Best of 2025

Dazrin · 12-06-2025, 03:22 AM

If pdurrant can start the 2026 list thread early, then I can start the best of thread early, so ...

It's time! What were your favorite books of 2025?

As we get to the end of the year, please take some time to review (and update) your 2025 Challenge List, your GoodReads Year in Books, your StoryGraph library, or any other book diary you keep.

Then let us know what your favorite books were.

What are your favorite books that you read in 2025?

What books do you recommend that were published in 2025?

What books are you looking forward to in 2026?

If you have time, a short mention of why you chose these books so we can decide if they would be a good fit for us is appreciated. I know some people like to plan out their 2026 reading challenges.

If you want some prompt questions to help you decide on your choices, here are some ideas from previous years:
What are your favorite books that you read in 2025?

Is there a book that you have been thinking about since March?
A book you couldn't put down or have re-read three times just this year?
What books have you added to your "I'm going to re-read this" list?
Did your favorite author finally release that long awaited book?
What books did you tell your friends "you have to read this"?
Did you have a favorite book club selection?

What books do you recommend that were published in 2025?

Are there any contenders for your favorite literary/genre/other award?
What would you have in a hypothetical MR slate for the Hugos?
What debut author is now on your must buy list?

What books are you looking forward to in 2026?

Are any of your favorite authors publishing something new next year that we should look for?

Past "best of" threads:
2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012

drofgnal · 12-06-2025, 04:09 AM

My favorite books in published in 2025 were Ellen Marie Wiseman's The Lies They Told Us and Ken Collet's Circle of Days. Follet's was a bit of a let down from past works like Pillars of the Earth but it was still good. I also enjoyed David Greig's The Book of I, more of a long novella/very short novel. Those were my only reads published in 2025. Everything else I read was past works. I bought the new Shannara book, but have yet to read it. I may wait for book 2 and 3 to come out and read them all at once.

Dazrin · 12-08-2025, 02:10 AM

This year, I don't have any stand-alone books to recommend. Nothing really stood out on my list, although admittedly over 70% of the books I read were parts of series so I don't have a lot to choose from.

I do have 3 different types of speculative fiction series to recommend. A LitRPG series (Dungeon Crawler Carl), an epic fantasy (Ratcatchers), and a high fantasy series (Penric and Desdemona).

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman - I had an Audible trial early this year and since I had been hearing a lot about this series for years, I finally tried it. I ended up really enjoying it and spent a couple of my credits on these. I need to come back to them at some point. The narrator, Jeff Hays, is fantastic for these. Not a category I ever expected to enjoy, but they are a lot of fun.

Ratcatchers by Matthew Colville - I've been following his Youtube channel for a while and have been really enjoying the game his company published this year (Draw Steel), so I thought I would try his books. Both Priest and Thief were excellent, and I know he's been working on book 3, Fighter, recently so I have hope for it. I don't anticipate the rest of the series for a long time though, so if you don't want a cliffhanger you probably want something else.

Penric & Desdemona by Lois McMaster Bujold - We were treated to two novellas this year which were both great. I hope she continues with these surprise books for a long time to come.

Karellen · 12-08-2025, 02:46 AM

What are your favorite books that you read in 2025?

The 10 book series of The Rho Agenda by Richard Phillips
The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
The 12 book Levon Cade series by Chuck Dixon
The Hitman series by Kotaro Isaka
The 31 book Lorien Legacies series by Pittacus Lore

What books do you recommend that were published in 2025?

The Ripper’s Son by Richard Phillips

The Ripper's Son is a continuation of one of my favourite series - The Rho Agenda, which is a fusion of Sci-Fi and Thriller (Vince Flynn style)

The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith

JK Rowling certainly knows how to weave a story, and this had me riveted just like all its predecessors.

What books are you looking forward to in 2026?

The sequel to The Rippers Son.

Dazrin · 12-08-2025, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karellen

[SIZE=4]

The 10 book series of The Rho Agenda by Richard Phillips

That's a series I haven't thought of in a long time. I read through book 3 in 2013 and didn't know there were more.

Karellen · 12-08-2025, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dazrin

That's a series I haven't thought of in a long time. I read through book 3 in 2013 and didn't know there were more.

Yes, currently 10, with another due around April next year.
Reading order...

Once Dead
Dead Wrong
Dead Shift
The Second Ship
Immune
Wormhole
The Kasari Nexus
The Altreian Enigma
The Meridian Ascent
The Ripper’s Son

You can follow the author here...
https://rhoagenda.me/
https://thesecondship.net/

astrangerhere · 12-08-2025, 02:55 PM

My favorite reads of the year were:

Nonfiction - Ada Palmer's Inventing the Renaissance
Nonfiction - Selected Letters by Virginia Woolf
Nonfiction - Between Friends: The Correspondence of Hannah Arendt and Mary McCarthy 1949-1975
Fiction - Orbital by Samantha Harvey

Fbone · 12-08-2025, 07:29 PM

There wasn't much outstanding but these three-

Medusa by Jack L. Chalker
Redoubt by Mercedes Lackey
The Mis-Enchanted Sword by Lawrence Watt-Evans

I am looking forward to the next Murderbot book coming this year.

issybird · 12-08-2025, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

[*]Fiction - Orbital by Samantha Harvey[/LIST]

I'm not ready to post yet, but this makes my "best of" list also.

rkomar · 12-08-2025, 09:54 PM

My experience was similar to others in that I read a lot of okay books, but not many wowed me. My favourite was probably "Maigret's Doubts" by Georges Simenon (originally published in 1958 with this English translation published in 2018). It's tough to come up with a best published this year, so I'll just go with "Crossroads of Ravens" by Andrzej Sapkowski. I haven't got to it yet, but I'm hoping that Margaret Atwood's "Book of Lives - A Memoir of Sorts" becomes the highlight of this year for me.

12-06-2025, 03:22 AM	#1
Dazrin Wizard Posts: 2,744 Karma: 75825105 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: PDXish Device: Kindle Voyage, various Android devices	Best of 2025 If pdurrant can start the 2026 list thread early, then I can start the best of thread early, so ... It's time! What were your favorite books of 2025? As we get to the end of the year, please take some time to review (and update) your 2025 Challenge List, your GoodReads Year in Books, your StoryGraph library, or any other book diary you keep. Then let us know what your favorite books were. What are your favorite books that you read in 2025? What books do you recommend that were published in 2025? What books are you looking forward to in 2026? If you have time, a short mention of why you chose these books so we can decide if they would be a good fit for us is appreciated. I know some people like to plan out their 2026 reading challenges. If you want some prompt questions to help you decide on your choices, here are some ideas from previous years: What are your favorite books that you read in 2025? Is there a book that you have been thinking about since March? A book you couldn't put down or have re-read three times just this year? What books have you added to your "I'm going to re-read this" list? Did your favorite author finally release that long awaited book? What books did you tell your friends "you have to read this"? Did you have a favorite book club selection? What books do you recommend that were published in 2025? Are there any contenders for your favorite literary/genre/other award? What would you have in a hypothetical MR slate for the Hugos? What debut author is now on your must buy list? What books are you looking forward to in 2026? Are any of your favorite authors publishing something new next year that we should look for? Past "best of" threads: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012

12-08-2025, 02:46 AM	#4
Karellen Wizard Posts: 1,706 Karma: 9500498 Join Date: Sep 2021 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2	What are your favorite books that you read in 2025? The 10 book series of The Rho Agenda by Richard Phillips The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells The 12 book Levon Cade series by Chuck Dixon The Hitman series by Kotaro Isaka The 31 book Lorien Legacies series by Pittacus Lore What books do you recommend that were published in 2025? The Ripper’s Son by Richard Phillips The Ripper's Son is a continuation of one of my favourite series - The Rho Agenda, which is a fusion of Sci-Fi and Thriller (Vince Flynn style) The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith JK Rowling certainly knows how to weave a story, and this had me riveted just like all its predecessors. What books are you looking forward to in 2026? The sequel to The Rippers Son.

12-08-2025, 02:55 PM	#7
astrangerhere Professor of Law Posts: 3,763 Karma: 68428716 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Chapel Hill, NC Device: Kobo Elipsa, Kobo Libra H20, Kobo Aura One, KoboMini	My favorite reads of the year were: Nonfiction - Ada Palmer's *Inventing the Renaissance* Nonfiction - *Selected Letters* by Virginia Woolf Nonfiction - *Between Friends: The Correspondence of Hannah Arendt and Mary McCarthy 1949-1975* Fiction - *Orbital* by Samantha Harvey

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12-06-2025, 04:09 AM	#2
drofgnal Wizard Posts: 1,437 Karma: 10519918 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Ipad Pro/Kindle Oasis 3/iPhone 13 Pro Max	My favorite books in published in 2025 were Ellen Marie Wiseman's The Lies They Told Us and Ken Collet's Circle of Days. Follet's was a bit of a let down from past works like Pillars of the Earth but it was still good. I also enjoyed David Greig's The Book of I, more of a long novella/very short novel. Those were my only reads published in 2025. Everything else I read was past works. I bought the new Shannara book, but have yet to read it. I may wait for book 2 and 3 to come out and read them all at once.

12-08-2025, 02:10 AM	#3
Dazrin Wizard Posts: 2,744 Karma: 75825105 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: PDXish Device: Kindle Voyage, various Android devices	This year, I don't have any stand-alone books to recommend. Nothing really stood out on my list, although admittedly over 70% of the books I read were parts of series so I don't have a lot to choose from. I do have 3 different types of speculative fiction series to recommend. A LitRPG series (Dungeon Crawler Carl), an epic fantasy (Ratcatchers), and a high fantasy series (Penric and Desdemona). Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman - I had an Audible trial early this year and since I had been hearing a lot about this series for years, I finally tried it. I ended up really enjoying it and spent a couple of my credits on these. I need to come back to them at some point. The narrator, Jeff Hays, is fantastic for these. Not a category I ever expected to enjoy, but they are a lot of fun. Ratcatchers by Matthew Colville - I've been following his Youtube channel for a while and have been really enjoying the game his company published this year (Draw Steel), so I thought I would try his books. Both Priest and Thief were excellent, and I know he's been working on book 3, Fighter, recently so I have hope for it. I don't anticipate the rest of the series for a long time though, so if you don't want a cliffhanger you probably want something else. Penric & Desdemona by Lois McMaster Bujold - We were treated to two novellas this year which were both great. I hope she continues with these surprise books for a long time to come.

12-08-2025, 07:29 PM	#8
Fbone Is that a sandwich? Posts: 8,325 Karma: 103930826 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Nook Glowlight Plus	There wasn't much outstanding but these three- Medusa by Jack L. Chalker Redoubt by Mercedes Lackey The Mis-Enchanted Sword by Lawrence Watt-Evans I am looking forward to the next Murderbot book coming this year.

12-08-2025, 09:54 PM	#10
rkomar Wizard Posts: 3,076 Karma: 18821071 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Sudbury, ON, Canada Device: PRS-505, PB 902, PRS-T1, PB 623, PB 840, PB 633	My experience was similar to others in that I read a lot of okay books, but not many wowed me. My favourite was probably "Maigret's Doubts" by Georges Simenon (originally published in 1958 with this English translation published in 2018). It's tough to come up with a best published this year, so I'll just go with "Crossroads of Ravens" by Andrzej Sapkowski. I haven't got to it yet, but I'm hoping that Margaret Atwood's "Book of Lives - A Memoir of Sorts" becomes the highlight of this year for me.