I tried something new! I did a video post instead of a blog post. You can find the video below and recap below that (it’s not exactly a transcript but it does include all the books mentioned in the video)
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Hi, I’m Jen Cleary. I’m the person behind Craft Dance Read Repeat, and today I decided to try something new: talking to you on video. Welcome to my craft room—yes, it’s a mess. If you’re crafty, you probably recognize this kind of mess. Can we just normalize messy, definitely NOT Pinterest perfect craft rooms please?
Originally, I planned to write a blog post about my favorite books I read in 2025. But every time I try to write about books—especially explaining why someone should read them—it turns stiff and academic, and honestly, that makes me want to read the book less. So instead, here we are. A video. Take three. (Or if you’re reading this, the edited version of what I said on video which is much better than if I had just written about the books in the first place.)
I read a lot, though “a lot” means different things to different people. For me, it’s under 50 books a year. When I was choosing which books to talk about, I filtered out anything I couldn’t remember at all. I forget plots and character names constantly, but I do remember how books made me feel. So these are the ones that stayed with me in some way.
I grouped them into a few completely arbitrary categories.
Books That Made Me Cry
I love crying at books. I find it cathartic and oddly enjoyable. I’ve been choosing books that make me cry on purpose since I was a teenager, back when I was reading a lot of Lurlene McDaniel and crying all the time.
One book that really got me this year was Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry. She’s usually labeled as a contemporary romance writer, and for a long time I thought I didn’t like romance—until I read her books. This one felt a little different to me. The romance is there, but the story leans heavily into family secrets and the things we don’t talk about. That theme comes up a lot in my reading, apparently. I still think Funny Story might be my favorite Emily Henry if I had to choose, but I really loved this one.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4kUt3mK
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/10712/9780593441299
The next book in this category was Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. I read this for a book bingo category—something that had been turned into a series. This one has multiple timelines, family secrets, people escaping old lives to build new ones. It stuck with me deeply. I haven’t watched the series yet; I usually need some distance between finishing a book and watching the adaptation so I don’t get mad about the differences.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4kUt3mK
Bookshop:https://bookshop.org/a/10712/9780593358351
The last book in this category was Past Tense by Sasha Mardou, a graphic novel memoir about her experience with therapy—specifically Internal Family Systems. I’m fascinated by this approach, the idea that we have different parts of ourselves all trying to be heard, and that compassion is the way forward. Her story felt deeply relatable, human, and hard in a way that really stayed with me.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4ay4B77
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/10712/9780593541364
Deep Feels (Adjacent to Crying)
This category isn’t that far from crying, honestly.
The Wedding People by Alison Espach surprised me. It wasn’t what I expected at all. I thought it might be lighter or more romance-adjacent, but instead it felt deeply human—about small efforts, hard moments, and learning how to be yourself while moving through difficult things. There are mental-health themes here, so check content warnings if that’s important for you.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3OtVD2d
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/10712/9781250899576
Another book that lived in this emotional space was You Are Here by David Nicholls. It’s about working through your stuff so you can move forward and have better relationships. Quiet, thoughtful, and very human.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4kZR7EU
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/10712/9780063394063
And then there’s Wayward by Emilia Hart, which is quite different. It follows three women across three timelines and explores generational experiences, womanhood, power, and survival. It’s heavy in places but incredibly compelling.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4kZR7EU
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/10712/9781250842725
Nonfiction
I read a lot of nonfiction, especially memoir, and two very different books stood out.
Disability Visibility edited by Alice Wong is a collection of essays by disabled writers. I value reading perspectives that are not my own, and this book offers a huge range of experiences and types of disability. It gave me insight without overwhelming me and made me want to keep learning.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4kZR7EU
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/10712/9781984899422
The other nonfiction pick is narrative nonfiction: The Ghosts of Eden Park by Karen Abbott. It’s about Prohibition, bootlegging, and a specific moment in American history, told in a way that reads like a novel. Abbott is incredible at this style. I recently recommended her book Sin in the Second City to friends as well—she’s one of my favorites at making history feel alive.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Mty214
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/10712/9780451498632
Poetry (A Return)
For a long time, I avoided poetry. My high-school English memories weren’t great, and I always felt like I “didn’t get it.” As an adult, I’ve been finding my way back in.
Two collections really stayed with me this year.
Evermore by Jessica Jocelyn is about privacy and motherhood, and it spoke to me immediately. This is what poetry feels like at its best—something that moves you and makes you feel less alone.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4aLZ7EN
The second is If My Body Could Speak by Blythe Baird. This one is hard and deals with difficult topics around the body. Poetry, for me, can hold these subjects in a way that prose can’t, and this collection did that beautifully.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4qSQvCe
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/10712/9781943735471
For Funsies
These are the books that were just fun to read—though some of them still made me cry.
The New One by Mike Birbiglia was funny, self-deprecating, and touching. I saw his show when I was pregnant with my oldest, and reading it later felt like revisiting something familiar.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4qSQvCe
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/10712/9781538701522
I also loved Back After This by Linda Holmes. It’s set in the podcasting world and blends romance with humor. I’ll always love Linda Holmes for introducing me to Eleanor & Park years ago, and I’ve really enjoyed her novels.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4s4JjUv
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/10712/9780593599259
Then there’s The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood. I was very late to this one. For some reason, I thought it involved vampires? It does not. I loved it. And yes, I cried.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4cIbUKL
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/10712/9780593336823
Another fun favorite was Love You Mean It by Jillian Gagnon. I once shared a coworking space with her years ago, and I think it’s incredibly cool to read books by people you’ve met, even briefly. The book was fun and heartfelt, and I’d absolutely recommend it.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4tOVu9A
Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/10712/9780593722961
A Final Note: The Ramona Books
Lastly, I want to mention the Ramona. I read some of them as a kid, but listening to them with my own children was a completely different experience. They are so funny. They sound exactly like the way kids think at each age, and they hold up beautifully. We listened to the audiobooks, and I would absolutely listen to them again.
That’s my best of 2025. My craft room is still a mess, but that’s okay. Maybe it will be better in the next video.