The 25 best books of 2025
The 25 highest-ranked books first published in 2025 in our ranking of 2,819, scored on how much readers love them, their prize, best-list and bestseller record, and current buzz. We rank 101 books of 2025 in all. How we rank
- 1
The Correspondent94.9Must-Read ScoreThe Correspondent
It's a quiet, wise, funny book that sneaks up on you.
- 2
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This90.6Must-Read ScoreOne Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
It's angry, personal and beautifully written, and it puts words to things many readers have felt but not said.
- 3
Things in Nature Merely Grow88.0Must-Read ScoreThings in Nature Merely Grow
It's among the most honest books ever written about grief, and it won the Pulitzer Prize for Memoir.
- 4There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America87.2Must-Read Score
There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America
It won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction.
- 5
Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice86.7Must-Read ScoreNobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice
It's a harrowing, important first-hand account of how powerful people abused and covered up, and a testament to one survivor's courage in refusing to stay silent.
- 6
Atmosphere85.9Must-Read ScoreAtmosphere
Taylor Jenkins Reid combines a love story with a vivid, inspiring portrait of the women who fought to get into space.
- 7
Everything Is Tuberculosis85.7Must-Read ScoreEverything Is Tuberculosis
It's short, compassionate and surprisingly gripping, and it makes the history of a disease feel personal and urgent.
- 8
My Friends83.9Must-Read ScoreMy Friends
It's Fredrik Backman at his most heartfelt: funny, sad and full of love for misfits and the friends who save them.
- 9
Mother Mary Comes to Me83.7Must-Read ScoreMother Mary Comes to Me
It's a ferocious, funny, unflinching portrait of a mother-daughter bond, and of how a writer is made.
- 10We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution83.6Must-Read Score
We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution
It won the Pulitzer Prize for history and was a Goodreads Choice finalist.
- 11A Drop of Corruption82.8Must-Read Score
A Drop of Corruption
It was a Hugo Award finalist and a Goodreads Choice finalist.
- 12
King of Kings82.7Must-Read ScoreKing of Kings
It's a gripping narrative history of one of the most consequential events of the last fifty years, and it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
- 13
Alchemised82.1Must-Read ScoreAlchemised
It debuted at #1 on the New York Times list, spent months on the lists, and was a Goodreads Choice finalist.
- 14
The Raven Scholar81.6Must-Read ScoreThe Raven Scholar
It's a debut fantasy that became one of 2025's breakout hits, a Hugo Award finalist and a Goodreads Choice finalist.
- 15
The House of My Mother81.0Must-Read ScoreThe House of My Mother
It won the Goodreads Choice Award for memoir, was a #1 New York Times bestseller and spent months on the lists.
- 16
The Everlasting80.9Must-Read ScoreThe Everlasting
It won the Hugo Award and was a Goodreads Choice finalist.
- 17
Shield of Sparrows80.7Must-Read ScoreShield of Sparrows
It was a #1 New York Times bestseller and a Goodreads Choice finalist.
- 18
Broken Country80.2Must-Read ScoreBroken Country
It spent more than thirty weeks on the New York Times lists and was a Goodreads Choice finalist.
- 19
One Golden Summer79.2Must-Read ScoreOne Golden Summer
It spent more than twenty weeks on the New York Times lists and was a Goodreads Choice finalist.
- 20
107 Days79.2Must-Read Score107 Days
It spent weeks at #1 on the New York Times list and was a Goodreads Choice finalist.
- 21
Heart the Lover79.1Must-Read ScoreHeart the Lover
It was a Goodreads Choice finalist.
- 22Baldwin: A Love Story78.8Must-Read Score
Baldwin: A Love Story
It was a finalist for the Baillie Gifford Prize and the Goodreads Choice Award for history and biography.
- 23Wings of Starlight78.2Must-Read Score
Wings of Starlight
It has spent more than 60 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists.
- 24Fake Skating78.0Must-Read Score
Fake Skating
It has spent 50 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists.
- 25
192977.9Must-Read Score1929
It spent weeks at #1 on the New York Times list and was a Goodreads Choice finalist.