Best Books of the Year
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Year archive

Best books of 2025

Books selected by independent literary juries and editorial teams in 2025, gathered into one transparent, source-linked reading list. The chronology uses the award year for prizes and list year for editorial recommendations.

Selections
398
Authors
397
Lists & prizes
16

Showing 145–192 of 398

2025Fiction & literature

Isola

Allegra Goodman

NPR Books We Love

2025Young readers

J vs. K

Jerry Craft and Kwame Alexander

NPR Books We Love

2025Literary fiction

James

Percival Everett

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

2025Mystery & crime

Killing Stella

Marlen Haushofer, translated by Shaun Whiteside

NPR Books We Love

2025Fiction & literature

Loved One

Aisha Muharrar

NPR Books We Love

2025Graphic novels

Muybridge

Guy Delisle, translated by Helge Dascher and Rob Aspinall

NPR Books We Love

2025Fiction & literature

My Friends

Fredrik Backman, translated by Neil Smith

NPR Books We Love