What I read in 2025 (and my favourites)
Favourite reads of the year Although I completely ran out of reading energy towards the end of the year and switched to serial podcast consumption, I still managed to get through over 200 books in 2026. Here (excluding rereads, of which there were a fair few) are my favourites, followed by the whole list. Fiction An Echo of Children by Ramsey Campbell -- a hugely readable thriller with all of its author's elegant prose and subtle, suggestive, slowburn menace. Caledonian Road by Andrew O'Hagan -- although it reads at times like someone desperately trying to be Martin Amis circa The Information , this novel depicts the contemporary scene with knowing omniscience and never ceases to be entertaining. The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict -- an absolutely fascinating roman a clef account of the life and dual career of Hollywood icon Hedy Lamarr. She might be responsible for your mobile phone, you know ... Americanah by Chimimanda Ngozi Adiche -- a ty...