Our Favorite Reads of 2025
And some bookish goals for the new year
With a year’s end often comes reflection, perhaps about ourselves, our place in the world, the state of our society, and much more. Reading may also play a big role in our contemplations. What were our favorite books of the year? Which did we most recommend?
For many of us, reading is not simply about the book itself. Who we are and where we are in life often shape our perceptions and attitude towards a story. Books in many ways can become a diary of sorts, reflecting our current selves back to us in the pages. That might be through our annotations, or our interpretations. (I have a copy of Song of Solomon that I first read in my sophomore year of high school. My annotations after multiple re-reads continue to change and evolve, just as I continue to change and evolve.)
I came across this quote from Marcel Proust in A Tale for the Time Being, and felt it (and, honestly, Ruth Ozeki’s novel) a perfect summary: “In reality every reader is, when he reads, the reader of his own self. The work of the writer is just a kind of optical instrument that is offered to the reader to permit him to discern that which, without the book in question, he could not have seen within himself.”
Additionally, external factors are likely to shape how we approach a book, whether that be genres assigned to books (“classics,” for example, often refer to white, cishet authors), marketing budgets (that also favor white, cishet authors), or award nominations. What we consider to be “the best” is subjective, but our own tastes are often shaped by the world we live in and what we are exposed to—whether intentionally or not.
Even if we had first read all these books a year ago or a year from now, they might not have ended up on our favorites list—because we are not and will not be the same. And that’s such a beautiful aspect of reading, knowing that we become as much a part of the book as they become a part of us.
So, without further ado, here are some of our favorite stories we read in 2025:
Our top reads of 2025
In no particular order
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad: “As an immigrant who came to the West, El Akkad believed that it promised freedom. A place of justice for all. But in the past twenty years…El Akkad has come to the conclusion that much of what the West promises is a lie. That there will always be entire groups of human beings it has never intended to treat as fully human.”
Woodworking by Emily St. James: “Erica Skyberg is thirty-five years old, recently divorced—and trans. Abigail is seventeen, Mitchell High’s resident political dissident and Only Trans Girl. She’s also annoyed by the idea of spending her senior year secretly guiding her English teacher through her transition. And soon, both women—and those closest to them—are forced to ask: Who are we if we choose to hide ourselves? What happens once we disappear into the woodwork?”
Cantoras by Caro de Robertis: “In defiance of the brutal military government that took power in Uruguay in the 1970s, and under which homosexuality is a dangerous transgression, five women miraculously find one another—and, together, an isolated cape that they claim as their own. Over the next thirty-five years, they travel back and forth from this secret sanctuary…Throughout it all, they will be tested repeatedly as they fight to live authentic lives.”
I’ll Tell You When I’m Home by Hala Alyan: “After a decade of yearning for parenthood, years marked by miscarriage after miscarriage, Hala Alyan makes the decision to use a surrogate. In this charged time, she turns to the archetype of the waiting woman—the Scheherazade who tells stories to ensure another dawn—to confront her own narratives of motherhood, love, and inheritance.”
Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan: “Thirty years old with a lifetime of dysphoria and irritating exes rattling around in her head, Max is plagued by a deep dissatisfaction. Max thinks she’s found the answer in Vincent…But he is also carrying baggage of his own. When the fall-out of a decades-old entanglement resurfaces, Max must decide what forgiveness really means.”
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar: “Cyrus Shams is a young man grappling with an inheritance of violence and loss: his mother’s plane was shot down over the skies of the Persian Gulf in a senseless accident; and his father’s life in America was circumscribed by his work killing chickens at a factory farm in the Midwest. A drunk, an addict, and a poet, [his] obsession with martyrs leads him to examine the mysteries of his past.”
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum, translated by Shanna Tan: “Yeongju is burned out. In a leap of faith, [she] abandons her old life, quits her high-flying career, and follows her dream. She opens a bookshop. In a quaint neighborhood in Seoul, surrounded by books, Yeongju and her customers take refuge. The Hyunam-dong Bookshop becomes the place where they all learn how to truly live.”
The White Hot by Quiara Alegría Hudes: “April is a young mother raising her daughter in an intergenerational house of unspoken secrets and loud arguments. Her only refuge is to hide away in a locked bathroom…until one day, as she finds herself spiraling toward the volcanic rage she calls the white hot, a voice inside her tells her to just . . . walk away.”
The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio: “Karla Cornejo Villavicencio was on DACA when she decided to write about being undocumented for the first time using her own name. So she wrote her immigration lawyer’s phone number on her hand in Sharpie and embarked on a trip across the country to tell the stories of her fellow undocumented immigrants—and to find the hidden key to her own.”
The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley: “Adela Woods is sixteen years old and pregnant. Her parents banish her from her comfortable upbringing in Indiana to her grandmother’s home in the small town of Padua Beach, Florida. When she arrives, Adela meets the Girls, a group of outcast young moms who raise their growing brood in the back of [a] red truck. The town thinks the Girls have lost their way, but really they are finding it: looking for love, making and breaking friendships, and navigating the miracle of motherhood and the paradox of girlhood.”
And favorites from Fiona, ad astra’s designer extraordinaire:
On the Calculation of Volume (Book III) by Solvej Balle, translated by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell: “In the third installment of Balle’s septology, Tara’s November 18th transforms when she discovers that she is no longer alone in her endless autumnal day.”
The Hollow Half by Sarah Aziza: “In October 2019, Sarah Aziza, daughter and granddaughter of Gazan refugees, is narrowly saved after being hospitalized for an eating disorder. The doctors revive her body, but it is no simple thing to return to the land of the living. Aziza’s crisis is a rupture that brings both her ancestral and personal past into vivid presence.”
Painting Time by Maylis de Kerangal, translated by Jessica Moore: “Burgeoning young artist Paula Karst is enrolled at the famous Institut de Peinture in Brussels. [She] strives to understand the specifics of what she’s painting…but also something else: craftsmanship. She resolutely chooses the painstaking demands of craft over the abstraction of high art.”
The Cook by Maylis de Kerangal, translated by Sam Taylor: “A coming-of-age journey centered on Mauro, a young self-taught cook, [the] story is told by an unnamed female narrator, Mauro’s friend and disciple who we also suspect might be in love with him.”
The Heart by Maylis de Kerangal, translated by Sam Taylor: “[Three] boys are involved in a fatal car accident on a deserted road. Two of the boys are wearing seat belts; one goes through the windshield. The doctors declare him brain-dead shortly after arriving at the hospital, but his heart is still beating. The Heart takes place over the twenty-four hours surrounding the resulting heart transplant, as life is taken from a young man and given to a woman close to death.”
Suggested in the Stars by Yoko Tawada, translated by Margaret Mitsutani: “As Hiruko and her new friends travel…they begin opening up to one another in new and extraordinary ways. Coping with carbon footprint worries but looping singly and in pairs, they hitchhike, take late-night motorcycle rides, and hop on the train to convene in Copenhagen.”
Orlanda by Jacqueline Harpman, translated by Ros Schwartz: “One afternoon in a café…Aline Berger, a literature professor, struggles to re-read Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, when an odd feeling comes over her. Suddenly, part of her consciousness splits off and finds itself in the body of an attractive young man.”
Seeing Further by Esther Kinsky, translated by Caroline Schmidt: “While travelling through the Great Alföld, [our narrator] stops in an all but vacant town near the Romanian border. There she happens upon a dilapidated movie theater. Entranced, she soon finds herself embarking on the colossal task of renovating it in order to preserve the cinematic experience.”
But even a list of 18 books cannot paint a full picture. There were many oh-so-slightly edged out, and a number that were enjoyed even if not a year’s “favorite.” Here are a few additional recommendations:
Heart the Lover by Lily King: As always, King made me alternate between laughing and crying on every other page.
Endling by Maria Reva: Percival Everett, expert at the experimental novel format, dubbed this as “fantastic,” and I’d have to agree.
Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines by Dr. Joy Buolamwini: Just in time for the holidays, this book challenged my often automatically negative perceptions of AI, and helped me feel confident in the inevitable familial conversations on the subject.
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai: So far, the only reason this one is not in my top ten is because I am about halfway through! Otherwise it likely would have been a strong contender.
It’s Not that Radical: Climate Action to Transform Our World by Mikaela Loach: This book is great for starting conversations on the links between capitalism and environmental destruction.
Big Familia by Tomas Moniz: I will read anything Moniz writes, as it all feels like a warm hug.
A Truce That Is Not Peace by Miriam Toews: Another I had a hard time not including in the top 10. Toews is one of my favorite fiction writers, and now she has written one of my favorite memoirs, too.
Reading in 2026
There are already many books we can’t wait to read in 2026, which we’ll be sharing on social media in the coming days. We also always look forward to R.O. Kwon’s roundup of upcoming books by women of color for Book Riot, which she’s written the past few years.
As you’ve likely realized by now, we’re big advocates for conscious reading—whether that means supporting a public library or indie bookstore, reading diversely, or including both backlist and frontlist books on our TBRs. Often my personal reading goals revolve around conscious consumerism and readership, versus numerical goals. One of my personal goals for 2026 is to reread six books that I already own. This might be a book I know I loved (Still Life by Sarah Winman is at the top of the list), or a book I read at the wrong time. There’s so much joy and knowledge to be had in picking up a book for a second or third time, as we’re always likely to find something new; we grow and change, and therefore so do our interpretations.
And on the note of books being a diary, I also want to start noting the date I read a book, as well as a few musings on my headspace, location, etc. on a notecard left inside. When I reread them in the future (or wherever they may end up), perhaps they’ll help me understand myself all the more.
Books we are reading (or hoping to read) this month
✅ Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
✅ Beings by Ilana Masad
✅Three Parties by Ziyad Saadi
✅🎧Good Spirits by B.K. Borison
🗓️ Bad Bad Girl by Gish Jen
🗓️🎧Sparks Fly by Zakiya N. Jamal
Note: For books we have completed, we’ll only include here ones we recommend.
Books new to our TBR
Every Day I Read by Hwang Bo-reum
The Book of Love by Kelly Link
The 2025 ad astra Readership Challenge: Complete the form for your prize!
We’re officially wrapping up our inaugural readership challenge, and we’d love to hear your thoughts, either in the comments below, or this brief survey. Since the challenge is not book specific, but action specific, we’re debating whether to create a new one, or just leave the prompts as they are for 2026!
And, as a reminder, if you participated in the challenge, there are two prizes:
Folks who completed at least six prompts will receive an ad astra sticker sheet
Those who completed every challenge will be entered to win a $100 gift card to the indie of their choice
Make sure to complete the form to get your prize! Unfortunately, these are available for U.S. residents and those 18 and older only, sorry.
Other publishing updates
Barnes & Noble is likely going public in 2026. Here’s what that means for the publishing community.
The Trump administration continues to attack Penguin Random House—this time with Stephen Miller’s law firm filing a civil rights complaint.
Help rebuild Gaza’s public library via this donation campaign!
Library patrons in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi no longer have first amendment rights.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read! If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share with friends, and consider subscribing if you have not yet already. Also, in case you missed it, we have prints! Learn more and place an order here.
We’ll be back in a few weeks with the latest publishing updates.
Xx,
ad astra
Omg WOODWORKING and ORLANDA both on my best of list too !!!!!!
This is a great list, I loved cantoras and I'll Tell You. Martyr, the Hollow Half and the White Hot are at the top of myl ist for 2026. And I may join y'all in writing a little note when I start a book, or at least certain books that I think will resonate and/or I'l have a strong reaction to (for better or worse)