Reading Glasses – Ep 441: Best Books of the Year 2025!

Hosts: Brea Grant & Mallory O’Meara
Date: December 11, 2025

Episode Overview

In this highly anticipated yearly episode, Brea and Mallory dive into their favorite books of 2025, the top picks from the Reading Glasses community (“Glassers”), and the standout trends of their own reading years. The episode spotlights fiction, nonfiction, audiobooks, and special awards for unique picks – offering a lively, entertaining, and irreverently bookish marathon with ample recommendations and sharp, joyful banter.

Main Themes

• Celebration of the Best Books of 2025
• Changing Reading Habits and Trends for both the hosts and the Glassers
• Highlighting Diverse Genres: from horror and sci-fi to romance and historical fiction
• Emphasis on Unique, Original Reads
• Community Engagement: Showcasing Glassers' favorite books

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Banter and Current Reads

• Brea’s Current Read: "Katabasis" by R.F. Kuang (01:08)
  • "Motherfucker, I started reading the new RF Kwan... It's so good. And if I had finished it, it would be on my top of the year." – Brea (01:34)
  • A dark academia fantasy: "This woman is... drawing a pentagram, and she's like, 'I'm gonna go to hell to go get this professor that I need in order to write me... a letter of recommendation.'" (01:52)
  • The book’s protagonist is selfish – classic RF Kuang.
• Mallory’s Current Read: "Will There Ever Be Another You" by Patricia Lockwood (03:00)
  • "It's autofiction, like it's a novel, but... it's also kind of a memoir." – Mallory (03:14)
  • Long Covid and its effects explored through stunning, surreal prose.
  • "It's amazing and funny and it's, it's fucking Patricia Lockwood. So... and it's got a cat on the cover." (04:46)

2. Glasser Book of the Year Polls

• Community Trends: No overwhelming favorite; votes were tightly grouped, reflecting a more diversified reading landscape. (06:01)
• Top Fiction Picks: "Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil," "The Buffalo Hunter," "Katabasis," "The River Has Roots," "Sunrise on the Reaping," "Automatic Noodle," "The Incandescent," "Death of an Author," and "Atmosphere" (06:44)
  • Notable surprise: “The Incandescent” by Emily Tesh made the list, though neither host has read it yet.
• Top Nonfiction Picks: "Everything is Tuberculosis," "One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This," and "Daughter of Daring" (Mallory's own book) (07:18)
• Honorable Mentions: "Witchcraft for Wayward Girls," "Old Soul," "The Everlasting," “A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping,” “Hemlock and Silver,” “The Bewitching,” “The Road to Tender Hearts,” and "Sky Daddy"

3. Reflecting on Their Reading Years

• Brea: Heavy on fiction and sci-fi, less nonfiction than usual. Sought “comfort reads” and leaned on familiar authors. (13:09)
• Mallory: Many new-to-her authors, and surprising genres (such as YA sci-fi thriller and actor memoir). “Books that felt unique” were her theme. (13:53)
  • "Looking over my books, it feels like the big theme for me this year was books that felt unique." (14:13)

4. Favorite Books of 2025 – Shared Picks

A. "Fiend" by Alma Katsu (15:43)

• "Contemporary horror I like, but, like, sometimes it's harder for me. And like this [was] definitely my favorite contemporary horror book of the year." – Bria
• "It’s so compelling, so unsettling, and so satisfying at the end." – Mallory
• Premise: Bad rich people get demonically punished – "These are bad people. They're bad rich people, and a demon comes after them. Great." (16:39)

B. "Best of All Worlds" by Kenneth Oppel (16:45)

• A YA sci-fi thriller with “big adult issues”
• "I loved this book so much." – Bria
• “If you think it's not your kind of thing – try it.” – Mallory (17:33)

C. "The Road to Tender Hearts" by Annie Hartnett (18:30)

• Quirky literary fiction meets messy family drama with magical/supernatural touches.
• "Her books, without fail, make me cry." – Bria
• “Where our wheelhouses cross over... but it’s a really dark book. The cover is very light..., but it starts with suicide.” (19:31)

D. "The Bewitching" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (19:59)

• Triple timelines, witches, unlikable but compelling female protagonists.
• “It’s totally classic Silvia Moreno-Garcia... she did everything we want out of a witching type book.” – Bria (20:16)
• "Women… are really badass... They’re not wallflowers… It’s a hallmark of all of my favorite books of hers." – Mallory (20:36)

5. Individual Top Picks of 2025

Bria’s Individual Picks

• "Daughter of Daring" by Mallory O’Meara
  • "If y’all haven’t picked up Mallory's book, you need to pick up this book." (21:45)
• "Wild Dark Shore" by Charlotte McConaghy
• "Wake Up and Open Your Eyes" by Clay McLeod Chapman
  • “The scariest book I read this year… extremely timely, extremely scary.” (25:21)
• "Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil" by V.E. Schwab
  • “If you were an Anne Rice fan… if you’re a goth, this is for you.” (33:27)
• "Sky Daddy" by Kate Falk
  • "I got in this woman's head that I have nothing in common with... who wants to marry a plane.” (35:13)
• "Angel Down" by Daniel Kraus
  • “One continuous sentence... beautifully written, the plot is wild. ... I recommend it constantly.” (31:16)

Mallory’s Individual Picks

• "Old Soul" by Susan Barker
  • "Truly, this is one of those books where... I just kind of knew, I was like, 'Oh, this is gonna be, if not my top of the year, one of my favorites of the year.'" (22:27)
• "Letter from the Lonesome Shore" by Sylvie Cathrall
  • “So beautiful… a really tender exploration of neurodiversity and different types of love.” (24:22)
• "What Fury Brings" by Tricia Levenseller
  • "This is the beefy warrior babe book of my dreams... there's a penis guillotine for rapists." (27:09)
• "Actress of a Certain Age" by Jeff Hiller
  • “Absolutely hilarious, but also very vulnerable and relatable at the same time...” (34:09)
• "Murder at Gull’s Nest" by Jess Kidd
  • “Auto buy author… none turned detective, set in 1950s, root for her so hard.” (36:14)
• "The Dry Season" by Melissa Febos
  • “Memoir about overcoming a sex & relationship addiction... Sometimes I would read a sentence and be like, I need a cigarette after that.” (32:10)

6. Special Categories and Awards

• Best Translated Book

  • Brea: "Clean" by Alia Trabucco Zerán (38:37)
  • Mallory: "Strange Houses" by Uketsu (38:37)

• Favorite Audiobook

  • Mallory: "Somebody Is Walking On Your Grave" by Mariana Enriquez, performed by Annette Amelia Oliveira (39:47)
  • Bria: "Brain at Rest" by Joseph Chapelli (40:39)

• Best Outside-their-Wheelhouse Book

  • Bria: "It Rhymes with Decay" by George Takei – a rare nonfiction comic for her (41:31)
  • Mallory: "El Dorado Drive" by Megan Abbott (42:15)

• Best New-to-Us Author

  • Bria: Barbara Truelove, "Monsters and Mainframes" (43:53)
  • Mallory: Sarah Sligar, "Vantage Point" (45:03)

• Books That Deserved More Buzz

  • Mallory: "The Original" by Nell Stevens (46:28)
  • Bria: "This Is My Body" by Lindsey King Miller (47:41)
  • "Y’all, this was such a good book. The horror folks are sleeping on this book and I do not know why." – Bria (47:56)

• Book They Most Want to See Adapted

  • Bria: "Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping on a Dead Man" by Jesse Q. Sutanto (48:42)
  • Mallory: "The Salvage" by MB Salam (49:30)
    • “Imagine how fucking amazing a haunted shipwreck movie would be… haunted hotel, blizzard, sexy queer love affair.” (49:30)

• Best Non-2025 Book They Read

  • Both love: "Shark Heart" by Emily Habeck (50:54)
  • Mallory’s alternate: "Here’s Your Hat, What’s Your Hurry?" by Elizabeth McCracken

7. Books They Wish They’d Gotten To

• Library Holds & Missed Releases
  • Both mention several anticipated titles held up by library holds or late-year releases, notably the latest in TL Huchu's series for Mallory and new releases by Yumi Kitase, Patricia Lockwood, and Olga Tokarczuk for Bria. (52:34)
  • "I'm kind of grumpy about this one because it's the last Edinburgh Nights book... My pre order is somewhere in the United States Postal service. ... There's a high probability that this book would have been on my list." – Mallory (53:19)

Notable Quotes

• "Comfort year. Pure safety." – Brea, on leaning toward favorites in tough times (13:50)
• "Looking over my books, it feels like the big theme for me this year was books that felt unique." – Mallory (14:13)
• "I'm not gonna outsmart [Jess Kidd's] mystery. You're rooting for her [the main character] so hard." – Mallory (36:14)
• "Penis guillotine! ... What other two words do you need to read a book?" – Mallory, on "What Fury Brings" (27:39)
• "These [Vera Wong books] should be a series – why is no one making this?" – Bria (48:42)

Engaging Moments & Memorable Banter

• Brea repeatedly expressing regret for starting “Katabasis” too late to finish before the best-of show. (Recurring, 01:13–02:57)
• Mallory chanting “penis, guillotine, penis” during her steamy book pick. (27:39)
• The affectionate “Uncle Mallory/Aunt Bria” bit, comically scolding listeners to read under-the-radar picks. (48:28)
• Frequent playful ribbing: “Are you my dad? Am I your dad?” – Brea, discovering herself loving a WWI novel (31:19)
• Realizations about reading ruts: “Go look at your top books of the year. ... I only picked up people I knew!” – Bria (43:53)
• Lamenting library hold times, which still totally shape what they actually get to read, despite good intentions. (52:34–54:51)

Timestamps of Important Segments

| Time | Segment & Highlights | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------| | 00:50–4:54| What Brea & Mallory are reading | | 5:02–8:32 | Glasser Community Book Picks (Fiction/Nonfiction/Discord)| | 12:26 | Start of "Favorite Books of 2025" discussion | | 15:43 | Shared picks: "Fiend" by Alma Katsu | | 16:45 | Shared picks: "Best of All Worlds" by Kenneth Oppel | | 18:30 | Shared picks: "The Road to Tender Hearts" by Annie Hartnett| | 19:59 | Shared picks: "The Bewitching" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia | | 21:44–26:07| Individual top books, including personal favorites | | 27:09 | "What Fury Brings"—the penis guillotine revelation | | 31:13 | "Angel Down" as an unexpected favorite | | 32:10 | "The Dry Season"—Mallory's nonfiction highlight | | 38:37 | Special awards: Best Translated Book | | 39:47 | Favorite Audiobooks | | 41:12 | Best Book Outside Wheelhouse | | 43:29 | Best New-to-Them Author | | 46:20 | Books That Deserved More Buzz | | 48:42 | Book They Most Want Adapted | | 50:49 | Best Non-2025 Backlist Book ("Shark Heart") | | 52:34 | Books They Wish They’d Read | | 55:07 | Closing thanks and review milestone celebration |

Tone and Language

The episode is classic Reading Glasses: conversational, joyful, filled with cursing, self-deprecating humor, and close-friend energy. Both prioritize practical details, strong opinions, and honest reflections on their reading years, making book recommendations that feel both personal and deeply relatable—regardless of your genre tastes.

Summary

This episode of Reading Glasses is a comprehensive, effusive celebration of the year’s best books, as chosen by two veteran readers (and their vibrant community). The hosts cover every angle: from powerhouse horror to unique sci-fi, debut memoirs, and overlooked gems. With personalized “book awards,” honest talk about their reading habits, and plenty of memorable asides (penis guillotine, anyone?), Brea and Mallory once again curate a can’t-miss literary end-of-year party for passionate, curious readers of all stripes.

For full title and author lists, check the show notes on the Reading Glasses site or newsletter. And remember, support your local library (and put those lengthy holds in early!).