20 Books I Loved in 2024 & Think You Should Read in 2025

Banner of the 20 book covers and article title

172 books was my number for 2025. Some were pamphlets, many were on audio (69), and some looked short but weren’t in reading time!

StoryGraph says that I couldn’t stomach sad books at 2024’s end. I read 92 romances and 92 LGBTQ+ books, and yes, there were many LGBTQ+ romances. 53% were romances.

Storygraph chart shows a mood line going up left to right. Higher means lighter books

In my challenge to read at least 50 books I already owned (purchased December 31, 2023 or earlier), I read 66. But I also acquired 114 books (oops!) and read 36 new acquisitions before year’s end. 43 of my reads I borrowed from the library.

Kresley Cole was my most-read author with 6 books, with Rachel Reid and Susan Elizabeth Phillips at 5 books each. All of these are romances.

The Trans Rights Readathon was once again a bright star in the year. Together, we raised $3,286.50 with 39 donors in 2024! All funds went to the local Seattle nonprofit, the Lavender Rights Project.

46 books got 5/5 stars from me, including rereading my #1 2023 book, Amateur: A Reckoning with Gender, Identity, and Masculinity by Thomas Page McBee, on audio ready by the author! But honestly, that weren’t enough 5-star reads. My average rating was 3.79. Anything with a 🎧 means I listened to the audiobook.

The problem with reading so many mind-blowing and soul-changing books is that I will give you my top 20 this year instead of just 10! Continue reading “20 Books I Loved in 2024 & Think You Should Read in 2025”