What to Read in 2025

What to Read in 2025

"What are you reading?" 📚

In our company Slack channel, across the table while coworking, and amongst friends, this is one of the most-common questions overhead at Team Cultivate. And with good reason! Chatting about books and swapping recommendations with fellow bibliophiles is one of the great joys of the reading life. 

It's also practical. Our time to read is precious, and we want to spend it well! And finding books you love, as opposed to ones you merely like, is the best trick I know for reading more: when you can't wait to find out what happens next, you'll somehow always find time to read.

As you think about all you hope to learn and grow and do this year in your PowerSheets, we hope we can deliver some of those clear-the-schedule picks with today's blog post! A few members of Team Cultivate are sharing three of their favorite books from 2024, three books they're looking forward to in 2025, and three all-time favorite books for specific Cultivated Life Evaluation categories. 

Grab your Cultivated Reading Journal or fire up your Good Reads account and get ready to add an armful of books to your To-Be-Read List

Cultivated Reading Journal open to a journaling page

Alli:

Three books I loved in 2024:

  • The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon | I have learned that historical fiction is an unexpected top genre for me over the last few years, mix that with a main character that is a midwife, and I knew this would be a home run for me, and it absolutely was! My favorite book of 2024.
  • Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murders by Jesse Q. Sutanto | A fun mystery story with unlikely characters who become more like family. I would highly recommend the audio version!
  • The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom | Another historical fiction that has been on my TBR for a while and didn't disappoint.

Three books I'm reading in 2025:

  • The Women by Kristin Hannah | I've actually already finished this one! There's a reason you've been hearing people talk about this book everywhere. Another great historical fiction that left me constantly thinking about the characters.
  • Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten | I love listening to memoirs, and I grew up watching Ina on TV. I can't wait for this one to come off my library holds list!
  • The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt | This comes highly recommended from many, including our own Emily Thomas. I'm excited to finally dive in!

Three CLE picks you might love:

  • Garden City by John Mark Comer (Work & Learning and Spiritual & Personal Growth) | A very interesting view on work and how we spend our time.
  • House Rules by Myquillyn Smith (Home & Spaces) | This one's full of great tips and tricks but also a beautiful coffee-table style book.
  • Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley (Family) | A book packed full of both why and how–I took away so many practical tips and tools that have impacted the way we do things in our house.

Emily:

Three books I loved in 2024:

  • The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon |  This one first caught my eye on a list of books featuring happy marriages (too rare!) and then was enthusiastically recommended (and a copy pressed into my hands) by a dear friend. Both recommendations were spot on – this gripping historical mystery was my top fiction pick last year! I was hooked by the narrator (a midwife in 18th century Maine) a few pages into chapter one and she never let me go. A note that the plot centers around sexual assault ❤️
  • The Outlaw Noble Salt by Amy Harmon |  A sweepingly romantic tale that explores an alternative ending for America’s most famous outlaw – a happy one, to boot. I found it fascinating how the author turned the idea of an outlaw inside out, making him the most steady and trustworthy character in the book. You’ll fall a little bit in love with him and be glad you did. I'm still thinking about this one months later!
  • When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi | It took me a decade to read this book, but I'm so glad I circled back around  — it is a stunning, moving, exquisitely-observed memoir of life and death. (And Paul, the author, himself – wow! Hard to imagine a more impressive person.)

Three books I'm reading in 2025:

  • Gilead by Marilynne Robinson | This Pulitzer Prize winner has come recommended from many different sources over the years, and not always ones that I'd guess would appreciate a book about a pastor in the 1950's.
  • Little Women by Louisa May Alcott | I hope to patch a major hole in my classics canon with this pick! And then I'll watch multiple versions of the screenplay :)
  • Happier Hour by Cassie Holmes | With a tagline of "how to beat distraction, expand your time, and focus on what matters most," this one seems made for Cultivators, no?! I'll report back!

Three CLE picks you might love:

  • The Self-Driven Child by William Stixrud and Ned Johnson (Family) | Don't be scared off by the title! This is a wonderfully practical book (takeaways and action steps are summarized at the end of every chapter) that helps parents to cultivate resilience and independence in their kids (and thereby help them ward off anxiety and depression). I first read it in 2021 and am planning to re-read it this year!
  • The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel (Finances) | This will be required reading in our home before our kids leave the nest! In short and engaging chapters, the author drives home timeless financial principles that can help anyone make better decisions about money.
  • Being Mortal by Atul Gawande (Health + Wellness) | I have a handful of books that I evangelize about to anyone and everyone, and this one is absolutely included. Split into two parts — terminal illness and deaths of old age — this book, written by a surgeon, tackles how we can live well until the end. And it is not as depressing as it sounds :)

Jessica:

Three books I loved in 2024:

  • The Women by Kristin Hannah | Thanks to Kristin Hannah, historical fiction has become a new favorite genre for me. "The Women" was a book that once I picked up I couldn't put down!
  • Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler | Written by one of the original detective writers, my youngest brother gave me this book. Written masterfully, it me on the edge my seat the whole time.
  • That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis | Though more familiar with his nonfiction, I'd long heard his science fiction novels were fabulous. This was the final book in the series, and there are parts of his writing that have echoed with me each day since finishing it!

Three books I'm reading in 2025:

  • The Wager by David Grann | My brother-in-law gave this to me for Christmas and said this tale of shipwreck, mutiny, and murder was one of his favorite reads last year!
  • Walking on Water by Madeline L'Engle | This book has been on my TBR for years and I've decided that this is the year I'll finally read it! I'm trying to stretch my writing muscles a bit more in 2025 and looking forward to the inspiration that comes from this read.
  • Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell | My daughter got this for Christmas and was told it was one of the top books for young readers. I try to mix in at least three young reader books with my lists each year. Who doesn't love to get swept up in stories of dragons and kids who save the day?

Three CLE picks you might love:

  • Impact Players by Liz Wiseman (Work & Learning) | Hands down one of my favorite books for growth and development at work.
  • Union with Christ by Rankin Wilbourne (Spiritual & Personal Growth) | This book arrested me and beautifully illuminates what it means to have a relationship with Jesus.
  • Atomic Habits by James Clear (Spiritual & Personal Growth) | A favorite in the Cultivate community for good reason. This habit-building classic echoes so much of our teaching!

Lauren:

Three books I loved in 2024:

  • A Fine Sight to See by Sophie Hudson | Christian leadership insights for women based on the story of Moses (with lots of humor and real talk built in)
  • How Teens Win by Jon Acuff | I wanted to snag the highlights for my own teens through this students' guide to accomplishing big goals. Great tips on spotting wins, types of goals, and encouragement to “find a goal that you love so much that Netflix becomes boring.” Currently trying to (naturally) drop key sentences into conversations with my boys!
  • Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt | I truly enjoyed this heartwarming story from the perspective of an octopus! (Yep, I was a little skeptical, but quickly grew fond of the quirky and brilliant character.)

Three books I'm reading in 2025:

  • The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown | I bought this for “my kids” but it's currently is sitting on my own nightstand! I read the first two to my kids when they were younger and watching the recently-released movie renewed my interest in the series.
  • The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center | My favorite author (who is local to HTX!); her books are always great for an enjoyable, make you laugh out loud read.
  • The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede | Several diverted planes on 9/11 ended up in this small, quaint town in Newfoundland. Came highly recommended in a book group I follow so I’m excited to dive in.

Three CLE picks you might love:

  • Trust & Inspire by Steven M. R. Covey (Work & Learning) | This book has helped me to see, communicate, develop, and unleash greatness in others.
  • Strong Like Water by Aundi Kolber (Spiritual & Personal Growth) | This book helps me to develop emotional strength through God’s love to flourish, even through hard things.
  • Any book by Joanna Gaines (Home & Spaces) | I'm sorry, I couldn't narrow it down! Her books have always inspired me to work toward a usable, beautiful, and family-centric home.

Your turn! What's on your reading list for 2025?

1 comment

I think you may have hit publish too soon as apart from Emily the other suggestions are random letters

Joanna

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Emily Thomas

Emily Thomas

Emily Thomas

Emily Thomas is Cultivate What Matters' Content Strategist and Writer. With over a decade at Cultivate, Emily loves helping women uncover what matters, set good goals, and live them out with joy. Her free time is spent with her high-school-sweetheart husband and three young kiddos.

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