Gleniz da MenaceI was able to achieve this year’s reading goal (yay). Since 2023, my reading goal has been the same: read 12 books in a year. This number feels right to me—it’s not too many, but still personally challenging enough.
Here are the 12 books I read in 2025 (with quickie reviews), starting with the ones I liked the least:
I rated these books 2 to 2.5 stars
Annoying kid. Mean boy. Bad friend.
I read a lot of non-fiction in 2022 and it’s currently my favorite genre—specifically non-fiction books about psychology and mindfulness.
54% of the books I read are rated 5 stars. Nice!
Calming. Invigorating. Enlightening. [Full review]
I forgot who or what influenced me to read this book but I’m so happy, and also lucky, that I picked it up. I have no expectations. I have no prior knowledge of Mary Oliver. But when I started reading the first few pages, I was captivated. Her writing is so delicate and beautiful. There were lots of moments where I needed to pause just to savor the words. Where I find myself smiling and taking a deep sigh. This book calms me and invigorates me at the same time.
Game.
1. Modern Love by Daniel Jones
Heartfelt. Some stories are meh. 95% of the stories are by published writers. [3 🌟 – Full review]
2. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Unlikeable characters. Annoying as hell. Whatever. [1.5 🌟 – Full review]
3. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
Balik eskwela feels. Information overload. Science and Technology. [4 🌟 – Full review]
4. Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
Vulnerability. Compassion. Medyo paulit-ulit. [4 🌟 – Full review]
5. Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks
Highly entertaining. Lots of interesting personal stories. A must-read for everyone. [5 🌟 – Full review]
6. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Strange in a good way. Disturbing but charming. Love Merricat. [5 🌟 – Full review]
7. Essentialism by Greg McKeown
Streamlining. Mostly about corporate work and super busy people. Elitist? [2.5 🌟 – Full review]
8. The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
Humility. Role of luck and risk. Be flexible. [4.5 🌟 – Full review]
9. Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
Super entertaining start tapos biglang nag U turn. Too much testosterone. Keso. [2 🌟 – Full review]
10. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Great storytelling. Entertaining pero may part na too woo-woo for me. Makes you want to travel and learn new languages and eat yummy food. [3 🌟 – Full review]
11. The Chicken Sisters by K.J. Dell’Antonia
Delightful start and middle. Unlikeable main characters. Spilled secrets and sabotage. [3.5 🌟 – Full review]
12. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Be more rational. Wag tamad magisip. Nakakabobo yung pagka comprehensive. [2.5 🌟 – Full review]
13. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Creativity. Wow. Will definitely reread. [5 🌟 – Full review]
14. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Hedonism. Beauty vs Morality. No likeable characters. [3.5 🌟 – Full review]
15. The Whole-Body Microbiome by B. Brett Finlay, Jessica M. Finlay
Probiotics will save the world. Consume yogurt and kimchi. Don’t use antibacterial agents – soap and water will do. [3 🌟 – Full review]
16. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Hilarious. Smartly written. Must read! [5 🌟 – Full review]
17. Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don’t Have To by David Sinclair
In a nut shell: eat healthy, exercise, importance of intermittent fasting. Lots of medical jargons. Dense. [3.5 🌟 – Full review]
18. The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
Vague. Didn’t like how it was written. Too in-your-face. [3 🌟 – Full review]
19. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Quirky and strange protagonist. Made me want to work in a convenience store while reading it. Weird overall but in a good way. [4 🌟 – Full review]
20. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Korean culture. Nakakagutom – you will crave Korean food. Love and loss pertaining to her mother. [4 🌟]
21. The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Helpful in building relationships. Informative. There’s something problematic in the ‘physical touch’ example. [3 🌟]
22. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Melancholic. Tragic. A few “WTF!” moments. [3 🌟]
23. The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal
Right book at the right time. Remember what’s reallly important. Feel your feelings but you don’t always have to act on it. [4.5 🌟]
24. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
LGBTQ+ themes. Coming of age. Made me more interested in mythology. [3.75 🌟]
25. Educated by Tara Westover
WOW. Must-read. Inspiring. [5 🌟]
26. Arsenic and Adobo (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #1) by Mia P. Manansala
Cozy mystery. Nakakagutom. Fun read pero asan yung adobo? [4 🌟]
27. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
Adult fairytale. Humorous. Intriguing. [4.5 🌟]
28. Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean
Kulang sa build up yung love story. Cringy. Okay yung premise pero di ako fan nung execution. [2 🌟]
29. The Healing Self: A Revolutionary Plan for Wholeness in Mind, Body, and Spirit by Deepak Chopra
Helpful book on taking care of our bodies and minds. Can be technical at times which I like. Relaxing to read. [4 🌟]
30. Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett [5 🌟]
A quick, interesting read. Neuroscience. Teaches people on how to be a better human being—didn’t expect that. [4 🌟]
31. Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
Somewhat of a page turner. No matter how many theories my mind came up with, I didn’t see that twist coming. Didn’t like how the diary was formatted. [4 🌟]
32. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Atmospheric. Mushrooms. A bit far-fetched. [4 🌟]
My digital bookshelf in Notion: https://bit.ly/33DzOpp.
READ THIS IF…
QUICK AND TAMAD SUMMARY
A bank robber has taken hostage a group of strangers. Bank robber sya pero sa apartment viewing naganap yung hostage situation. From an outsider point of view, kakabahan ka kasi baka kung anong mangyari, but what happens inside that apartment is something else.
Funny and heartfelt. Memorable and quirky characters.
Akala ko, Big Magic na ang top book ko for 2021. Pero after ko ‘to basahin, wala na. Sobrang nalito na ko. Sobrang ganda!!! Book of the month namin ‘tong Anxious People and ang dami rin nila na na-inlove sa story, sa writing, sa cleverness, sa characters at kung ano pa mang namiss ko. Ang galing talaga.
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Lately nagkaron ako ng ‘health and wellness phase’ so naghanap ako ng mga libro under this genre. Meron kasi akong mga karamdaman pero hindi naman malala. Pero ang dami. Yung isa medyo malala pala kasi twice na kong na-surgery dahil don pero manageable naman as of now. At ayoko nang mas dumami pa at maoperahan ulit so biglang isang araw na lang, sobrang naging aware ako dun sa mga existing medical issues ko kaya gusto kong mas maging proactive pagdating sa health ko.
Isang naisip ko nga ay magbasa ng mga libro about promoting health at ang isang napili ko ay ito ngang The Whole-Body Microbiome. Ang subtitle nya ay: How to Harness Microbes—Inside and Out—for Lifelong Health.
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QUICK AND TAMAD SUMMARY
Yung libro ay patungkol sa isang napaka-poging bachelor (si Dorian) na sobrang na-obsess sa kagwapuhan nya. Pumapasok din sa horror genre yung book kasi meron syang painting ng muka nya tapos imbis na sya yung tumatanda, yung painting yung nagiging matanda at pumapangit while he remains youthful and pogi.
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Already convinced? Click to buy on Amazon.
SUPER QUICK AND TAMAD SUMMARY
Two rival chicken restaurants. Two sisters who hate each other. Amanda is team Chicken Frannie’s and Mae is team Chicken Mimi’s. The feud will escalate when they compete in the popular TV show, ‘Food Wars’.
Ingredients: spilled family secrets, deliberate sabotage, and a $100,000 cash prize for the Food Wars winner.
Aside from being a Reese’s Book Club pick, I got attracted to the beautiful, bright yellow book cover and the title. And so I read the blurb and I find the premise really interesting. I think this book could be an entertaining movie or tv show.
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Already convinced? Click to buy on Amazon.
During the course of reading the book, I think I experienced equal parts of annoyance and admiration. There were a lot of comments about her being self-absorbed (and a ton other hateful adjectives) but in her defense, she didn’t travel the world to become a philanthropist (although did everyone forget about the fundraising she did?)
I think there’s nothing wrong with dedicating an entire year just for yourself if you’ve been through something that you feel is extremely painful. And whether people understand it or not (I know I didn’t), it’s none of their business.
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QUICK AND TAMAD SUMMARY
This is a romance novel na may halong erotica. It’s about a rich girl (Chloe) na nagkaron ng near death experience so naisip nyang gumawa ng bucket list kasi feeling nya ang boring ng buhay nya. Sample nung items na nasa checklist nya ay ‘Go camping’, ‘Have meaningless sex’, and ‘Travel the world with nothing but hand luggage’. Enter this guy (Red, an artist) na tutulong sa kanyang ma-accomplish yung list nya.
Already convinced? Click to buy on Amazon.
Ang misleading ng book cover and blurb. Kala ko sweet and romantic yung story. Na may konting adventure kasi ang interesting nung list nya. Well, adventure nga naman kaso sexual adventure pala.
Gleniz da Menace