For a long time, reading was simply there in my life.
As a child, I was always reading. At school, too. I loved stories, loved disappearing into books, loved that quiet, focused feeling that only reading gives you. Even in high school, I remember reading classics – Hemingway, Arc de Triomphe – not because I had to, but because I genuinely enjoyed it.
And then… adult life happened.
Work, travelling, responsibilities, tired evenings. Reading slowly slipped out of my daily rhythm until it was no longer something I even tried to make time for. It wasn’t a conscious decision; it just faded away. Somewhere along the way, I also forgot how to enjoy books. Every time I picked one up, I was already exhausted, already half-asleep, already distracted.
Wanting to read again – but not knowing how
When I found myself at home with kids, craving a little mental escape and some quiet moments that were just mine, I wanted to read again. I missed it. But wanting something and actually doing it are two very different things.
I would start a book in the evening, read a few pages, and fall asleep. Not because the book was bad, but because I was tired. The habit was gone, and without the habit, reading felt strangely difficult.
What finally helped me wasn’t discipline or forcing myself to read “better” books.
It was choosing the right books.
Starting where it’s easy: crime novels
I’ve always loved crime fiction. Detective stories, thrillers, mysteries – the kind of books you don’t want to put down because you need to know what happens next. And that was the key realisation for me:
If a book is gripping enough, you don’t have to force yourself to read it.
So I leaned into that. I let go of any idea that I should be reading classics, literary fiction, or something “worthy”. I started reading crime novels – unapologetically. Page-turners. Unputdownable books (yes, I think that should be a word).
This started sometime in 2024, and by 2025 I had already built a small but steady reading routine.
The Goodreads Reading Challenge
To keep myself motivated, I set a reading challenge on Goodreads. I love how simple it is: you decide how many books you want to read in a year, and you can track your progress visually.
At the beginning of 2025, I set myself a goal of 45 books.
Not because I needed a number, but because I know myself. Without a goal, I tend to think, I’ll read tomorrow. With a goal, I keep the momentum going.
And it worked.
In 2025, I read 45 books, a total of 16,738 pages. I’ll include a screenshot of my Goodreads Reading Challenge here – partly because I love seeing all the covers together, and partly because it reminds me how far I came.
Expanding beyond crime
Once reading became a habit again, something interesting happened: I naturally started branching out.
Looking at the books I read in 2025, you’ll see that it wasn’t only crime novels and detective stories. I tried different genres, different formats, and even some books that were very much outside my comfort zone.
Some worked. Some didn’t. And that was valuable too.
A crime series I absolutely loved
One clear highlight was discovering M. W. Craven and his Washington Poe series – including The Botanist, The Puppet Show, and The Curator.
These books were exactly what I needed at that stage: smart, dark, fast-paced, and impossible to put down. Finding a series you genuinely enjoy is such a gift when you’re rebuilding a reading habit, and this one carried me through many evenings.
Trying something I don’t like (and confirming it)
I also tried a genre I already suspected wasn’t for me: high fantasy.
The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin is hugely popular and widely praised. I finished it, but I didn’t enjoy it. It was long, dense, and confirmed what I already knew about myself: fantasy just isn’t my genre.
And that’s okay.
Reading again doesn’t mean forcing yourself to like everything. Sometimes it’s just as helpful to learn what to avoid.
Pleasant surprises
Not every book I loved looked like something I would normally pick up.
Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club was one of those surprises. On paper, the premise didn’t scream “for me”. In reality, it was warm, clever, funny, and genuinely enjoyable. I’m now very much looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
The Wedding People was another step outside crime fiction. A novel with humour, a touch of darkness, and domestic themes. Not a favourite of all time, but absolutely worth reading.
Audiobooks: a mixed experience
In 2025, I also experimented with audiobooks – mainly as a way to motivate myself to walk more.
What I learned quickly is this:
Crime novels and audiobooks don’t work well for me.
My mind wanders too much. I miss details, lose track of characters, and suddenly the whole plot becomes confusing. That’s exactly what happened with Louise Penny’s The Grey Wolf. I know I need to go back and actually read it, not listen to it.
On the other hand, audiobooks can be wonderful for slower, more reflective stories.
**Elizabeth Strout’s Oh William! ** was perfect in audio form. The pacing, the narrator’s voice, the quiet introspection – it felt like being gently accompanied on a walk.
Emotional books and mixed reactions
I also read A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara – a book that’s everywhere on social media, often described as devastating.
I found it sad and heavy, but not in the overwhelming, life-changing way I expected. I didn’t cry. And I don’t think that means there’s anything wrong with me – it just didn’t resonate as deeply as it did for others.
Interestingly, Fredrik Backman’s My Friends affected me more. I listened to it as an audiobook and absolutely loved it. His way of writing characters – flawed, tender, human – is something special. He has a talent for making you care deeply without forcing emotion.
What mattered most
I could write separate posts about individual books, authors, and genres – and I probably will.
But what matters most to me about 2025 isn’t what I read.
It’s that I read again.
I rebuilt a habit that had quietly disappeared from my life. Setting a goal helped. Choosing easy, gripping books helped. Letting go of expectations helped.
There are so many ways to read today: paperback, Kindle, audiobooks. There’s no single right way. The important thing is to experiment and find what works for you.
If you’ve been wanting to read more but don’t know where to start, my advice is simple:
Start with what pulls you in.
The rest will follow.
And maybe, like me, you’ll find your way back to something you loved all along.