Lifestyle: My Year in Review: A Recap of 2025

Every year I like to sit down and take stock of how things went—both in life and here on the blog. 2025 was a complicated year for me personally, but it was also a year full of writing, reading, and connecting with all of you. In this post I’m sharing an honest recap of the year, including life updates, blog statistics, most-read posts, and a few favourites from 2025.

Wrapping Up 2025

2025 was a particularly hard year for me health-wise. Those of you that have followed along throughout the year will know that I started the year with serious health problems and then continued to fight them pretty much all year long. Gastroscopy, colonoscopy, multiple stays in the intensive care unit at the hospital... there was never a dull moment. 

The positive side to all the testing and hospital stays and medicine was that I finally know all the elements of my problems and what is causing them. I also now have a fantastic team at the hospital following my case. As someone who has been struggling with chronic health issues for most of my life, this is a huge step forward and for that I'm thankful.

Because of all this, it’s probably no surprise that my health had a big impact on every area of my life, including my blogging. You can also see that reflected quite clearly in my stats for the year.

Work with me in 2026

Despite the challenges of 2025, I’m looking ahead with hope. I’m excited to continue creating content, collaborating, and working with brands and authors in 2026.

Blog Statistics for 2025

Highest traffic month:  January 2025 with 427,426 views 

Let’s take a closer look at how traffic varied month by month.

Monthly traffic stats for 2025:

January - 427,426

February - 172,016

March - 65,011

April -  88,834

May - 54,347

June - 93,220

July - 70,978

August - 67,904

September - 233,061

October - 240,671

November - 228,325

December - 111,108

If you're interested in seeing the comparison with the previous year you can find my 2024 recap here. 

Most Viewed Posts

Now onto the fun part — what you all enjoyed reading the most!
Here’s a breakdown of my most-viewed content across different categories.

Most viewed post of all time: 

Things That Should Be In Every Blog Post (published 24 August 2021) with 161K views.

Most viewed post from 2025:

December 2024 Book Blogger Posts Round Up (published 3 January 2025) with 1,036 views. 

Most viewed book related post (non review/spotlight) from 2025:

Books About Decluttering: Simplify Your Space and Life (published 10 February 2025) with 567 views.

Most viewed book review of all time:

Evolving Elizah: Initiatum by CJ Hall (published 30 April 2021) with 9.07K views

Most viewed book review from 2025:

Nine Minutes Eleven Seconds by L.V. Pederson (published 30 April 2025) with 440 views

Most viewed book spotlight of all time:

War of the Winds by Victoria Williamson (published 9 January 2024) with 9,697 views.

Most viewed book spotlight from 2025:

The Magdalenes by Jeanne Skartsiaris (published 28 May 2025) with 377 views.

Most viewed book tag of all time:

I Love That Book's Show Tag (published 2 October 2018) with 9,994 views.

Most viewed book tag from 2025:

I am the Reader Tag (published 8 July 2025) with 387 views.

Most viewed travel related post from 2025:

Rome and the Jubilee 2025: What You Need To Know (published 19 February 2025) with 489 views. 

Most viewed health related post from 2025:

The Best Quotes About Rest, Recovery, and Listening to Your Body (published 8 September 2025) with 605 views.

Most viewed fitness related post from 2025:

Easy Walking Workouts: A Simple and Effective Way to Stay Fit (published 15 February 2025) with 496 views.

Most viewed hair related post from 2025:

Product Review: Schwarzkopf Brilliance 884 Chocolate Brown Hair dye (published 25 March  2025) with 319 views.

Most viewed beauty related post from 2025:

Product Review: Selya Face Mask with Hyaluronic Acid and Coconut (published 10 September 2025) with 343 views.

Traffic sources

Majority of blog traffic comes from: Google search.

Search continues to be the main way new readers discover my content, which I am incredibly grateful for.

Best Read of 2025:

Make sure you check out my best reads of 2025 for all the books I rated 5 stars over the past 12 months.

Best Hair Product of 2025:

Best Beauty Product of 2025:

The winner of best beauty product of 2025 was Cosmi Premium Skincare Korean Collagen Face Mask.

Conclusion

Lifestyle: September and October 2025 Wrap Up 

What Happened 

September and October were full of ups, downs, and small wins — from hospital visits and hair dye touch-ups to rediscovering my reading rhythm and slowly getting back into fitness. Here’s a look at what’s been happening behind the scenes these past two months.

Unfortunately I missed posting my September wrap up so I'm doing and two for one and giving you September and October together.

Wrapping Up September and October: What Happened

Hair

Health

In September I was back in hospital for my colonoscopy (fun times!) and yet more tests and visits. At least we're finally making progress with working out what all my problems are now which makes it easier to work out how to deal with them all. 

Unfortunately, there were a few issues with the new treatment plan, so I’ve had to switch back to the medication I was on before. It’s a bit frustrating, but at least it’s something my body seems to tolerate better. I’m still waiting on the results from the polyps and biopsies that were taken, so fingers crossed I’ll have a clearer idea of what’s going on soon.

I won’t pretend it’s been easy — living with ongoing health problems carries a mental weight that can be just as heavy as the physical side. The constant uncertainty, hospital appointments, and changes in treatment can really take it out of you. I’ve been trying to give myself permission to rest and not feel guilty about the slower pace when my body demands it. Some days are tougher than others, but I’m learning to focus on the small positives and keep going one step at a time.

That said, I’m starting to feel a bit more hopeful again. Having the right support, both medically and personally, has made a huge difference, and I’m learning to celebrate the little wins — whether that’s a good day, a short walk, or just managing to tick a few things off my list. It’s all progress, and for now, that’s enough.

You might also like: Monthly Goal Ideas for Better Health

Blogging

Traffic for September: 233,061 page-views

Number of blog posts published in September: 12

Current DA score: 29

Traffic for October:  240,671 page-views

Number of blog posts published in October: 20

Current DA score: 28

My October numbers were encouraging — slightly higher traffic than September and almost double the posts.

I also spent some time updating older posts with new images and links, which has helped tidy up the site. As I've mentioned in past wrap up posts, this is an on going project.

Balancing blogging with ongoing health issues has definitely been a learning curve, but I’m proud of the progress I’ve made — even on slower days. Looking ahead to November, I’m hoping to plan a few more collaborative posts and maybe experiment with a new content series I’ve been thinking about for a while.

If you'd like me to be part of a collaboration post on your blog please get in touch. It's always fun to work with other bloggers. 

Reading challenges

The Clock Reading Challenge 2025

The Net Galley TBR Reading Challenge 2025

Currently reading:

Shadow in the Ward by Ari Gray - currently on page 121/345 - Amazon - Goodreads

Five Cold Bodies by KJ Kalis - currently at 42% - Amazon - Goodreads

Travel

No travels this time since my husband’s still recovering from his injury (poor guy!), but we’re already dreaming up some trips for once he’s back on his feet.

Fitness

I’ve started rebuilding my step count and adding light squats and arm exercises into my routine. It’s baby steps, but progress all the same. Hoping November brings a more consistent rhythm!

These two months reminded me that progress isn’t always steady — but it’s still progress. Whether it’s rebuilding fitness, managing health, or finding joy in books again, I’m learning to celebrate small wins. How about you? What were your wins (or lessons) from the past few months?

You might also like: 30 Day Fitness Challenges for Beginners and Tips to Start Working Out: A Friendly Guide for Women Over 40 (or Anyone Just Getting Started)

How did you do with your Challenges over the past few months? What challenges are you doing for 2025? Join the conversation in the comments section. 

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Book Blogging in 2025 Survey

Book Blogger Survey Results and Statistics

For the past few years I've done an annual Book Blogging Survey to see what stats look like for book blogs. 

I wanted to be able to offer and encourage more transparency about the statistics of book bloggers by trying to get a better idea about average book blogging statistics.

Here you can find the results for 2022, 2023 and 2024.

So, welcome to the Book Blogging in 2025 Survey Results! 

As I did in previous years, I'll be comparing my findings with the results from past years to see if the same answers still apply in 2025.

You might also like: Easy Ways To Support Book Bloggers

Blogging Statistics in 2025

"Updating old content is the second best way to keep up with the blogging scene. The first is, of course, posting new content." - DemandSage

"More than 90% of global searches are conducted on Google."  - Forbes

"Over 53% of all search results are organic, highlighting the importance of non-paid listings in driving website visibility and traffic." - Ahref

"97% of top-ranking Google pages include at least one image, highlighting the value of visuals in SEO." - SEO.AI

"71% of bloggers say that Search Engine Optimization is the most vital way to increase traffic to the blog."  - DemandSage

A few of my own blogging stats

In order to be completely transparent with you all here's a few of my own statistics for this blog. To give you more context, although I started blogging back in 2006, I moved my blog to Blogger in 2012. "All time" is therefore from 2012 to date. 

I should also point out that my blog is now a lifestyle blog and not exclusively limited to bookish content (although books remain my main topic). 

All time views to blog: 4,265,726 views

All time most viewed post: Things That Should Be In Every Blog Post (published August 2021) with over 157K views.

Most viewed post so far from 2025: December 2024 Book Bloggers Round Up Post (published 3 January 2025) with 647 views. 

Second most viewed book related post so far from 2025: First Line Fridays 17th January (published 17 January 2025) with 341 views.

Most viewed book review of all time: Evolving Elizah: Initiatum by CJ Hall (published 30 April 2021) with 8.4k views

Most viewed book review so far from 2025: Martin Luther King Jr. by Mary Nhin (published 5 February 2025) with 238 views

Most viewed book spotlight of all time: Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams by Victoria Williamson (published 9 June 2023) with 8.5k views

Most viewed book spotlight so far from 2025: Notorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton (published 2 April 2025) with 176 views.

Most viewed book tag of all time: I Love That Book's Show Tag (published 2 October 2018) with 9.45k views.

Most viewed book tag so far from 2025: I am the Reader Tag (published 8 July 2025) with 62 views.

Majority of blog traffic comes from: Google search.

You might also like: Common Problems Book Bloggers Have and How To Solve Them

Book Blogging 2025 Survey

Now it's time to see how this years results match up with previous years. 

I set up a thread of polls on my Twitter profile, just like I did in previous years, using the same four questions.

Book Blogging in 2025 Survey Results

How long have you been book blogging?

This year shows a slight increase in the percentage of new book blogs compared to last year 4% in 2024 (It was 4.1% in 2022 and 6.3% in 2023). 

I'm happy to see that the 5-10 years category has had the highest percentage this year and that the over 10 years category has grown too. This is good news as it means a lot of those same book bloggers are still going. Experienced, dedicated book bloggers still sharing their love of reading! 

How many page views do you get per month on average?

The highest percentage remains the less than 5K category (it was 64% in 2024). 5K-10K and 10K-20K have both increased, however, the over 20K category is less than last year (16% in 2024). 

There are numerous reasons why you might experience a decrease in page views and whilst some; posting quality content, correct SEO, promotion etc... are things you'll need to work on others aren't caused by the blogger e.g. changes in search engine algorithms or evolving user behaviour.

On average, how many comments do you get on your blog each day?

0-5 86.4% 

6-10 9.1% 

11-20 0% 

Over 20 4.5%

This continues to be one of the areas where the majority continues to struggle. The 0-5 category has consistently been the majority each year (88% in 2022,  87% in 2023 and 84% in 2024).  

Where does most of your blog traffic come from?

Search engines 57.1% 

Social media links 38.1% 

Newsletter subscribers 0% 

Other 4.8%

Search engines continue to be the highest source of traffic for book blogs with social media in second place again. 

This is the second year in a row that Newsletters have got 0% (2% in 2022, 4.3% in 2023 and 0% in 2024). This could be an indication that Newsletters are no longer worth investing in. 

The Other category (14.3% in 2022, 12.8% in 2023 and 5.9% in 2024) has also been reduced yet again. 

If you know of other surveys offering statistics to do with book blogging please let me know about them in the comments section below. 

Conclusion

I hope this survey has given you some valuable insight into the world of book blogging and sparked a few new thoughts along the way. 

No matter where you are in your book blogging journey, know that you're not alone. Many of us face similar challenges, even those who’ve been at it for years. So if you’re feeling stuck or discouraged, hang in there. 

Were any of the results surprising to you? How do you compare to the average book blogger based on these stats?