Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.
The rules are simple:
- Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
- Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
- Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
- Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is Best Books I Read in 2025. A list of my favourite books of 2025 would likely consist mainly of historical fiction so, to do something different, I’ve focused on books in other genres I enjoyed last year. Links from each title will take you to my review.
Nonfiction:
A Year in a Small Garden by Frances Tophill
The CIA Book Club by Charlie English
The Story of a Heart by Rachel Clarke
Crime/thriller:
The Bookseller by Tim Sullivan
That Which May Destroy You by Abda Khan
The Coming Fire by Greg Mosse
Contemporary/literary fiction:
The Language of Remembering by Patrick Holloway
Woman in Blue by Douglas Bruton
The Night Swimmer by Simon J. Houlton
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
What Cathy Read Next... 
A Year in Small Gardens sounds good.
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Good to see the CIA Book Club on your list. I was thinking reading it.Here are my favorites: https://wordsandpeace.com/2026/01/06/year-of-reading-2025-part-1-my-top-23-books/
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All of these are new to me. The CIA Book Club sounds fascinating. Thanks for sharing.
https://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2026/01/top-ten-tuesday-top-ten-best-books-i.html
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Quite varied! The funny thing is that I thought The CIA Book Club was fiction. I still am intrigued but I will have to adjust my expectations.
The Woman in Blue seems to be in a lot of Top Ten lists. I wonder if my book group would like it?
Wishing you a great year of reading ahead!
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The Woman in Blue would be good if your book group is looking for a short read.
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An interesting collection of reads.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!https://readbakecreate.com/my-12-favorite-books-i-read-in-2025/
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I must confess I did a double check of which blog I was on when I didn’t see a single historical fiction book on your list!
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There is a reason actually, aside from wanting to mention books in other genres. I’m a member of the judging panel for this year’s Winston Graham Historical Prize and in the interests of impartiality I didn’t want to single out any book that might appear on the shortlist (which is coming soon). Once I know what books are NOT on the shortlist there are some reviews I’ll be able to publish which might make authors who missed out feel a bit better. The prize doesn’t have a published longlist instead a list of eligible books is given to a readers panel to read and score. It’s very democratic in that respect. My reviews of shortlisted books will have to wait until the winner is announced in March.
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I haven’t read any of these, so I’ll have to look them up! Here is our <a href=”https://www.longandshortreviews.com/miscellaneous-musings/top-ten-tuesday-my-favorite-books-i-read-in-2025/“>Top Ten Tuesday. </a> Thank you!
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A Year in a Small Garden looks amazing! I hope 2026 will be a great reading year for you😊.
If you’d like to visit, here’s my TTT: https://thebooklorefairyreads.wordpress.com/2026/01/06/top-ten-tuesday-best-books-i-read-in-2025/
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I’ve not heard of any of these but it’s always nice to discover new books! Glad you had a good reading year, here’s to hoping it continues in 2026 🙂
Here’s the link to my TTT – https://justreadjessie.blog/2026/01/06/top-ten-tuesday-best-books-i-read-in-2025/
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Thank you and I hope it’s the same for you.
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I’m delighted to see that some of your Nonfiction Reader Challenge picks made it to your favourites list!
Thanks for sharing your #TTT
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Yes, you gave me the push I needed to read a few 🙂
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I am super intrigued by the CIA Book Club. Great list! If you’re interested mine is here: https://theparteveryoneskips.com/posts/20260106-top-ten-tuesday-best-books-i-read-in-2025/
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