Books I'm Reading in 2025

I've been heavily leaning into nonfiction and "self-help" type books over the past few years. In 2023, I read 23 books. In 2024, I read 38. I don't have a specific goal for 2025 as far as the number of books I want to read, but I want to focus on topics such as rediscovering nature, basic animal and plant information (e.g., how to identify species, habitats, etc), homesteading, minimalism, environmentalism, and nature-themed poetry. A random fiction book or two tend to make their way onto the list each year too... usually in the form of a trashy beach read!

Here is the list of books I've read so far in 2025 (to be updated throughout the year):

1. The Nature Fix by Florence Williams ⭐⭐⭐⭐

   This was a great book to start off the year! I found it had a good balance of anecdotal stories from her personal life, research re: society's relationship with nature, and practical information to relate to my own life. The name of my website came from this book: toward the end, she recounts a story of a father taking his tween/teen sons to an observatory. They take a long elevator ride to the top so they can see the expansive park below. When the elevator doors open, the boys run straight to the interactive screens and 3D renderings of the park landscape. The father is left standing alone at the giant windows, repeating "It's right there! It's all right there! Everything is right in front of you!" - This last line stuck with me, because how much of our life is happening literally right in front of us... and are we missing it?
   

2. Throw Out 50 Things by Gail Blanke ⭐⭐

   Quite a shift from the first book of the year... this one was easy to read and somewhat practical, but by the time I was halfway through it I found myself checking out and skipping page after page. The whole book can be inferred from the title! I enjoyed some of the author's stories about her personal process of decluttering, but there's not much I can remember or take away from it after finishing it about a week ago.

   
   

3. The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan ⭐⭐⭐ An easy book to read (or listen to) in a few sittings. I enjoyed Amy's lighthearted, natural curiosity surrounding the birds in her backyard. Her musings were relatable - wondering if birds were appreciative of the humans filling their feeders, or if birds had memories and complex problem-solving skills. I'm not a birder at all, but this book has me considering looking into the hobby!
   

4. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

   I borrowed this one from the library, but I'm going to buy a copy to keep on my personal bookshelf. This book is such a beautiful collection of stories, history, and calls to action to deepen our love and understanding of nature and humankind. It was the perfect book to read at this time in history.

   
   

5. On Our Best Behavior by Elise Loehnen ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I thought this was a decent book to listen to on my drive to and from work. I enjoyed the chapter about the history of the patriarchy, though I wish it could've been longer (and maybe cited more sources!). The premise of the book - using the 7 deadly sins as examples of how women devalue themselves- was thought-provoking. I'm surprised this hasn't been written before, honestly. I can't say that I learned anything revolutionary from this book, but it did spur me to be more self-loving and critical of why I treat myself the way that I do. PS: if you read other online reviews, you'll find lots of criticism of the author regarding her previous employment. I'm glad I didn't see that before reading the book, because it would've unfairly tainted my view of the content. I rated this book as a standalone unit, not as a product of a previous employee of a questionable company.
   

6. The Open-Air Life by Linda Akeson McGurk ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This book is both a practical guide to and thorough explanation of Friluftsliv, the Nordic art of embracing the outdoors and living an open-air life (as the title aptly suggests). I read the author's other book, "There's No Such Thing As Bad Weather" last year and enjoyed her easy-to-read style. "The Open-Air Life" counters many common arguments or complaints people tend to bring up against Friluftsliv - trespassing laws, dangers, illnesses/diseases from animals or plants, and just being generally uncomfortable. I went into this book already supporting the idea of Friluftsliv, so the author didn't need to work hard to win me over. This is a good book to suggest to someone who is new to the idea and needs inspiration to get started.
   

7. How To Be A Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Just a feel-good, easy read for a quiet winter weekend. This collection of stories about 13 different animals beautifully captured the magic of nature and simply being with other creatures. Sy Montgomery seems to have an intuitive understanding of animals. She reminded me of Jane Goodall or James Herriot (from All Creatures Great and Small) in her compassionate and profuse love for all animals. I was trying to think of any reason why I wouldn't give this book five stars and couldn't come up with anything!
   

8. The Climate Diet: 50 Ways to Trim Your Carbon Footprint by Paul Greenberg ⭐️ So, it took me 39 minutes to read all 150 pages of this book. There really wasn't much content on each page - some of the pages had barely a full paragraph on them! This was yet another list-type book that doesn't go very in-depth. Many of the suggested 50 ways were super basic ideas... things like "fly economy instead of first class", "turn off your computer at night", and "don't have kids". Very revolutionary. For the types of people who are actually going to pick this type of book up, there wasn't anything new to gleam.
   

9. Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I absolutely loved Braiding Sweetgrass (I'm actually re-reading it in a physical book and highlighting favorite sections), so I wanted to check out this earlier book by the same author. Gathering Moss felt like a biology textbook turned into poetry - some of the information went above my head, but it was pretty to listen to! I would like to read more of Robin Wall Kimmerer's books in the future, for sure.
   

10. Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was a great book! I don't know what it is about the author's writing style - it's not quite sarcasm, not quite candid or blunt - but it was so interesting to get into his mind as he literally lived among wolves for several years. He presented his findings about the wolf pack as part-science, part-family documentary which made it easy for me to get sucked into the story. I only gave it 4 stars because I wish the book had been longer!
    

11. Clean & Green by Nancy Birtwhistle ⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was another "how-to" book full of recipes and instructions to clean your home without using harsh chemicals or store-bought junk. I found her recipes for laundry useful, and her explanations for including/excluding each ingredient were enlightening.
    

12. The Secret Life of Groceries by Benjamin Lorr ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The author engages in investigative journalism about the grocery supply chain and uncovers truths about the parts of the food system we are so far removed from. The book is fast-paced and engaging despite its sometimes very dark subjects. Thinking about how huge, complicated, and problematic our food system is, really makes my head spin.
    

13. The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Another beautiful book by Robin Wall Kimmerer! This book is short but really hits home. The message is clear - we need to move away from this capitalist, consumerist economy we've been sucked into, and relearn the ways of a gift economy. Each section of this book is a poetic call to action, encouraging us to give freely and generously in order to live a fulfilling, happy, and sustainable life. It's a must-read in these dark times.

    
    

14. The Overstory by Richard Powers ⭐️⭐️⭐️

    
    

15. Cabin by Patrick Hutchinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

    
    

16. Things That Matter by Joshua Becker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

    
    

17. What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

    
    

18. No New Things by Ashlee Piper ⭐️⭐️⭐️

    
    

19. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    

20. The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

    
    

21. Raising Hare: A Memoir by Chloe Dalton ⭐️⭐️⭐️

    
    

22. Awake in the Floating City by Susanna Kwan ⭐️⭐️⭐️

    
    

23. Deep Work by Cal Newport ⭐️⭐️⭐️

    
    

24. Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe ⭐️⭐️

    
    

25. Night Magic by Leigh Ann Henion ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

    
    

26. Funny Story by Emily Henry ⭐️⭐️

    
    

27. Happy Place by Emily Henry ⭐️⭐️⭐️

    
    

28. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

    
    

29. Age of Opportunity by Lawrence Steinberg

    
    

30. The Way Out by Alan Gordon ⭐️⭐️⭐️

    
    

31. 1984 by George Orwell

    
    

32. The Day The World Stops Shopping by J.B. MacKinnon
    

33. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
    

34. Walden by Henry David Thoreau
    

35. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Soshanna Zuboff