Before we begin, I want to say one thing: not one word or image in this has been created with AI. Because that’s fucking boring and what’s the point of creating if it isn’t done with human hands and heart? I crave stories and visions from other souls, not machines hallucinating word salads. Anyways, you can turn off your “Is this ChatGPT?” filter for this. Because it ain’t.
Precious humans,
It’s my favourite time of year. Not because of that whole Christmas thing, though that’s fine too. This is something better than that. I GET TO TALK ABOUT MY FAVOURITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR. *AND* IT IS WORKBOOK SEASON!
And this year… I’ve spent about 10+ hours illustrating them all too. Because in an era of AI slop, mama loooooves getting even more handmade and heartfelt.
If you’ve been around these parts for any length of time, you’ll know this is an annual tradition I’ve been doing since 2012. You can find all the yearly book lists here.
As always, this is not a list of the best books published for the year – just the books I read in that year. As they say in High Fidelity, the records are organised autobiographically.
How many books I read in 2025
This year I read 70 books. My average is usually well over 100 books a year (one wild year, I did 400 books!) Still – finishing 1.3 books a week is above reading averages (the average person reads about 12 books a year).
Topics I read
When I looked at all the books I read, especially my favourite ones, they laid in four distinct categories:
How I read differently this year:
- I didn’t read any books as audiobooks this year, when I manage to usually get a few in there. I did spend a lot of time consuming a huge amount of personal development courses however. I just don’t tend to rank them here in my books section.
- My romance reading previously tended to fall mostly into spicy Victorian/Regency. I think I might have wore myself out in 2024 however – I got deeeeep into a Bridgerton rabbithole and read 50+ books and fan fictions in that category. I’ll always love you regency, I just needed some time away. So this year, I read mostly spicy contemporary. Next year a new Bridgerton season is coming out, and I fully intend to fall down the regency rabbithole again.
- I went on a bender of female founder bios and memoirs and loved every fecking second of it. It’s a surprisingly hard to find book category, and I want more stories like this!!!!
The Adweek Copywriting Handbook – Joseph Sugarman
I went through an experience earlier this year of learning from someone who was in the “Vibes Girly” category of coaches. Here, let me explain by way of diagram:
I see coaches as often falling somewhere along the spectrum/pendulum of Vibes Girlies + Bro Marketers.
Vibes Girlies only talk energy, mindset and manifesting, not actual how-tos and practicals.
Bro Marketers only talk tactics, copy and numbers, not how to emotionally or spiritually grow to hold it all.
There’s nothing wrong with either of those types, it’s just a framework of patterns I tend to see.
Some coaches fall between those two pendulums, pulling in different energies as needed. (I probably tend to fall in that category of combo-ing it up, but also pulling in elements of healing and creativity and unicorn rebel mode.)
Anyways, all of that to say: I learned from a Vibes Girly for a while. And then I realised I was starving for the practical how-to tactic more masculine take. So I did a deep dive study into a very dudely kind of book, and it was an excellent balm for the spirit. I do love a good bit of balance!
So, the thing you should know about this book is: it’s delightfully vintage. It feels like it was written about 2005ish (note: just checked, it was 2006! FREAKING NAILING IT!) and it’s written by a dude who had his major sales heyday in the 70s and 80s. His major breakthrough product was BluBlocker sunglasses (or as my husband says, “those glasses that kinda turned everything brown”).
I read the whole thing in my head with a Trans Atlantic TV ad man voice. “Tell you what Sonny Jim! For this one shiny nickel, you take it on down to the corner shop and buy your old man a carton of Pee-Wee’s glory juice!”
Anyways, it serves as both excellent vintage amusement fodder AND a great tome on copywriting too.
We Are the Stars – Gina Chick
When I first saw Gina Chick appear on screen in Alone Australia Season 1, I thought: Holy shit, who is this wild chick? And then with each episode, I fell in love with her, because that’s the appropriate thing to do. She was strong and wild and divine and so in tune with nature around her.
Reading her memoir took it to a whole other level. My goodness, that woman has lived so much life. And she’s also lived so much death too. Through her own cancer diagnosis to holding her own beautiful daughter Blaise as she died from cancer. It’s heart breaking and heart mending all at once.
The way Gina alchemises and dances and loves through it all is profound. For years, I’ve tried to talk about how losing my brother was one of the best things that ever happened to me. That it taught me how love could stretch beyond the horizon of death. And it felt like solace and joy to hear Gina’s wisdom around death. She has danced even more deeply and intimately with it, and come up clutching jewels.
“I can honestly say that having her was the greatest gift of my life, and losing her was the second greatest gift of my life. Because of her and because of losing her, I am stronger, I am calmer, I have more presence, I have more ability to hold people, I have more compassion. I’m a much better human. And the gift of her leaving is a gift that I walk around with every day, so every person who I touch or speak to, that’s her.”
– Gina Chick
Canberra – Paul Daley
Since moving back to Canberra a year ago, I wanted to have a better understanding of Canberra history. This book scratched that itch beautifully, from First Nations beginnings to farming to the establishing of Canberra as the nature’s capital. Some parts were jaw dropping – I still can’t get over the plane crash at National Library in front of King George VI during an opening ceremony!
It wasn’t the most perfectly written book, but it was a love story for Canberra. And that’s what I feel like Canberra is – a love story. One that’s always been so very good to me.
Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention— and How to Think Deeply Again – Johann Hari
Johann is a dude who tries to work out why ze fook our ability to focus for any length of time has borged. Why university students (and lecturers) find it increasingly difficult to read books. Why people visiting Graceland on a once-in-a-lifetime trip spend most of it on their phones.
He interviews neuroscientists, tech insiders and professors to find twelve causes of our attention crisis, and what can be done to remedy them. Y’all know I love talking about mindful tech use – I even took a 2 year sabbatical from social media and taught a course about it. All in all, I found it a fascinating read, and a topic worth discussing.
My only criticism of the book is he really should have left out the whole chapter where he tried to correlate ADHD with his other findings on lost focus. That part really shit me as an AuDHD hottie. Made me wanna say PLS SIR SHUDDUPYA FACE.
The Let Them Theory – Mel Robbins and Sawyer Robbins
For years when people asked me how to stop worrying about what other people think, I’d tell them my sacred motto: “Fuck ’em.” Fuck ’em to overthinking it. Fuck ’em to what other people thought of you. Fuck ’em to changing your insides to try and meet other people’s needs.
Reading Let Them made me cackle, because it was my “Fuck ’em” theory refined, fleshed out and brought to every area of life. Thought it was solid. Just slightly less catchy than my Aussie boganisms. Ha!
All the Way to the River – Elizabeth Gilbert
When I first read Liz’s article about this memoir, I was worried. I thought it might be too intense for me. Too much trauma porn needing to be hashed out in a therapist’s office instead of in a book.
And then I read it, because it’s a Lizzy book, and I’ve always found her to be a thoughtful, wise kind of soul. The kind who is willing to take the hardest lessons of her journey, dive deep into finding the wisdom gems in them, and sharing them with the world. And this memoir is no exception.
All The Way To The River tells the story of her friendship with Rayya Elias who went from her hairdresser to best friend and dearest confidant… and then on the day Rayya is diagnosed with terminal pancreatic and liver cancer, realising she is in love with her and needs to leave her husband for her.
It’s the unflinching, brutally honest story of what happens next: the euphoria of love, the crushing pain of terminal illness, and Rayya’s return to active drug addiction. There is the crush of spousal abuse, and the crush of Liz realising she was suffering her own addiction to love and sex. The crush and grief of losing the love of your life, and the grace and redemption of healing.
TBH I don’t get the criticism around it being “priv lit.” Liz is honest about the vast and terrible money decisions she makes as part of her addiction, and I found it refreshing. I also reckon if a bloke wrote this book, there wouldn’t have been anywhere near the level of criticism around it – instead he would have been lauded for his honesty.
It’s a BIG book on the hardest of things. And yet I found it to be filled with grace, love, insight and compassion for everyone involved – including herself and Rayya. And I think she is doing such a service to humanity to bring a wider understanding of love and sex addiction by being so deeply honest about her own.
Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World – Anne-Laure Le Cunff
To be honest, I just started reading this book and it’s not finished yet – but it is SO FREAKING GOOD I know it’s a 5 star already.
Funnily enough, it was recommended to me by a blog reader. After reading my Year of Inner Healing zine, she reached out and told me that I needed to read this book.
It’s a brilliant innovative tome on making change in your life through small experiments. This last year I’ve learned a bit about Human Design (I’m a 1/3 Generator) and I’ve found the idea of experiments to be really useful for my 3 line. It gets me out of overthinking it and perfectionism into FAFO mode (fuc* around and find out). I always find FAFO mode farrrrrrr more interesting, useful and fun to be in.
So this book has been a brilliant inspirer for it!
The Pairing – Casey McQuiston
Oh golly goodness, this one is DECADENT! I mean – I love all Casey’s books, including One Last Stop and Red, White and Royal Blue. She really does have heartfelt queer romance NAILED.
This one felt extra sumptuous though. Two exes find themselves on the same tour through Europe… and as they fall back in hottie lurve with each other, they are simultaneously falling in lurve with eating and drinking and smelling their way through countries. It’s a foodie essay crossed with a travel memoir crossed with a hottie non binary love story. It felt like a sensory ‘gasm, and I freaking loved it.
What a joy!
Problematic Summer Romance – Ali Hazlewood
Is it predictable that an Ali Hazlewood book would end up on my best books list for the year? Yep. Considering the fact that almost every single other of her books has. It’s probably more interesting to talk about the ones of hers that HAVEN’T ended up here, because that’s probably more noteworthy. I haven’t read Bride or Mate and probably won’t because I’m just not a werewolf romance girly. Also won’t read Bound or Hot For Slayer, because I’m too much of a delicate petal for dark romance. I did read Deep End and gave it four stars – I just don’t think college sports romance is up my alley.
Other than that? I will consume all Ali Hazlewood’s usual fare with great gusto and give it five stars. And by usual fare I mean STEM/academia/neurodivergent leaning hotties. This one is no exception.
Also: this one is ALSO set on a European vacation, so it felt like I was on a lovely lil sabbatical there in my mind.
The Ex Vows – Jessica Joyce
Exes? On a holiday? But this time in a vineyard?
Yes please.
I feel like I’ve had a bit of a theme going on this year. I guess I needed a new theme instead of all the “Dashing Rake Ravishes The Studious Wallflower” theme I usually have going on.
Cruel Winter with You – Ali Hazlewood
Wow wow wow what a great surprise, another Ali Hazelwood novel.
I mean, this one IS Christmas themed, so go me I guess? Much variety!
Ali babes, keep me predictable. Hold me down bodily and forcefeed me your hot nerd romances. I am willing and enthusiastically consenting.
Sapiens: A Graphic History, Volume 1 – The Birth of Humankind – Yuval Noah Harari
At the start of this year with the state of the US political shi*show, I needed to understand WTAF HOW DID WE GET HERE. So I ended up doing a bit of a deep dive into history.
This book takes the original Sapiens book and turns it into graphic novel/comic form and I fecking LOVED ITTTT SO HARD. It was so good, so fascinating, so revolutionary that it was all I could talk about for days/weeks/months. This edition covered the beginning of the human species, where we began, how we developed, how we discovered new technologies and moved into new regions.
It’s also the reason why I got soooo into talking about humans fuc*ing Neanderthals out of existence for a while there. I even brought it up in my Pilates class because WHY IS THIS NOT TALKED ABOUT MORE.
Bloody wonderful read, can’t recommend it enough. I’d say it was my favourite book of the year actually!!!
Introducing Evolutionary Psychology: A Graphic Guide
I read this around the same time as Sapiens as part of my human history deep dive, and it complemented the ideas wonderfully.
I also love these graphic guides on all kinds of topics – it breaks topics down to be incredibly accessible and readable. I feel like it also entices you to read on topics you wouldn’t ordinarily read a huge book about. For example – my husband read one on Linguistics, and it ended up being so fascinating he went on to read larger more intensive books about it.
Anyways, Evolutionary Psychology is all about the ways our brain has developed through genetics over thousands of years. It explains why, for example, nepotism can be hard wired into the brain. It specifically says it doesn’t cover the ETHICS of whether it’s a good trait or bad trait, just why it developed.
An excellent read – it helped me make sense out of a great number of things.
I Survived The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912
I haven’t met a “I Survived…” graphic novel I haven’t loved. They cover all kinds of historical events, and can feel so evocative of what it would be like to be there, experiencing it first hand. They are intended for children, and I originally bought the series for my kids to read, but I reckon they are a fantastic read for adults.
I Shall Never Fall in Love – Hari Conner
Oh this one was cute as alllll get out. Plus the combo of so many of my favourite themes – Graphic novels! Romance! Queer love!
So sweet, beautifully illustrated. I thought it was a perfect little read.
Just Getting Started – Brittney Saunders
Brittney is a former Youtuber turned fashion brand CEO here in Australia. I’ve followed her on social media for a long while, and always been so impressed at how natural and clever she is at marketing her Fayt brand. I don’t own any of her clothing because she’s a neutrals girly and I’m a maximalist rainbow unicorn, but I respect how inclusive her sizing is, and how much she’s advocated for brands to do extended sizing here in Australia.
Anyways, when I saw she’d brought a book out, I thought it would be an interesting read. And then… I immediately inhaled it whole in one day, totally rapt in her story of the ups and downs of her business. She’s honest AF about the mistakes and the lessons and the hard parts too, which I feel like is such a huge service for other souls in business.
I loved reading this book so much I immediately bought a whole pile of female founder memoirs to plow through. She was the beginning of this rabbit hole, and I loved every minute of it. I feel like it’s my new favourite genre, and I wish there was more of them out there! If you know of any more, pls let me know!!!
My Story – Jo Malone
This was such a wise journey of a book that I ended up creating and giving away my illustrated notes for it!
Jo is a British entrepreneur who came from council housing and a really difficult childhood (as well as leaving school very early and being dyslexic) to creating a global fragrance brand that was eventually bought out by Estee Lauder.
Holy smokes she has had a huge journey, and I adored how open she was about it all. From starting the business with no money to surviving breast cancer and dysfunctional family dynamics… I was in awe of her grace, fortitude and grit.
If I was going to recommend just one female founder book, I’d say this one. It’s double the length of the other books though, so if you’re in the mood for a faster read, go with Brittney’s or Samantha’s.
(Also, a reader wrote in after I shared the illustrated notes and recommended this interview with Jo, and she was right – it was a fantastic addendum to the book!)
Of Gold and Dust: A memoir of a creative life – Samantha Wills
When I asked some of my business friends for their favourite female founder memoir, quite a few of them recommended this book. Samantha is an Australian jewellery designer who started at her kitchen table and turned it into a multi million dollar global brand.
I don’t want to give too much of the plot away, but I inhaled it whole.
Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss’s Glossier – Marisa Meltzer
I have mixed feelings about this one. Firstly – I absolutely ADORE the genre, and want to do all I can to support more female founder memoirs and bios. Plus, this is the only one I found that was a biography written by someone else. There’s shit tonnes of other bios about male founders, and I couldn’t find any others about female founders. So I want to promo the shit out of this genre because MAMA WANTS MORE MORE MORE.
And. And. And. I didn’t LOVE this book. I loved the inside information about Emily Weiss and how she founded the beauty brand Glossy. I wanted to love the entirety of this book SO BAD. But I found it confusing. For whatever reason, the author didn’t seem to really like Emily Weiss. It felt like she was trying to write a hit piece about business drama and bad management… but had no real evidence of it. I honestly rolled my eyes a few times through it. Example: she would try to paint Emily as being difficult in the office, and gave the example of her asking an employee in the break room how their weekend was, and then asking how a project was going. Me: “YOU MEAN LIKE A BOSS WOULD???”
Anyways, I included it in here because I would still read the shit out of any book in this genre, and we need more female founder bios written please and thank you.
Hanging by a Thread – Erin Deering
Erin is an Australian entrepreneur who co-founded Triangl swimwear with her then-partner. From Melbourne to Hong Kong to Monaco, she rode the wave of a fast-growing fashion brand. It’s an intoxicating, fast-paced read, and Erin is SO honest about all the fuck-ups, foibles, heartbreak and mental illness that came with it.
Such a compelling read!
Big Dreams: The Road to My Million Dollar Business – Jana Kingsford
My mate Jana wrote this book. You can listen to her in this podcast episode interview I did with her.
I reckon it’s a tops read – Jana has such a unique take on manifesting. She spots the patterns people run into with fear, sabotage and doubt. And she’s alchemised it into a framework that makes sense of the whole journey of birthing a big dream into the world.
She’s got eight more books in the works, and I think she’s rewriting this one at the moment too. A total sparkler of energy and insight!
Just Don’t Be a D**khead: And Other Profound Things I’ve Learnt – Kasey Chambers
Kasey Chambers is an Australian singer-songwriter, probably best known globally for her breakthrough success song Not Pretty Enough. She’s been a mainstay of the Australian country music scene since she was a kid. I’m not a huge fan, but have always admired her work.
Tell you what though – I have even more admiration and respect for her after reading this memoir. What an incredible human who is deeply humble and generous. There’s parts in her story that I had no idea about – including just how truly wild her childhood was. An excellent read!
Matriarch: A Memoir – Tina Knowles
Oh my goodness, this was an ASTONISHING read. Tina is Beyonce’s mama… and that woman can WRITE.
This was so much more than a female founder memoir, but Tina is an incredibly successful business woman in her own right as well.
This memoir deep dives into her family history and life with such reverence. It felt like an ode and a prayer to her lineage, as well as a clarion call to the way racism wove its way into her family tree, and the ways she was determined to graft an incredible orchard for her family. Tina is an astonishing woman, mother and writer.
“To keep me grounded, (my mama) told me stories from our family history. “Now, Tenie,” she would say, lassoing my focus before launching into some tale about my grandmother, or a story from early in her marriage to my daddy.
As she talked, I picked up pecans. All the while, I did somersaults and cartwheels, or spun in place until I fell back, holding on to the earth that might throw me off. But I listened. I listened to every single word my mother told me. These people, my people— my ancestors and my parents when they were young— were characters in a long drama that I was now a part of. Their struggles were not mine, but their lessons could be. This was my inheritance, these stories that people had done their best to erase or degrade to keep us from passing them down. So that we wouldn’t know our history and ourselves.
Just like she did in her work as a seamstress, my mother could take the stories of lives that might have been discarded or lost, some precious scrap of information, and weave it into the tapestry of her storytelling as something precious and unique. Sometimes all we had were names, but even names held multitudes, and mother to daughter, each had kept a word going. We would not be lost.”
And of course, last of all…
2026 My Brilliant Year Life & Biz goals workbooks!
I first created these goal workbooks for myself in 2009, and am ASTONISHED that they ended up becoming an enormous cult hit – used by over HALF A MILLION people worldwide to plan out incredible lives and businesses for themselves. It fills my heart with so much joy and gladness.
Even if nobody ever else used them, they’d still be my favourite… they are still such an important ritual for me to do each year!
Happy reading, my darlinghearts!
I hope this brings so much booky inspiration to you… I’m excited for another beautiful year of reading ahead… all the wonderful things I’ll discover along the way, and all the joy I’ll receive from it.
Aren’t books one of the most miraculous inventions?
Big big love to you all, my bookish friends,
