Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. Here is the topic of the week:
🕵🏻♀️ Bookish Discoveries I Made in 2025 🕵🏻♀️
The full description of this prompt is "New-to-you authors you discovered, new genres you learned you like, new bookish resources you found, friends you made, local bookshops you found, a book club you joined, etc." so I'm gonna mention a lil bit of each.
1. Healing Fiction ☀
A genre I tried for the first time last year and read 3 books in a row. I discovered that this is a genre I will probably not enjoy. Out of the 3 books I read, I only liked one and that's because it combined A LOT of things I'm usually fond of. I'm more of a fast-pace, plot-driven kinda gal so reading a book that focuses on emotions, inner monologues, psychology etc. gets quite boring. I'm not saying I'll never pick up a healing fiction novel again, but I will be wary and extremelly picky if I do try it at a later time.
2. Manga 💭
Since I'm already talking about genres, I can't not mention manga. Despite only reading one (Spy x Family) I can tell I'll expand my reading even more this year because reading it has been so fun. I'm not that surprised because ever since I was a kid, my house was always full of comic books. My dad is a fan and while I haven't read that many, the ones I did, I throughoutly enjoyed. 😊
*these 3 basically represent all of my emotions reading this 😂
3. Romance as a Subplot 💘
While I have noticed this before, 2025 was the year that confirmed this - I definitely prefer romance as a subplot more than I do actual romance novels. That's why I had far more romantasy novels on my "2025 read list" than contemporary romance books. I think this is connected to what I was talking about with healing fiction - I need strong plot. That's not to say that romance novels don't have plot, they do! It's just that I prefer mine with a bit more drama, stabbings, rival kingdoms at war, ancient artifacts that need to be found, prophecies, declarations of love in the most horrific end-of-world moments etc. 😂
5. Bookstagram/Booktube/Booktok
When it comes to social platforms (I'm talking purely from an audience POV), some are just not for me. I tried following people on Bookstagram, but I found it too boring. Booktok on the other hand is more "dramatic," more "fun" but also more "overwhelming." When a book gets under the spotlight, literally EVERYONE will be talking about it. despite the book maybe not even being that good. Things get overhyped and I've been burned more than once listening to their recomendations.
Then I remembered the ancient texts and returned to my OG place of all bookish news, recommendations and general inspo - BookTube 😍 I rekindled my love for watching long formed, video bookish content which in turn made me more motivated to write on my blog. I found it to be so relaxing just listening to people talk about books, show their reading journals, present their yearly bookish games and so on. Ahhh BookTube...
Other than these 5 points, my reading habbits have been the same for years. I mostly stick to things I already enjoy and don't venture out of my comfort zone too much.
💬 Did you have any bookish discoveries in 2025? 💬
14 Comments
I prefer romance as a subplot as well.
ReplyDeleteIt just hits different, doesn't it? 😊
DeleteAwesome list!
ReplyDeleteThanks! 😁
DeleteManga can be soooo much fun! Do you have any plans about what you want to read next? In the last couple of years, I've loved A Gentle Nobleman's Vacation Recommendation, Dinosaur Sanctuary and A Side Character's Love Story, but oof, there's been so many fun series. (And there's always manhua and manhwa too; I'm seeing more and more Chinese and Korean comics getting translated too.)
ReplyDeleteI didn't have any specific plans besides catching up with Spy x Family, but thanks for all the recs! I'll definitely be adding those to my list 😏🥰 Ohh you're right, I haven't even thought of those...ahh so many things to read, so little time 😭
Deletewho are some of your fave booktubers?
ReplyDeleteRight now, the ones I'm following the most are Katie is Reading, Peruse Project and The Book Leo! 😍
DeleteIt’s a good thing to know what you do and don’t like. Thanks for sharing your #TTT
ReplyDeleteIt definitely makes things easier! I can always create a TBR that I'll (mostly) stick to because I can already recognize if I'm gonna like it or not 😁
DeleteSo glad you enjoyed your first manga and that you'd like to read more! I am hoping to get back into them this year.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with what you say about BookTube; even though sometimes they always talk about the same books, it is full of possibilities thanks to the video format.
When you have so many hobbies like we do, it's hard to keep track of them all! Read manga, read books, finish challenges, watch kdrama, watch anime etc. There's not enough time in the world for everything 😅
DeleteThat's so true! I love the video format and especially love it when people use it to the max with all the effects and cool transitions 😍
I feel the same way about romance as a subplot! I don't understand how focusing primarily on romance could be that enjoyable. I also need a strong and interesting plot. I'm planning to read a lot more manga too this year. I hope you make many more amazing discoveries this year 😊.
ReplyDeleteIf you'd like to visit, here's my TTT: https://thebooklorefairyreads.wordpress.com/2026/01/26/top-ten-tuesday-bookish-discoveries-i-made-in-2025/
~ Marwah @ The Booklore Fairy
I know right?!? There are only so many ways a romantic plot can go and we've probably already seen them all 😅 Still, during summer I do tend to pick up some cutesy romances just because they're so fast and light to read. Thanks, I hope you do too! 🥰
Delete