Hello again SheReads.com readers, did you miss me? While my column is no longer here at She Reads, my bookish hottakes live on, and I am thrilled to be back to share with you my top books of 2025.
I am staying true to form for my year end list, as I have every year since 2022, and giving you my favorite and least favorite books of the year framed around the questions I ask my guests each week on The Stacks. If the author of any of the below books was a guest on The Stacks, I have linked to that episode below for your listening pleasure.
Let’s get frisky!
TWO BOOKS I LOVE
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
As soon as I read this book, I knew I had struck on something major. I read it back in January and it has remained my book to beat this year. Searing and urgent, Omar El Akkd has written clearly and with conviction about what it means to witness atrocities at home and abroad through the lens of Palestine and Israel. In many ways though, this book is bigger than any single conflict or ideology, it is an indictment of The West and the ideals we hold true. Episode.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism by Eve L. Ewing
It is not easy to tell the story of the school system in the United States and encompass years of racism and abuse and do it all so that it is accessible and engaging. Ewing has done that and more in Original Sins. Bringing the history of schools to the present and beyond, this book is fantastic for people who are parents, educators, and anyone who has ever been or known a child. Episode.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
ONE BOOK I HATE
Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson
I am so sorry but this book was not good. It was lacking in vision and willfully ignorant of how we got here. Thompson and Klein overlook vulnerable populations for some fantasy of “abundance” that is only possible by disposing of said populations. It is a conservative manifesto masquerading as liberal policy. Oh, but without any actual policy. A real and true disappointment.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
THE LAST GREAT BOOK SOMEONE RECOMMENDED TO ME
Dominion by Addie Citchens
I do not take a Kiese Laymon endorsement lightly, and this year he told me point blank, that Dominion was a must read. He did not lie. I absolutely loved and devoured this Black Southern family drama, about a pastor, his son, and the women who love them. This is a thrilling debut that kept me on the edge of my seat as the story evolves from a witty critique of church culture into something entirely different. Episode.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
BOOK I LOVE TO RECOMMEND
The Gods of New York: Egotists, Idealists, Opportunists, and the Birth of the Modern City: 1986-1990 by Jonathan Mahler
If you want a high octane history of New York City that is a total blast to read, this is your book. in the late 80’s and the people who shaped the era and our political climate today, this is your book. If I’m being honest, I was surprised by how much I loved this book. I wouldn’t say it is the best book of the year, but it certainly is one of my favorites. And easily the most fun I had reading all year (history nerds take note). The tone is gossipy and salacious, which is the exact right tone to strike with a book about the ways tabloids shaped a city and a nation in the 1980s. And seeing so many public figures’ (Trump, Ed Koch, Larry Kramer, Spike Lee, Al Sharpton, Anthony Fauci) origin stories and how they built their personas is illuminating for how we got where we are now in 2025. And for all my audiobook people this is a perfect listen.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
CURRENTLY READING
Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie Gilbert
As a millennial girlie, I just felt like I needed to read about my history. I didn’t want the year to slip away without getting to it.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
FAVORITE AUDIOBOOK
A Better Ending: A Brother’s Twenty-Year Quest to Uncover the Truth About His Sister’s Death by James Whitfield Thomson
I devoured this audiobook in like 36 hours. I don’t know if I would have even liked the book on the page, but for whatever reason, the way Fred Sanders was narrating worked for me. The book is a true-crime memoir about the author’s sister’s suicide which he revists years letter and the questions that remain about her cop husband and his involvement in her death.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
BOOK THAT MADE ME LAUGH
Middle Spoon by Alejandro Varela
A collection of unsent emails between our married polyamorous narrator and the boyfriend who dumped him. The emails range from pathetic and cloying to pithy and dynamic. Reading the words of a true obsessive as he contemplates love, relationships, and hot takes about the Oscar’s really worked for me. The best works about heartbreak often have a lot of humor, and well, heart.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
BOOK THAT MADE ME CRY
Coach by Jason Reynolds
I am as surprised as you that Jason got me with this book, but the last third is really touching. This is the fifth and final (allegedly) book in the Track series and is about Coach as a kid in the 1980’s growing up and witnessing the holds of addiction in his community. It is a delightful historical fiction novel the kids will love that also got me a little weepy.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
BOOK THAT MADE ME ANGRY
Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream by Megan Greenwell
Look here, private equity is a scourge on society. This book, a deep dive into the industry and its impact on people will certainly get your blood boiling. As I read the book I just kept screaming “how is this legal?!?!?”. It is a fantastic entry point into the world of PE. Not to mention it is filled with factoids you can throw out at your next family gathering or work holiday party. You’ll be a total blast to hang with. Trust me. Episode.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
BOOK WHERE I LEARNED A LOT
A Flower Traveled in My Blood: The Incredible True Story of the Grandmothers Who Fought to Find a Stolen Generation of Children by Haley Cohen Gilliland
I knew next to nothing about the Argentine dictatorship of the 1970s that was famous for “disappearing” people including pregnant women. This book follows the grandmothers who patiently and painstakingly did everything they could to find their stolen grandchildren. Incredibly well researched and beautifully told, this book takes on the complexities of this story with care and confidence. Episode.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
BOOK THAT BROUGHT ME JOY
Truly by Lionel Richie
I have never been shy about being a big Lionel Richie fan, so this book, his memoir, was an obvious pick and it delivered for me. No, it isn’t great, but yes, I had a blast with it, (especially the first half). I loved hearing the stories of his rise to fame and his run-ins with so many music industry icons.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
BOOK I AM PROUD TO HAVE READ
Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li
This memoir about the deaths of Li’s two sons, both by suicide, is an honor to read. I feel proud to have been able to witness her work and her stories and hold space for such a compelling meditation on grief and remembrance. If you ask me, this might be the most beautifully written book of the year.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
BOOK I’M EMBARASSED I STILL HAVEN’T READ
Audition by Katie Kitamura
Since at least last November my trusted book sources have been talking about how amazing Audition is. It made plenty of lists and was a finalist for the Booker Prize. Which fine, I don’t always read those books, but this one is also about the theatre and has some questionable power dynamics at play. Plus people are telling me it is short, thought provoking and reads super fast. What am I doing writing this? I need to be reading Audition already.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
BOOK I WISH MORE PEOPLE HAD READ
The Hollow Half: A Memoir of Bodies and Borders by Sarah Aziza
This memoir from Palestinian-American writer Sarah Aziza is an incredible and vulnerable look at her treatment for anorexia that led her to revisit her family’s history in Gaza and beyond. Tender, thoughtful, and beautifully written, Aziza tells the story of so many through her own. A powerful work of nonfiction that is easily one of the best memoirs of the year. It deserves the attention of so many more readers. Episode.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
A BOOK PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO KNOW I LOVED
Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa, translated by Polly Barton
I don’t read nearly enough books in translation, so folks might be surprised to know how much I loved this sexy and pretty fucked up novel. It is about a woman born with a congenital muscle disorder, who relies on an electric wheelchair to move and a ventilator to breathe, who pushes the limits of appropriateness in thought and deed. I loved what this book had to say about women, disability, and class. It’s a banger.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
A BOOK ABOUT WHERE I’M FROM
The Pacific Circuit: A Globalized Account of the Battle for the Soul of an American City by Alexis Madrigal
Oakland! I loved this book that looks at one neighborhood in the city, West Oakland, and how it has shaped not only Oakland itself but the global economy. This book is expansive, ambitious, and so wide reaching, which is of course a metaphor for Oakland itself. Episode.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
PROBLEMATIC FAVE
Murder in the Dollhouse: The Jennifer Dulos Story by Rich Cohen
I have sorta moved off reading books about single acts of domestic violence – especially those about men murdering their wives – and yet, this book really captured my attention. It is the story of Jennifer Dulos (which I was unfamiliar with going into the book) and her life and eventual murder by her ex-husband. I can’t really proselytize about this book because I don’t know that any of us need another book like this, but I will say, this was good.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
A BOOK I WOULD ASSIGN TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America by Brian Goldstone
In the United States we are sold a lie about how if you work hard you will be okay. This lie runs rampant in schools – we are told it by teachers, coaches, counselors, and other students. This book shatters the myth that all you need to succeed is work ethic. In There Is No Place for Us, Goldstone follows five families in Atlanta who are part of a rising class “the working homeless”, people who work full time and still cannot find and secure permanent housing. This book is as engaging as anything I’d ever hoped to read in high school and it tells a story about the reality of America and poverty and what it actually takes to succeed. Episode.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
BOOK I WOULD LIKE TO SEE ADAPTED TO THE SCREEN
Woodworking by Emily St. James
The story of a trans high school teacher who becomes friends with the only other trans person in town, her student. This book is the perfect setup for a sit-com from the awkward encounters as the pair move through their rural town to the heartwarming friendship in the center. There is a great cast of characters and enough humor and heart to keep folks invested.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
BOOK I WOULD RECOMMEND TO THE PRESIDENT
Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People by Imani Perry
I know he wouldn’t get it, but if he could, if he could really try and sit with this book, I know he would be better for it. Imani Perry is a genius and she is creating new frameworks to think about Black life through the color blue and power and struggle and community. I know Trump would never get it. But, you might, so allow me to recommend this stunning book to you.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon
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