46 best books of 2025: Our top fiction and nonfiction book recommendations

It was the best-of times (you know, that period in December when we do the best-of lists).

But it could feel like the worst of times: There’s so much to read before the year finishes!

Well, there’s good news. You can read these books whenever you want — this year, next year, Leap Day, anytime. This best-of thing isn’t really a competition — it’s a collaboration between writers, editors, designers, publicists, booksellers, journalists and readers like you.

And the prize isn’t a trophy: it’s a bunch of terrific books that find their way into readers’ hands. We’re all winners when we share the good stuff with each other. And this is the good stuff, folks.

That said, we also love lists — making them, reading them, remembering to recount them after last-minute changes (most of the time) — so don’t think we’re not going to list it up like crazy here. (How much do we enjoy lists? This year’s list comes with its own extra list, so you can pile your TBR lists even higher.) (You’re welcome.)

So, which book is best? That’s for you to decide. Read on for 46 excellent ones published in 2025.

“The Book of I” by David Grieg (Europa Editions)

First recommended to me by Vroman’s bookseller Pat, this slim debut novel tells the story of a Viking left for dead (he’d only passed out, but was unpopular with the other marauders) on a Scottish island with the two survivors of his crew’s bloody raid, a monk and a newly widowed beekeeper. Awkward, yes, but the harsh circumstances change them all.

Or if you like stories featuring characters stranded on an island, try “Isola” by Allegra Goodman (The Dial Press)

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“The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones (Simon & Schuster/Saga)

In this engrossing combination of historical fiction, folk horror and campus novel, a struggling academic comes into contact with a historically significant artifact: her ancestor’s 100-year-old diary, which details his conversations with a mysterious Native American man who might be a vampire.

Or if you like historical fiction mixed with the supernatural, try “The Antidote” by Karen Russell (Knopf)

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“Bug Hollow” by Michelle Huneven (Penguin Press)

The author told us in 2022, “I don’t mind being a regional writer. Altadena contains multitudes.” Dedicated to her hometown in the wake of the Eaton Fire, Huneven’s latest is a series of interlocking chapters about members of the Samuelson family across the decades as life takes them from Altadena and Pasadena to halfway around the world and back.

Or if you prefer family dramas set in the Midwest, try “Buckeye” by Patrick Ryan (Random House)

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“The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans (Crown)

Told through the letters and emails of a formidable woman, this surprise bestseller develops its irresistible mix of storytelling, intelligence and emotion through correspondence, which reveals more and more as you read on. You could hand this book to just about anyone, and they’d likely enjoy it.

Or if you like reading other people’s mail, try: “Selected Letters of John Updike” by John Updike, edited by James Schiff (Knopf)

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“Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival” by Stephen Greenblatt (W.W. Norton)

Whether “Hamnet” awakened your interest in this time period or you just love a good historical mystery, Greenblatt explores what’s known about the life of playwright (and likely spy) Christopher Marlowe, as well as considering all that we don’t know. (Greenblatt’s book made me want to reread Hesse Phillips’ excellent, deeply researched 2024 Marlowe novel, “Lightborne.”)

Or if you’d like a rich nonfiction account of Elizabethan theater, try “The Dream Factory: London’s First Playhouse and the Making of William Shakespeare” by Daniel Swift (FSG)

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“Do Admit! The Mitford Sisters and Me” by Mimi Pond (Drawn & Quarterly)

While a group biography of the notorious Mitford sisters delivered in a graphic memoir form might seem an unlikely pairing, the cartoonist and writer Pond channels just the right combination of history and humor to tell the stories of six siblings whose interest ranged from being a Nazi-loving pal of Hitler to moving to Oakland and becoming a muckraking journalist who changed an entire industry.

Or if you like big novels about cursed siblings, try “The Sisters” by Jonas Hassen Khemiri (FSG)

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“The Dream Hotel” by Laila Lalami (Pantheon)

In Lalami’s novel, set in a dystopian near-future, an exhausted Getty researcher and mother of twins is stopped at the airport after a long flight, where she is subjected to an interrogation under draconian new laws and her life is upended for a crime not actually committed.

Or if you’re interested in speculative fiction involving troubled border crossings, try “A Guardian and a Thief” by Megha Majumdar (Knopf)

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“Flesh” by David Szalay (Scribner)

Winner of the Booker Prize, this novel introduces the reader to a Hungarian teenager and then follows him throughout the ups and downs of his life. Whatever you do, do NOT think of this unsettling novel as a swell gift idea for your mom or your child’s teacher, unless you enjoy awkward conversations later on.

Or if novels that tackle problematic, age-inappropriate relationships are of interest, try “Playworld” by Adam Ross (Knopf)

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“Heart the Lover” by Lily King (Grove)

In this moving story about three friends who meet and fall in and out of love in college, King works some magic to create rich relationships that can feel as real and lived-in as your own school memories. The novel examines compassion, regret and life decisions that turn out to be pivotal.

Or if you like school relationships that literally put you through hell, try “Katabasis” by R. F. Kuang (Harper Voyager)

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“The Impossible Thing” by Belinda Bauer (Atlantic Monthly Press)

In this fascinating mystery that spans a century, the plot revolves around the once-common practice of stealing eggs out of the nests of seabirds. One hundred years later, the practice now outlawed, a thriving black market operates in eggs — including the search for an “impossible” red one.

Or if you want a different sort of time-spanning crime novel, try “Fair Play” by Louise Hegarty (Harper)

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“Is a River Alive?” by Rob Macfarlane (W. W. Norton)

One of our favorite writers, Macfarlane delivers his most ambitious and moving work to date. As with his previous book, “Underland,” the author travels the world, this time to explore three rivers — each facing existential challenges — while connecting with those working to protect the rivers and all who rely on them.

Or if you want a fictional look at future effects of climate change, try “What We Can Know” by Ian McEwan (Knopf)

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“King of Ashes” by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron)

Cosby is one of the most exciting novelists around, combining the skills of literary fiction with the thrills of visceral pulp. And here, drawing on his own experience working in the funeral industry, he writes a “Godfather”-influenced, crime story about a good man who realizes he could be an even better criminal.

Or if you like cinematic criminal enterprises set in a sleepy resort town, try “Only Way Out” by Tod Goldberg (Thomas & Mercer)

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“Lion” by Sonya Walger (NYRB)

This work of deeply autobiographical fiction reveals Walger, known to many for her role as Penny on the TV series “Lost,” to be a writer of great skill and feeling. Moreover, this exploration of a daughter’s love for her problematic father resonates with love and loss — made more poignant by the fact that Walger lost her beloved home, notebooks and personal library in the Palisades Fire.

Or if you’re interested how a writer must reckon with the unexpected death of her beloved husband, try “Memorial Days” by Geraldine Brooks (Viking)

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“A Long Game: Notes on Writing Fiction” by Elizabeth McCracken (Ecco)

Don’t be fooled: Ostensibly a book about writing, McCracken instead provides fortunate readers with a deep, idiosyncratic and hilarious-on-every-page meditation on the work of fiction, the love of reading and the life of a human trying to make stuff. It’s a lovely, generous work, perfect for anyone who loves books or enjoys laughing a lot.

Or if you’re interested in a visual artist’s take on creating work, try “Art Work: On the Creative Life” by Sally Mann (Abrams)

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“North Sun: The Voyage of the Whaleship Esther” by Ethan Rutherford (A Strange Object)

Maybe “Moby-Dick” set the template for the drama of the whaling vessel, but Rutherford’s debut novel is an engrossing and unusual look at life on a ship and the men who populate its decks. Told in short chapters, this vibrant book holds a strange power that is hard to resist, just like the sea.

Or if you prefer a different kind of whale story, try “A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck” by Sophie Elmhirst (Riverhead)

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“One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This” by Omar El Akkad (Knopf)

Passionate, powerful and polemical, this National Book Award-winning work of nonfiction rejects accepted notions about the devastation of Gaza following the Oct. 7 attacks. Haunted by images of dead children and a destroyed landscape, El Akkad pushes back against what he sees as paralyzed inaction in the face of genocide.

Or if you’d like to read more about Gaza, try Pankaj Mishra’s “The World After Gaza: A History” (Penguin Press)

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“Palaver” by Bryan Washington (FSG)

In this National Book Award-nominated novel, a long-estranged mother and son are reunited when she arrives in Japan to see him, who is not too happy to be playing host to her in his tiny living space. Washington told us earlier this year about the novel, saying that he wanted to explore “whether or not reconciliation is possible with a person after challenging experiences.”

Or if you’re looking for a novel in which mother and son head to a new country together, try “Fonseca” by Jessica Francis Kane (Penguin Press)

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“The Queen of Swords” by Jazmina Barrera, translated by Christina MacSweeney (Two Lines Press)

Barrera, known for her books “On Lighthouses” and “Cross-Stitch,” admits that she’d initially planned to write a short essay about Mexican writer Elena Garro, a founder of magical realism who was married to writer Octavio Paz. “I was mistaken,” she writes, revealing that she became fascinated with Garro and spent years on the project, which won the Cercador Prize and was longlisted for the National Book Award.

Or if you’re looking for a deep dive into the life of an underappreciated writer, try “Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife” by Francesca Wade (Scribner).

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“Remember Us to Life” by Joanna Rubin Dranger (Ten Speed Graphic)

At one point in this graphic memoir about the author’s ancestry and the Holocaust, one character gives another a copy of the graphic novel “Maus,” and you can feel a deep connection between that book and this richly researched memoir about lives brutalized by antisemitism and murdered by the Third Reich. With affecting artwork, photos and documents, this is a powerful work of personal history.

Or if you’d like a graphic family memoir involving farming, try “Ginseng Roots” by Chris Thompson (Pantheon)

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“Sacrament” by Susan Straight (Counterpoint)

National Book Award finalist Straight is one of our finest novelists, and “Sacrament” offers a powerful look at lives disrupted by the pandemic in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Set in August 2020 as the coronavirus surges, the book focuses on four nurses working long hours to save lives, even as their own relationships with family and loved ones strain under quarantine. Straight writes beautifully about all of the senses — the peppery taste of a Mexican Coke or light shining through a sprinkler spray — and she’s at her best seeing the people and places others miss.

Or if you’re looking for a pandemic story involving a small furry creature, try “Raising Hare: A Memoir” by Chloe Dalton (Pantheon)

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“The Secret History of the Rape Kit” by Pagan Kennedy (Vintage)

Journalist Kennedy tells the previously unknown story of a woman named Marty Goddard, who created the modern rape kit to collect evidence after sexual assault. Not only did Goddard create an essential law enforcement tool — Kennedy points to Goddard’s work as being key to catching the Golden State Killer, for example — but she also campaigned to improve the treatment of survivors of sexual assault. While a male law enforcement officer took credit for her work and she later dropped out of sight, Kennedy’s powerful reporting reclaims Goddard’s name and achievements.

Or if you’re interested in a writer investigating a real-life family mystery, try “Indignity” by Lea Ypi (FSG)

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“Stone Yard Devotional” by Charlotte Wood (Riverhead)

Maybe my favorite of the year, Wood’s Booker Prize-nominated novel tells a rich, engrossing story about a woman, in need of escape from her work and marriage, who seeks refuge in a religious community despite not being a believer. While there, she deals with her past and mice. Lots of mice.

Or if you’re looking for another low-key work of excellence, try “Perfection” by Vincenzo Latronico, translated by Sophie Hughes (NYRB)

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“The Wilderness” by Angela Flournoy (Mariner)

Set during the first decades of the current millennium, this novel, the long-awaited second from National Book Award finalist Flournoy, examines the changing relationships of five women, among them the sisters Desiree and Danielle, whose estrangement begins early and grows deeper in the wake of a shared loss.

Or if you like novels about relationships that span years, try “The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny” by Kiran Desai (Hogarth)

Erik Pedersen

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