Somehow, we have already made our way through a quarter of 2025. While that is alarming, with the way the year is going, perhaps that is for the best… As always, I am grateful that I have books to escape into! And for the last several years, I have set specific reading goals to help steer my reading for the year. (I have a separate book and page count goal, but those are just in the background- these are my main goals.) I’m sharing a general update to keep myself accountable and to hopefully inspire you to make your own goals! Let’s get into 2025 Reading Goals: Update 1.
2025 Reading Goals- Update 1
From January to March, I read 42 books. That’s across physical, ebooks, and audiobooks, and a number of fiction and non-fiction genres. I read every evening before bed but I also typically read throughout the day; there is something about getting lost in a good book that still captivates me!
Read 2 Non-Fiction Books Written by Women per Month
Even as an historian, I do often find that fiction is an easier read than non-fiction- I can “sit back” and enjoy a story rather than evaluating, pondering, and trying to think on what I already know like I do with non-fiction. However, getting back into non-fiction has made it easier. There are so many incredible books written by women, and they are really underrepresented in non-fiction genres- I am doing my part to help support them!
These are the non-fiction books I’ve read thus far*:
January-3: The Royal Family vs ‘The Crown’, Catherine Curzon; Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of the Viking Age, Eleanor Barraclough; The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, Helene Hanff
February-4: Queen Bees: Six Brilliant and Extraordinary Society Hostesses Between the War, Siân Evans; Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures, Katherine Rundell; A History of Courtship: 800 Years of Seduction, Tania O’Donnell; The Bookshop, The Draper, The Candlestick Maker, Annie Gray
March-5: Living with Jane Austen, Janet Todd; Liberty, Equality, Fashion: The Women Who Styled the French Revolution, Anne Higonnet; The Bluestockings: A History of the First Women’s Movement, Susannah Gibson; A Secret Sisterhood: The Hidden Friendships of Austen, Bronte, Eliot and Woolf, Emily Midorikawa, Emma Claire Sweeney; A History of Britain in 21 Women, Jenni Murray
*At the time that this will go live, I also have 4 non-fiction books on the go. (Yes, I read several books at once. What can I say, I like having options.)
Read 80% Books Written by Women- 95% (40/42)
I am once again going to share what I wrote in my original goal setting post, as it still comes up rather frequently:
I want to address this on the head of it: I have seen many, many people on social media say that they do not pay attention to the gender of the author when choosing books. I hate to be the one to break this to you, but that attitude tends to reinforce traditional gender and race focuses in the publishing world. It is 2025, and we can all be responsible readers.
I am thrilled to share that 95% of the books I’ve read this year have been written by women. And notably: I only read books written by women in both February and March! I meant to do that in March in honour of Women’s History Month, but February was a happy fluke. While I don’t know that I can maintain 95% throughout the whole year, I am happy that I was able to do this with relatively little effort.
If we want more books written by women to be published, we have to show that we are reading them! Word of mouth can be a useful tool- remember to share the books that you love!
75% of Books Read from Library, NetGalley, Spotify, or owned for 1+ year- 76% (32/42)
This goal was set for two reasons: firstly, to hopefully make a dent in my own library and TBR list, and secondly, to help my wallet. While I would like to see my percentage increase a tad more to help with the second reason, I am happy that I’ve read a handful of books/audiobooks that I’ve owned for several years. I’ve made a point of going through my bookshelves and libraries to find books that I’ve “missed”, and I’ve discovered some new favourites!
Read 5 Books from “New” Areas of History
I am struggling with this goal somewhat, because I already read in most areas of history that interest me. However, the goal remains to branch out from what I already read, and I will pursue! I do know that Vanishing Treasures is not purely history but there is a great deal of environmental/natural history included, so I’ve counted it.
1. Hidden Histories of the Viking Age, Eleanor Barraclough (Viking history)
2. Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures, Katherine Rundell (Environmental History)
What are your favourite books that you’ve read in 2025?
Cheers,
The Historian
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