Hurricane 2025

2025 Yearly Reading Wrap-Up

It’s that time of year! READING STATS TIME! YAY!

The Storygraph is the fuckin’ best. If you wanna troll my profile yourself, or buddy read something together, come hang out with me there. I’ve been meticulous about tagging and whatnot over the last two years, but am still working back through my original Goodreads import to fix all of the errors and mark stuff as ‘Owned.’ It’s…taking a while. XD

Anyway, my 2025 reads are very well tagged and whatnot, so my stats are glorious! I didn’t log my daily reading, though, and I want prettier graphs, so my first decree of 2026 is that I will be logging my reading every day. You’re welcome, future Emily who gets to enjoy the fruits of this labour.

Paused but not Forgotten

Before I jump into what I did read, I want to take a moment to pour one out for those I didn’t. And I’m not counting these as DNFs, they’re just paused. I’m going to come back, it just wasn’t the right time. I’m such a mood reader, and sometimes I start something and then realize that I’m not in the mood for it, and if I push through then I’ll just end up annoyed or not liking it, and that’s not fair to either the author or myself.

Zoey is too Drunk for this Dystopia by Jason Pargin, I actually meant to read this, but I had brought far too many books home from the library and it ended up at the bottom of the pile somehow. I started it but it was due back in two days and I’d already renewed it once, and there were people in line waiting to read it after me so I was a good person and returned it. I’ll grab it again, I’d really like to hang out with Zoey some more.

Nekonikon Punk: Ctrl Break by SD Miller, The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent, and Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut: I started each of these far too close to finishing something far too similar. Again, mood reader, sometimes I get on a kick where I want a bunch of the same genre, and sometimes I just need to cleanse my palate before I can jump back in. Most egregious here is poor Carissa Broadbent, I picked up Serpent because The Fourth Wing was such hot garbage that I was desperate for GOOD romantasy, but instead I was just so burnt out because of it that I couldn’t get into it. I’ll come back, Carissa, I promise!

And the last, the one that lies heavy on my heart… I scored a free Audible credit and used it to purchase my favourite book of all time in audio, Blade of Tyshalle by Matthew Stover. It is the best book every written, I don’t think anything will ever dethrone it. We’ll see.

2025 at a glance…

Goal was 50, and read 83, whoohoo!

Indie Indie Indie

While not as dedicated as Ian Barr’s amazing Indie ‘25, I still read a good amount of excellent indie books this year, some by Substack authors whom I adore. I definitely didn’t read enough Substack books, and I want to change that this year for sure.

(Second decree of 2026: Read more Substack books!)

Note that for my ‘substack-authors’ tag, I specifically only marked authors who publish fiction on Substack, not those who just use it as an author newsletter (such as Jason Pargin, which would have inflated the number on this graph significantly)

I’m pretty happy that 50 of my 82 were library borrows (included Hoopla/Libby in that tag), and this year one of the things I want to do in my reading journal is track how much money I saved borrowing library books. Whatever the retail price is for the format I’m borrowing I’ll log, then at the end of the year I can see how broke I would have been if I’d have actually purchased them all. XD

Then I can spend my money on signed indie books which are my favourites to buy.

I’m very proud of my ARC number too, 9 ARCs and I was being very choosy. There’s nothing worse than agreeing to an ARC and then discovering that it’s not very good and then I’m in the awkward position of telling the author it’s not for me and thank you but I won’t be reviewing. I hate having to do that, so I’m very picky these days, only taking ARCs from authors I already know are good, or getting pitches and samples and whatnot before I agree to do it.

I had a lot of bomb ARCs this year, though, thanks to all of the authors who trusted me with their advanced work. It makes me so happy to help out with reviews and also that you trust me with your not-yet-published material and to be on time with my end of the bargain. I love doing ARCs, especially when I’m already a fan. There’s nothing sweeter than getting a book before release!

(Speaking of which…my first read of 2026 is going to be an ARC I’ve been DYING to crack open…more on that later!)

A Perfect Pie

Want to see another incredibly satisfying graph? You know you do.

So so SO close to being even. [EDIT: I’m realizing that this page # is different than the one from my yearly stats wrap-up page on The Storygraph, not sure what’s going on. This is just from the general stats page where I filter for 2025. It’s possible things got fucky because I was reading a few books that straddled from 2024 into 2025, but I submitted a ticket and we’ll see what happens]

There are a lot of things I love about The Storygraph, but among those things is that it tracks format and pages and hours, and each edition separately has it’s own stats. So I read the Locked Tomb Series once in paper and once in audio, and those counted as pages read and then hours listened separately.

This also goes to show just how often I have a print, ebook, and audiobook going at the same time. Print for when I can sit in the light and read, digital for reading in the dark in bed (I know it’s bad for me, shut up I’m an adult), and audio for when my hands and/or eyeballs are busy with something else. Always be readin’ ALWAYS.

Going forward, I aim to keep this pie looking like this.

“How many times are you going to reread Gideon the Ninth?” “Yes.”

This is slightly skewed because I also read Jason Pargin’s Zoey Ashe books 1 and 2, but they are published under his name not the pseudonym David Wong. The John Dies series is now updated under Jason Pargin, but the copies I have were still the David Wong versions. So he’s actually at 5, coming in just under Tamsyn.

If Alecto comes out this year (please, if there is a god, please), this graph will inflate my Tamsyn obsession dramatically. HOWEVER. My next decree for 2026: I’m not going to include rereads in my MVP bracket. Because my favourites will just win every year. Which isn’t as fun. XD And I know I’m going to reread this series at least once this year (twice if Alecto is announced). And I plan to finally finish the Acts of Caine series, which means Blade of Tyshalle is gonna win.

Fantastical

Until I started using The Storygraph, I never would have considered myself a Fantasy reader. I often forget that Fantasy covers so many subgenres, not just high fantasy, which I do enjoy but I read across such a broad range of genres. But for the past two years, based on The Storygraph’s genre tagging (of which books always have multiples), Fantasy always comes in first.

I don’t often prescribe to genres, because shit gets labeled strangely especially on sites like this. But it’s a fun graph to look at. Like ‘erotica’ is only at four, which is silly given how much smut I read this year. And LGBTQIA+ is not a fucking genre, I hate that. Stick the gay books in with the hetero books of the same genre, ffs.

2025 Reads

Too long for email now, gee. XD

I love a good cover collage. Had to splice together a bunch of Storygraph screenshots for this beast. XD Thanks, Photoshop.

Anyway, enough of what I did this year, let’s talk about 2026!

I’ve lost track of my decrees, so let me try to organize stuff I want to get done this year. In no particular order, these are reading goals I’ve been thinking about:

1. Finish the Acts of Caine series.

   I’ve waxed about how Blade of Tyshalle is my very favourite book. I picked it up based on cover alone when I was a teenager and fell in love. It wasn’t until much later that I realized Heroes Die is the first book in the series, and even later than that that there are two more books after it. It took me FOREVER to secure a copy of books 3 and 4 because this series is weirdly in/out of print, I don’t know. I would love for these books to get a reprint, with like matching covers, in a hardcover set, oh god. Anyway, I’ve been kind of saving books 3 and 4 because…I’m a sentimental nerd. The first read of an amazing book is such a magical experience, and I’ve been holding out. There’s also a small part of me that is worried the end of the series won’t be satisfying because BoT is SO good that nothing can follow it. Point is, I’m being stupid, and I need to just sit down and read all four and bathe myself in Matthew Stover. BATHE.

2. Read more Substack books.

   Self explanatory, my TBR is rife with excellent Substack authors. My first of the year will be an ARC, a sequel to a very popular Substack book, I think you know what it is. (It’s Shieldbreaker by Tom Schecter I GET TO READ SHIELDBREAKER EARLY I’M SO EXCITED)
   I have also been salivating over Becoming by Slater Henatay, that’s going to likely be a January read for me too!

3. Set a pages goal and hours goal alongside books.
   The Storygraph allows for more than just a books goal, which is so cool. Based on what I did this year, 83 books, ~30k pages, ~280 hours, this is what I chose:

   

   I don’t like setting huge goals because then it feels like pressure to meet them, which isn’t what relaxing and enjoying stories is about. So coming in under what I did this year allows for some fun stat building without being like QUICK BINGE SOMETHING and it becomes more about the numbers than just enjoying books. Gotta keep that balance.

4. THE INDIE BOOK CLUB

   I haven’t forgotten about this. I haven’t gotten any interest on the reader side yet, but tons of interest on the author side. I knew this would happen, but I’m not giving up. I was reluctant to cut a deal for the first month with an author because I know the first month will be the least amount of return for them, but I’m wondering if announcing a first book would be the draw for readers to come in. So I have to do some behind-the-scenes scheming and see what I can do. It’s gonna happen, I just need to figure out the hows.

Decrees decreed!

Books I’m vibrating for in 2026

There are a few releases I am just gagging for. So fuckin’ excited.

The Secret World of Briar Rose by Cindy Pham (Read With Cindy)

I don’t often preorder books, especially from authors I’ve never read before. However, I’ve been watching Cindy’s YouTube channel for ages and her critiques are so on point that I am confident she’s created a story that will resonate with me. But even if the book somehow sucks, at least it will look gorgeous on my shelf and I’m happy to have monetarily supported a creator that I adore. It’s a win/win. But I can’t wait to read it. If Cindy’s characters have even an ounce of her sass, I know I am going to fucking love this book.

Shunt by Jude Mire

I’ve read this book multiple times, and technically it’s already in print for in-person events, but the digital/audio release (narrated by yours truly) is coming out early 2026 and I am SO excited. It’s been such a fun project to work on and I’m so so excited to fangirl about this story with new readers. Jude is a fucking master of squishy horror and Shunt is insanely squishy. It’s such an interesting take on dystopian horror, I’m obsessed with it.

The Shieldbreaker Book Two: The Holiest of Cities by Tom Schecter

I’m starting this one today (well, yesterday, because this post is scheduled for the 2nd), but I will be celebrating the fuck out of this starting serially on Tom’s Substack on the 7th. I devoured book one, and will devour book two, and there’s a special event on the 10th for the prequel that you are not going to want to miss.

Never Tell Vows by AJ. Rella

I’ve gotten a peek at this one even though it’s not completed, and I am stoked for the conclusion to Alfie and Lola’s story. The first two books are a rollercoaster of insanity and this one they’re solid and facing the world together, and I am so looking forward to it. Can’t wait to have beta and ARC copies of this beast in my hands, AJ!

I’m also very excited to continue some Substack series’ and serials: FEVERCHAIN by MA Knight (I will be getting back to recording chapters on the 5th, having the kids off school for the holidays has been lovely but very very loud). I still need to finish The Midnight Vault II, I am horribly behind, feel free to spank me. Also, whatever happened to Shitwizard by Drew Valdez? Don’t leave us hanging, I gotta know what happens to Brent and Fecaldo.

That’s all, folks…

2025 was a boss fucking year for books. 2026 is going to be even better, I can taste it. I still haven’t filled out the boxes on my bingo card for my reading journal…any suggestions?

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