My To Be Read Pile 2025

In 2024 I read 59 books and started another 5-6 9-10. While I read some amazing books that really grew my mind, much of what I read was fluffy fiction. Nothing wrong with that, but I’m wanting to be a little more intentional about where I park my brain in the new year.

Here’s my TO BE READ list for 2025. It’s actually a work in progress, as I add and subs track things from the pile as the Lord and my chaotic life lead.

My plan is to tackle twelve categories of books, including faith, home/family, food, business, writing/learning, mindset, money, Japan, fiction I avoid, classic fiction, classic children’s lit, and rom coms. I hope to read at least five from each category.

Shop all these books.

We’ll see how it goes!

Faith

• How Then Shall We Worship? by RC Sproul (started)
• The Everlasting Man by GK Chesterton (started)
• The Weight of Glory by CS Lewis (started)
• Death by Living by ND Wilson
• Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl by ND Wilson (started)

Mere Christianity by CS Lewis – This is so far my favorite read of the year. It was my second read through, the last time being in 2011 of which I remember nothing, not even my own advice or the first time I tried to read it, back in college. And even now, I don’t know that I could articulate all that I got from reading it through this time. It definitely helped that I listened to an audio version at the same time as reading it with my eyes. There’s so much meat in this book! One big takeaway was a clearer understanding as to why some Christians aren’t as nice or “good” as some non-believers. (read on kindle/audio, March 2025)

My Dear Hemlock by Tilly Dillehay – This is a version of The Screwtape Letters but written from the perspective of female demons attempting to divert a female patient in modern times. I started this one awhile back and found it harder to get into. Around the 50% mark on my kindle, it started to click. I think the trouble was that I couldn’t relate to the patient until she reached middle age. THEN things came into clear focus. Good book! (read February, Kindle Unltd.)

Home & Family

• Men & Marriage by George Gilder
• Gather & Give by Amy Nelson Cannon
• The Gospel Comes w/a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield
• Holy Hygge by Jamie Erickson (started)
• The House that Cleans Itself by Mindy Starns Clark (started)
• The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace (This is a reread from 20 years ago and I can’t remember if I liked it.)

Keeping House by Margaret Kim Peterson – It took me longer to get through this book than I would like, mainly because I am an e-reader. I can whip through books on kindle lickety-split, but paper books take longer because I don’t have an easy way to access my notes afterward and so it takes longer to write things down. This is a fantastic treatise on the heart and Biblical emphasis on homemaking, for everyone, not just wives and mothers. While I disagree with some of her practical suggestions (ie how to do laundry), I would definitely recommend this book. (read paperback, finished March 2025)

Food

• Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat (started)
• A Different Shade of Green by Gordon Wilson
• The Language of Food by Dan Jurafsky (started)
• The Waste Free Handbook by Dana Gunders (reread)
• The Marvelous Pigness of Pigs by Joel Salatin
• The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten
• This Ain’t Normal by Joel Salatin

Business

• 10x is Easier Than 2x by Ben Hardy and Dan Sullivan
• Leadership & Emotional Sabotage by Joe Rigney
• Your Next 5 Moves by Patrick Bet-David
• Choose Your Enemies Wisely by Patrick Bet-David

Writing/Learning

• On Writing Well by William Zinser
• Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose

Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody – I started this in February after attending a writer’s talk with Courtney Walsh. She said she was in the midst of reading it. I had seen it on other writer resource lists. One author recommended the original Save the Cat, but I’d already bought this, so sunk cost and all that. Since I had already started writing my beta novel, I was thrown off a little bit. Then I took Douglas Wilson’s advice and decided to just read it and not worry about applying everything right away. I might never have finished otherwise. It was good, but I’m not sure that the formula she recommends is conducive to how I write. (read in paperback February to March 2025)

Wordsmithy by Douglas Wilson – Wilson is a pastor, educator, and writer. The breadth of what he’s written is wide and deep. His book on Classical Education was what catapulted our family into homeschooling (not his intent) back in 2001. To say that his words have had an impact on our lives is an understatement. This book, specifically on writing, was an easy read, with loads of book recs to help expand one’s mind and ability to think critically, even if you don’t plan to write. I highlighted loads and bought a passel of books to add to the pile as a result. If you need permission to read a lot of books, he will give you that. (read on kindle unlimited, March 2025)

On Writing by Stephen King – I have never read a Stephen King book, and I will likely never read another, but this was amazing. I’m not a horror fan, but I feel like this book gave an amazing taste of King’s writing ability. Definitely a great writer. I can see why people would like his books. Even if you don’t care about becoming a writer, the first half is worth your time. The second half is about the field of writing and was very interesting. (read on kindle, March 2025)

CS Lewis on Writing (and Writers): A Miscellany of Advice and Opinions – I confess to being influenced by an Amazon recommendation while I was shopping for other things. A whim purchase that I probably could have lived without. That said, there’s so much about Lewis to admire and emulate and so much to read in order to do that, reading these snippets from him is like the Cliffs Notes to the man’s life. I gained understanding on a miscellany of things to be sure. (read hardback, March 2025)

Story Genius by Lisa Cron – This was a book I found recommended by the Camperdown MFA program. Rather than get bogged down in the process recommended in the book, I took notes on what to apply to my work in progress. The subtitle of this book is “How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel.” I think the author delivered on this promise but I felt that the portions on brain science were actually lacking a bit. Also, I was disappointed that the novel she uses as an example throughout the book was never actually published. The author, a fellow writing coach, gave up writing fiction to teach writing. Somehow that feels like a bait and switch. Not what these two writers probably intended back in 2016, but a disappointment nonetheless. (paperback April 2025)

Mindset

• Practicing Thankfulness by Sam Crabtree
• Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey (started)
• Notes from a Blue Bike by Tsh Oxenreider

Money

• The Scandal of Money by George Gilder
• Wealth is a Mindset by Shang Saavedra

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel – Bryan and I both listened to this audio book after hearing the author do an interview on the Huberman Lab podcast. It was good. I don’t think there was anything earth-shattering, just reminders to save more. He told some good stories about wins and losses that people have experienced in the pursuit of money. It’s an inspiring book, but I don’t think I could have made it through without the audio version. (audio book, January 2025)

Japan

• Inventing Japan by Ian Buruma
• Easy Japanese Phrase Book by Talk in Japanese
• Cool Japan Guide by Abby Denson

Japan Travel Guide by Yuki Fukuyama – This was a quick and easy read once I got going. It only took me 13 months to get going. I have a large post-it note collection of all the things I found of interest so that we can plan our trip. This is a little bit more challenging because of my unfamiliarity with Japanese words. I get things easily mixed up — like my husband says all the names in Tolkien’s LOTR do for him. Read February: paperback.

Sad Fiction I Typically Avoid

Life is hard and I don’t typically want to read sad books. However, I think I might challenge myself this year.

• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (a reread for me)
• Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
• something by one of the Bronte sisters

Classic Children’s Lit

Good kids’ books are meant for adults to read. These are all rereads except 100 Cupboards.

• The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien (started)
• The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
• The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
• 100 Cupboards by ND Wilson

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare – This is one of the few children’s books purchased for homeschooling that survived our move. I checked it out from the library on ebook and devoured it in a day. It’s amazing to me that such a Jesus-centered book could have been so mainstream back in the 60s. It’s applicable as much as to adults as to kids. And has me rethinking what genres I want to write. Definitely a great book for Easter! (read on kindle, April 2025.)

Classic Fiction

• The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
• The Space Trilogy by CS Lewis (started)
• something by Jane Austen
• something by Charles Dickens

Out of the Silent Planet by CS Lewis – FishChick16 and I are working through the audio books of the Space Trilogy. My husband and one of the boys did the same last winter. The first book was pretty simple, which has me wondering why people didn’t like it. I have another book to read that explains a lot of the meanings so maybe I missed something. I imagine these are books to read and reread and get more from over time. (audio book in March 2025)

Modern Fiction (ie written in modern times)

The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay – I’ve been resistant to read this author’s historical fiction because I generally avoid WW2 books since having visited Oradour-sur-Glane. I think that’s when my aversion started. Anyway, this book takes place in the Cold War, so I gave it a try. I really liked it! I learned a ton of history, had flashbacks to watching Gotcha as a kid, and am interested to learn more. My mother-in-law played an active role in creating this exhibit at the Reagan Ranch where she is curator, so it’s time for me to tap her memory! (Read February on kindle library loan.)

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods – I saw this book recommended online somewhere and gave it a go. It was a wild trip, not only because it’s magical realism but because it was a refreshing break from most of the fiction (ie light romcoms) I’ve been reading. I’ve enjoyed other books of this type, despite the fact that when you google magical realism, none of those books on the wikipedia page sound interesting to me. The Nutcracker is considered part of that genre, and that book bugs the heck out of me! Anyway, this was a fun ride. (read on kindle library loan, March 2025)

No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister – Randomly found this book on Amazon and bought it on kindle sale for $3. It was a fascinating exploration of how different people experience a book and what their takeaways are. Honestly, it would make a great movie, too, probably, but that defeats the point! It’s a quick read that I highly recommend!

Romance Novels Written Recently

I love books by Katherine Reay, Katherine Center, Courtney Walsh, and Cindy Steel. I don’t need to plan out this kind of reading, it just happens.

If this is your jam, be sure to check out my review of 50+ Clean Romance Novels. I probably won’t be reviewing them all here. In fact, I know I won’t, but you can see what I’ve read on my Goodreads.

Can’t Help Falling by Courtney Walsh, etc – I’m slowly working my way through her bibliography. They are considered “clean, closed door romances”. I particularly liked this one that is a cross-over promotion with the Appies Hockey Romance book series created by Emma St Clair and Jenny Proctor. Reading Can’t Help Falling led me down that rabbit trail and another six books which led to another series, Love Stories in Sheet Cake and a few other Jenny Proctor books. It’s at this point I must point out that I decided to try my hand at fiction writing and much of this reading was honestly done for research purposes. I promise. Read January and February, Kindle Unltd.

This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens – This book crossed my path because since my decision to write fiction, I started a bookstagram which as Mrs Bennet would say, “has thrown me in the path of” other writers within the wide, wide world of the romance genre. This book has recently been turned into a film by Roku. And since I love British film, I read the book. The book is way better than the movie. They cut out most of the meaningful parts of the book. Read February, kindle library loan.

Want to purchase these? Here’s the list on Amazon.

More Good Ideas about Reading