My 2025 Books List

Unlike last year’s list, this one is going to be a bit shorter. In terms of what I’ve read, this year has been a continuation of the last year. If you saw that list, I’m sure you can guess what’s coming next.

Yes, in fact, all of the books I have finished this year have all been books that are set in the Cosmere, by Brandon Sanderson.

I did start some other books. I tried! I read a bit of Douglas Adams’ Life, the Universe and Everything and started reading a translation of Suetonius’ Lives of the Caesars, but I got stuck on them on account of not really enjoying them, so I ended up dropping both.

Oh, and my backlog did grow a bit, too. But I wanted to commit to finishing Mistborn’s second era prior to starting anything else, and since I took a few breaks that actually took until just yesterday.

So, in the end it just ended up being a bunch of Sanderson books again, this year. Next year when I’m done with the last Secret Project books, I will probably start either Malazan or Realm of the Elderlings, and I’m pretty excited to read those…

Anyway. Without further ado, the books I finished:

Cosmere

• Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell
  • Part of Arcanum Unbounded
  • I thought it was pretty decent, but it is probably my least favorite out of all of the short stories I’ve read so far. “Silence” is one hell of a name for a protagonist, though…
• Tress of the Emerald Sea
  • Secret Project #1
  • After reading this, I can see why it is considered to be a decent starting point for new readers. That being said, I enjoyed Tress, but mostly because of how the story was told. I still think Mistborn remains the best entry point. Tress as a female lead was done well, though, and some tropes were properly subverted. A fun read!
• Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
  • Secret Project #3
  • This is now my favorite Sanderson standalone. Maybe that is because I’m a sucker for a good romance story, but this one had plenty of interesting bits, Cosmere reveals, a new setting… it made for a very quick read. I finished this book in two sittings, which is very rare.
• The Alloy of Law
  • Mistborn, Book 4
  • Originally intended as a standalone, but the start of a larger second era. The Alloy of Law can be read as a standalone book, but introduces and develops two of my new favorite all-time characters, Wax and Wayne. As I read it, I thought: “Wax is my spirit animal.”
• Shadows of Self
  • Mistborn, Book 5
  • More Wax. More Wayne. A continuation of the loose threads from the previous book. Whereas The Alloy of Law was short and standalone, it feels very obvious that this is actually an incomplete story now. I was very happy to immediately start the next two books after this one. Also notable: the two most important female characters, Marasi and Steris, now both get excellent character development in this book.
• Mistborn: Secret History
  • Part of Arcanum Unbounded
  • I revisited this tale about a scarred man’s determination to live again before starting Mistborn’s second era. Now that I’m done with Stormlight and I had read some of Era 2, I had more of an appreciation and understanding of what’d been happening in this one.
• The Bands of Mourning
  • Mistborn, Book 6
  • The thing about the second era of Mistborn books is that there’s actually no true Mistborn left. However, the Lord Ruler (from the first trilogy) did leave behind the so-called Bands of Mourning which, supposedly, can bestow the wearer with incredible power… better hope the bad guys don’t get their hands on it. Sounds like a job for Wax and Wayne!
• The Lost Metal
  • Mistborn, Book 7
  • If you’ve been reading other Cosmere books or short stories, you get more out of this one. The Lost Metal may very well be the end of Era 2, but in terms of impact and reveals when it comes to the Cosmere, it is perhaps one of the most impactful. I think in terms of impact, this one really blows the other Era 2 books out of the water. (And if you’ve read the book you know I’m not joking about how explosive this one is.)