Currently Reading Podcast

Season 8, Episode 22 (Jan 5, 2026): Our Top Reads of 2025!
Hosts: Meredith Monday Schwartz & Kaytee Cobb

Episode Overview

In this highly anticipated annual episode, Meredith and Kaytee count down their Top 10 Reads of 2025—an honest, stats-rich, and personality-filled tour through their best books of the year. The duo discusses shifts in their reading lives, reflects on notable trends and personal favorites, and sprinkles in fun superlatives and memorable reading moments. If you’re looking for fresh recommendations, deep takes, and a celebration of reading life, this episode is a treat.

Episode Structure & Contents

• Personal Reading Stats & Trends (05:11–19:58)
• Superlatives & Notable Awards (Throughout)
• Top 10 Books of 2025 Countdown (22:34 onward)
• Key Quotes & Memorable Moments
• Best Audiobooks, Outside-the-Wheelhouse Reads, and Milkshake Books

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reflections on the 2025 Reading Year

• Backlist Focus

  • Both hosts reported reading significantly more backlist titles (books published before 2025).
  • Meredith: “The books that came out that were all over Bookstagram were just not ones that were calling to me.” (05:45)
  • Kaytee: 68% of her 2025 reading was backlist—a major shift.

• Numbers and Practices

  • Kaytee read 230 books, almost identical to last year’s number. Meredith read 127, down slightly, which she attributes to giving herself more grace.
  • Both highlight that quality, not quantity, drives their reading satisfaction.
  • Meredith: “My metric of success is how many books am I rating 4 or higher.” (09:15)

2. Genre and Format Shifts

• Meredith: Heavy on Mystery/Thriller, then Fantasy; delighted to see poetry and more nonfiction (17% of reads).
• Kaytee: Most read was Romance (22%), then Fantasy (20%). Notably, 14% of her reading was tagged “literary.”
• Both hosts enjoyed more demanding, character-driven, or literary novels as their capacity allowed.

3. Recommendation Sources & Publishing Trends

• Meredith: Author familiarity remains paramount; followed by library serendipity as her top new recommendation source. She highlighted tracking both rec sources and publishers as a way to improve reading satisfaction.
• Kaytee: Reading partner (Katie Proctor), Indie Press List, Libro.fm, and “Meredith made me do it” books.
• Specific publishers that shined included Minotaur, Atria, and Random House. Both tracked and reflected on which houses consistently delivered hits or misses.

Superlatives and Notable Book Awards

Most Recommended Book

• Kaytee: A Rebellion of Care by David Gate—an accessible and heartfelt poetry collection. (20:32)
• Meredith: So Far Gone by Jess Walter—“I feel like I could put [it] in almost anyone’s hands.” (21:13)

Hardest Book to Shelve

• Meredith: Turns of Fate by Anne Bishop—fantasy + police procedural + mystery. (25:38)
• Kaytee: My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brody Ashton, Jodi Meadows—YA, satire, magical realism, humor, “all the things.” (26:53)

Book They Most Wanted to Throw Across the Room

• Kaytee: Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown (“treated his readers like idiots… awful experience”), with a “close second” to her failed reread of The Time Traveler’s Wife. (32:15–33:18)
• Meredith: Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor (detested the main character; “viscerally detested her”). (30:37–31:52)

Most Uncomfortable Book

• Kaytee: Eager by Ben Goldfarb—great but “can’t talk about beavers in this day and age without giggling.” (37:19–38:46)
• Meredith: Sandy Hook by Elizabeth Williamson—felt “needed to stand as a witness” to parents’ grief and legal battles. (38:48–40:07)

Best Picture Book Experience

• Meredith: No, David! by David Shannon—her grandkids demanded 100+ rereads. (44:01)
• Kaytee: Creature of Habit by Jennifer E. Smith—lovely, gently subversive, encourages trying new things. (45:01)

Favorite Milkshakey / Cheeto Chapter Reads

• Meredith:
  • The Other Side of the Wall by Andrea Mara (Irish domestic suspense).
  • The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson (missing mom comes back; twisty and unputdownable). (74:31–76:19)
• Kaytee: The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett (“devoured in just a few sittings”). (76:29–77:39)

Top 10 of 2025: Book Countdown

10

• Meredith: The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark—favorite mystery, “well-written, excellently plotted, and it sticks.” (23:08)
• Kaytee: You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith—memoir in poetry; resonated with her journey through midlife divorce. (24:01)

9

• Meredith: Royal Gambit by Daniel O’Malley—fantasy meets British royal intrigue, supernatural, funny and smart. (27:49)
• Kaytee: Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor—loved the unlikable protagonist and dual timelines. *(29:24); her “throw across the room” book for Meredith.

8

• Meredith: A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos—translated French fantasy with creative magical constructs. (33:51)
• Kaytee: My Friends by Fredrik Backman—humor, found family, artistic spirit; instantly favorite Backman. (35:26)

7

• Meredith: Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime by Val McDermid—nonfiction about forensic science. (40:17)
• Kaytee: Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver—a 25-year-old novel, rediscovered and beloved. (42:18)

6

• Meredith: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans—epistolary, character-driven favorite. “Sybil for president.” (46:20)
• Kaytee: The Correspondent also appears in Kaytee’s Top 3 (pivoted on air for flow), echoing Meredith’s rave. (47:02)

5

• Meredith: North Sun or the Voyage of the Whale Ship Esther by Ethan Rutherford—literary, genre-bending, haunting, “made you work for it, but so worth it.” (51:22)
• Kaytee: This Changes Everything by Tyler Merritt—a memoir about his journey and cancer diagnosis; powerful, warm, and humorous. (52:44)

4

• Meredith: The Unseen World by Liz Moore—father-daughter story, memory, mystery, and beautiful prose. (56:58)
• Kaytee: This is Happiness by Niall Williams—Irish, literary, quiet, with indelible character work. (58:44)

3

• Meredith: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison—heart-stealing character, political fantasy, instant favorite. “Have not loved a character this much… I could cry just thinking about him.” (63:23–66:32)
• Kaytee: Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa—a trans-centered Pride and Prejudice retelling; “stole my heart completely.” (67:04)

2

• Meredith: Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito—horror, hilariously unhinged, “If you read this and love it, we can be book twins.” (70:55–72:24)
• Kaytee: Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar—Kurdish/Iranian-set serendipity historical fiction, “thought of it every day since I read it.” (72:24)

1

• Meredith: Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser (due March 2026)—retelling of Cinderella from the stepmother’s POV: “The last line—considering tattooing it on myself…I love this book with a passion unequaled.” (77:46–80:39)
• Kaytee: Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell—middle grade adventure, read aloud with her children, “one of my favorite books of all time.” (80:50–82:56)

Best Audiobook Experiences

• Kaytee: Woodworking by Emily St. James—full cast, author narration, fresh and poignant storytelling centered on a trans woman in a small town. (49:14)
• Meredith: This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead—thriller that kept Meredith ironing just to keep listening. (50:15)

Books Outside Their Wheelhouse

• Meredith: The Dragon Reborn (Wheel of Time #2) by Robert Jordan—classic high fantasy, more world-building than she normally reads. (60:01)
• Kaytee: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett—reread on paper after hating the audio, now a five-star read. (60:51) Also noted she did much more rereading this year—nine books.

Favorite New-To-Them Authors

• Meredith: T. Kingfisher (Sword Heart), Charlotte Wood (Stonyard Devotional).
• Kaytee: Elle Penelope (Song of Blood and Stone, realized she’d previously read her as Leslie Penelope).

Memorable Quotes

• “My metric of success is how many books am I rating 4 or higher.” —Meredith (09:15)
• “We contain multitudes here.”—Kaytee on opposing reactions to the same book (31:56)
• “I love it when books meet us just exactly. They come to us exactly when we need them.”—Meredith (25:16)
• “I love discovering that something has been on my shelf for years just waiting for the perfect time.”—Kaytee (42:26)
• “If you read Victorian Psycho and you were like, put it in my veins… we can definitely be bookish twins.”—Meredith (72:04)
• “If you did not love [Impossible Creatures], this is an accept-no-criticism book for me…I can’t hear it from you.” —Kaytee (82:50)

Sign-off Message

Meredith and Kaytee encourage all listeners to reflect, track, and celebrate their own year in reading—emphasizing that “reader, know thyself” leads to a satisfying book life. They suggest making your own Top 10, even if you start small or use only superlatives.

Episode Highlights Timestamps

• Reading Stats and Trends – 05:11–19:58
• Top 10 Books Countdown Begins – 22:34
• Superlatives (recommend most, hardest to shelve, throw across room, uncomfortable) – Scattered, but first at 20:25
• Best Audiobooks – 49:11
• Books Outside the Wheelhouse – 60:01
• Best New-to-Me Authors – 69:01
• Most Milkshakey/Cheeto Reads – 74:31
• #1 Books of the Year – 77:46

Listener Takeaways

• Deepen your reading life by tracking not just what you read, but why it works for you—track sources, formats, genres, and publishers.
• Don’t be afraid to try outside your comfort zone or revisit past reads—a book can transform for you over time.
• The best books aren’t always the newest or buzziest; backlist is gold.
• Recommendation sources matter—find your bookish people and trusted guides.
• Make time for the fun: lean into what delights you, and celebrate your favorites, however “unserious” they may seem.
• Consider highlighting your own annual bests, regardless of the number—it's “a great thought exercise, even though it is a little sweaty.” (84:13)

For the complete book list and all recommendations, check the episode show notes or visit currentlyreadingpodcast.com.