Reading List 2025
Non-Fiction
How to Thrive with Adult ADHD - Dr James Kustow - finally got through this one. A lot of really useful practical tips, organised around 7 pillars. Some of it feels big and overwhelming, but I can see how some of the changes would be useful when implemented bit by bit. I like that it doesn’t have a superpower narrative and seems fairly balanced in acknowledging the difficulties and strengths.
Nobody’s Normal: How Culture Created the Stigma of Mental Illness - Roy Richard Grinker - fascinating look at how stigma is culturally created and how mental illness has different meanings across cultures, written by an anthropologist.
Still Distracted After All These Years by Kathleen Nadeau - all about ADHD in older adults 60+ which is the only book I have seen on this age group. It’s written in an easy to read way with lots of subheadings and good action points and summaries
ADHD for Smart Ass Women, Tracy Otsuka - a little bit of superpower narrative in here which I really struggle with, but also some really great, realistic, practical strategies
The Autist’s Guide to the Galaxy - Clara Törnvall - a fun little book, very tongue in cheek, on navigating the world of ‘normal’ people, pointing out the oddities of the neurotypicals.
Fiction
The Wonderful Thing About Phoenix Rose - Josephine Moon - honestly I think this is the best fictional representation of Autism I have come across. The main character is a late diagnosed teacher who goes on an epic road trip through Australia to save some animals. Highly recommend.
The Smythe-Smith Quartet - Julia Quinn - light bedtime listening.
Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir - lesbian necromancers in space! Good fun reads.
Babel, R. F. Kuang - interesting look at power, privilege and colonisation with a fictional Oxford.
The Witch Collector, Charissa Weaks - easy read romantasy novel.
The Kindred’s Curse saga - Penn Cole - I sped through these 3 books so fast and wish I’d known before I’d started that the 4th one isn’t out yet!
Bridgerton Prequels collection - Julia Quinn -audiobooks for sleep.
Kingdom of Ash - Sarah J Maas - finally read the last book in this series after putting it off as I didn’t want the series to be finished!
Witch Walker series books 2 and 3 - Charissa Weaks - the writing in these two seemed quite different to the first one and it took me a bit to adjust. I had also read some other books inbetween which won’t have helped with continuity.