In an effort to put down my phone and read more, I found myself wondering which books topped library checkout lists in 2025 and how many of them I had actually read. There’s something comforting about seeing what everyone else gravitated toward in a given year. It feels a little like peeking at the collective mood of readers, a reminder that even with endless distractions, people are still reaching for stories.
One clear trend emerged: women authors dominated library checkouts in 2025. According to reporting by Neda Ulaby for NPR, books by women filled many of the most-borrowed lists across library systems, a shift that feels both overdue and refreshing.
At the top once again was The Women by Kristin Hannah, which also led checkout lists in 2024. The novel follows a young U.S. Army nurse through the Vietnam War and the difficult return home, delivering the kind of emotional punch Hannah is known for.
I did read that one and, like every Kristin Hannah book I’ve ever read, it left me in tears. Her stories don’t just tug at your heartstrings; they tighten them until you’re sitting there stunned by how real fictional people can feel. I always need a palate cleanser afterward, something gentle enough to let my emotions settle back into place.
Ulaby also noted that all ten of Libby’s most-borrowed titles, Libby being the free library app for ebooks and audiobooks, were written by women. Rebecca Yarros topped that list with her wildly popular series, including Fourth Wing. I’ll admit I mostly tuned out the workplace chatter about it, as romance isn’t usually my go-to genre, but “romantasy” might be a step up.
Are there dragons? Maybe I can be persuaded.
Romance did win me over in another case. Minnesota author Abby Jimenez landed in the Hennepin County Library’s top ten with Just for the Summer, and I can see why. Her writing feels grounded and funny, centered on real people doing their best rather than characters being shoved together by fate. It’s romance that respects the reader.
Freida McFadden also made the list. I’ve read The Housemaid and loved it, though I’ve heard some readers found it predictable. I didn’t see the twist coming at all, which made it that much more fun. There’s something delicious about being genuinely surprised by a book, especially when you think you’ve read enough to spot the trick every time.
Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo appeared on six different lists this year. I haven’t picked it up yet, but Rooney has a way of writing that lingers. I’ve read a couple of her previous novels and now I’ve added this one to my ever-growing TBR pile.
Closer to home, William Kent Krueger had three titles make the lists. Though he lives in Saint Paul, readers across Minnesota tend to claim him as local thanks to his Cork O’Connor mystery series, set firmly in the Northwoods and deeply rooted in the region’s landscape and Ojibwe culture. His books feel familiar in a grounding way, like revisiting places you know well, even when the plot leads somewhere dark.
James Patterson, unsurprisingly, remained one of the most popular library authors of 2025, according to Book Riot. I read a lot of Patterson myself, usually passing the books along to my dad afterward. We both appreciate the short chapters, even if they make it dangerously easy to say “just one more” until half the book is gone. His books are the kind you can tear through in an afternoon without meaning to.
Lately, I’ve been reading two books at once in an effort to stay on track with my reading goal. I just finished A Very Long Engagement by Sébastien Japrisot, a World War I novel that had been sitting on my shelf for years. The writing is beautiful, but the weight of the war lingers on every page.
Wanting something lighter, I picked up Chicken Soup for the Soul: Me and My Dog, assuming it would spare me from tears. Spoiler Alert: It did not. But at least these were the wholesome kind of tears that are cathartic to shed.
Beyond library lists and my own shelves, I’m always open to recommendations from friends. One is reading Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life by psychologist Dacher Keltner, after hearing him speak on NPR about how awe shapes well-being. If it gets her stamp of approval, it’s going on my list partly out of curiosity and partly because a little more wonder never hurts.
Looking at what readers and friends checked out in 2025, it’s clear people were searching for connection, emotion, and escape. And honestly, knowing I wasn’t alone in that makes me want to keep turning pages.
What are you reading these days? I’d love to hear from you. Send me an email at sarahwritesnsj@yahoo. com and tell me what’s on your nightstand. If you include your name and town of residence, you may be featured in an upcoming column highlighting what readers across the North Shore (and beyond) are picking up or putting down!
