Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

What we're reading

Find your new favourite book or recommend one on our Book forum.

What’s been your best read this year?

215 replies

HighburyLass · 28/11/2025 19:12

Just one book (if you can!) that has stood out for you this year?

For me, it’s James by Percival Everett. Was given it as a present, I wouldn’t have chosen it. But my goodness what a great read. I was unsure as I hadn’t read Huckleberry Finn but it really didn’t matter (and now maybe I will!)

What have been your reading highlights?

OP posts:
WonderfulSmith · 29/11/2025 00:01

SomethingAboutNothing · 28/11/2025 22:08

Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift.
It's about a woman on her own after everyone else died of an illness. One of those books where the lead character isn't particularly likeable but you still root for them. It stayed with me for a while afterwards.

Came to say that too. I read it in a weekend, which is unusual for me.
She survives by fluke really; it’s Bridget Jones in the apocalypse, but better than that.

Pieceofpurplesky · 28/11/2025 23:53

Another one for The Names. Just loved it. The whole sliding doors concept and the interweaving of characters.
Also loved The Grace Year by Kim Lovett. One of the most thought provoking books ever read.
I also indulged in the entire ACOTAR series and found it perfectly frivolous and just what I needed for pure escapism.

JennyForeigner · 28/11/2025 23:46

PInkyStarfish · 28/11/2025 23:09

F*ck the Planet: How to Resist the Great Reset in the Trump Era by Daniel Jupp.

In a world where globalist agendas threaten our rights and freedoms, F*ck the Planet is a raw and unapologetic call to arms for those who refuse to be silenced.

We are told that the planet is dying. We are told that we are to blame. We are told insane things—that we need to worry about cow farts changing the climate and to accept huge spending on unreliable energy supplies. And none of it makes sense while all of it makes us poorer and the people who propose it richer. All of it is forced on ordinary people who don’t want it by leaders who don’t care about the things we care about, including our lives and our way of life.

It’s all about their clown planet, and none of it concerns our very real world.

For many people in the western world today, it seems as if our leaders, our mainstream media, our institutions, and our political parties have gone insane. Now our economies are failing, our standards of living are falling, our ruling class treat their own people with ever increasing authoritarianism, our borders are opened, and our wishes are ignored.

If you feel alienated by all of this and wonder what you—an ordinary person who loves liberty and your country, but hates what your government is doing—can do, then this book is for you. It doesn’t just describe the growth of Globalist censorship and authority, but equips you with the attitudes and tactics you need to peacefully resist.

This is the book that gives you the tools to protect the things that really matter.

A joke book for Christmas! Fun!

UtterlyOtterly · 28/11/2025 23:24

GingerPaste The Pearl is very good, one of my favourite Steinbecks.

Another vote for Raising Hare, I found it fascinating and refreshing.

Ripeness by Sarah Moss is my favourite novel of the year. I'm a fan of Moss's novels and couldn't put this one down.

BauhausOfEliott · 28/11/2025 23:16

James by Percival Everett was probably my best read of the year too. I’ve loved all of Everett’s books that I’ve read.

Because I’m not someone who can just choose one book, ever, I’m also going to say Caledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan. It’s a really sharp, witty, clever book full of appalling people and it kind of made me think it was the sort of book Dickens would have been writing if he’d been born 150 years later.

Finally, on a very different note, the Empire trilogy by Jay Kristoff. Pitch-black, blood-drenched, violent, sexy, gut-wrenching gothic grimdark fantasy with a vengeful, morally grey, alcoholic protagonist.

GingerPaste · 28/11/2025 23:15

The Pearl by John Steinbeck.

“The Pearl tells the story of Kino, a poor pearl diver whose life changes when he discovers an enormous, valuable pearl he believes will bring his family prosperity. Instead, it brings greed and violence, revealing how hope can turn destructive when corrupted by ambition and envy.“

PInkyStarfish · 28/11/2025 23:09

F*ck the Planet: How to Resist the Great Reset in the Trump Era by Daniel Jupp.

In a world where globalist agendas threaten our rights and freedoms, F*ck the Planet is a raw and unapologetic call to arms for those who refuse to be silenced.

We are told that the planet is dying. We are told that we are to blame. We are told insane things—that we need to worry about cow farts changing the climate and to accept huge spending on unreliable energy supplies. And none of it makes sense while all of it makes us poorer and the people who propose it richer. All of it is forced on ordinary people who don’t want it by leaders who don’t care about the things we care about, including our lives and our way of life.

It’s all about their clown planet, and none of it concerns our very real world.

For many people in the western world today, it seems as if our leaders, our mainstream media, our institutions, and our political parties have gone insane. Now our economies are failing, our standards of living are falling, our ruling class treat their own people with ever increasing authoritarianism, our borders are opened, and our wishes are ignored.

If you feel alienated by all of this and wonder what you—an ordinary person who loves liberty and your country, but hates what your government is doing—can do, then this book is for you. It doesn’t just describe the growth of Globalist censorship and authority, but equips you with the attitudes and tactics you need to peacefully resist.

This is the book that gives you the tools to protect the things that really matter.

OnToast81 · 28/11/2025 23:05

Fuckitydoodah · 28/11/2025 22:21

The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey - I couldn't put it down.

Copied from amazon:

Yorkshire, 1979

Maggie Thatcher is prime minister, drainpipe jeans are in, and Miv is convinced that her dad wants to move their family Down South.

Because of the murders.

Leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn't an option, no matter the dangers lurking round their way; or the strangeness at home that started the day Miv's mum stopped talking.
Perhaps if she could solve the case of the disappearing women, they could stay after all?

So, Miv and Sharon decide to make a list: a list of all the suspicious people and things down their street. People they know. People they don't.

But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighbourhood, within their families - and between each other - than they ever thought possible.

What if the real mystery Miv needs to solve is the one that lies much closer to home?

Sold!! Sounds brilliant. Is it based around Peter Sutcliffe or is it fictional?

DirtyFrie · 28/11/2025 22:54

PallyMally · 28/11/2025 20:33

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
Each chapter follows a different character but their stories intertwine. There's no big story arc really but I devoured it.

I hated this with a passion, only finished it as it was for book club

SwimBikeRunBake · 28/11/2025 22:49

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

It is about a group of people who find themselves in a hostage situation. But it's not so much about the hostage situation but the connections between the charecters and how decisions we make affect others. It's funny, heartwarming and with gentle plot twists and unforgettable charecters.

TheCountessofLocksley · 28/11/2025 22:44

A re-read of All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque.

Interesting to see the other side of WWI through the eyes of Paul Baümer a young German soldier. It’s a semi autobiographical novel about the horrors of war and the physical and mental trauma experienced by young German soldiers. Truly an anthem for doomed youth.

Gettingdressed · 28/11/2025 22:36

Alltheburpees · 28/11/2025 19:44

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden.

Another vote for this! Still thinking of it months later

SL2924 · 28/11/2025 22:34

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore.

Bit of a murder mystery. Intricate story with lots of different threads and characters that weave together. Best book I’ve read in ages.

Fuckitydoodah · 28/11/2025 22:21

The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey - I couldn't put it down.

Copied from amazon:

Yorkshire, 1979

Maggie Thatcher is prime minister, drainpipe jeans are in, and Miv is convinced that her dad wants to move their family Down South.

Because of the murders.

Leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn't an option, no matter the dangers lurking round their way; or the strangeness at home that started the day Miv's mum stopped talking.
Perhaps if she could solve the case of the disappearing women, they could stay after all?

So, Miv and Sharon decide to make a list: a list of all the suspicious people and things down their street. People they know. People they don't.

But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighbourhood, within their families - and between each other - than they ever thought possible.

What if the real mystery Miv needs to solve is the one that lies much closer to home?

KimGa · 28/11/2025 22:17

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

Still thinking about this book - read it on my summer holiday. Loved it so much.

A love story with the pulse of a thriller, Broken Country is a heart-pounding novel of impossible choices and devastating consequences.

RenoDakota · 28/11/2025 22:17

Precious Bane by Mary Webb.

I would never have known about it if not for my book club. And am profoundly glad that I did find it. It is the most enchanting, beautiful story. The descriptions of the Shropshire countryside are particularly gorgeous and evocative.

Cobbled this description together from a couple of online reviews:

Mary Webb's "Precious Bane" invites readers into a world of rural enchantment and profound challenges.
Prudence Sarn was born with a cleft palate, her 'precious bane', for which she is persecuted as a witch by her superstitious neighbours. Hiding from daily ridicule, she takes refuge in the wild Shropshire countryside, developing a profound love of nature. Furtively, Prue longs to be loved and harbours a hopeless passion for Kester Woodseaves, the weaver.
Despite the trials she faces, Prue possesses an indomitable spirit and an extraordinary ability to see the beauty in the world around her.
Through Prue's eyes, readers witness the intricacies of love, hardship, and the timeless struggle for acceptance.

Winner of the 1926 Prix Femina Vie Heureuse Prize, Precious Bane is a novel that enchants with its beauty and its timeless truths.

MaybeItWasMe · 28/11/2025 22:16

Betty91 · 28/11/2025 20:36

The Names by Florence Knapp was good read

Another vote for ‘The Names’. A really moving, powerful novel.
I’m currently enjoying ‘The Eights’ by Joanna Miller.

iwantavuvezela · 28/11/2025 22:14

The Safekeep - (outstanding)

My year of Meats

NigelForage · 28/11/2025 22:13

Drayton and McKenzie and everything else you've put is wrong

OnToast81 · 28/11/2025 22:13

A mind of my own by Kathy Burke, I found it relatable , funny.. A really enjoyable read.

ApolloandDaphne · 28/11/2025 22:10

Good thread. I'm saving it for future reads

SomethingAboutNothing · 28/11/2025 22:08

Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift.
It's about a woman on her own after everyone else died of an illness. One of those books where the lead character isn't particularly likeable but you still root for them. It stayed with me for a while afterwards.

Sinuhe · 28/11/2025 22:06

Exodus by Leon Uris.

It's a historical novel about the creation of Israel.

It really does shine a different light on the plight of the Jewish people throughout Europe. The focus is obviously on the end of WW2 when many simply didn't have anywhere to go and ended up in camps on Cyprus in the hope of reaching Palesine/ Israel.

DoAWheelie · 28/11/2025 22:00

Not a single book, but a series. Dungeon Crawler Carl. I binged the whole thing in just a few weeks as I couldn't put it down. It just kept getting better and better.

I'm now stuck waiting for book 8 which doesn't come out until next May. Already looking forward to re-reading the first 7 in the lead up to release.

Reduxrabbit · 28/11/2025 21:59

I read Hyperion years ago, must revisit so thanks for the reminder.