As the 2026 New Year’s Concert from Vienna (under the vibrant Canadian (!) conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin) finishes, it’s time for last year’s book report! As you probably expected, the Polar Bear Dip is done and dusted by now!!
This concludes the 9th year that I reached my goal of reading at least 26 books per year! On a tangent: I also had a goal of climbing at least 50,000m in 2025 (run, hike, ski, all), which I changed to 60,000m in the last few months. I also made that goal! 👍🏻
I’m not sure what made the difference but in 2025 I read more books than any year before (even without long hikes)! 38 books read, and many incredible stories followed! To clarify, I only read in bed before I go to sleep, and sometimes for a little while on winter mornings when I wake up early and it’s still too dark to get outside. All of these books were borrowed for Kindle from the library except for one (borrowed from a friend and then returned).
Below I have included part of my 2025 book list, in descending (personal) rating order. Of course it isn’t easy to do each book justice; many got a 4 star rating from me and they are all great books, just maybe not as captivating or relatable to me personally as others I rated higher.
Let me talk through a few examples and recommendations:
The three books I gave 5 stars to were very different but so very good. “Middlesex” is a fascinating story that touches on genetics, immigrant dreams, and just everyday humanity. Hosseini’s “A Thousand Splendid Suns” was just as good as his “Kite Runner”, and allows the reader to learn more about the history of Afghanistan. Kevin Fedarko’s book about the Grand Canyon blew me away: I had no real connection to the Grand Canyon before but it’s hard not to fall in love with it while reading this book. Incredible research and storytelling.
Many others were somewhere below the great ones … “James” came highly recommended from multiple friends, and it’s a good book. It just didn’t grab me as much as others (it’s a “Huckleberry Finn” story). “Burn” stays with you for a long time after you finish it, and I still think about it (read it and you’ll know why!). “The colony of unrequited dreams” was an enjoyable re-read from years ago, when I visited Newfoundland.
I have my favourite authors, such as B. Kingsolver and A. Verghese – I could read “The Poisonwood Bible” and “Cutting for Stone” multiple times – but I do try to vary my selection of authors. I’m a fan of Haruki Murakami as well and am coming back to his books after purposefully “avoiding” him for a while 😁
As you can see, the topics vary from non-fiction on adventure travel (“Cycling home from Siberia”), mountaineering (“Buried in the sky”), African childhoods (“Don’t let’s go to the dogs tonight”) and hiking (“Heartwood”), to good fiction on art (“Inferno”), war and asylums (“Night Watch”) and Indigenous identities (“Firekeeper’s Daughter”). Let me know if you have any questions!
May I add four more books (perhaps covered in previous of your year-end lists) all these by Canadian authors?
‘Fireweather’, by John Vaillant and an earlier non-fiction book by him, ‘The Golden Spruce’.
And for pure joy, another non-fiction, this one by Canadian Indigenous author, Tomson Highway, ‘Permanent Astonishment’.
And finally, by Indigenous author, Bob Joseph, ‘21 Things You May Not Know about the Indian Act’. It is my opinion that this should be required reading by all senior high school students and recommended to anyone who has not read it.
Thanks Dina! I have read “Fireweather”, and your copy of Highway’s book is sitting here on my table. Soon! Will have to look up the others …