the BEST books i read in 2025 (of the 137 i read)

Obviously, for that reason, it is absolutely devastating, but I also thought it was so beautiful. It kind of creeps up on you slowly and then delivers a total sucker punch in the form of pure poetry.

And this book is just so brilliant. It also won the Dylan Thomas Prize. So if you won't take my word for it, take theirs.

I recommended Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna, which is one of my favorite books that I read in 2024.

It's kind of a bit of a disaster, but it is so fun to read, just like rip-roaring fun. So, this book, Glorious Exploits, in itself becomes a bit of a tragicomedy, and it's just so much fun.

It challenges our perception of what a family could or should or can look like and it's so heartfelt and excellent. I've described this before as Brat in a book.

This book is sordid, it's dirty, and it's devastating, but with humor twisted into every single paragraph, into every single line. So, this is Henry, highly recommend.

This book is unforgettable from page one. It's unflinching. It's provocative. It's funny, but it's also really endearing.

It's galvanizing. It will make you so angry, like viscerally angry. I think this book is required reading.

This is my favorite book of the year. I think that once you read it, it just stays with you forever. It's like a rash that keeps coming back in a good way though.

This was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize last year. I personally believe it should have won, but I'm always grateful to that list for championing such interesting literature from around the world.

And yet it's a reminder that greatness can be concise. Ostensibly simple prose can speak to the very depths of our soul. I'm so glad I found this book or maybe it found me.

It's a tale of stoic perseverance. And what I loved about this was that he is an English student and then he is an English professor. And the way this book talks about books will remind you why you love to read.