Not sure what to add to your TBR pile? You’re in luck! Major publications have announced their top picks of 2025, and no one list is alike, spanning multiple genres such as literary fiction, memoirs, romance, fantasy, horror and nonfiction. But one thing is for sure; these picks reflect what’s getting attention from editors, critics and readers alike! What will you place on hold?
The New York Times’ The 10 Best Books of 2025, one of the most highly anticipated lists of the year, announced their top fiction and nonfiction titles. Check out the article free in-library access or with your BCLS membership. In our catalog, you’ll find:
- Fiction: Angel Down by Daniel Kraus is an immersive, cinematic novel about five World War I soldiers who stumble upon a fallen angel that could hold the key to ending the war.
- Nonfiction: A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst is the electrifying true story of a young couple shipwrecked at sea: a mind-blowing tale of obsession, survival and partnership stretched to its limits.
The Atlantic offers The Atlantic 10: The Best Books of 2025 with the subtitle, “The titles that made us think the most this year.” The Atlantic is also available to read with a BCLS membership!
- One of their top picks is Baldwin: A Love Story, by Nicholas Boggs.This nonfiction title tells the overlapping stories of James Baldwin's most sustaining intimate and artistic relationships.
Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2025, highlights a diverse mix of genres providing a broad view of 2025’s literary landscape.
- On more than just this list, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones takes a top spot. This chilling historical horror novel is set in the American west in 1912 following a Lutheran priest who transcribes the life of a vampire who haunts the fields of the Blackfeet reservation looking for justice.
Barnes & Noble compiles several best book lists that “celebrate the books that kept (staff) turning pages.” Lists are grouped by format, genre and more. Here are just a few you’ll find in our catalog:
- Best Fiction, Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser, tells the story of 10-year-old Mona and her beloved grandfather who have only 52 Wednesdays to visit 52 works of art and commit to memory "all that is beautiful in the world" before Mona loses her sight forever.
- For Memoirs and Biographies, Malala Yousafzai reintroduces herself to the world in her memoir Finding My Way. Malala takes readers beyond the headlines in Finding My Way, a vulnerable, surprising memoir that buzzes with authenticity, sharp humor and tenderness.
- If you’re in the mood for romance, then check out Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez, a big-hearted story about family, memory, love and heartbreak.
- For fans of audiobooks, you won’t want to miss Jason Reynold’s Soundtrack, an audiobook original - so it’s only available in that format. Read by a full cast and with an original score by Grammy-winning composer Justin Ellingto, Soundtrack transports you back to the early 2000s New York, where a group of teens whose talent and love of music lift them to unexpected heights.
Amazon’s Best Books of 2025 list celebrates the 25th anniversary of Amazon's Best Books of the Year and features picks for everyone across popular categories.
- Buckeye by Patrick Ryan comes in at number one. In postwar Bonhomie, Ohio, a fleeting affair between Cal Jenkins, who was unable to serve in the war, and Margaret Salt sets in motion secrets that reverberate through their families. As the town rebuilds and the next generation comes of age, hidden pasts and spiritual gifts force both families to confront who they are and what they truly desire.
When it comes to what everyday readers are raving about, check out the 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards, which selects the most popular books on the platform, with winners voted on by the community.
- With 167,509 votes, My Friends by Fredrick Backman took the top spot. My Friends tells the deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life 25 years later.
Need more? Check out other best of lists such as NPR, Kirkus, Time, Book Riot, The Washington Post or SLATE. And don’t miss BCLS staff picks all year long. Happy reading!
