Here is my 2025 books preview. This is very much my preview so expect to see a lot of narrative nonfiction, current issues, essay collections, speculative fiction, and satire. I know there are some very buzzy books that are coming in 2025, that will no doubt be on every other list, they’re not on this one though. I am keeping it real here and only sharing what I am genuinely interested in reading. Last year, for accountability purposes my list had 32 books, as of this writing (with a month left in the year) I have read (or DNF’d) 23 or them and we featured 15 on The Stacks, so this really is a list I plan to read through.
As always this list skews mostly toward first half releases, since most publishers haven’t shared what is coming at the end of the year. I’m sure there will be some juicy celebrity memoirs that I will devour like candy but I don’t even know about them yet.
This list has 41 books on it, and I can’t wait to hear about which ones you’re the most excited to read. Tell me in the comments.
In Open Contempt: Confronting White Supremacy in Art and Public Space by Irvin Weathersby, Jr. (1/7)
A book that looks at several monuments and museums across the United States and explores what it means to name a place or person as worthy of enshrining. A debut that is at the tip top of my list, also, the most beautiful cover I have seen for 2025 so far.
Playworld by Adam Ross (1/7)
A coming of age novel set in 1980’s New York City that follows a 14 year old boy who becomes the object of desire for his parents’ 36 year old married friend. Did I mention that our protagonist, Griffin Hurt, is a child TV star? This one is billed as “bursting with laughter and heartache” which sounds exactly right.
The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story by Pagan Kennedy (1/14)
Marty Goddard volunteered on a crisis hotline for girls who had been molested and raped by people in their lives. Fed up with the men getting away with, she took matters into her own hands and developed what we now know as a rape kit. Goddard allowed a man to take credit for her work, and eventually fell into obscurity. In The Secret History of the Rape Kit Kennedy goes searching for Goddard and stumbles across more in the process.
The Sun Won’t Come Out Tomorrow: The Dark History of American Orphanhood by Kirsten Martin (1/21)
I am a sucker for a musical theatre reference, even if the book isn’t so much about Annie as it is about the little orphan part. This book takes on the stories we are told about orphaned children and the myths created that euphemize the true experiences of children who are part of the child welfare system.
Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People by Imani Perry (1/28)
I will read anything Imani Perry writes. I love her work and have for years. Her latest, Black in Blues, is all about the relationship of Black culture to the color blue; from Blues music to indigo plants and beyond. Perry is a unique talent who can combine multiple threads and I look forward to seeing how she does just that in this book.
Pure Innocent Fun: Essays by Ira Madison III (2/4)
Ira Madison III is one of my favorite voices on pop culture, and I have been eagerly awaiting his entry into the book space for years. This essay collection, which explores the pop culture that made Madison, promises to be smart, funny, and snarky as hell.
On My Honor: The Secret History of the Boy Scouts of America by Kim Christensen (2/11)
A deep dive into the sexual abuse scandals that have plagued the Boy Scouts of America. I love investigative journalism and I love books about failures of authority. I also love a cover up. This book has everything I’m looking for in my nonfiction reading.
Original Sins: The (Mis)Education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism by Eve L. Ewing (2/11)
Not only have I read and loved Eve Ewing’s work in the past, but all of my favorite writers cite her as their favorite writer. Add to that Ewing’s latest book approaches the failures of US schools not as failures at all but as a system living up to what it was created to do, maintain inequalities.
Talk to Me: Lessons from a Family Forged by History by Rich Benjamin (2/11)
Rich Benjamin uncovers the story of his grandfather, who was the President of Haiti for two weeks in 1957 before a coup forced him and his to New York City. This book uses these events as a jumping off point for a rich family and personal history.
You Didn’t Hear This from Me: (Mostly) True Notes on Gossip by Kelsey McKinney (2/11)
A book about gossip by the woman behind the best podcast about gossip? Sign me all the way up. I can’t wait to see what the host of Normal Gossip, Kelsey McKinney does on the page.
Disposable: America’s Contempt for the Underclass by Sarah Jones (2/18)
The first lines of the marketing copy for this book read as follows: “In the tradition of Matthew Desmond’s Evicted and Andrea Elliot’s Invisible Child, Disposable is a poignant exploration of America’s underclass, left vulnerable by systemic racism and capitalism.” AI must have written that exactly for me, right? This book explores the lives of essential workers, seniors, and people with disabilities and how they were disproportionately impacted by and discarded in the wake of COVID.
Yours Eventually by Nura Maznavi (2/18)
A debut novel set in a Pakistani American community where a doctor gets a second chance with her first love when he becomes the most eligible bachelor in town. I can’t say for sure why this book is calling to me, because I am not really a love story person, but there is some kind of longing that I see on that cover that excites me.
Death Takes Me by Cristina Rivera Garza (2/25)
Garza won the Pulitzer in 2024 for her memoir, Liliana’s Invincible Summer, and now she is back with a novel that bends genre and tells the story of a detective and professor taking on gendered violence and searching for justice.
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (2/25)
A book that grapples with the horrors and cruelty of The West through the lens of some of the biggest cultural moments of our time. From the genocide in Gaza to the treatment of Black Lives Matter activists, to the war on terror and more. This book is for this moment and for our future.
The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami (3/4)
A speculative dystopian novel where dreams are surveilled and you can be locked up for whatever your subconscious creates.
The Trouble of Color: An American Family Memoir by Martha S. Jones (3/4)
Black historian Martha Jones delves into her own family’s story to write this book. She looks not only at the family itself but the shifting color lines and cultural boundaries that define them.
Stag Dance: A Novel & Stories by Torrey Peters (3/11)
In the follow up to one of my favorite books of 2021, Detranstition Baby, Torrey Peters is back with a novel and three novellas. I expect a collection with humor, heart, and creative takes on tried and true narratives.
World Without End: An Illustrated Guide to the Climate Crisis by Christophe Blain and Jean-Marc Jancovici (3/11)
A graphic novel about climate change that is taking the world by storm, already an international bestseller, it comes out in the states in March and I am so curious to see why this book is having the impact it is around climate change.
Hot Air by Marcy Dermansky (3/ 18)
The copy for this book reads as: “A joyfully unhinged story of money, marriage, sex, and revenge unspools when a billionaire crashes his hot-air balloon into the middle of a post-pandemic first date.” Doesn’t this sound amazing? Revenge and a hot-air balloon? Let’s go!
I’ll Love You Forever: Notes from a K-Pop Fan by Giaae Kwon (3/18)
I don’t know much about K-Pop but I do know that I love Giaae Kwon’s writing. Whether it is her sharp essays or thoughtful instagram captions, Kwon has a way with words. I also know she has a passion for K-Pop, and I can’t wait for her to be my guide through a genre she loves so much.
Cover Story by Celia Laskey (3/25)
A novel about an uptight publicist who is tasked with keeping her actress client in the closet and instead falls in love with her. Lesbian romance? Hollywood drama? Power imbalance? I love it all.
There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America by Brian Goldstone (3/25)
When the author of my favorite nonfiction book of 2023, Roxanna Asgarian, flags a book as a must read, I will most certainly be reading it. There Is No Place for Us follows five families in Atlanta who are part of the rising trend of “working homeless”. This book uncovers why there are more and more people in the working class who can’t find homes, especially in large cities, and what it all means.
Authority: Essays by Andrea Long Chu (4/8)
One of my favorite critics, the Pulitzer-winning, Andrea Long Chu is giving us an essay collection and I am thrilled. It is all about what it means to have “authority” when everyone can have a public opinion about anything. To get a sense of what Chu can do, check out her scathing review of Hanya Yanagihara from 2022, she is my kind of critic.
Somadina by Akwaeke Emezi (4/15)
New Emezi? Enough said. They are an auto-buy author for me, no matter that this one is a YA fantasy novel involving magic (all things I am not into), I will be checking it out.
The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life by Suleika Jaouad (4/22)
A book about journaling and all it can bring to life, loss, heartbreak, and contentment. Jaouad enlisted over a 100 writers to help make this book come to life including some of my favorites like Hanif Abdurraqib and Oliver Jeffers. I am not a journaler, but maybe I could be convinced after reading this book.
Change the Recipe: Because You Can’t Build a Better World Without Breaking Some Eggs by José Andrés with Richard Wolffe (4/22)
A book of essays from the world-renown chef, activist, and humanitarian José Andrés. The book explores some of Andrés’ most hard-won life lessons from the work he has done in the kitchen as well as feeding those in need through his organization, World Central Kitchen.
Love in Exile by Shon Faye (5/13)
An examination of love, but not in the way we’re used to. Faye, a trans woman in her thirties, explores the elusive nature of love, the isolating world we live in, and tries to figure out why love is something we measure ourselves against. The book is billed as “a thrilling reckoning with love in our time”, which has me salivating.
Murder in the Dollhouse: The Jennifer Dulos Story by Rich Cohen (5/20)
I can’t get away from my love of a good true crime story. I know, this just might be my toxic trait (ok, one of many). This book is about a rich mother who dropped her kids off at school and was never seen again.
The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex, and Controversy in the 1980s by Paul Elie (5/27)
One of my favorite eras in American history is the 1980’s. So many abhorrent politicians, so many social movements, so much tragedy, so many over the top news stories and celebrities. This book digs into all of it through art from the decade, including Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Lenard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. I’m not sure what to expect, but I am ready to find out.
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I’ll Tell You When I’m Home: A Memoir by Hala Alyan (6/3)
Past guest of The Stacks, Hala Alyan, is back with a very intimate memoir about her years long desire to be a mother paired with the unrelenting losses of infertility and marital turmoil. The book promises to be lyrical and expansive, tying her own journey to motherhood to those of her ancestors in Palestine and Beirut.
Great Black Hope by Rob Franklin (6/10)
As you know, I can be a sucker for a book recommended by a favorite author, this one, Like Martyr! last year has been recommended by so many of my faves (including Saeed Jones and Kaveh Akbar). Great Black Hope follows Smith who is Black and caught between race and class and navigating a tragedy. It is both a crime novel and a coming of age story.
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Waiting for Britney Spears: A True Story, Allegedly by Jeff Weiss (6/10)
Waiting for Britney Spears is described by the publisher as “A frenetic account of Britney Spears’s historic rise and equally tragic fall, from Jeff Weiss, LA’s Hunter S. Thompson”. What more do any of us need?
How to Dodge a Cannonball by Dennard Dayle (6/17)
This is a reverse passing narrative and a satire about a white teenager who joins an all-Black regiment in the Civil War. I am so intrigued by the premise, I have to see what Dayle is up to.
Weepers by Peter Mendelsund (6/17)
In a world where there are professional mourners, called weepers, who are hired for funerals and wakes, there are also the normals who don’t feel a thing. A new kid shows up with the power to make the normals feel. I am not sure what this book will be, but the premise feels so spot on for this moment, I can’t help but feel excited about the potential.
A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst (7/8)
In 1972 a young married couple quit their lives to sail for a year, things went well until a whale knocked a hole in their boat. Then they were stranded at sea in a small raft for months and had to figure out how to survive.
No Sense in Wishing: Essays by Lawrence Burney (7/8)
When the copy on the back of a book says “for fans of Hanif Abdurraib and Kiese Laymon” I come running. This essay collection is about the art and culture that shaped Burney as a Black creative and critic coming up in Baltimore and how his travels through the Black diaspora built on this foundation.
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 (7/15)
A work of narrative nonfiction about the grandmothers who fought to find their stolen grandchildren during Argentina’s Dirty War and has been compared to Say Nothing, so yeah, I’m in.
Blessings and Disasters: A Story of Alabama by Alexis Okeowo (8/5)
Admittedly I don’t know much about the state of Alabama. It is often portrayed in the media as a throwaway state with the people who call it home erased and minimized. I am excited to see Okeowo give the state, its history, and the people who live there its due, both good and bad.
Destroyer of Worlds: An Oral History of the Making and Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb by Garrett M. Graff (8/5)
Another oral history from Garrett M. Graff, whose book on 9/11 still haunts me. This one is all about the atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan during World War II as we mark that 80th anniversary. I look forward to reading both contemporaneous accounts of the bombings as well as reflections from the survivors. Also, this cover is stunning.
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People Like Us by Jason Mott (8/5)
The follow up novel from National Book Award winner Jason Mott is about two Black writers “trying to find peace and belonging in a world that is riven with gun violence”. I honestly have no clue what that will mean on the page, but I do know Mott is known for his humor, dry observations, and ability to stick the landing, so I am curious to see what happens with this book.
Whites: Stories by Mark Doten (8/19)
A collection of short stories about the “pathological narratives that shape our culture and country” as told through some wildly specific modern day white archetypes, like the well intentioned liberal and the QAnon believer. The cover, the title, and the premise sound hilarious and needed.
4,okay 6…bloody hell majority of this list is trying to figure out space on my heaving shelf already,good time to blitz and declutter what a thrill for 2025