Scraping in by the skin of my teeth to share the first quarterly reading round-up of the year (that should have been posted a couple of weeks ago), before April is over!
We're going into my 6th year of sharing quarterly reading round-ups now and it's been interesting to look back and see how my reading has evolved over that time. As you'll see from this post, Non-Fiction writing has become a huge part of my reading. Not only that, but I have been actively trying to replace other time-wasting activities (such as being on my phone or watching YouTube) with reading with a basic goal of 80 books for this year, 100 as a stretch goal. Feeding my mind with information, learning more about subjects that interest me and escaping to other worlds through the pages of my books is important to me, especially as the world continues to become such a hostile, scary place.
January
Ebb and Flow: A Guide to Seasonal Living by Tiffany Francis-Baker 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake (Audio) 🌟🌟🌟🌟
What an Owl Knows by Jennifer Ackerman 🌟🌟🌟
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking (Audio) 🌟🌟🌟
The Little Book of Snow by Sally Coulthard 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Wisdom of Birds: Essential Life Lessons for Positivity and Grace by Alison Davies 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (Audio) 🌟🌟🌟
Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Ornithography by Jessica Roux 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
A heck of a start to the year! 7 physical books and 3 audiobooks, 8 of which were Non-fiction - that seems to be my January tradition now! I tend not to read books that are currently popular, not because I'm trying, but purely because I mood read and pick up my books from my own tastes, not what is on bestseller lists or being talked about a lot. I say that because a standout book of this month was Raising Hare, which, of course, has had high praise and many awards and nominations since its release, including recently being long-listed for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction 2025, and it was Waterstones Book of the Year 2024. It's a beautiful book, both in story and writing, documenting a rare and incredible experience with wildlife. The author also recently started a petition to 'Protect hares and their young from shooting during the breeding season' which I encourage you to please sign.
February
The Silver Child by Cliff McNish 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Midnighters by Hana Tooke 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Why You Should Read Children's Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise by Katherine Rundell 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Explorer by Katherine Rundell 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Borrowers by Mary Norton 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Deep: The Secret Life of Our Oceans by Alex Rogers [Audio] 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Afterwards by A.F. Harrold 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
After a Non-fiction start to the year, I had to return to my original genre, children's fiction and what a return it was! Of course, there are still a couple of NF books in there, and something I think all 'adults' should read is 'Why You Should Read Children's Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise' by Katherine Rundell. I read it through curiosity and nothing more because I am obviously a huge advocate for the genre and do not need convincing on why reading kids' books is rewarding, important and brings so much joy to life!
The Midnighters by Hana Tooke (author or The Unadoptables of which I absolutely adored) was a true highlight and a fantastic example of a book highly enjoyable for all ages.
March
Twice Upon a Time by Michelle Harrison 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
How to Speak Whale: A Voyage into the Future of Animal Communication by Tom Mustill [Audio] 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Lion Above the Door by Onjali Q Rauf 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Mystery of the Night Watchers by A.M Howell [Audio] 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Dragon Riders of Roar by Jenny McLachlan 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Secret of the Treasure Keepers by A.M Howell [Audio] 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Spring Unfurled by Angela Harding 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Girl Who Dreamed in Magic by Maria Kuzniar 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Lion Above the Door has been sitting on my bookshelves for perhaps 3 or so years now (isn't that atrocious?!), so I'm very happy to have made a point of reading it this month. It was actually not at all what I'd expected but it was a pivotal and thought-provoking story about the forgotten heroes of the World Wars and the racism that surrounds it. An important read I'd recommend to anyone, especially those with children who may be currently learning about the world wars at school.
All Year Reads
Nature's Calendar by Kiera Chapman, Rowan Jaines, Lulah Ellender, Rebecca Warren
A Year of Birdsong: 52 Stories of Songbirds by Dominic Couzens
A Year of Living Curiously: 365 Things Really Worth Knowing by Elizabeth Foley & Beth Coates
A Year in Story and Song: A Celebration of the Seasons by Lia Leendertz
A Year of Garden Bees & Bugs by Dominic Couzens
Everyday Folklore by Liza Frank
On top of all of my other monthly reads, I also have a handful of books of which I am working my way through throughout the year. Some have daily pages to read, others weekly and I'm finding it a fun way to follow the seasons in bite-sized chunks. Of course, that means I can't rate them right now. I'll have to wait until the end of the year to compose my thoughts on each of them, then.
Just some quick stats...
Total books read in the first quarter of 2025 - 25
Physical books - 18
Audiobooks - 7
Longest book - The Midnighters by Hana Tooke, 401 pages.
Shortest book - Why You Should Read Children's Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise by Kathrine Rundell, 63 pages.
DNF - 0
Average days to read - 6.8
Five Star Reads - 12
'All Year Reads' page total - 439
Favourite book from each month...
January - Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
February - The Midnighters by Hana Tooke
March - The Lion Above the Door by Onjali Q Rauf
