Welcome, my book friends!
If you’d prefer to listen, you can check out the full episode on The Bookmarks ‘n Blankets Podcast on your favorite podcast platform or listen below.
I’d love to know your 2025 reading goals or anything you’re excited to share with me. I invite you to hop over to my Instagram or X (aka Twitter), where you can comment.
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I can’t believe we’re just days away from a new year and an exciting new reading challenge! Reflecting on this incredible reading journey, I’m so grateful for all of you who listen and follow along. I joined the online book community last year, and my second anniversary is coming up this March. This community has become such a huge part of my life—it’s basically my world now. I eat, sleep, and breathe books, constantly reading, brainstorming ideas for the show, and immersing myself in all things bookish. It’s my passion, and I couldn’t be happier to share it with you!
I’m going to do an end-of-the-year episode closer to the end of December or possibly the beginning of January where I will share all my reading stats, my favorites, my least favorites, my highs, my lows, and everything in between. I have planned my top worst books, my top best books, and I’m going to do the end-of-year book tag again. So stay tuned.
But in this episode, I wanted to share all of my reading goals and plans that I’ve been thinking about as we head into 2025.
2025 Reading Goals
This year, I read over 225 titles, but next year, I plan to slow down and focus on quality over quantity. My Goodreads Reading Challenge goal will be 175 titles. I say ‘titles’ because my reading includes more than just full-length books—I also enjoy graphic novels, short stories, novellas, picture books, and shorter middle-grade books.
I want my reading experience to feel less stressful and avoid burnout. I’ve noticed signs of consumption fatigue, so next year, I aim to take a step back, go at a more relaxed pace, and truly savor what I read.
Genres
This year, I didn’t focus heavily on specific genres, but there are several I’d like to explore more: Contemporary Fiction, Classics, High Fantasy, Mythology, and Horror. I also plan to read 5–10 non-fiction books next year. While I’m still curious about Westerns and Sci-Fi, they’re lower on my priority list for now.
Authors
There are many favorite authors that I want to read to zero, or read their entire backlist of books. Here are a few who are top priority for me next year:
I have many favorite authors whose entire backlists I’d love to read (or read to zero). Next year, I plan to prioritize a few of them and work toward reading all their books:
- Charlie N. Holmberg
- Lisa Jewell
- Alice Feeney
- Riley Sager
- Sarah Adams
- Rachel Fordham
- Becky Wade
- Courtney Walsh
- Gabrielle Meyer
I want to continue to try popular authors I haven’t read from yet. Here are a few a new-to-me authors who are very popular that are high on my list to read in 2025:
- Catriona Ward
- Shari Lapena
- Freida McFadden
- John Marrs
- Steve Cavanagh
- Anne Rice
- Neil Gaiman
- Holly Black
- Alice Hoffman
- Kate Morton
- Amy Harmon
- Kate Quinn
- Ellen Marie Wiseman
- Jojo Moyes
- Mariana Zapata
- Lynn Painter
- Jenny Proctor
- Emma St. Clair
- Liane Moriarty
- Lynn Austin
- Jen Turano
- Melanie Dickerson
- Jaime Jo Wright
- Julie Klassen
- Pepper Basham
- Kara Isaac
- Nicole Deese
Other Reading Plans
Next year, I want to focus more on reading older books rather than prioritizing new releases. I also aim to revisit books by my favorite authors and explore more of their backlist titles.
I want to prioritize my 12 in 2025 book list and ensure I work through all of them. This year, I aimed for 24 in 2024 but only managed to read 12, which is why I’ve reduced the number for next year. Focusing on just one book a month feels much more manageable.
Book Series – I want to read more book series, especially older ones. There are several YA fantasy series where I’ve seen the movies but still need to read the books. I also want to binge series without long breaks between books, so I can stay immersed in the story and avoid forgetting important details. A few series I want to focus on next year:
- Finish the Spellbound paranormal cozy mystery series
- Finish the Twilight Saga
- Finish the Miss Peregrine series
- Hunger Games
- Lunar Chronicles
- Divergent
- Caraval
- Kingdom of the Wicked
Kindle Unlimited – I want to read more short stories and novellas on the app. Additionally, I aim to support self-published and indie authors, particularly those working with smaller publishers.
NetGalley & ARCs – I need to complete all NetGalley ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) I’ve been approved for, which is about 80 books. Moving forward, I plan to be more selective and mindful when requesting ARCs to avoid getting overwhelmed in the future.
2025 Bookish Goals and Plans
Social Media – I’m uncertain about the future direction of my channels. They don’t significantly benefit my show, and I’d rather focus my time elsewhere. However, I plan to continue posting on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). My focus is primarily on X, where I’d like to share more book reviews, graphics, fun ideas, and bookish news. As for Instagram, I’m still deciding how to best utilize that platform.
Other Ideas – I’m also considering launching a merch store dedicated to all things bookish. It would be exciting to offer a variety of products, such as t-shirts, mugs, bookmarks, reading journals, stickers, and more.
2025 Podcast Plans
I want to be more consistent with my schedule next year. This year, things became sporadic due to personal matters, but I’m aiming to return to a more manageable routine for the show.
Book Reviews – I want to return to creating full-length book reviews, where I can dive deeper into the books I read. I stopped doing these episodes because my reading volume increased, and it became challenging to keep up with the growing piles of novels. However, I know my listeners enjoy hearing about specific books, so I’m excited to bring these reviews back. I also want to start doing reading wrap-ups or recent reads episodes again. Although it’s tough to cover everything due to the sheer number of books I read, I still want to share my thoughts, especially on popular titles.
TBR Lists & Recommendations – I’ll continue curating TBR (To Be Read) book lists next year, as they’re one of my favorite episodes to create. Each month, I’ll choose a theme and share the books I’d like to read. I also want to start making recommendation episodes. Having read nearly 400 books in the past two years, I now feel more confident in recommending titles throughout the year. I’m excited to create themed and seasonal recommendation episodes as well.
Book Topics – I want to create more blog posts and podcast episodes focused on specific book topics. I have many thoughts on certain subjects, and I’m eager to share them. I also want to offer helpful insights to readers and discuss the latest happenings in the book world.
YouTube Channel – I’ve been considering starting a YouTube channel for about a year, and I think next year might be the right time to transition to video content and become a BookTuber. I believe YouTube could be a better platform for this type of content. I’m also excited about creating book vlogs, as well as reviewing books and making recommendations. However, I’ll continue with the audio podcast and keep creating the real-time reaction episodes—they’re not going anywhere. In fact, I’d like to increase the frequency of those episodes because I truly love recording them.
Wrap-up
These are the goals, plans, and ideas I have for 2025, and I’m excited to kick off the new year with some fantastic books. It’s going to be a busy year, but full of fun and exciting opportunities, so I’m ready for the next adventure!
Cheers to an amazing 2025!