Talking about reading journeys, this blog has always been my way to keep track of what I read: the thoughts, reflections, and emotions each book leaves behind. But this time, instead of writing about every single book, I wanted to share the highlights that shaped my 2025 reading journey and made me fall in love with reading all over again.

The big theme of my reading journey this year has been exploring genres in a kind of flow: starting with poetry, moving through Clarice Lispector’s works, then Tove Ditlevsen, followed by memoirs, nonfiction classics, fiction classics, and finally Fredrik Backman (so far, per October 2025).

Enjoying Poetry Books

I used to think I wasn’t a poetic person that my brain simply couldn’t digest verses wrapped in metaphors and emotions. I thought poetry was beautiful but distant.

Then I picked up Inquire Within by IN-Q. I didn’t expect much, but as soon as I started reading, I felt his words were deep yet digestible, emotional yet grounded. To my surprise, I found myself really enjoying it.

That single book opened a new door for me. I began reading more poetry afterward, exploring writers I had never heard of before, and finding comfort in their words. Eventually, I created a small Poetry category on this blog, a space to collect the works that moved me most.

Finding an Amazing Author: Clarice Lispector

My growing love for poetry naturally led me toward books that carried the lyrical beauty, the kind that captures the harshness and tenderness of life all at once. I started exploring genres and authors I used to overlook, opening myself to new reading experiences.

One day, during a seasonal discount event at a local bookstore, I wandered through the aisles with no specific book in mind. That’s when I stumbled upon Too Much of Life by Clarice Lispector. Out of curiosity, I flipped it open to a random page and one line stopped me completely. Thanks to that line I did not need further thought, I decided to buy it.

That spontaneous choice became one of the best reading decisions I made this year. I devoured every page, drawn in by Lispector’s honesty, sharpness, and poetic rhythm. If someone asked me which book I wish I could read again for the first time, Too Much of Life would absolutely be one of them.

Loving Memoirs: The Copenhagen Trilogy

After finishing Lispector’s book, I found myself craving something with a similar tone: honest, raw, and beautifully written. At my local library, I stumbled upon The Copenhagen Trilogy (Childhood, Youth, and Dependency) by Tove Ditlevsen. I picked it up without much expectation, but once I started reading, I couldn’t stop.

I had never read a memoir written with such honesty and flow. Ditlevsen’s storytelling felt so seamless that it read like fiction, yet every word carried a weight of truth and glimpse of story about what it was like to grow up in a working-class family in Denmark during the mid-1900s. I read it in the most inconvenient ways in the library completely unaware of how time slipped by. The story simply wouldn’t let me go.

Exploring Classic Books

After Too Much of Life and The Copenhagen Trilogy, I found myself drawn to classic literature. I wanted to understand what made these timeless books so enduring.

Soon, I was borrowing them from the local library like crazy: The Trouble with Being Born, Franz Kafka’s works, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the classics by well-known authors, such as Dostoyevsky, Camus (I love The Stranger aka The Outsider), and many more.

Each book left a different impression. Some were hauntingly philosophical, others quietly emotional that often left me stunned. But all of them challenged me, comforted me, and made me appreciate the weight of words that last through time.

When Fiction Took Me by Surprise

During one of my wild phases of borrowing classic books from the library, I found myself wandering aimlessly between the aisles until I reached the corner of Most Borrowed Books. That’s where I discovered Orbital by Samantha Harvey, a novel that left me utterly speechless with every page. I kept thinking, how could someone possibly write something this beautiful? The prose felt almost transcendent, as if Harvey had written it from another realm entirely.

I never expected a fiction book to be this beautiful. That reading experience cracked something open in me. From there, I leapt into another kind of madness: exploring more beautifully written fiction that makes me pause, breathe, and feel alive.

Rediscovering Fiction: Fredrik Backman, My Comfort Author

Even though this blog mainly focuses on nonfiction, fiction has always been my quiet companion ever since I learned how to read. For years, I kept that part of my reading life as a private enjoyment, which is why I focused on sharing mostly only nonfiction here. Eventually, I decided to open up and create a small Fiction Books category to share the stories that mean the most to me.

My journey with Fredrik Backman started with the movie adaptation A Man Called Otto (based on A Man Called Ove). That film made me curious enough to pick up his latest novel, My Friends, and I loved every part of it. Then I read Anxious People, and that was it! Backman became my absolute favorite fiction author.

His stories are tender, funny, deeply human, and full of words of wisdom. Even his Instagram captions have a warmth that feels like storytelling in miniature. I haven’t found a single Backman book I dislike. If you ever want to read fiction that makes you laugh, touched, and feel understood, you can never go wrong with one of his.

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This year’s reading journey has been full of surprises, from poetry and memoirs to classics and modern fiction. I started the year thinking I was mostly a nonfiction reader, but I ended it with a much wider heart and bookshelf.

I realized that reading isn’t about staying in one genre or following a label. It’s about curiosity, emotion, and the joy of finding words that meet you exactly where you are.