Best Reads of 2025

It’s that time of year again, when everyone releases their Best Of lists. Reading in 2025 was quite different for me compared to previous years. I dumped more books than usual (10) and I read more, too (71). My resolution was to read two books I already owned for every one book I bought, and that was a miserable failure. But at least I read more books I owned than I purchased–29 vs. 24–so that’s something.

The big theme of 2025 reading was Tolkien. I have always liked Tolkien, but this year I joined a group slow-read of The Silmarillion, and it unlocked something for me. I got it, really truly got it. I appreciated the magnitude of Tolkien’s genius and achievement for the first time. He created an entire history/mythology/anthropology for Middle Earth, not just a story, and his writing is as beautiful and profound as any of the greats of English literature–yes, even Shakespeare. I am so angry that my college degree in English lit did not include Tolkien in the canon. He deserves to be studied seriously and widely.

Appreciating Tolkien in this new way led me to reread Lord of the Rings, plus two biographies and two books of literary criticism. I attended an informal, online seminar taught by a Tolkien scholar. And my husband and I took a “Tolkien retreat” in September, during which we listened to The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings on audiobook, read by Andy Serkis (which I cannot recommend highly enough). There is so much more to learn and love about Tolkien’s legendarium that I’m sure it will shape my reading going forward.

There are eight other five-star reads from 2025 that I would like to recommend:

Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick: I didn’t love much nonfiction that wasn’t Tolkien-related but this one about ordinary people in North Korea surprised me. I knew almost nothing about North Korea beyond broad strokes headlines, and this book does an excellent job capturing how much the people have suffered in that country, yet still go on living.

Unfit Parent by Jessica Slice: More than twenty years ago, I decided that my disability made it impossible for me to be a parent. That may mean that I’m not the target audience for this book, but I still thought it was excellent. Slice weaves her own parenting journey with a critical examination of the barriers faced by disabled parents/would-be parents and the wisdom that disabled parents can offer to non-disabled parents. It’s thought-provoking and sensitive, and I hope it advances the conversation around disability and parenthood.

The Auctioneer by Joan Samson: If I could only recommend one book I read in 2025, it would be this one. It is a horror novel, in the sense that horror novels create a sense of fear in the reader. This book has no jump scares, but the escalating dread I felt was scarier than any of the straight-up horror novels I’ve read. If you like The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, you’ll love this. It’s another book that should be part of the literary canon, and required reading for everyone.

The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddon: Here’s another classic, which Stephen King says is one of the best genre novels of the 20th century. A genteel neighborhood outside Atlanta is torn apart by what happens to every owner of a gorgeous, brand new house on the block. Friendships, minds, and lives unravel, and the ending is still a shocker.

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell: I had no idea a movie version was coming out when I read this in February, and I don’t know how faithful that adaptation is. I also don’t usually enjoy fictional versions of real people’s lives, but this is a glorious exception. O’Farrell takes the little we know about Shakespeare’s family and spins it into this heart-wrenching story of love and loss.

These next three books all came out in 2025 by authors that I will always read–all five stars!

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix: Whenever I recommend a Hendrix book, I always lead with, “He writes female characters better than any man should be able to.” His stories usually center around female friendships, and this one takes us to a Florida home for unwed mothers in 1970. To me, the true horror of this book is the experience of these young women in the pre-Roe v. Wade era, especially now that we live in the post-Dobbs era. Yet as ever, Hendrix concludes the book on a hopeful note. You will love this if you like to read stories of women taking back their power.

Katabasis by R.F. Kuang: A dark academia novel by Rebecca Kuang? Yes, please! In this case, the darkness is a literal descent into hell. Kuang seamlessly blends a criticism of the academy with a bit of humor, a quest through the levels of hell, and frenemies romance. In interviews, Kuang has said that the book was partially inspired by her now-husband Bennett’s struggle with Crohn’s disease, and the despair of watching the person you love suffer comes through. Kuang is a genius writer, but if you need a shorter page-turner, try Yellowface. You’ll be hooked.

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow: This book would have worked if it was just the love story, but the romance is nested within a circular time narrative which takes it from excellent to spectacular. If you want a short-story preview of what I mean, check out Harrow’s The Six Deaths of the Saint from 2022. But trust me, you will still want to read The Everlasting after reading Six Deaths. Every Harrow book ends with me clutching it to my heart, saying “That was SO GOOD!” She is a master at making the reader care.