A look back at the best books of 2025

This past year has been full of things that have had to be made in time.

Save money here, save resources there, be ingenious and innovative. It’s a talent you’ve honed, but isn’t it time to get the best of it? Yes, pick up the 10 best books of 2025 for some New Year fun.

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Healthcare is something everyone is thinking about right now,Staying alive: Working-class Americans talk to their doctors.”Michael D. Stein, MD (Melville House, $26.99) offers a peek into healthcare from the perspective of doctors who treat “frontline workers” and people experiencing poverty and homelessness. It’s a shocking, eye-opening book, a thin, quick read, and you need to read it now.

If you are in elderly care or caring for a loved one,How to lose a mother: a daughter‘memoirWritten by Molly Johnfast (Viking, $28) should be in your plans for next year. It’s both a memoir and a biography of John Fast’s mother, Erica John, and a story of love, illness, and navigating the chaos of serious illness with humor and grace. You’ll love this book, especially if you’re a fan of the author’s late mother.

Another memoir not to be missed this year is “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Veteran‘memoir” Written by Khadija Queen (Legacy Lit, $30.00). This is the story of one woman’s determination to rise above poverty, get an education, and stay above water while submerged by joining the U.S. Navy. This is a story that will keep you glued to your seat until the end.

Self-improvement may be something you consider working on in the new year.Alternative You: Adventures in Human AnatomyWritten by Mary Roach (WW Norton & Company, $28.99) is a light-hearted, yet realistic and informative look at things inside and outside the body that can be replaced or changed. New nose job? Transplants, new dental treatments? Learn how to become a bionic person in real life and laugh while you do it.

If you are a science fan, please read this book.Grave Robbery: The Biggest Stolen Property Case in FBI History and the FBI Bureau‘The quest to make things rightWritten by Tim Carpenter (Harper Horizon, $29.99). History buffs will want it, as will anyone interested in true crime, memoirs, FBI investigations, and travel books. This is the story of a man who spends his life stealing objects from graves around the world, and an FBI agent obsessed with securing and returning those objects. It’s a fascinating read, with just a touch of gruesomeness thrown in for fun.

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Speaking of a little scary,Don‘forget me, little bessie” by James Lee Burke (Atlantic Monthly Press, $28) is the story of a young girl named Bessie and her interaction with an artiodactyl being that follows her throughout her life. Set in the still-unexplored South Texas, it’s a bit of a Western, part paranormal, and full of fun.

“even songWritten by Stewart O.‘Naan (Atlantic Monthly Press, $28) is a multilayered novel about the friendship of women who grow old together and support each other. The characters are warm, funny, and heart-wrenching at times, and you won’t regret reading it. It’s simply fascinating.

If you want a dark story left behind in the dark winter season,one of us” Written by Dan Chaon (Henry Holt, $28), that’s it. The story is about twins who are orphaned after their mother dies, but end up meeting a man who runs a traveling show house and promises to take care of them. But they can never forget that a nefarious con artist is looking for them. Those kids can talk to each other without saying anything and he’s going to make a lot of money from them. This is a sharp and clever novel that fans of the “circus” genre should not miss.

“when the harvest comesWritten by Denne Michele Norris (Random House, $28) is a great romance, boy meets boy with a little spice and lots of conflict. Davis loves Everett, but doubts begin to creep in as the wedding day approaches. There was homophobia on both sides of the family, and no small amount of racism. Please note that this book contains mild language. However, if you like a good love story, you’ll love it.

Please enjoy another multi-layered story.elementWritten by John Boyne (Henry Holt, $29.99) is a meandering bunch of short stories connected in a series of arcs that begin on an island near Dublin. It’s about love, death, revenge, and fear, and it’s a bit like twilight zone, However, there are no paranormal phenomena. Be careful as you don’t want to take it down.

If you need more ideas, go to your local library or bookstore and ask the staff there for their favorite books of 2025. They will fill your book bag and New Year with good things.

Seasonal reading!

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