Book Riot – The Podcast

Episode: Our Favorite Books of 2025

Date: December 17, 2025
Hosts: Jeff O’Neal and Rebecca Schinsky
Special Guests: Book Riot Editors (Sharifah Williams, Kelly Jensen, Danica Ellis, Erica Ezzafetti, Vanessa Diaz)

Overview

This episode brings together Book Riot’s editorial team for their annual deep dive into the best books of the year. Jeff, Rebecca, and several Book Riot editors share their personal favorite reads from 2025—across genres, formats, and tones. They discuss what made each book stand out, reflect on industry trends, and debate recurring issues such as the utility of the "literary fiction" category. Throughout, expect passionate, insightful commentary in Book Riot’s signature candid, bookish, and occasionally hilarious tone.

The episode is structured as follows:

• Jeff and Rebecca’s main picks, banter, and rants
• Editor segments, with each editor presenting two of their 2025 favorites

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Genre Labels and Literary Fiction (02:50–05:16)

• Jeff passionately argues for bringing back "literary fiction" as its own genre on lists like Goodreads'—noting how books that don’t fit neatly into categories ("the junk drawer") are often the most interesting.
  • “We need the junk drawer of literary fiction. …I want to read the weirdo kitchen gadgets that people are putting out there.” — Jeff (05:52)
• Both hosts bemoan the mislabelling of works by authors such as George Saunders (classified as "historical fiction") and Emily St. John Mandel (under "fantasy").
  • “The sci-fi reader who wants straight-up swords and spaceships…isn’t going to get what they expect from George Saunders or Mandel.” — Rebecca (04:21)

2. Reflection on Book Riot’s Year in Reading (06:28–12:23)

• Jeff and Rebecca agree that several books brought something new or unique—but it wasn’t a year for an overabundance of “oh my gosh!” reads (41:00).
• They cite the value of books that are ambiguous or unclassifiable, and discuss how some of the most resonant reads ask questions, rather than providing clear answers.
  • “There are books that answer questions and books that ask them. ‘Audition’ takes an axe to the idea of a question, and then whatever weird squiggly candies fall out is what we get to chew and enjoy.” — Jeff (11:51)

Book Riot Hosts’ Favorite Books of 2025

1. Audition by Katie Kitamura (06:46–11:51)

• Why it’s a favorite: Experimental literary fiction with controlled, sparse language and ambiguity at its core. The narrative—a stage actress navigating multiple relationship dynamics—shifts perspective in ways that challenge what readers expect from plot and character.
  • “It becomes this, not quite meditation, but consideration of the roles that we play, of identity, of what it is to be seen by other people…” — Rebecca (09:05)
  • “If you need to close a book with a clear sense of what it was about, Audition is not for you.” — Rebecca (11:02)
• Notable moment: The book’s control and ambiguity draw readers back to reconsider and reinterpret what really happened.

2. Life in Three Dimensions by Shigehiro Oishi (16:26–19:47)

• Why it’s a favorite: Introduces the idea of "psychological richness" as the third leg of life satisfaction, along with happiness and meaning.
• Quote: “Of the books I read this year, I got one sort of life idea, and that was the idea of psychological richness. …You look for interesting experiences, and what that looks like.” — Jeff (16:26)
• Discussion: Both hosts valued its articulation of how some people crave novelty while others prefer familiar comforts.

3. Stonyard Devotional by Charlotte Wood (19:54–21:45, Rebecca)

• Why it’s a favorite: A meditative, literary novel written as a woman’s journal following her move to an Australian monastery. The book anchors itself in daily rhythms and ambiguous life choices.
  • “We never know why she has given up her life and moved there…[it’s] literary writing of the highest order.” — Rebecca (19:54)
• Rebecca is now “fully on the Charlotte Wood train.”

4. Exit Zero by Marie-Helene Bertino (21:47–23:07, Jeff)

• Why it’s a favorite: Short story collection blending the speculative, the surreal, and the emotional—ranging from immortal vampires to mundane strangeness.
  • “Several different ways of understanding Bertino, levels of strangeness…they can be a little bit like koans where you don’t really know if the meaning is intelligible or logical or felt.” — Jeff (22:31)

5. Searches by Vauhini Vara (23:19–26:03, Rebecca)

• Why it’s a favorite: Reflects on creativity and humanity in the AI age, using both human- and AI-generated approaches to narrative.
  • “The most compelling argument for this [AI] technology cannot—at least yet—replace humans.” — Rebecca (25:23)
• The book operates as a 2025 time capsule for AI’s influence on creative life.

6. This American Woman by Zarna Garg (26:03–27:52, Jeff)

• Why it’s a favorite: A stand-up comic’s memoir, best on audiobook. Garg shares her life story with equal parts reverence and irreverence.
  • “My recommendation feedback from people has been…five stars across the board, no notes.” — Jeff (26:19)
• Jeff highlights the level of “Swiss army book” appeal.

7. The Dry Season by Melissa Febos (27:52–30:39, Rebecca)

• Why it’s a favorite: Memoir about celibacy grows into a meditation on love, sex, women ascetics, and alternative fulfillment.
  • “She will just tell you stuff about her life in a way that is kind of astonishing…this is like a hallmark of Melissa Feebo’s personal memoir.” — Rebecca (28:24)

8. The Ten Year Affair by Erin Summers (30:39–33:11, Jeff)

• Why it’s a favorite: Contemporary novel exploring alternate realities—a woman’s life path splits based on whether or not she has an affair.
  • “Summer’s own…she is suspect but generous towards her characters. There’s a little Efron in there.” — Jeff (32:09)

9. Heart the Lover by Lily King (33:13–35:24, Rebecca)

• Why it’s a favorite: An emotionally resonant, tightly written love triangle that covers decades of relationships in under 200 pages.
  • “To be able to do 30 years of multiple relationships in so few pages with such an economy of language is just real talent.” — Rebecca (35:18)

10. Tilt by Emma Petit (35:24–36:42, Jeff)

• Why it’s a favorite: Debut novel set in Portland during a massive earthquake, focusing on a woman's psyche as she navigates upheaval.
  • “For a singular ‘read-it-in-an-afternoon’…couldn’t imagine putting it down.” — Jeff (36:42)

11. The Carpool Detectives by Chuck Hogan (36:42–39:44, Jeff)

• Why it’s a favorite: True-crime audiobook chronicling a group of women who use social tactics and forensic skills to solve a cold case.
  • “Unbelievably great audiobook experience…Why is this not a 6-part limited series on HBO yet?” — Jeff (38:54)

Editor Picks

Kelly Jensen (45:45–59:41)

• Best Offer Wins by Maurice (47:03)
  • A woman’s obsession with securing a house in DC spirals into a social satire about modern housing, social class, and race.
    • “The kind of book I picked up on a whim and found myself going, ‘just one more chapter, just one more chapter.’” — Kelly (49:11)
• Blob by Maggie Sue (51:09)
  • Weird girl fiction at its peak—about a college dropout who brings home a sentient “blob,” leading to questions of agency, identity, and love.
    • “It’s a weird and funny and surprisingly moving read about identity and family and street blobs.” — Kelly (54:16)
• Skydaddy by Kate Folk (57:12)
  • Outrageously original story of a woman sexually attracted to airplanes—a satirical, subversive look at obsession and agency.
    • “She’s obsessed with every part of the plane…and her trips are about fulfilling a fantasy with the plane, not about the travel at all.” — Kelly (56:10)

Danica Ellis (60:11–70:00)

• Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon (60:11)
  • A romance novel born from a Dungeons & Dragons campaign—a merchant’s daughter and a half-orc fall in love. Both heartfelt and tongue-in-cheek.
    • “It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it completely works…If you have no background, it’s a good romance. It’s very steamy.” — Danica (62:44)
• Lü and Wren’s Guide to Geozoology by Angela Shea (64:57)
  • Middle grade fantasy graphic novel about a girl searching for her grandmother amidst a world with giant, part-of-the-landscape animals. Lush illustrations and reflections on grief and intergenerational connection.
    • “This is the only book where I finished it, closed the COVID, and immediately ordered prints of the art.” — Danica (66:45)

Erica Ezzafetti (71:31–86:31)

• The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones (73:42)
  • Indigenous horror/historical fiction—A Lutheran pastor’s encounter with a supernatural Blackfeet man reveals traumas both literal and metaphorical.
    • “I had a nightmare from it…But the thing that gave me a nightmare was actually not supernatural at all.” — Erica (74:36, 80:51)
• Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray (81:12)
  • Historical fiction spotlighting Harlem Renaissance "midwife" Jessie Redmon Fawcett, her literary influence, and her complicated affair with W.E.B. Du Bois; full of juicy, humanizing detail.
    • “It has all of that going on…jessie, what are we doing here?” — Erica (84:04)

Sharifah Williams (86:33–100:36)

• One Day Everyone Will Know by Omar El Akkad (88:36)
  • Powerful nonfiction about Gaza, media, and bearing witness in times of violence.
    • “It will stand as a historical document that we can return to when we do need a reminder…” — Sharifah (91:28)
• The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy (94:10)
  • Literary fiction focused on the nuances, tenderness, and complexity of Black women’s friendship, without centering trauma.
    • “It was the tenderness and compassion with which Angela Flournoy treats these young Black women…that I found unfortunately refreshing in literary fiction.” — Sharifah (94:54)

Vanessa Diaz (100:38–112:06)

• The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno Garcia (100:45)
  • Witchy, dark-academia novel intertwining Mexican folklore, academic mystery, and horror, set across two timelines.
    • “It’s a very particular brand of witchy—Mexican brujeria, not what you might expect. …She just does it for me.” — Vanessa (103:25)
• The Macabre by Kosoko Jackson (106:10)
  • Horror meets art history—a queer artist discovers he can step into paintings, and must track down sinister works linked to his ancestry.
    • “It is a gory romp and a history lesson.” — Vanessa (109:51)

Notable Quotes

• “I want to read the weirdo kitchen gadgets that people are putting out there…” — Jeff, on literary fiction (05:52)
• “If you need to close a book with a clear sense of what it was about, Audition is not for you.” — Rebecca (11:02)
• “You can heal—the floors are still warm—even when things aren’t great for the characters.” — Jeff, on Erin Summer’s warmth and humor (32:09)
• “She’ll just tell you stuff about her life in a way that is kind of astonishing, and I deeply appreciate it.” — Rebecca, on Melissa Febos (28:24)
• “You can be made callous by the onslaught of news about violence and horror… his book really brought me back to my own principles…” — Sharifah, on Omar El Akkad (91:50)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Literary Genre Rant: 02:50–05:52
• Audition by Katie Kitamura: 06:46–11:51
• Life in Three Dimensions: 16:26–19:47
• Stonyard Devotional: 19:54–21:45
• Exit Zero: 21:47–23:07
• Searches (AI/Art): 23:19–26:03
• This American Woman (Memoir): 26:03–27:52
• The Dry Season: 27:52–30:39
• Ten Year Affair: 30:39–33:11
• Heart the Lover: 33:13–35:24
• Editor Kelly Jensen’s segment: 45:45–59:41
• Editor Danica Ellis’s segment: 60:11–70:00
• Editor Erica Ezzafetti’s segment: 71:31–86:31
• Editor Sharifah Williams’s segment: 86:33–100:36
• Editor Vanessa Diaz’s segment: 100:38–112:06

Memorable Moments

• Jeff’s “literary fiction as the junk drawer” metaphor (05:52)
• Rebecca recommending “Heart the Lover” as a 'few hours on the couch' experience (33:18–33:25)
• Kelly Jensen’s trio of ‘weird girl’ books including loving homages to bizarre, unsettling protagonists (51:09–58:34)
• Danica’s enthusiasm for Tusk Love, bridging D&D and romantic fantasy (60:40–63:53)
• Erica describing having nightmares from Stephen Graham Jones’ horror—caused by real history, not the supernatural (74:36, 80:51)

Honorable Mentions

(Briefly discussed, middle/later part of the episode)

• Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy
• The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown
• We Do Not Part by Hong Kong author
• The Weepers by Pete Mendelsohn
• Great Black Hope by Rob Franklin
• Bibliophobia by Sarah Chahaya
• The Language of Mathematics by Rel Rojas
• How Things Are Made by Tim Minshell
• Poet’s Square by Courtney Gustafson
• Endling by Maria Riva

Final Thoughts

• Both hosts reflect this was a “B” reading year—full of enjoyable, thoughtful titles, with a few standouts but no overwhelming crowd of instant classics. Most of all, 2025’s best books rewarded curiosity, challenged genre expectations, and embraced ambiguity—reflecting where literature and readers find themselves in an increasingly complex world.

For Further Listening

The hosts mention bonus content on the Zero to Well Read feed and upcoming seasonal preview episodes. Editors also reference several conversations about specific books on those extended shows.

This summary brings together the year’s essential recommendations, recurring themes, and memorable commentary for Book Riot listeners—whether you missed the episode or want to revisit the highlights before picking your next read.