This year, reading looked very different because I opened a little bookshop booth in February. As you know, Christian non-fiction is my favorite genre. Yet, I’ve found that I have a very different relationship with Christian fiction. I strongly suspect that it’s the way the books are marketed. Much of the genre has covers that frame my thoughts about the book in a certain way before I read the first page. I’m puzzled that Christian non-fiction books have such lovely covers and yet the same publishing houses give these fiction books far less aesthetic covers. Who doesn’t love a beautiful cover? Please don’t be swayed by the covers of the Christian fiction books. There are plenty of gems beneath the poor marketing. So, I was very much on a quest to find Christian fiction that I love this year and I think you’ll find some reads you really love from my Christian fiction quest! Even more exciting, I continued reading many of the usual genres that you and I have come to enjoy from my annual reading life.

There’s plenty of good stuff below including mainstream fiction and Christian non-fiction. This year, I completed 27 books. This feels like the fewest books I’ve read in a year in a very long time, but there were some high quality books in the mix! Without further ado, here are my favorite reads of 2025.

These are the books that stayed with me the longest, the ones I still occasionally think about or recommend to friends, and the ones I rated four or five stars. They are wildly different from each other.

Category: Bible Studies I will always, always read anything written by Ann Voskamp or She Reads Truth. These women write from a place of passionate adoration of our Savior. Their Bible studies are good for the soul!

Category: Christian Memoir/Christian Living/Laugh Out Loud Reads

Melanie Shankle is the funniest author you will ever read. Even her heartfelt book about generational trauma and overcoming past hurts had moment of uncontrollable laughter. I also cried. This book is so touching and real that I also texted a childhood friend that I haven’t been as close to for the past decade and said, “You absolutely have to read this.” I truly believe that every woman raising a daughter should read this book. Now, let’s talk about Ellen Skrmetti. Goodness gracious! She joins the list of authors like Melanie Shankle and Sophie Hudson who make me laugh out loud with their southern charm and humor. Like Melanie and Sophie, I will read everything Ellen writes for the rest of her sweet Southern life. She is a pure gem! I had this on my shelves at my bookshop for two weeks but couldn’t resist the urge to gift it to my sweet friend, Sarah from the Deep South so that we could laugh about it together. Both of these books are MUST READS for your 2026 reading lives. MUSTS.

Category: Historical Christian Fiction Earlier in this post, I shared my journey to find good Christian fiction. Reading brings people together, I tell you. The precious wife of my good childhood/family friend has gooood reading taste. Her name is Abby. We should all thank Abby for at least four of the books on this list. She recommended a new-to-me author, Michelle Shocklee and this author did not disappoint! I’ve loved both of these books and already have several others by Shocklee on hold on my Libby app. What a hidden gem of an author! If you love both historical fiction and Jesus, you must read these two books by Michelle Shocklee. I cannot even begin to choose which I liked more. I think about the things I learned from both of these stories often. Recently, my son was learning about the Great Depression in his high school class and was discussing something he had learned with my dad. Well, I had all kinds of thoughts and newfound knowledge on this subject due to Under the Tulip Tree. Likewise, Appalachian Song was just as beautiful and historically eye opening although I might have previously known more about Appalachia from visiting the Smoky Mountains and reading Christy by Catherine Marshall than I previously knew about the depression. Appalachian Song had a few elderly sister characters that you need to meet. That’s all I can say without spoiling the plot. You also need to meet one of the characters in Under the Tulip Tree. Michelle Shocklee writes characters who are tenacious and audacious. I’m going to need to look up the etymology of those words to determine which they really are, but they’re PRECIOUS. Add both of these titles to your list for 2026!

Category: Mainstream Thrillers

These are excellent stories and page turners. These books were not written by Christians and do not reflect Christian values, yet both stories had captivating characters and unthinkably strong female protagonists who fiercely and bravely loved and respected their husbands and that resonated with me in both stories. Both books contained language, heavy topics, violence, and stories with characters that I grew to deeply respect.

Category: Mainstream Fiction This book is a third example of a really strong female protagonist in a story that is, shockingly, not told from a Christian worldview. This was surprising because it’s a book about nuns. There are some very hard topics woven into very redemptive themes in this book. This book is memorable. Like the two books above, in reading Mercy House, I did not love every moment yet I cheered on characters, fell in love with the way the nuns lived in community, and respected their passion for helping vulnerable women. This book is full of hope and redemption. Trigger warning: It also deals with abuse of every kind and sometimes shares far more detail than many readers would feel comfortable. At times, it shared more detail than I was comfortable. Is this a recommendation for everyone? No. This book is not conservative in lifestyle. Check into themes before beginning this book. It may not be for you or it may be exactly the right book to inspire you toward bravery and compassion. For me, it was both.

Category: Christian Suspense/Mystery I have been on quite a quest to find thrillers, mysteries, suspense books written from a Christian worldview that don’t feel flat to me. This is a trilogy. I accidentally began on the second book and absolutely loved both books. Again, there are some hard themes here. There were also a few parts that felt a bit far fetched. Overall, these two books were the best Christian suspense and mysteries I’ve read yet! (I tried other Christian suspense books that I won’t be recommending.) I’ll be reading more books by Terri Blackstock. These were suspenseful with great characters, real problems and depth, and were full of hope and compassion. You will love the characters. They’re so easy to root for from beginning to end.

Category: Christian Fiction/Rom Com I am not usually a reader of Romantic Comedies or anything that I might consider fluff which is interesting because I love romantic comedy movies but they don’t typically keep my attention as reading material. These books are both adorable! If you only have time to read one in this genre, read The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh. The plot and characters were absolutely perfect. I love a good page turner and neither of these books lost my interest, but Summer of Yes kept me turning pages even during a hard season of my life this summer. My grandma passed away and two weeks later, my mom had a very serious freak choking accident that tore her esophagus which is, I now know, life threatening. I spent most every minute of a week at the hospital in St. Louis. All that to say that I can tell you from experience that the Summer of Yes is the perfect escapism read. It is meaty enough to concentrate through grief, worry, chaos, and lack of sleep. The Retreat is also a really sweet plot with great characters. If this is your favorite genre, you will love this book!

Category: My Favorite Leadership Book this Year This book was recommended to me by one of my very favorite school leaders. It is an exceptional book for any leader whether you’re in educational administration or a different profession. I could easily read this book again! It will absolutely encourage you to lead with encouragement and servant leadership. As I was reading this book, the teachers in my building repeatedly said, “Thank you so much for encouraging me.” It was inspiring and helped me to process many decisions and actions through a lens of loving compassion and joy. Leaders, this is a must read!

Cateogory: Christian Living While I have always, always loved Bob Goff and his heart, this book will forever hold a special place in my heart for being the book that helped me conquer self doubt as I opened a tiny, little bookstore booth in town. Bob Goff helped me to be brave. It felt like he was speaking specifically to me. Side note: I highly recommend the audiobook if you commute and need encouragement on the way to work. This book is another must read! I’ve also become a reader of Henri Nouwen the past few years. I learn so much from his spiritual reflections. His writing feels like a cup of tea with my friends, Rachel and Lisa. If you know Rachel or Lisa, I know you’re adding all things Henri Nouwen to your TBR right now. This is to say that I leave his words feeling restored, refreshed, and with more spiritual wisdom than which I began. He is a must-read author if you, too, love reflective spiritual development books.

Category: Mainstream Fiction

I’m going to end by sharing sweet Sophie Kinsella who just passed away a few weeks ago, on December 10, from aggressive brain cancer. While you may best know Sophie from her lighter reads, The Confessions of a Shopaholic series, this writing was far more beautiful and memorable than any of the Shopaholic books that I remember reading when I was 18-20 years old. This book, What Does it Feel Like, was written as Sophie’s fictional autobiographical book of sorts, as in the main character is a sweet wife and mother “mum” who awakens one day in a hospital to the news from her loving husband that she has brain cancer. While that subject matter would normally be very heavy, Sophie managed to write about it from a place so personal that her storytelling was almost lighthearted and whimsical. I read this book in January of 2025 and I’d really love to find a similar book for January 2026. It was beautiful and endearing and even happy. You will love the main character as she works to remember the lyrics to Christmas carols and doesn’t take herself too seriously as she makes lyrical errors to songs that she has loved all her life. You will cheer for her, laugh with her, and cry with her. It truly wasn’t a sad read. It was lovely. Sophie Kinsella added joy and spunk to our world. I know she will be deeply missed by her faithful readers. You’ll want to add this title to your booklist for 2026. It is, indeed, available at Let Every Heart Bookshop in Bolivar, Missouri if you’re local and would like to stop in. It is also available on Amazon and all of the local places in which you buy your books.

Sweet reader friends, I know that you love hearing my favorite books of the year and I like to keep the people happy but goodness. I have had such a time trying to narrow it down this year to my top three favorites because they are all so vastly different! I’m going to try but know that these picks are somewhat impulsive. I’m going to tell you which three books leave me with the happiest reader feelings when I think of them. I’m sorry that I’m not more pragmatic. Here we go.

The three that give me the happiest of reader feelings this year, in no particular order because I’m clearly not feeling systematic are:

1. Hey, Jesus It’s Me by Ellen Skrmetti

2. Appalachian Song by Michelle Shocklee

3. The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh

Honorable Mentions go to Here Be Dragons by Melanie Shankle, Catching Whimsy by Bob Goff, and The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave.

Happy New Year from my heart to yours,

~Courtney

P.S. Please remember that Laura Dave, Gillian McCallister, and Alana Dillon are more “worldly,” please and thank you. Please. Do not write me letters saying you saw a bad word. I feel confident you’ve heard a bad word on television, my friend, but these books are very good in terms of story and less good in terms of morals. If you like wholesome reads best, please read Courtney Walsh, Michelle Shocklee, and Terri Blackstock. Happy reading, my friends!