2025 Booklist
Read the books you already own, Margaret
The time has come.
The 2025 Book List has, like the Avengers at the end of Endgame, risen up in glorious congress.
Back in 2019 I declared war on New Year’s resolutions and picked one resolution once and for all for every year for the rest of my life. I decided to read one book per week forever.
And for the most part, it’s gone pretty well.
In 2024 though, I fell off the wagon. Usual reasons - career, moving, dating, then not dating. All the overwhelming obligations of a year of life transitions, a year that comes for us all every so often.
But now the year of transition is over, and it’s time to reinstate the greatest and most consistent habit I’ve ever had. The goal is simple - read one book per week (with a couple caveats) for the year of 2025.
This year has a theme. I’ve never done a theme before - I usually spend the previous year collecting book titles that look good, buying books, getting recommendations, etc. until I have a list of 70-100 books that I choose from. But this year is different.
The theme is: Read The Books You Already Own For The Love Of God Stop Buying New Books Before You Read The Ones You Already Own You Have So Many Books Literally Hundreds of Books Read Only Books Currently In Your Possession What’s Wrong With You Just Read The Books In Front Of Your Actual Nose That You Paid For You Monster
The World Beyond Your Head by Matthew B. Crawford (may he live forever): 37 pages/day. One of my favorite books of all time. If you read nothing else in 2025, read this book.
At Home In The World by Tsh Oxenrider. Aspirational, contemplative, fun. 39 p./day
The Happy Isles of Oceania by Paul Theroux - Select Chapters: A really long book, so I’m focusing on New Zealand, Samoa, American Samoa, and Hawaii, where I will be traveling soon. 21 p/day.
The Explorations of Captain James Cook in the Pacific - Boxed Edition: incredibly beautiful book about Cook and his adventures and journals. Also in preparation for travel. 42 p/day
We, the Navigators by David Lewis: I’ve skimmed this in the past but I want to give it a good read before exploring Samoa. 45 p/day
South Sea Tales by Robert Louis Stevenson: Also in preparation for visiting Samoa. 37 p.day.
The Tide by Hugh Aldersey-Williams: Looked fascinating in the store, relevant to my work. 25 p/day for two weeks.
The Tide wk. 2
Horizon by Barry Lopez: Perfect travel companion :) 25 p/day for 3 weeks.
Horizon wk 2
Horizon wk. 3
Island Dreams by Gavin Francis: absolutely scrumptious book, one of those books that feels like a coffee table book in the hand but reads like a book of fairy tales for grown-ups. Especially delightful since most of the islands are real. Get this edition. 33 p/day
Loamhedge by Brian Jacques: after so much non-fiction I like to take a break with some fantasy and this is one of the most elevated and epic books in the whole Redwall series. 61 p/day
The Island of the Colorblind by Oliver Sacks: you don’t get medical adventure prose like this nowadays. Fascinating look into the worlds of small remote Pacific island peoples. 30 p/day
Moominvalley in November by Tove Jansson: The only Moomin book I haven’t yet read, and some of my friends say it’s the most beautiful. 26 p/day
Four Points of the Compass by Jerry Brotton: 26 p/day
Finding Your Way Without Map Or Compass by Harold Gatty: I’m eager to learn some natural navigation from one of the greatest Western masters of the art. 35 p/day
Explorers: A New History by Matthew Lockwood: 21 p/day
Tremendous Trifles by G.K. Chesterton: Recieved as Xmas present years ago, looks like a banger. 21 p/day for two weeks
Tremendous Trifles, wk. 2
Spring Fever by P.G. Wodehouse: jaunty Wodehouse novel I haven’t read yet. 21 p/day
Count of Monte Christo by Alexandre Dumas: This one is on thin ice and might be booted to make way for future whims, but it’s also such a compelling story. 28 p/day for 3 weeks
Count wk. 2
Count wk. 3
One Day by Gene Weingarten: super interesting premise - a Christmas present from years ago, I’m determined to read it. 27 p/day for two weeks.
One Day wk. 2
Outlaw Ocean: Journeys Across the Last Untamed Frontier by Ian Urbina: 20 p/day for 3 weeks
Outlaw Ocean, wk 2
Outlaw Ocean, wk 3
The First Rumpole Omnibus by John Mortimer: 27 p/day for 3 weeks.
The First Rumpole Omnibus wk 2
The First Rumpole Omnibus wk 3
Atlantic by Simon Winchester: 22 p/day for three weeks
Atlantic wk 2
Atlantic wk 3
The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux: A classic locked-room murder mystery. 25 p/day
The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden: One of the most beautiful and aspirational bodies of artistic work that I know of. I’ve often admired the illustrations but haven’t yet read Holden’s journal entries beginning to end. 25 p/day
Unicorns of Balinor 1-3 by Mary Stanton: when I was nine I found these books in the library and almost passed out - a series about unicorns with that art on the cover? it was all I ever wanted, and after a summer of heavier reading I’m indulging my 9-year-old self because she was right. 58 p/day
Unicorns of Balinor 4-6: 50 p/day
Unicorns of Balinor 7 - 8: 32 p/day
Takedown by Laila Mickelwait: new book about the ongoing modern-day fight against human trafficking. 41 p/day
The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition by C. S. Lewis: I’m sorely tempted to switch the positions of this book and Count of Monte Christo because I can’t wait to read it. 33 p/day for two weeks
The Allegory of Love wk 2
The Tale of Balain by David E. Campbell: A medieval tale. 18 p/day
Eels by James Prosek: Straight up just a book about eels. 40 p/day
The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald: A beautiful fairy tale. 37 p/day
Cymbeline by Wm. Shakespeare: I am utterly bound and determined to read this dang play if it’s the last thing I do - I’ve tried 3 times and rebounded off it like a rubber ball but I’m no quitter. 1 act/day.
The Raft Book: Lore of the Sea and Sky by Harold Gatty: This is the rarest and most expensive book I own, and it claims to require nothing besides the book itself and accompanying materials (some charts and tables) to allow the reader to navigate a small vessel lost at sea to land. One of the most beautiful cover designs I’ve ever seen. 20 p/day, plus some math
The American Cause by Russell Kirk: 21 p/day
Into Africa by Martin Dugard: The story of the Livingston expedition. 44 p/day
Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder: 43 p/day
Culture Care by Makoto Fujimura: I’ve read this treatise before and it’s been incredibly inspiring. I think it will tie up the whole year’s worth of reading and usher in a new year very well. 28 p/day
You may have noticed several books taking up multiple weeks. “Margaret,” you holler, “then it’s not actually a book per week.”
Sure. However, I frequently work on the ocean for 12 hrs a day for months on end and it can be hard to find the time. In the past I’ve brought huge stacks of books to work with me and felt a sense of defeat when I just didn’t manage to read “enough,” so this year I’m choosing to be a little more realistic. The goal is to keep up momentum, and 20-30 pages of reading per day is about my limit when I’m working. I’ve got a loose idea of when I’ll travel and rest and work, so I tailor the resolution to be realistic in the life I have to live on the ground.
That would be my biggest recommendation to anyone interested in trying this themselves - choose books you know you like and place them to suit *your* real life. Books that you feel you “ought” to read will go unread, and trying to get through Paradise Lost in the same week that big work conference trip is planned is silly.
Realistically, I also know more unplanned reading will take place - Substack articles, favorite blogs, books of the Bible, spontaneous sit-downs in bookstores, etc. Come this time next year, even if not every single title in the plan gets finished, a really massive quantity of reading will have happened. Even if I only read 30 books of the ideal 52, that’s a huge number. It’s nice to know in advance that I’ll manage to do a lot of a thing I really love :)
I’d love to see aspirational reading goals from you - please comment below with the books you’re excited about in the upcoming year!