As we approach 2025, I try to spend December planning ahead and pondering my reading goals for the following year. Usually, I’ll pick a few books I want to reread, a daily devotional, and perhaps some new releases that I’ve been waiting for.

My goal is usually 52 books, and I tend to read at least over 30, so I plan around 25 to 30 books and leave a couple of open spots for books I may spontaneously find out about next year and want to read. I do have five already picked out that I am excited for in 2025.

The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia’s Founding by Robert Hughes

After reading Over the Edge of the World by Laurence Bergreen, I suddenly desired to feel that feeling of exploration that the sailors on the Trinidad experienced over five centuries ago. I was intrigued by the different tribes they ran into in far-off islands and became curious about how Australia was discovered and if indigenous people were already living there. I’ve seen the Fatal Shore on a few reading lists over the past few years, and it seems to be the best book on the founding of Australia.

Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World by Irene Vallejo

If you know anything about me, you know I’m a big notebook guy. Carrying a commonplace book and practicing writing things down when ideas come to me has been one of my most beneficial habits. It has generated many great ideas for my writing and personal life while helping me remember things and find peace by cataloging important life events.

This year, I found a great book by Roland Allen called “The Notebook” about the history of notebooks and their uses. It was an awesome read going through the evolution of notebooks and how they were used in many different ways. This made me curious about the history of books and papers in history. Papyrus is the book I discovered that has great reviews and seems to cover all the topics I am curious about.

I look forward to reading it next year.

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

I’ve been putting Lonesome Dove off for too long. The reason for the long delay is that I try to physically read all of my nonfiction books and use audiobooks for fiction books, as I consider them a leisure activity, and Lonesome Dove is a whopping 960 pages. Unfortunately, the narrator for Lonesome Dove is a tough listen, and if you read the Audible reviews, it has turned many people away. This year, I am deciding to read it anyway and find out how great this book is.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

I attempt to read at least one book exclusively on my craft a year. In past years, On Writing Well by William Zinsser, Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury, and The War of Art by Steven Pressfield have had a massive impact on my writing, and I have gained valuable skills from those authors.

Why not learn from arguably the greatest horror author of all time?

Plutarch’s Lives by Plutarch

Plutarch’s Lives has been calling my name for many years. Great men like Julius Caesar, George Washington, William Shakespeare, and Ralph Waldo Emerson have read it. I should have read it sooner if they credited much of their success to this book.

I look forward to discovering this book’s insights that have made great individuals throughout history return to it.

Reading in 2025

It’s always exciting to start the year with a reading plan, and it helps me stay accountable to my priorities and goals. Every year, I am surprised by how much time there is to read if you look hard enough. In 2025, I plan to continue working on lowering my screen time, using downtime to read or listen to an audiobook, and dedicating one hour of my day to uninterrupted reading time.

If you spend time auditing your day and eliminating wasted time, there is no reason you can’t read at least one book a month. Let me know if you have read or plan to read any of the books on this list and what you think about them.

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