My Reading Goals for 2025

[@jomcbro]

Congradulations on 5,000 subscribers! Your style of video is so unique to BookTube, and the whole of KZbin itself!

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@jomcbro thank you!! I’m in awe! Love this little book community we have together :)

[@IvanGriboedkovich]

you've definitely became my favourite book channel on this platform that I've found last year. soon to be my favourite book channel at all! Great and very comforting content, thanks man!

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@IvanGriboedkovichI’m genuinely lost for words. All I can do is smile and shake my head. Thank you thank you.

[@LeonC0704]

Red Rising. Easy one. It has a lot of themes that make you reflect on a lot of topics.

[@FinnMichael-s2b]

My goal is to find a sweet spot between holding myself accountable and reading how I feel when I feel. lately it's felt like I would read so much and hate reading, or not reading at all and feel sad that I didn't get to experience a story that day. I think there's a very fine line that I need to find and my goal is going to be the journey of finding it.

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@FinnMichael-s2b exactly! A wise man told me once: “what someone doesn’t want of their own volition, isn’t worth having” I want to read when I want to read. And I want to read WHAT I want. Anything that is forced will just feel like a chore. What books do you have in mind for this year?

[@pxcci3566]

My goal is to try and to read more, but stay at my own pace. I mostly mean giving more of my free time to reading, and I also want to start reading some classics as well. I'll be starting my classics journey with Crime and Punishment.

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@pxcci3566 that’s awesome. I’ve been doing the same. Whenever I have free time it’s given to reading.

[@thatprofyapper]

You can try the Red Rising trilogy, considering you told you wanna dive into sci-fi for the first time

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@thatprofyapper I’ve heard a lot about that series!

[@MoviesNStuff]

Just stumbled across this video, and instantly subscribed! Great stuff. I finished WoT early July 2024, and it is WELL worth it. I'm looking forward to your review on the book!

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@MoviesNStuff whoa what!? Thank you!! It’s a bittersweet feeling right now. Making a video on how I feel actually. And I will be doing 3 video reviews for the last three books!

[@patrickwalsh948]

Hitchhikers guide is a good one.short and sweet

[@nickbreaux2635]

I can’t recommend Lonesome Dove enough. It’s awesome.

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@nickbreaux2635 yes! It’s on my list possibly this year but definitely during my lifetime

[@unpretentious_book_talk]

+1 for Lonesome Dove - it’s an all-time favorite ❤️

[@nickbreaux2635]

@@Thomas.R.Howell that’s awesome! Would love a review on it!

[@shirpov]

Lovely video as always! I have two goals this year: continue the loving of reading & reading the books that I want to read. And not what is popular or what other people want me to read. The last one Will be interesting because I struggled with this a lot, I think because I wanted to fit in. But it’s okay not to follow the crowd. Looking forward to that adventure. The first book I am reading right now is part of that adventure. It is something I really wanted to read and not something other people will read, but I enjoy it so much!

[@DimitrisRebelYell]

Have I written about how soothing it is that all your Wheel of Time volumes are matching? Mine are too! And this is my reading goal for 2025: to re-red the first two and continue at least up to Book 7. After this? IT is my favorite book! It's a whole world. Maybe the Malazan books? I've read wonders about them. Thanks for introducing me to the Beartown Trilogy, never heard of it before! It goes straight on my to-buy list.

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@DimitrisRebelYell wheel of turn is so soothing! Yes! Heard about the beartown trilogy just feels like something relatable and a slice of life type feel. Plus it’s a different author and a different genre.

[@mjofthelake2649]

Now that I'm this early to a video, I'd like to take the time to thank you. Your videos are a delight to watch, to slow down and view reading from a different perspective. I'm an English Literature student, so I'm often reading very good books, but also need to rush through them. Add some dyslexia to the mix and you create a very stressful time whilst reading. I want to follow your example and (when I have time) commit to a longer series, just to be with those characters for longer and in more depth. I'm currently considering starting Game of Thrones during the summer, when I have a few months without having to read for university. Again, thank you for your videos. Please keep sharing your thoughts, I greatly enjoy listening to them :)

[@BarryPLAYz]

I love the change up on the video format. My goal is no more than 4 books a month. Audio books are another story, I can’t listen to them at normal speed and I always have audiobook going in the car. The issue I have is that I want to read so many different titles. I know more books will come out and there thousands of titles available already. I just want to read them all.

[@Chloe__Andrew05]

I bet you feel so accomplished getting to the end of WOT. I have a 7 week old baby and my reading goals have shifted a lot this year due to this. I normally aim to read a certain number of books but this year my goals are to read the Legendborn series, finish Harry Potter and read the Narina collection. I wish you the best of luck with your reading this year!

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@Chloe__Andrew05 very accomplished but very sad. Those sound like a wonderful and relaxing time in the midst of raising a child!

[@sirbenticles8952]

I'm also trying to step outside my comfort zone this year. I'm trying philosophy for the first time and I figure one work a month is a good pace for me. I hope the deadline at the end of the month will keep me on track while also giving me plenty of time to experience the work. As for fantasy (which is what I usually read) I don't have any goals or deadlines other than to read what I'm feeling called to.

[@unpretentious_book_talk]

Literally *every* book mentioned in this video is either something I’ve read and enjoyed, or something on my TBR 😁

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@unpretentious_book_talk what?? That’s amazing haha

[@joshuagillam9486]

Lots of good points. Biggest plan this year is to read the Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio. Other than that, a few specifically chosen fantasy Books. Going to do my best to read more fiction as to not grow overly tired of fantasy. I would highly recommend the Beartown trilogy. Backman is slowly becoming one of my “first day” reads. I would love to hear your thoughts on his 2016 novella “And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer.” Only 97 pages. You won’t regret it!

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@joshuagillam9486 whoa if I wasn’t on the back end of a massive series I’d have already been 6 books deep into Sun Eater. I bought the first book the other day. Eager to try it but I’ll wait! I’m excited for beartown. It sounds like such a cozy and relatable read. So many human stories and lives surrounding one town. One event. What’s the elevator pitch for this novela??

[@Ragnar-uc7fy]

When you're ready to pick up a series after WoT you should check out the sci-fi series Red Rising. The seventh book releases late 2025 or early 2026 and is currently my favorite fiction book series at the moment.

[@firstlinelibrary]

I loved A Wizard of Earthsea. It has some really great character development.

[@mardenzelaya]

I know we talk books here, but I have to say that this video gave me big ASMR vibes for some reason. I thought you were gonna start book tapping! 😴 anyways, good message. Let’s read with intention!

[@BookswithSam1]

Been wanting to take my time and slow down with what I read. This is my sign to do just that! I am looking to read some longer works this year and I think slowing down fuinnily enough will make sure I am able to take it all in. Great video!

[@Bryan-qz4np]

Robin Hobb, The Last Unicorn, The Earthsea cycle...these are all fantastic choices, and I low-key envy you that you might read these for the first time this year. If you're interested in checking out some of the works which were big influences on the Wheel Of Time, the 2 obvious ones are Lord Of The Rings and Dune. The Eye Of The World in particular was very Tolkien-esque, and once you read Dune you can see exactly where Jordan got the idea of the Aiel.

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@Bryan-qz4np last unicorn is absolutely happening right after wheel of time. Been dying to read it for awhile now

[@Bryan-qz4np]

@Thomas.R.Howell it's a little slow-moving, but I found it very impactful, and the prose is simply gorgeous. The animated movie is also worth a watch, but you should read the book first, IMO.

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@ been craving those poetic prose I don’t mind a slow moving book. Everything will feel fast paced after reading wheel of time haha

[@glauer42]

I finished Name of the Wind on Wednesday. It was good! Have you not read Wise Man's Fear yet? There are so many books out there which have style, poetry, and imagery that are similar (and perhaps not so similar too!) to Rothfuss. For me, some of them are by Frank Herbert, John Irving, John Steinbeck, JRR Tolkien, William Golding, F Scott Fitzgerald, Ken Kesey, Daphne Du Maurier, Richard Adams, William Gibson...and that's just a sampler! I wish you a successful journey as you discover authors whose works speak to you!

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@glauer42 yes I have read wise man’s fear! Loved it! Thank you for these recs! I’m soooo excited to step outside of fantasy and read some classics and just other authors in general. Have you read anything of Cormac McCarthy? I might try him out this year

[@glauer42]

@ I've seen No Country For Old Men (it was great) but not read the book. And I think one of my friends read The Road, but I have not. It's absurd how I feel I've read so much, yet there is so much left to read...

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@ right!??

[@jayanisankalpana4188]

Hi,love from sri lanka.you have very unique style.keep up the good work

[@anth636]

I’ve been reading a lot this month. My cousin got me the whole HTTYD saga to read, and I have two Luke McCain books to read with another one coming out soon. I set up my bookshelves to have my A books on top and B books on the bottom. I plan for every two HTTYD books I read, I ten read one Narnia book, because I’ve also been needing to read the series. I’m excited.

[@pf66666]

there's always the dark tower, wink wink

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

YES! I am scared to delve into another series but I know I will eventually.

[@pxcci3566]

​@Thomas.R.Howell Try to read the extended reading order if you do. I'm reading it like that, and it makes the series 10x more satisfying.

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@ I might have to do that!

[@yonigatcheva1952]

I want to spend more time reading intentionally than doomscrolling. I miss my childhood love for books. Trying to find it again, but sometimes I feel like it’s more than obligation than a pleasure. So just trying to find my pleasure time again in 2025

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@yonigatcheva1952 what books are you into??

[@yonigatcheva1952]

@ fantasy mostly. It’s my comfort place

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@ fantasy really is comforting. Teleports us to different worlds. What are some of your favorite fantasy books?

[@yonigatcheva1952]

@@Thomas.R.Howell recently I’ve fallen into the sanderson vortex. Haven’t gotten much from high fantasy before, so some of his books have really gotten me. Really loved Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare painter

[@rubenhero436]

Journey before destination it's an essential quote from The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson, but I guess you don't want to start another long journey just after finishing The Wheel of Time 😂 It happens to me but the other way around, I have read everything from Thr Stormlight Archive and the Cosmere and even though I would like to read WoT, eventually, its another big commitment that I dont want to make yet

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@rubenhero436 I keep hearing that! Sadly I don’t think I will do a series anytime soon especially those thick Stormlight books 😂 WoT is a commitment but we’ll worth it.

[@rubenhero436]

@Thomas.R.Howell Yeah, explore other things, you will now when is time to get into a big series again. Loving the channel, keep It up!

[@patrickwalsh948]

I have just started the stand by s king

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@patrickwalsh948 whoa how is it??

[@Twiceborn_by_grace]

I just started The Operator by Robert O’Neill. It’s an autobiography on the guy who supposedly took the shot on bin Laden.

[@oscargnarslow]

Hi Thomas, loved the vid bro. Have you thought about trying out Finnegans Wake?

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@oscargnarslow oh man what’s that about??

[@Dragonmoon1598]

Agreed, I have a vast number of books to read. Fantasy, romance, horror, mystery, sci-fi, non-fiction. I shift from one to another. Some YA even. Just because it's an easier read doesn't mean it's not an enjoyable book. Endless worlds, characters, and possibilities.😁

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

Love that perspective. I am so excited to read other genres this year. I forgot to mention Cormac McCarthy as another author I want to try this year.

[@mnamethonk]

Time to start reading the Horus Heresy from Warhammer 40K, a solid 65books! Or any Warhammer book.

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

nooooo hahaha or disc world. Isn't that like 40+ books?

[@unpretentious_book_talk]

I bought Horus Rising several years ago and still haven’t gotten around to reading it.

[@mnamethonk]

@ I completed it a a few months ago. Would definitely recommend.

[@nataliemoon1512]

The most inspiring book is LEAD me where the light is ours ~ by N.Galilea. It is 5 stars Best book this year hands down! You would love it !

[@Thomas.R.Howell]

@@nataliemoon1512 give me a single sentence elevator pitch!