Book Riot – The Podcast Episode: Zero to Well-Read's 2025 Canon Contenders Date: December 29, 2025 Hosts: Jeff O’Neal & Rebecca Schinsky

Episode Overview

In this episode, Jeff O’Neal and Rebecca Schinsky engage in their annual speculative exercise to identify which books published in 2025 have the best chance of entering the literary canon—books people might still talk about or read in 25, 50, or even 100 years. Eschewing the “book of the moment,” they draw from award winners, surprise cult hits, major bestsellers, and critically acclaimed debuts, employing a “green-yellow-red” light system to evaluate each book’s prospects for literary longevity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining “Canon Contenders”

• The hosts clarify “canon” as “books still in public conversation decades later, taught or referenced frequently.”
• “It’s very rarely the book everyone’s talking about today that’s still talked about decades from now. But it happens!” — Jeff (04:32)
• Through a recurring “time machine” exercise, they’ve noticed even recent blockbusters are often forgotten within a decade or two.

2. 2025: A Quiet Year in Publishing

• No obvious, dominant “book of the year” as in previous years (e.g., “James” in 2024, “Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” in 2023).
• Diverse lists from awards and retailers reflect fragmented attention: “Different book won each major award this year; attention hasn’t solidified around just 1 or 2 titles.” — Rebecca (05:45)
• Many finalists will be “yellows” rather than runaway “greens.”

3. Green-Yellow-Red Ranking System

• Green: Feels like a clear auto-canon contender, as close to a sure thing as possible.
• Yellow: Worthy of revisiting; strong arguments on both sides.
• Red: Unlikely to last; may be big now but won’t endure.

Highlighted Books & Their Canon Prospects

A. Award Winners and Critically Acclaimed Novels

1. Flesh by David Soloi (Booker Prize)

• Plot: Teenage alienation in Hungary, narrated in a purposely distant style.
• Status: Yellow
• “Is it really special enough? …There are a dime a dozen good books about feeling alienated in the modern world.” — Jeff (09:02)

2. The True True Story of Raj the Goble and His Mother by Rabi Alameddine (National Book Award)

• Multi-decade tale about identity, family, and memory.
• Status: Red
• “Book club books have a hard time standing the test of time.” — Rebecca (12:04)

3. One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (National Book Award, Nonfiction)

• Nonfiction indictment of America’s Gaza response, using a viral tweet as a touchstone.
• Status: Green
• “Absolutely a reflection of our current moment… a document of global history.” — Rebecca (15:23)

4. The Slip by Lucas Schaefer (Kirkus Prize)

• Shaggy, masculine coming-of-age mystery (boxing, missing kids, moral ambiguity).
• Status: Yellow
• “Debuts are often where the next big voices emerge, but is this the one?” — Jeff (17:30)

B. Crossover Literary/Commercial Authors

1. Flash by Flashlight by Susan Choi

• Multi-decade disappearance story with North Korean espionage.
• Status: Yellow
• “Choi is always divisive; some adore her, some don’t.” — Rebecca (21:19)

2. A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar

• Climate fiction, family, migration, tragedy in near-future Kolkata; Oprah Book Club Pick.
• Status: Yellow

3. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai

• Long-awaited follow-up to “The Inheritance of Loss”; family, belonging, time.
• Status: Green
• “Desai is so beloved. This should have a paperback life for decades.” — Rebecca (24:12)

C. Genre Breakouts and Blockbusters

1. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones

• Historical horror, found diary format, critical and sales breakthrough for Jones.
• Status: Green
• “He’s become a brand name in horror. This is a breakout.” — Jeff (25:49), Rebecca (26:16)

2. King of Ashes by SA Cosby

• Southern crime epic, African-American family, adaptation in the works (Obamas' production company).
• Status: Yellow
• “Genre thrillers have to be true phenomena to become canon.” — Jeff (28:30)

3. Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

• Literary-climate-mystery; family, isolation, secrets in the Arctic.
• Status: Yellow
• “Did it sand off its sharp edges for crossover appeal?” — Jeff (31:16)

4. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

• 1980s NASA, lesbian love, BookTok phenomenon.
• Status: Yellow

D. Other Book Club Bestsellers

1. Buckeye by Patrick Ryan

• Generational Midwest family saga, Amazon’s No. 1 book.
• Status: Yellow

2. Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser

• French art-inspired novel, Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year.
• Status: Yellow
• “Feels like a very adaptable hook.” — Jeff (36:42)

3. A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar by Katie Yee

• Sharp debut about divorce, cancer, and Chinese-American identity.
• Status: Red

E. Pop Culture Juggernauts and Franchise Additions

1. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

• Third installment of the viral “Fourth Wing” Romantasy series.
• Status: Red (“Fourth Wing” itself will be canon, not this volume)

2. Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

• Second “Hunger Games” prequel.
• Status: Red (“Hunger Games” itself is canon, not this installment)

3. The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown

• Brand-driven “Da Vinci Code” follow-up with product placements.
• Status: Red (If any Brown book endures, it’s “The Da Vinci Code”)

4. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

• Lesbian vampire epic across centuries.
• Status: Red

5. Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

• Dante-inspired, academia-skewering Romantasy.
• Status: Yellow
• “Tried to do everything at once, but doesn’t go all the way for either audience.” — Rebecca (49:08)

F. Nonfiction and Literary “Ones to Watch”

1. Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age by Vauhini Vara

• AI, technology, co-writing with ChatGPT.
• Status: Yellow (“If I had to bet on a tech book surviving, it’d be The Anxious Generation by Haidt before this.” — Rebecca (51:37))

2. Audition by Katie Kitamura

• Innovative, mind-bending relationship novel; both hosts’ favorite of the year.
• Status: Green
• “A work of art, willing to be weird and push readers. That kind of exploration has a better chance of sticking around.” — Rebecca (54:05)

3. The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy

• Epic follow-up to “The Turner House,” about Black female friendship, climate, and American transformation.
• Status: Green
• “If we talk about a Flournoy in 10 years, it’s this one.” — Jeff (56:06)

4. We Do Not Part by Han Kang

• New book from Nobel laureate, but “The Vegetarian” is still her canonical work.
• Status: Yellow

Final Five “Greens” — 2025’s Most Likely Canon Contenders (57:31)

1. One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (15:23)
2. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai (24:12)
3. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones (26:13)
4. Audition by Katie Kitamura (52:52)
5. The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy (54:49)

“Five out of 23 is about a top quartile. That feels like the right ratio.” — Jeff (57:53)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Very, very few books stand the test of time.” — Rebecca (03:37)
• “There are no guarantees—the smart money’s always on zero [books lasting]—but we like the fruitless optimism of this exercise.” — Jeff (05:45)
• On Omid El Akkad’s book: “It feels almost silly to put a book about something so serious in this, our little game. But this kind of muckraking of the soul can stick around for centuries.” — Jeff (15:23)
• On “Audition”: “I felt things reading this that I don’t feel when I read other books, and that’s special.” — Jeff (52:52)
• On picking only five contenders: “If we have to go from twelve to ten, that’s interesting. But let’s not gin up an extra five just to get there.” — Jeff (58:04)

Additional Insights & Reflections

• Trends of the year: Masculinity and climate fiction—multiple discussed titles orbit these ideas.
• The hosts note the increasing role of genre fiction (especially horror and Romantasy) in crossing over to mainstream attention.
• Many potential “canon” contenders do double duty—popular sales and critical acclaim, sometimes bolstered by cult followings or adaptation prospects.
• The overwhelming churn of new books every year has made canonization harder than ever.
• Prize stickers (“Booker,” “National Book Award”) still help books enter the conversation but don’t guarantee longevity.
• “BookTok,” adaptation news, and celebrity book clubs shape what gets read—but rarely what endures.

Quick Reference: Major Segments & Timestamps

• [03:37] — Why so few books endure
• [05:45] — 2025’s lack of a single “it” book
• [09:02] — “Flesh” and the risk of being “dime a dozen”
• [15:23] — “One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This” as historical document
• [17:30] — “The Slip” and the debut gamble
• [24:12] — Kiran Desai makes the case for “Green”
• [26:13] — Genre: Stephen Graham Jones, SA Cosby
• [31:16] — Crossover hits sanding off literary sharpness
• [49:08] — “Katabasis” and the perils of splitting audiences
• [52:52] — “Audition,” innovation, and mind-bending fiction

Conclusion

2025’s canon math is, as always, sobering: out of hundreds of thousands of books, a handful might survive. The Book Riot team’s thoughtful, speculative picks—with their recurring optimism, deep reading lives, and sharp-eyed skepticism—offer a vivid snapshot of what this year felt like in books, and a map for future conversations about which stories endure.

For queries, canon debates, or listener suggestions: email zerotowellread@bookriot.com