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- [00:08]
Alison Stewart
This is all of it. I'm Alison Stewart live from the WNYC studios in soho. Thank you for spending part of your day with us. I'm really grateful that you're here. On today's show, we're celebrating 50 years of big and little Edie. It's been half a century since the landmark documentary Gray Gardens hit theaters. We'll speak to Rebecca Maisels, daughter of filmmaker Albert Maisels, and Spanish musician Rosalia has been playing on repeat. Over here in the Olivet Studios. We have the team from the podcast Switched On Pop here to help break down the new album from the Flamenco train. Pop star. And we'll take your calls. Plus, Flesh is the winner of the 2025 Booker Prize, will speak with its author. That's the plan. So, speaking of books, let's get this started with the New York Public Library's best books of 2025. A book can make a great gift during the holidays, but it's hard to know what book is right, the right fit for the right person. The New York Public Library has you covered with its new list of the best books of 2025. The list features selections for adults, teens and young kids, as well as Spanish readers. And as part of the list this year, the library is offering book giveaways and free, no wait, ebook access for certain titles. Joining me now to talk about some of the selections and how you can get more involved is Brian Bannon, director of branch libraries and education at the New York Public Library. Hi, Brian.
- [01:53]
Brian Bannon
Hi. Nice to see you.
- [01:55]
Alison Stewart
Nice to see you as well. So the library put together this list that includes more than 2, 200 titles. How did you and your team go about deciding what books to include?
- [02:08]
Brian Bannon
Yeah. So we have 225 titles this year. And I think what is really fun. So I'm a career librarian, and so this is like, you know, this is starting the holiday season early. We have over 80 librarians, from children's librarians to young adult librarians to adult services librarians. They're looking at all the books that came out in 2025. We break it off into a bunch of different teams. And in addition to being New Yorkers themselves and big readers in the various different genre categories, these are folks who are also talking to New Yorkers in their branches, in their communities. And so this list for us, it makes up what we see as the best sort of materials for young readers, little kids. So if you've got little ones in your life, this is a great list to look at. If you're thinking about some holiday gifts. If you've got a teen in your life that is either a reluctant reader or a voracious one, we've got something for them as well. And then what's also really fun about this is so many of the lists of best, they generally focus on one or two genre types. We look at them all and so what we know is that New Yorkers are reading really broadly. They like horror, they like thriller. New Yorkers love a great biography and a cookbook. And so we cover the whole spectrum. And so we have, I think it's like, it's like almost 20 individual teams of people who are doing all of these reviews. And so this is the best of what we, of what we find for the year. And so we've announced it. We announced it yesterday at the Starvis Neocas Foundation Library. And I've already, I've read of some of them already. And also this reading list, as I head into the holiday season and the.
- [03:47]
Alison Stewart
Cold season, I'm sure the library has tons and tons of data available to you. How much does the books checking of.
- [03:56]
Co-host or Producer
People checking out the book, does that factor into it?
- [04:00]
Brian Bannon
You know, yeah, so we look at all of those factors. But, you know, this is, you know, this is a little bit nuanced. We also, as a preview later in the year, we're actually going to do our top checkouts. And though this is specifically the data on what people actually read last year and at what volume. And so it's really fun. We'll do like our top 10 New York citywide. We'll do our top 10 in the Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island, Queensland, Brooklyn. So while we do our librarians do look at some of the data and we're again, we're talking to patrons and those kinds of things. This is really intended to, to, to have a bit of a curatorial sort of mindset to it. And it's also, you know, I like to think of it as like, you know, you know, we all have our, you know, for, for readers, the genres that we tend to gravitate towards. And for me, this is always a great one for if you're, if you're wanting to, for example, explore romantasy a little bit or romance, this is going to be the best version, you know, the best romance that came out this year. If you want to explore that, or if you're not really a thriller reader. I'm not really a thriller reader. They're a little too scary for me. But I read, you know, I'm actually enjoying, I read one of the thrillers on the books list this year. And so it's also a great way to, to help people who are interested in trying a new genre type to take a look at it or those people who are just dedicated lovers of a particular genre. Then we're going to give them kind of the best of those for the year. So but it's a combo of a little bit of what our patrons are saying. But also, you know, the people who are reviewing this are they're, they're generally like really experts in these areas and are really tracking it closely and trying to surface the best of those genre categories.
- [05:30]
Co-host or Producer
Listeners, we want to get you in here. What is your favorite book that you've read this year and why? We want to hear about a book that really hooked you, a book that was released in 2025. Our number is 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. What did you enjoy the most about the book? What is a recommendation? Someone who wants to give a new book for the holidays. Our number is 2124-3396-9221-2433. W N Y C. My guest is Brian Bannon, director of branch libraries and education at the New York Public Library. We're discussing the library's lists of best books of 2025. Before we get into the books, I want to talk about the ebooks that you have made available. Tell us more.
- [06:19]
Brian Bannon
Yeah, so this is, you know, we've often done these lists, you know, this is, this is a long standing practice of libraries. But here's the thing. As soon as we announce the list, there's a run on the books. And so it's a little bit of a womp, womp, you know, hey, you can check out the book and you can read it next spring because there's a long wait for it. So this year we're doing something that's actually taking a note from the book club that we do with you. So many of your listeners, I'm sure, are aware of the monthly book club that we do with your show. And we've been able to do unlimited licensing for ebooks and audiobooks for a number of years, as well as augmenting our print collection. And so that's actually what we did this year for the very first time. We negotiated licensing and we selected 25 titles of the 225 titles across children's, teen and adults. So in announcing this year there is going to be titles that you can check out right now with zero wait through the end of the calendar year. A number of them. You know, I could lipsloss a few of them, but you go to our website and you can see it. They're available now and they will be through the end of the year. We're also doing some book giveaways. They're going fast, but those will make some great stocking stuffers and gifts for the season as well.
- [07:29]
Alison Stewart
Yeah, I understand Yesterday had a book giveaway. That sounds like so much fun.
- [07:33]
Brian Bannon
We did at our central library, Starfish New Yorkers. But we also did it in the Bronx as well as St. George in Staten Island.
- [07:41]
Alison Stewart
All right, let's get into some books. I know you read this one, King of Ashes by SA Cosby. That was our October get lit pick. Why do you think it made the list? And what was it about this book that really caught your attention?
- [07:56]
Brian Bannon
You know, so you know, he is a obviously a really well known writer in this, in this genre category. I actually had not read any of his books before. And so this is again, what's so great about our book club is so I read it along with New Yorkers and in fact, I'm in another book club with a group of folks at my gym and a subset of us actually read this book as a bonus and then came to the live in person event. I think the writing is spectacular and so those who are maybe a little timid about trying out a thriller, it's the storytelling, the writing, the suspense, it is a little, there is some gore. So you gotta, you know, you gotta be. And I, and I generally stray away from that. But it really, you know, I actually thought, you know, for me, as someone who was dipping my toe in, it was a great read. We had a lot of fun with it and it was a great conversation for folks if they, I think it's, it's available. People want to watch you in conversation with him. Is that right?
- [08:54]
Alison Stewart
Yeah, definitely. You can watch on our channel and on YouTube. This is interesting. I have a clip from our big event, our get lit event with SA Cosby. And I asked him about the, the setting for this book about a family facing off against a gang. And it took place in Jefferson Run, Virginia. Let's listen.
- [09:16]
SA Cosby
Jefferson Run is actually based on a city in Virginia called Petersburg, Virginia, which is about 40 miles outside of Richmond. And a lot of the gentrification and issues that Jefferson Run suffers are issues that Petersburg has suffered. Petersburg used to be the number one manufacturer of house windows in America in the 40s and 50s. And once manufacturing moved out, of course, the shadow industry, that is crime, moved in. And I really wanted to talk about that in a way that wasn't heavy handed in using the Carruthers family as a prism to talk about how the economy of this place can affect not just the way people behave, but the way people feel, the way their spirits are broken, in a way. And so for me, the idea of Justin Run was to show this place that has the potential to be great or was once great. But much like a lot of places in the south, you know, the curse of Southern gothic fiction is that the corruption of the land represents the corruption of the soul. And so I wanted to kind of talk about that in a way that I thought, I hope would bring people into the conversation.
- [10:15]
Co-host or Producer
Things I love about him. Everything with him is so layered.
- [10:21]
Alison Stewart
In.
- [10:21]
Co-host or Producer
The way he talks about things and writes about things.
- [10:25]
Brian Bannon
Yeah, I mean, I think he really, he really brought, he really brought us into also a pretty unusual storyline. And you know, when I was talking to one of the guys in my book club, we actually both in some ways identified with Roman, the protagonist. And I want to, I don't want to do any spoilers, but if those of you who've read it or if you read it, I think it's, it's a, it's a question to ask yourself, who are the Romans in your life? And this is a young man who's returning back home. I'm not going to, again, going to give a lot a way about the book, but there's aspects, as you said, in terms of the layers that are about community, they're about space. They're also about family and what it means to go away and come back again and again. There's just so much to it. And I think oftentimes this genre type people are like, oh, it's just sort of a fast sort of read. And as you said, it's great writing and so much layering and really it takes you on an incredible journey.
- [11:20]
Alison Stewart
Let's go to some calls. Julie is calling in from Seagert, New Jersey. Hi, Julie. Thanks for making the time to call, all of it.
- [11:29]
Julie
Oh, of course. Good to be here. Thanks for taking my call.
- [11:35]
Carrie
The book this year called the Scrapbook.
- [11:39]
Julie
By Heather Clark is just like a really nice historical fiction romance that I read and the reason why I knew that she had written a book about Sylvia Plath a couple years ago that was really critically acclaimed. And lately a lot of people have been talking about how Sylvia Plath.
- [12:08]
Carrie
Is being compared to.
- [12:15]
Julie
What's her name.
- [12:19]
Alison Stewart
Taylor Swift.
- [12:21]
Julie
Yes. And I don't know, Heather Clark's book is called Red Comet, like the blazing art and short life or something like that of Sylvia Plath.
- [12:34]
Alison Stewart
You know what was really great? She was actually one of our full bios, that book on Sylvia Plath. It was an amazing, an amazing book. You should read as well. Let's talk to Carrie from Greenwich Village. Hey, Carrie, thanks for calling, all of it.
- [12:50]
Julie
Thank you. I'd like to Recommend Kevin Wilson's 2025 book, Run for the Hills, which it's very surprising, very unusual and deeply humane, but fun sometimes. Humane is a term that then leads to sorrow. But it's about different family members who find out that their father was the same man and he was a serial leaver of families and the leaver of his then occupation. So each time they come upon a new family member, the father has, you know, been for years a farmer or a novelist and so on. And it's about their journey to find each other and then to find the father all the way across America. And it's just unusual and so much fun and so surprising.
- [13:51]
Alison Stewart
I love hearing you say that. It's fun. That reading is a fun thing to do. All right, let's go back to your list. Brian. The Buffalo Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. NPR has called this book a masterpiece. Tell us about the premise of the book. Brian, can you hear me?
- [14:12]
Brian Bannon
Yeah, I'm back. I don't know what happened there.
- [14:16]
Alison Stewart
Tell us about the premise of Stephen Graham Jones, the Buffalo Hunter.
- [14:21]
Brian Bannon
Sorry, I just. You can hear me. Okay. Yes. So Buffalo Hunter, I'm about midway through. This is one of our top picks on the list. This is, it actually is in the horror sort of horror category. Again, I don't typically read horror, but a number of my friends who love horror but also just particularly love his writing had recommended it. This is an indigenous storytelling. It takes place around, well across time and place. 1910, Montana to present. And it's again, really beautifully written. There's some scary aspects of someone who's on the loose. I don't really want to give too much more away, but it's. But, you know, but it, but it feels like a sort of strange, immersive storytelling that it opens with a young woman who's reading the journals of her grandfather. And it. And the grandfather's in conversation with a Blackfeet tribe member who is recounting his experience and telling the story of the buffalo hunter hunter, which is again, it's creepy, it's scary, and it's also beautiful.
- [15:35]
Co-host or Producer
Let's Take a Call. Robert from White Plains, New Jers, White Plains, yeah. Hey, Robert, thanks for calling, all of it.
- [15:44]
Robert
Thanks for taking my call.
- [15:46]
Co-host or Producer
What did you read?
- [15:50]
Robert
I read the Fate of the Day by Rick Atkinson. It's the second volume of his trilogy and the American Revolution. It's deeply researched, wonderfully written, and not just military history. It's it examines the impact of the war on ordinary citizens and it also gives you the perspective of the British as well. I would note that Rick Atkinson is one of the talking heads in Ken Burns new documentary. I had read the first volume and when I was we were driving to the city, I think it was in April. And on All Things Considered they had an interview with Rick Atkinson about the upcoming second volume. And as far as books go, I couldn't have been more excited.
- [16:49]
Co-host or Producer
Thank you so much for giving us this call. This text says I want to recommend the Boy from the north country by Samantha Sussman. Beautiful story of the love between a boy and his mother and the outlook on life that she shows him through the choices she made as she grows up. Our phone number. We want to know what you read this year. What book did you enjoy that Was released in 2025? The number is 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. After the break, Brian is going to talk to us about birds that.
- [17:34]
Alison Stewart
You're listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. We're discussing the New York Public Library's new list of the best books of 2025. My guest is Brian Bannon, director of.
- [17:48]
Co-host or Producer
Branch libraries and education at the nypl.
- [17:52]
Alison Stewart
To walk us through this list. All right. Before the break, I said you were.
- [17:56]
Co-host or Producer
Going to talk to us about birds.
- [17:59]
Alison Stewart
Specifically Turning to Birds by Lily Taylor. Tell us a little bit about this book.
- [18:06]
Brian Bannon
Yeah, you know, Lily Taylor, you may be familiar with her name. She's an actor and she has written this fantastic book. And it's a I think it's a great book for people who are interested in birding. I am not a birder, but I have a lot of birders in my life. And she really takes you on her own journey as someone who's fallen in love with birding. You know, she's actually on the board of the Audubon Society and has quite a life around birding. But what makes it particularly special for New Yorkers is much of the book takes place in New York City. I mean, I was thrilled to find out that one of the favorite birding Spots is actually in our backyard in Bryant park, where my office is in your public library. People come to find the gray catbird, but she takes you on this incredible adventure around New York City and beyond. And in many ways, this book is about attention. It's about patience, and it's about noticing the world around us. And it really actually made me want to get into birding. But on its own, it's just a fantastic read by a New Yorker. And again, a lot of it takes place in our own city.
- [19:05]
Lily Taylor
Yeah.
- [19:06]
Co-host or Producer
Lily Taylor was on our show to talk about the book earlier this year. And here's what she had to say when I asked her how she fits her birding in with her day job.
- [19:17]
Lily Taylor
Oh, easy peasy. It's like, I. Cause they're everywhere and I'm not fussy. Like, I can. I love, like, just like, what's happening around. So even just the other day I was on set and there was some cool bird stuff happening. A mockingbird was going through the night while we were trying to shoot. And, you know, people were like, what's that? Why does that keep going? What's happening? You know, I'm like, I know it's a mockingbird. Anyway, the thing is, is like, you can just stand and a bird's anywhere. So it's. In fact, it gives me moments of peace.
- [19:59]
Co-host or Producer
She speaks with such. With such joy about birding every time we talk to her. Let's talk to Ellen in Greenwich Village. Ellen, thank you so much for calling, all of it. What are you reading or what have you read?
- [20:10]
Carrie
I should say I read Doris Kearns Goodwin's memoir about her husband. And he had been a speech writer for Kennedy and Johnson, and she had worked for Johnson. And she wrote a wonderful book, which I love her writing because it's clear and straightforward and simple, but elegant. And the information, if you've been. I lived through both the Kennedy and the Johnson administration, and it's wonderful to see a comparison between the two.
- [21:00]
Co-host or Producer
Thank you so much for calling in, Brian. I want to get to the teen book section first. You've chosen hello Sunshine by Kezi Young, and it's a graphic novel. Why are graphic novels a really good choice for teen readers?
- [21:17]
Brian Bannon
Yeah, you know, reading for joy and pleasure is probably the most important part of long term persistence. And I think there's a lot of hand wringing these days about the decline in reading for pleasure. And so much of the focus, though, especially in schools, is around teaching reading for the purposes of decoding. And we often take out of that the fun Part graphic novels are just. It's just a fantastic way of engaging readers of all ages, really. But we found with teens, they really gravitate towards this genre type. And so it's reading, it's engaging, it's immersive, they can share it. And so we have put a real effort to make sure that we're profiling great graphic novels. And this particular one, it's about a troubled teen who has run away, or at least that's what people think. And, yeah, it's a great opportunity for teens to engage. It's a very popular book among teens, and that's why we're using it.
- [22:10]
Co-host or Producer
Another book you have on your list, Loudmouth Emma Goldman versus America, A Love Story. This is such an interesting approach to history. How does this book approach history for the teenage reading brain?
- [22:24]
Brian Bannon
You know, this is a really. This is a biography of an activist who, you know, was. Was born in the late 1800s and lived in the 1940s and to a Jewish Lithuanian family and, you know, immigrated to the United States, but really was. Was seen as like a fierce, you know, anarchist and advocate. And, you know, in a time where, you know, there's. There's book banning that's happening nationally and youth voices, I think, and sometimes we're listening less to. This book is really about a young person who, despite, you know, controversy and pushback, was finding her own voice. And that's really what this book is about. It's written for young people, about a young person, at least in that time.
- [23:06]
Alison Stewart
Of her life, one text says. I'd like to recommend that's how they get you. An unruly anthology of Black American humor, edited by Damon Young. So many inside jokes truly lifted my spirits. This said my favorite book, Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray. It's Buckeye by Patrick Ryan. Loved, and it was so beautifully written. Let's also talk to Gina. Gina's calling from Hell's Kitchen. Thanks for holding. Gina, you're on the air.
- [23:39]
Gina
Hi. Thank you for taking my call.
- [23:41]
Alison Stewart
What have you been reading?
- [23:42]
Gina
So I wanted to. I wanted to give a shout out to one of my favorite nonfiction books this year, and it was the Parrot and the Igloo by David Litsky. I mean, he, you know, won my heart when he did that book on David Foster Wallace many years ago. So picking this up wasn't a stretch, but this one was about climate change, and it was a little daunting. But then I started reading it, and I was hooked. It was written so beautiful with those. All those horrible facts, truthful facts. With, you know, mixing with humor. And it was just beautifully written.
- [24:19]
Alison Stewart
Thank you for the call. I want to get to books for little kids. BRIAN by the way, my guest is Brian Bannon from the New York Public Library. We're going through their best books of 2025. You selected out of all of your books for us to talk about. Interpreter. And in this book, a girl acts like an interpreter in real life. What did you enjoy about the premise of this book by Olivia? I hope I pronounce your last name is right. AB Tahi.
- [24:44]
Brian Bannon
Yeah, I mean, this is a beautiful book and I think it's, it's one that many New York families can relate to is, you know, often young children end up being fluent in the is English as their second language and become the interpreter for their adult parents. And this is something I just, I know as a librarian, working with a young child, interpreting for their parent, even in the, in a branch library, trying to get help with health information or taxes, really adult sorts of kinds of responsibilities. And a book like this really gets at the heart of what it's like for a young person to be a young person while also serving in this really important role and the challenges and the experience around that for young people person.
- [25:30]
Alison Stewart
And in the final category, you released your favorite Spanish books of 2025. You chose OCHA Nillo, Una Historia de Amor y Trenzas. And it's about a girl who loves. It's about braids in her hair, I believe from the title. Why was it important to you in the New York Public Library to include Spanish language books as part of this list?
- [25:54]
Brian Bannon
Yeah, I mean, we have obviously a large Spanish speaking population here in New York City. This book is actually in Spanish and in English. And you know, one of the other things that I really loved about this book, I had a chance also to meet the author at our event yesterday is, you know, so much of what we hear about representation in books is that kids need to see themselves in books. And what's so beautiful about this one is the young woman whose hair is being braided is also in a wheelchair. And so often books that young people, you know, you know, particularly around disability is that finding books that are about just a child enjoying the world that just happens to have a disability. And the book is not specifically about that. And I think she's done a beautiful job of really building out this sort of important area of young adult children's books. And she's got a number of books that sort of take this question on in a variety of ways where the book has a child with a very visible physical disability, but it's just not about that.
- [26:49]
Co-host or Producer
Specifically, before I let you go, did I see that Bruce Springsteen played at the New York Public Library Gala a few weeks ago?
- [26:57]
Brian Bannon
He was one of our honorees as a lion this year and he did impromptu take out his guitar and, and gave us a quite a show at the event. It was, it was a pretty special night overall.
- [27:11]
Co-host or Producer
Brian Bannon is the director of Branch libraries and Education at the New York Public Library. We're discussing the library's new list of the best books of 2025. You can find them on the website, the library's website. Thank you so for joining us, Brian. And we'll see you at get lit on December 4th.
- [27:30]
Brian Bannon
All right. Thank you.
- [27:32]
Co-host or Producer
For 140 years, MultiCare has been in Washington prioritizing long term solutions, partnering with local communities and expanding access to care. Together, we're building a healthier future. Learn more@ multicare.org jegar un las fiestas.
- [27:49]
SA Cosby
At the Home Depot. Yeso significa arros de Black Friday enramientas.
- [27:53]
Brian Bannon
De potencia in Ala Americas. Oy mismo.