The 57 Books I read in 2025

2025 was quite an eventful year for me. There were significant life changes, seasons of sorrows, and new opportunities. I didn’t quite meet my goal of reading 60 books and only read 57. However, with everything that happened last year, I am amazed I even came this close. There were many weeks when I was either too busy or too depressed to read. As always, I have categorized my 2025 reading list to reflect on my past reading habits and improve next year.

1. 12 Things God Can’t Do: …and How They Can Help You Sleep at Night – Nick Tucker
2. Prophetic Jesus, Prophetic Church: The Challenge of Luke – Acts to Contemporary Christians – Luke Timothy Johnson
3. The Gospels as Stories: A Narrative Approach to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – Jeannine Brown
4. The Cambridge Companion to the Gospels – Stephen Barton
5. The Precious Blood: The Benefits of the Atonement of Christ – Dustin Benge
6. Created for Communion with God: The Promise of Genesis 1 and 2 – Harrison Perkins
7. The Glorious Christ: Meditations on His Person, Work, and Love – Kris Lundgaard
8. A Body of Divinity – Thomas Watson
9. How Biblical Languages Work: A Student’s Guide to Learning Hebrew and Greek – Peter Silzer
10. Philippians: Living for Christ – Lydia Brownback
11. From Eden to Egypt: A tour of Genesis – Alex Duke
12. Hebrew Handbook – Michael Barrett
13. Invitation to Biblical Interpretation: Exploring the Hermeneutical Triad of History, Literature, and Theology – Andreas Kostenberger
14. A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New Testament: The Gospel Realized – Michael Kruger

1. Finding the one that clicks: A practical guide for Christian online dating – Caroline Mook
2. Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines – David Mathis
3. Scrolling Ourselves to Death: Reclaiming Life in a Digital Age – Brett McCracken
4. Stress Less – Charles Stone
5. Sacrifice – Howard Guiness
6. Surviving and Thriving in Seminary: An Academic and Spiritual Handbook – Zacharias Daniel
7. When You Don’t Have the Words: Praying the Psalms – Reed Dunn
8. Prayerfulness: Cultivating a Bible-Enriched Prayer Life – Peter Adam
9. Decision Making and the Will of God: A Biblical Alternative to the Traditional View – Garry Friesen
10. Worship or Entertainment? – Peter Master
11. Single Ever After: A Biblical Vision for the Significance of Singleness – Dani Treweek
12. The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity – Conley Owens
13. The Reason for Church – Brad Edwards
14. Beyond the Back Row – Katie Polski
15. Home with God: Our Union with Christ – Kyle Worley
16. A Place for You: Reframing Christian Womanhood – Kendra Dahl
17. Social Sanity in an Insta World – Sarah Zylstra

1. Gladys Aylward: My Missionary Life in China – Gladys Aylward
2. John MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock – Iain Murray
3. Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners – John Bunyan
4. Church History in Plain Language – Bruce Shelley
5. The Story of Christianity: Volume 1: The Early Church to the Reformation
6. The Story of Christianity: Volume 2: The Reformation to the Present Day – Justo Gonzalez

1. The Perfect English Grammar Workbook: Simple Rules and Quizzes to Master Today’s English – Lisa McLendon

1. Wind and Truth – Brandon Sanderson
2. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – Suzanne Collins
3. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins (reread)
4. Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins (reread)
5. Sunrise on the Reaping – Suzanne Collins
6. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K Rowling (Reread)
7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K Rowling (Reread)
8. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K Rowling (Reread)
9. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K Rowling (Reread)
10. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K Rowling (Reread)
11. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – J.K Rowling (Reread)
12. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K Rowling (Reread)
13. Animal Farm – George Orwell
14. The Secret of Secrets – Dan Brown
15. The Hallmarked Man – J.K Rowling
16. Red Rising – Pierce Brown (Reread)
17. Golden Son – Pierce Brown (Reread)
18. Morning Star – Pierce Brown (Reread)
19. Iron Gold – Pierce Brown (Reread)

My reading goals for 2026 mirror those for 2025. Only the first one is new

This time, I am setting a numerical goal to make it easier to track. One-fourth of the books I read should have been purchased before 2026.

I created a custom reading plan for the books I want to tackle next year. While I want to explore a variety of genres and prioritize books I already own, I’ve realized that balancing this goal with review copies can be challenging. I frequently receive new releases from publishers, which limits my ability to read widely. To address this, I decided to set aside a set number of books from my TBR (to-be-read) pile and leave the rest to “serendipity.” With a yearly goal of 52 books, I plan to read at least four books per month. One must come from my TBR pile, while the remaining three can include new releases or recent purchases.

Additionally, I’ll pre-plan two of the books each month. The first will follow a rotating schedule: one month, a theology book; the next, a book on Christian living; and the third, a biography, before the cycle starts again. The second book will align with a monthly theme. For example, I’ll focus on spiritual growth in January, while February will feature a book on love or relationships. This approach will help me read more intentionally, ensure variety in my selections, and progress steadily through the books I own.”

I write reviews for many of the books I read, but I also want to write summaries and notes. I started this last year, but I wasn’t consistent.