of her loved ones as a hostage force Zetian to share power with a dangerous man she cannot simply depose. Despite their mutual dislike and distrust, the two must work together to take down their common enemy and stoke a revolution against the systems of exploitation that plague their world. (via Bookshop.org)
February
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
A lone human ambassador is sent to the icebound planet of Winter, a world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants’ gender is fluid. His goal is to facilitate Winter’s inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters... (via Bookshop.org)
March
How Not to Kill Yourself by Clancy Martin
In How Not to Kill Yourself, Martin chronicles his multiple suicide attempts in an intimate depiction of the mindset of someone obsessed with self-destruction. He argues that, for the vast majority of suicides, an attempt does not just come out of the blue, nor is it merely a violent reaction to a particular crisis or failure, but is the culmination of a host of long-standing issues. He also looks at the thinking of a number of great writers who have attempted suicide and detailed their experiences (such as David Foster Wallace, Yiyun Li, Akutagawa, Nelly Arcan, and others), at what the history of philosophy has to say both for and against suicide, and at the experiences of those who have reached out to him across the years to share their own struggles. (via Bookshop.org)
*First top three winner: How Not to Kill Yourself
April
Blob: A Love Story by Maggie Su
The daughter of a Taiwanese father and white mother, Vi Liu has never quite fit into her Midwestern college town. Aimless after getting dumped by her boyfriend and dropping out of college, Vi works at the front desk of a hotel where she greets guests, refills cucumber water samovars, and tries to evade her bubbly blond coworker, Rachel. Little does Vi know her life is about to be permanently transformed when she agrees to a night out with Rachel. In the alley outside the bar, Vi discovers a strange blob—a small living creature with beady black eyes. In a moment of concern and drunken desperation, she takes it home. (via Bookshop.org)
May
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
Cyrus Shams is a young man grappling with an inheritance of violence and loss: his mother’s plane was shot down over the skies of the Persian Gulf in a senseless accident; and his father’s life in America was circumscribed by his work killing chickens at a factory farm in the Midwest. Cyrus is a drunk, an addict, and a poet, whose obsession with martyrs leads him to examine the mysteries of his past—toward an uncle who rode through Iranian battlefields dressed as the angel of death to inspire and comfort the dying, and toward his mother, through a painting discovered in a Brooklyn art gallery that suggests she may not have been who or what she seemed. (via Bookshop.org)
June
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers Book 1) by Becky Chambers
Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.
Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe. (via Bookshop.org)
Other Five Star Reads of 2025 (so far):
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Before the nightmares began, Yeong-hye and her husband lived an ordinary, controlled life. But the dreams—invasive images of blood and brutality—torture her, driving Yeong-hye to purge her mind and renounce eating meat altogether. It’s a small act of independence, but it interrupts her marriage and sets into motion an increasingly grotesque chain of events at home. As her husband, her brother-in-law and sister each fight to reassert their control, Yeong-hye obsessively defends the choice that’s become sacred to her. Soon their attempts turn desperate, subjecting first her mind, and then her body, to ever more intrusive and perverse violations, sending Yeong-hye spiraling into a dangerous, bizarre estrangement, not only from those closest to her, but also from herself. (via Bookshop.org)
The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy At All (Book 1) by Sumiko Arai
Fashionable and upbeat high schooler Aya loves listening to rock, but no one else seems to share her interest...until she meets a cool, stylish employee at a CD shop. Dressed in black from head to toe, he has this air of mystery about him, and his taste in music is impeccable. Aya falls hard for him--not knowing her crush is actually her female classmate Mitsuki! For her part, Mitsuki generally keeps to herself and avoids standing out at school. But given that she sits right next to Aya, Mitsuki's all too aware of the other girl's feelings, and she's afraid to reveal the truth. So why does she find herself talking with Aya more and more...? (via Bookshop.org)
The Cartoonist Club by Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud
*I forgot to mention this one in my video! This is a cute juvenile graphic novel teaching kids the fundamentals of comic making. Telgemeier is a very popular juvenile graphic novelist, and I’m absolutely obsessed with McClouds “Making Comics” series aimed at adults. I read that series many, many times when I was a kid. I really appreciate how the book encouraged exploration and making mistakes while making art! This is one of those books that I really wish was available when I was a kid.
Makayla is bursting with ideas but doesn't know how to make them into a story. Howard loves to draw, but he struggles to come up with ideas and his dad thinks comics are a waste of time. Lynda constantly draws in her sketchbook but keeps focusing on what she feels are mistakes, and Art simply loves being creative and is excited to try something new. They come together to form The Cartoonists Club, where kids can learn about making comics and use their creativity and imagination for their own storytelling adventures! (via Bookshop.org)
