The books I want to read in 2025

And my very boring update on life without Amazon 📚

Mar 14, 2025

Welcome to The Lighthouse! A newsletter written by a Canadian author (Cait Flanders, that’s me!) who found herself living in the middle of nowhere in the UK. It’s deeply reflective and also intentionally lighthearted. There’s enough darkness online and in real life. Let’s hangout in the light. 🕯

🪵 Also: If you’d like to read a little more about this place I call home, I did a fun interview for my friend Kelton’s newsletter, Shangrilogs! (Which I think you might love, PS.) In it, I answer questions like: how did I end up here? What’s a small, everyday joy that comes from being here? And has this place changed how I see myself or affected my priorities in life? You can read my answers here: CHOSEN PLACES.

Hi friend,

My Amazon Prime subscription ended two months ago. I logged out of my account a couple days before, and haven’t bought any physical items from the site since. I did buy one e-book from the Kindle store, to support a friend and help her play the game that is: these deals might make you a bestseller, which can help you in more ways than just earning a little extra money. In fact, these deals are not money-makers. Her book only cost me £1.49 and she will get pennies of that. But if a few thousand people buy it on sale, it could signal to her publisher (or others) that she writes things people want to read, which might help her get more book deals in the future. I want her to get as many book deals as she wants, so I buy the daily deal1 and don’t worry about the site I had to get it from.

I haven’t bought anything else on Amazon, but I’ve looked at the site and tried to calculate if it was worth buying a few items or not. For the most part, I’ve discovered I would only save £0.50-£1 on the things I need/want. Not worth the price of admission of a monthly or annual subscription. But I’m finally noticing the huge discrepancy with book prices.

Compared to paying full price in any store, most books are 20-50% cheaper on Amazon. I’ve always known this, but have never really looked at the numbers, if that makes sense. I’ve just known that books were always going to be cheaper there. As I outlined in January, I hardly used Amazon before moving to the UK—including for books. I did not buy them on Amazon, but instead gave my money to Bolen Books or Munro’s Books in Victoria. Sometimes Indigo, too. And Waterstones, when I was travelling around the UK in 2018 and 2019. But since immigrating and moving to the middle of nowhere here, I’m now 45-60 minutes away from an independent bookshop (in every direction). So for the last few years, I’ve bought most books online—from Amazon.

This means that, similar to when I did my original shopping ban in 2014/15, my plan to use Amazon less in 2025 is really only forcing me to make one big change: around how I buy books. Instead of buying them, I’ve been making a list—of all the books I might want to read in 2025. And on the rare occasion I make it into a bookshop, I’ll see what they have and buy what feels good.

Here’s what’s on my list so far (organized by category then by the author’s first name/title):

(Note: My list probably looks a little different than most adults’.)

MIDDLE GRADE NOVELS

I started reading middle grade novels during the pandemic. Since then, they’ve become my favourite books to read. Specifically, I like reading realistic(ish) middle grade novels. That’s what most of these books are, except for the last three.

~~BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE by Kate DiCamillo~~ ✅ - Kate is the author of one of my favourite middle grade novels, RAYMIE NIGHTINGALE. BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE was her first book, won a bunch of awards, became a classic, and was adapted into a movie in 2005. I want to see where she started.
BEVERLY, RIGHT HERE by Kate DiCamillo - RAYMIE is the first book in the “Three Rancheros” series. Tall Man has read the first two to me (RAYMIE and LOUISIANA). I’m excited for him to read the last book. Then I think I’d like to re-read the whole series myself.
~~FERRIS by Kate DiCamillo~~ ✅ - I like the idea of reading her first book + her most recent book this year. This is her most recent.

(Honestly, it’s possible I’ll go down a Kate DiCamillo rabbit hole and just read everything I can get my hands on. And also watch all the movie adaptions. I think 5 of her books have been turned into movies, so far.)

GHOSTLINES by Katya Balen - Katya is the author of my all-time favourite middle grade novel: OCTOBER, OCTOBER. I’ve read everything she’s written since. I actually bought a copy of GHOSTLINES when it came out last year, but fell into a reading slump. But I’m excited to read this.
LETTERS FROM THE UPSIDE by Katya Balen - This one is out in Sept. I don’t know what it’s about and don’t care. I’ll read anything she writes!
THE SECRET OF HAVEN POINT by Lisette Auton - Lisette is a local author who lives in the same county as me. I’ve never met her, and she certainly wouldn’t know who I am, but I’ve seen her books everywhere—the covers of which have all been done by someone I do know:
Gillian Eilidh O'Mara
. Her stories are a little less realistic/more fantastical, and so much more imaginative than what my brain could come up with. I bought this book when I was in Alnwick, and I’m excited to prioritize reading more of her work this year.

PICTURE BOOKS

~~THE GIRL AND THE MERMAID by Hollie Hughes~~ ✅ - Hollie is the author of a beautiful picture book, THE GIRL AND THE DINOSAUR. Tall Man told me about it (and sent an audio message of him reading it) and I fell in love (with him too). Books of a similar title don’t always come out as well, but I loved mermaids when I was a kid, so I’ve been excited to read this one.
~~WILD by Katya Balen~~ ✅ - Her first picture book! I think it’s a version of the story told in OCTOBER, OCTOBER, but I’m excited to see what she’s done with it (and the illustrations!).

ADULT FICTION

~~GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL LIFE by Emily Henry~~ ❌ DNF’d - Her books are always hit or miss for me. Love some, can’t finish others. But I give them all a shot!
~~TILT by Emma Pattee~~ ✅ - Emma is a friend I first met back in the good old personal finance blogging days. She’s always been a huge supporter of my work, and I am SO EXCITED to read her first novel! The plot is so intriguing, and it’s getting RAVE reviews. YAY EMMA!
~~PINEAPPLE STREET by Jenny Jackson~~ ✅ - It wasn’t on my list, but I randomly picked this up at the library last week and am really enjoying it!
~~THE THREE LIVES OF CATE KAY by Kate Fagan~~ ✅ - I’ve heard SO MANY GOOD THINGS! (Update: IT WAS EXCELLENT.)
~~ATMOSPHERE by Taylor Jenkins Reid~~ ✅ - The book I’m most looking forward to reading on my adult fiction list. TJR comes out with a new book every 2-3 years, every story is unique, and it’s always worth the wait.

ADULT NON-FICTION

As someone who has only written non-fiction for adults, it’s interesting for me to notice this continues to be the genre I read the least. It feels safe to say I’m 100% NI (not interested) in self-help books of any kind. The few books on this list are…

ALL THE WAY TO THE RIVER by
Elizabeth Gilbert
- A memoir I’m really looking forward to reading. I love Liz’s voice, so will listen to the audiobook.
GOOD FOR A GIRL by Lauren Fleshman - Another memoir that’s been on my list for a while. I finally bought a copy when I was up in Alnwick.
~~ON WRITING by Stephen King~~ ✅ - I’m reading this right now, for the first time. I’m 2/3 of the way through, and feel grateful for what I’ve read so far.

And I’m not sure how to categorize this one, but…

WHAT YOUR KIDS WISH THEY COULD TELL YOU by Judy Blume - This is a book most people probably haven’t heard of. But if you know anything about Judy Blume’s story, you know she’s received hundreds of thousands of letters from the kids who read her books. It took her three years, but she compiled countless snippets of them (plus some of her own stories) into a book, to help adults understand kids better. I bought a used copy from World of Books, and am using it for research…

I’ll be honest, friend, this list feels a little ambitious. There are only 17 books (and 2 are pictures books, so let’s say 15) which isn’t much for some people. But I’m a slow reader. I’ve also been spending more time at Tall Man’s this year, which has resulted in having less time to read. The idea that I might actually read them all feels more doable, knowing there’s no serious non-fiction on the list. Nothing I need to learn from. Just lovely stories to get sucked into. Maybe I’ll read some of them, maybe I’ll read them all, maybe I’ll read even more—or totally different ones. It really doesn’t matter. I just want to enjoy some fiction in 2025.

As for this experiment of not using Amazon much in 2025? I’m two months in and have to say: I think it’s going to be easy. Which is a really boring update, but it’s true. It’s been easy to live without it. At “worst,” not having access to Prime is just creating a little bit of friction in my spending—like there’s an imaginary pause button that gets pushed. I still think about things I might want to buy, but I can’t order it online and get it the next day anymore. I have to wait until I venture out into the world. So instead of buying things, I write them down. I’ve actually started organizing everything into 3 different lists on my phone:

If it’s something I need soon (like toothpaste, deodorant, etc.), I add it to my regular grocery list and get it when I’m running errands.
If it’s something I need/want to get in the next few months, I add it to my “Later” list. There are 8 things on it, right now.
And if it’s something that sounds cool but I definitely don’t need, I add it to my “Maybe Later” list. There are 3 things on it, so far. One example: a garlic press. Helpful? Sure. Essential? Absolutely not. There’s also a board game on this list. And an idea for something I might like to hang in my home one day. Or not, lol.

And then there’s my book list! It could shift and change, as time goes on. But this is the list I use to see what my library has available + take on shopping trips. If I really wanted to buy a book online, I know I could use Bookshop now that I live in the UK (we don’t have it in Canada so it wasn’t really on my radar). But for now, I’ve decided I’m going to add a layer of fun to this experiment, and go on a few day trips to different independent bookshops around the UK! This feels like a fun way for me to explore new places and get some of the books on my list. It’ll also be cool to see which books the shops are promoting (definitely changes by region, I’ve found).

I’m going on my first bookshop adventure next week! And with an online friend! Stay tuned for that update. ☺️

What are you excited to read in 2025, friend?

What are you reading now?

xx Cait