my reading goals for 2025

[@NicholasOfAutrecourt]

Glad to see someone else being open about not racking up a three-digit book total at the end of the year. I'll be hovering around 25 books at the end of the year, which is about 25 more than the average person reads - and I'm totally okay with that. Three cheers for reading slowly and soaking it all up as we go along!

[@CallosumBooks]

absolutely! though i do wish i could read faster than i do 😅 more because i would have a chance to get to all the books i want to faster. but i do enjoy getting lost in the weeds with the books

[@CandySoulAndSoil]

This was so wonderful to find a channel with a 20 book goal. I loved it and I hope you love your reading to come. It warms my heart you are wanting to read your dad’s favourite book to talk to him about. I have a reading buddy relationship with my middle daughter and it’s an absolute joy. Great to find you and to join in with this community. ❤

[@CallosumBooks]

that's so great that you have a reading group with your daughter! i find what my dad says about what we read to always surprise me with how much depth he can pull from a text, and i'm sure your daughter feels the same way. i'm also the middle son, so it's a cool parallel with your situation. thanks for commenting and watching ☺

[@pilot-kfp5599]

Your videos are being a good motivation in my journey to regain my reading habit, thank you for that. 2025 will me a great year of reading

[@CallosumBooks]

that makes me happy ☺ i hope 2025 is fulfilling!

[@TriumphalReads]

Hey Matt, enjoyed the vid and the goals that you have set for yourself. ( I'm have to do my goals vid soon haha). I can totally relate with what you were saying about nonfiction and fiction and how you kind of steered towards fiction since you are a professional scientist and deal with it everyday but also don't want to miss out. I think this year I came to the same but reversed conclusion. With being a social worker you deal with societal problems and personal horrors and all that and I was always like I don't need to read about this stuff and the human condition (for lack of a better phrase lol) because you see it everyday. But then I though maybe I'm missing out and started slowly reading fiction this year after reading almost all nonfiction. Anyways, just a long-winded way of saying that made total sense haha. Great vid again!

[@CallosumBooks]

that's so interesting... it has been really fun as a viewer to see you jump back into fiction, and i'm glad you're finding it somewhat fulfilling! i have been watching your videos for ideas on which nonfiction to get back into haha. i do think a break from nonfiction was really good for me, though, and i hope you've been feeling the same way about your break from fiction. especially since i think social work is much more taxing in a different way from science. thanks so much for your comment and for your support during this first year of booktube!

[@xMo29]

@@CallosumBooks Maybe biographies could be your narrative-style gateway into non-fiction? It seems like the usual entry point for most people. Interested to see what you do on the non-fiction end.

[@Hyperboreasy]

Great (and ambitious) list! Moby Dick and Crime and Punishment are two of the most perfect novels I've read, possibly the pinnacle of their respective American/Russian literary universes. Good luck for 2025 and looking forward to the new video!

[@CallosumBooks]

thank you☺

[@xMo29]

"I fuck with whales" LOL

[@pdolesq]

Best of luck on your reading journey! Your channel has been a blessing to me this year. Really love that I feel that I've made a great friend watching you. Keep it up! P.S. I'm a bit of a stickler when it comes to best translations of Russian lit. For C&P, I might suggest the Michael Katz or Oliver Ready translation over P&V. Between those two, I'd choose Katz. I found that the Ready translation was a bit too clunky, but Katz is superb and a legend in the field.

[@CarolAttrux]

Merry Christmas to you, Matt. I hope you have a great reading year in 2025! Safe travels and enjoy your family! I have enjoyed following your reading journey! 📚😀

[@leedsdevil]

You're a better man than I -- I can't even imagine trying to tackle Gravity's Rainbow. For what it's worth, I have read Moby Dick and also loved it. Just be ready for the chapter on cetacean biology! I have Crime and Punishment in my library to read. I read The Brothers Karamazov, years ago and I loved it, so will tackle Crime and Punishment as well this coming year. I really appreciate the thoughtful, well-considered discussions of the books you read/are planning to read. Happy holidays to you as well, safe travels, and thanks for the great content.

[@ladylovesteadreads]

Good luck with your goals!

[@Sarah_Jean86]

When you say "most ambitious reading year", you have me intrigued! Also, remember that quality over quantity can be most rewarding. 20 books may seem like a little bit, but the books that you do pick up should deserve more quality TIME rather than feeling rushed. I'd rather study a particular text I am drawn to, savor it, analyze it (although it is ok NOT to do this to every book), and be lasting in my mind than to read for the sake of reaching a book number goal.

[@CallosumBooks]

this is definitely how i feel! i do know people, however, who can read very deeply and incredibly quickly. it may just be a matter of practice haha. but yes, the number goal is just a loose goal, i just want a nice fulfilling year of deep reading. thanks so much for your comment ☺

[@tjfmd]

One of my goals this past year that I want to continue into next year was to read more non-fiction too. In 2023 I only read one non-fiction book but in 2024 I've read 7. Some people might not think that's a very big improvement but I'm proud of myself and plan to continue trying to read more non-fiction in 2025. Another goal that I have that you helped inspire is that I want to get over my Big Book Fear and read some longer books. The one I'm most excited for is The Luminaries (which is 832 pages eek) by Eleanor Catton, I read Birnam Wood by her this year and absolutely loved it so I definitely want to read more from her. I also might try reading The Divine Comedy by Dante, I have a gorgeous edition that starts each canto with an explanation of what happens in that canto as well as footnotes so that you don't have to try and decipher it all on your own and can instead focus on the beauty of the prose. I know I already said this on your community post but I'll say it again here, I hope you have a great time over the holidays and I wish you safe and stress free travels!

[@CallosumBooks]

i think big books end up being the most fulfilling haha. the longest books i read this year ended up in my top 3, so i'm so glad you were able to start reading longer books! i've also read the inferno, never got around to purgatorio or paradiso... though i have been wanting to reread dante. the inferno is incredible, and even tho it is difficult i found it very readable! i hope you give it a shot thanks so much for your continued support ☺ and happy holidays!

[@stevies-readies]

Jazz!!!! I read it a fourth time this year. Never gets old, and for the first time, I cried at the ending. Amazing how life changes how you read Hoping to get into Faulkner, I got a copy of "as i lay dying" from a banned books giveaway

[@bourneleader96]

Funny to hear you mention Moby Dick! I hated it when I read it in high school, but the other day I suddenly had the overwhelming urge to pick it up again. It’s such a bizarre and delightful book, and I think I will appreciate it so much more now that I’m older. I’ll take this as a sign to reread it this year as well.

[@ann-marieodonnell6102]

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and thanks for the videos this year. It has been fun to follow along. I had hoped to finish Infinite Jest by end of year but with about 150 pages left, I am not sure. Look forward to seeing more videos next year and maybe your cousin might even make an appearance. Wishing you well, from Ireland.

[@gmcenroe]

It looks like you have a good list of books to read in 2025. I just found your channel because I watch other book reviewers on youtube. I am a retired chemist (2018) and have had time to read a great deal now. I like science fiction and just spent the last 6 weeks reading Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars and then because I like them so much I reread Red and Green Mars, my favorite of the series. Now I have gone back to finish The Dying Grass by William Vollmann. I stopped reading it at about page 750 because I needed a break from it. Now I'm determined to finish it in the next week. After that I want to read the Iliad, and Gravity's Rainbow is also on my list. I'll keep watching your channel. I agree that the number of books is not as important as reading what you enjoy. Thanks!

[@TimHill-r5w]

really enjoy your videos. I too am a slow reader but I figure I get to enjoy a book longer. I think you should read The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff with illustrations by E>H> Shepard. It is a good introduction to Taoism by my old childhood friend Winnie the Pooh. I smiled all the way through it.

[@CallosumBooks]

thanks so much ☺hahahaha that sounds fun - i'll look it up

[@ericgeneric135]

I'm on a similar journey to read more Russian literature. I started reading The Brothers Karamazov last week and I'm loving it so far. Next year, I want to tackle War and Peace. Happy holidays!

[@kadileblanc5228]

Hi, To start with a philosophical book, I recommend Jostein Gaarder's, Sophie's World. It's not non-fiction, but an introductory novel to philosophy. Crime and Punishment is also on my 2025 list.

[@Sarah_Jean86]

Yes, I am currently reading Sophie's World and it's a delightful ride and a great primer into the great philosophers and philosophical thoughts from the ancients to the 20th century. Makes me want to delve deeper into philosophy for sure!

[@Jodi9810]

Regarding reading more nonfiction - I'm no expert on this, but an approach I've seen that intrigues me is pairing a relevant nonfiction with a novel. Like maybe a biological study of whales or nonfiction about ships with Moby Dick, or a Russian history book with The Brothers Karamazov, etc. I stalled out around pg 200 of Infinite Jest a couple months ago but hope to get back into working through it in early 2025. I also want to read Brothers Karamazov in '25 - I started that many years ago and was liking it a lot, but lost steam and never got back to it. I hope you have happy holidays, and a great reading year ahead!

[@CallosumBooks]

i'll take a look!

[@socalwill9876]

- Not a fan of quantity reading goals, but if you just want to get more books in, doing manual labor with your hands while listening to an audiobook can more than double your count. Audible while doing household chores works miracles. - The key to reading nonfic is to go with topics that grip you the same way a good horror book does; Isabel Wilkerson's _Caste_ was the hit of the year diving into history, fascism, racism, etc like an Orwell novel, yet it's all true.. - Picture yourself as a 19th century farmhand who has never seen the ocean when reading Moby Dick, that's technically how it was intended to be read. - Pynchon is significantly more difficult than DFW; his writing style is like visually scanning a tree from the top down in that there are millions of branches that go nowhere but very slowly converge to a single trunk much later. - Hope you're enjoying the snow! Merry Christmas! 🎄👍

[@JKC1138]

"Grinching" for a book is so fucking funny. I want to get to Gravity's Rainbow next year as well. I feel like I've read the first handful of pages so many times before getting intimidated and retreating to calmer waters. Anyway, it's been a blast following your reading journey this year and I'm excited for the next. Merry Christmas, dude!

[@CallosumBooks]

thanks so much man - i always end up looking forward to your comments, and i always appreciate your insight! when i start with GR i'll definitely let you guys know, if you were interested in reading it at the same time haha. edit: and Merry Christmas to you as well!

[@jordonvh91]

Erik Larson books are a very story telling heavy nonfiction that you might enjoy without it feeling like more academic work. Also recently finished Steve Brusatte's The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, picked that one up for my inner 8 year old and thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@CallosumBooks]

hahaha my inner 8 year old definitely still has some unanswered questions about dinosaurs

[@RachelB.BookReferences]

I was going to try to read Moby Dick this year... I started it like 3 times, lol, but I went back to school and realized I just couldn't fit a long book in. Maybe next year. For nonfiction, I recommend memoirs, as they tend to read like fiction. I haven't read much philosophy, but I definithink there's something about getting older that makes it more appealing. The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis is pretty good.

[@ralphjenkins1507]

You rock! ❤🎉

[@dellh86]

I also have acquired the P&V translation of Crime and Punishment for reading in 2025. It will be my second big Russian classic. I read Anna Karennina with the same translators earlier this year. and it was great. Also, I am currently reading Gravity's Rainbow, and plan on reading my first Faulkner work late in 2025. Our TBRs are quite similar lol. As for philosophy, Russel's History of Philosophy will very much be His take on philosophy. There is no real issue with that if you know that it is a series of opinions, rather than facts. I am a bit of a primary source purist. I recommend starting wth either Plato or Descartes. For Plato, the 5 Trial and Death of Socrates Dialogues are a great place to start. The Republic from Plato is also a nice starting point, and that is where I started. With Descartes. I suggest his First Meditations of Philosophy. It really depends on what you are interested in for choosing a starting point. Plato is mostly ethics while Descartes is more meatphysics(how reality works) and epistemology(how logic and knowledge work). I personally find Descartes more accessible to a modern reader, since his concerns are more simliar to our own.

[@CallosumBooks]

i have heard this comment about the History of Western Philosophy before! i suppose i was just looking for a nice primer to get my bearings on the overview of philosophy, and starting where was most interesting to me. though i just had a great conversation yesterday with someone who is SUPER well read and well versed in philosophy, and he suggested that the real joy in philosophy is often found when you are well versed enough in enough background that you can start to understand all of the philosopher's responses to each other, when it starts to get real convoluted. so maybe i will start with plato! thanks so much for your comment and insight ☺

[@emilylee5353]

Hands down 20 well enjoyed books that you get a lot of value from is better than 85 books read just to be able to say you read so many. I suggest Jared Hendersons channel. He talks a lot about philosophical books including fiction ones and books by authors you've mentioned you have enjoyed. Enjoy your break.

[@NicholasOfAutrecourt]

Also, in case you want some of that nonfiction reading to be history, make sure to check out the HIstorathon2025 or Historathon hashtags here on KZbin, or just tap me on the shoulder and I can tell you where to go to learn all about it. We read history all year long and if you've ever been curious about reading more of it, I think it would be right up your alley.

[@CallosumBooks]

i've been seeing the hashtags all over booktube! i'll reach out once i feel i have an idea of what entices me

[@JessBookgirlTV]

Would you consider trying to get your cousin to film a video with you for your channel to get his or her opinions on books? Happy Holidays!

[@julian.rubens]

I’m curious… Anyone here has read “The Glass Castle”? It’s a biographical novel, definitely a page turner for me, I wanna hear opinions 😅❤

[@CallosumBooks]

i have not! but i'm sure someone around here has

[@julian.rubens]

@ I totally recommend it! It’s an emotional roller coaster and it makes you feel familiar and related, even though the stories told are extremely crazy at times. I was mind blown 🤯

[@suzannebousquet2710]

Loved it!

[@JosephFrancisBurton]

I read Glass Castle about 10 years ago. I did not care for it - highly fictional memoir if you ask me.

[@PrasadPublishing]

In my top 5 for 2025 is INFREQUENT FREQUENCIES RARE RESONANCE by G.E. Poole. Mind-bending, award-winning, unconventional lens on everything. Fusing science and consciousness, at the same time providing practical tools for negotiating the turbulent times. From Greenhill Publishing in Australia.

[@ralphjenkins1507]

Bertrand Russell is awesome ❤🎉🎉

[@Unpotted]

Lempriere’s Dictionary, by Lawrence Norfolk Foucault’s Pendulum, by Umberto Eco Flaubert’s Parrot, by Julian Barnes 😺✌️

[@josec8814]

How many times does he say Infinite Jest in this video 🤔

[@Daniel_Barros85]

Matt, dear? Are you really going to put Clarisse Listepctor on your list for 2025?

[@jamesbaird1342]

I don't exactly know what you do. My carreer is psycology. I read Carl Jung. I hate him because he has written more books than I have read. But really His father was a Christian minister and he brings that into his writting but I would not box him into that.

[@heathereads]

Agree with @NicholasOfAutrecourt - slow reading rocks