We’re of the school of thought that the New Year doesn’t really kick off in earnest till post Australia Day. Which means that all conversations about 2025 best of- wrap ups are permitted to continue in earnest until the start in February. Case in point: Just-hit-our-inbox this week reports, revealing Australia’s Year in Reading 2025. (ie the best ebooks, according to Amazon Kindle),
So, before you come at us with your New year, new reading goals (and we fully turn the page on 2025), it’s worth lingering for a moment on the stories that kept Australians glued to their Amazon Kindles last year. The dog-eared paperbacks may still have their charm, but if Australia’s reading habits tell us anything, it’s that digital pages are being devoured in record numbers. In 2025 alone, Kindle readers across the country read an average of more than 1.6 billion pages every single month. That’s a lot of late nights, early mornings, and “just one more chapter” promises quietly broken.
The Amazon Kindle Year in Reading review offers a fascinating snapshot of how, when and what Australians love to read – and it turns out our habits are as emotional as they are enthusiastic.
If there was one clear winner last year, it was romance. The genre reigned supreme in 2025, proving once again that Australians are hopeless romantics at heart. Whether it was slow-burn longing, sweeping fantasy love stories or pulse-racing suspense threaded with desire, romance sat comfortably at the top of the reading pile, with fantasy and suspense close behind. Escapism, it seems, was the order of the year.
And when it came to the book that truly captured the nation’s attention, Onyx Storm emerged as Australia’s bestselling and most-read title of 2025. Readers made it more than a quiet hit, talking about it, highlighting it, and recommending it to everyone. In fact, one of its most romantic lines – “I am yours and you are mine, and there’s no law or rule in this world or the next that will change that” – became one of the most highlighted passages of the entire year. Proof that a single sentence can linger long after the final page is turned.
But, individual titles weren’t the only obsession. Australians also proved themselves loyal binge-readers, with Zodiac Academy and Chestnut Springs crowned the most-devoured series of 2025. These were the kinds of stories readers didn’t dip into – they disappeared into them. The type that turns a quiet weekend into a blur of coffee refills and cancelled plans, because putting the Kindle down simply wasn’t an option.
Interestingly, while many of us associate reading with winding down at night, Australia’s favourite time to read last year was actually the morning. Kindle readers were most likely to open a book with their first cup of coffee, turning reading into a daily ritual rather than a bedtime treat. January, in particular, stood out as the peak reading month of the year – suggesting that while some resolutions may fade by February, the urge to start the year with fresh stories remains strong.
Another trend shaping Australia’s reading habits is the growing relationship between page and screen. Screen adaptations continued to send readers back to the original books in droves, with The Summer I Turned Pretty driving a staggering 372 per cent spike in Kindle downloads following its on-screen release. It’s a reminder that watching a story unfold often sparks the desire to experience it in its original, more intimate form – where inner monologues run deeper and every emotional beat lingers just a little longer.
And, Australians aren’t passive readers, either. In 2025, Kindle users created an astonishing 644 million highlights, marking the lines that resonated, comforted or cut a little too close to home. It’s a quietly intimate habit – highlighting a sentence no one else may ever see, but one that clearly mattered in the moment.
When it came to authors, Freida McFadden emerged as the most-read Kindle author of the year, with stories that kept readers hooked and coming back for more. Her popularity speaks to a broader trend – readers gravitating towards gripping, fast-paced storytelling that offers both emotional payoff and momentum, perfect for those stolen reading moments squeezed into busy days.
Taken together, Kindle’s Year in Reading paints a picture of a nation that still deeply values stories. Stories that comfort, distract, thrill and connect us. Stories read on crowded trains, in quiet kitchens at dawn, or under the covers long after the rest of the house has gone to sleep.
As we move into a new year of reading lists and literary resolutions, 2025 serves as a reminder that reading doesn’t have to be lofty or prescriptive. It can be indulgent, escapist, romantic and completely absorbing. Whether you’re chasing the next binge-worthy series, revisiting a screen adaptation in book form, or simply carving out ten minutes each morning to read a few pages, Australians have shown that there’s always room for stories – one highlight, one chapter, one billion pages at a time.
