Thursday, December 11, 2025

The best books of 2025, ranked📚

Plus, readers mourn bestselling author Sophie Kinsella. ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌  ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ 
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Books

Thu Dec 11 2025

 

Clare Mulroy Books Reporter

Happy Thursday, booklovers! 

Our best books of 2025 list is finally here, and I've spent a year going through more than 100 titles to bring you a ranking of the Top 15.

As I explained on this morning's episode of The Excerpt , curating a best books list takes time and care. I step outside my personal reading tastes to choose the most influential books of the year that speak to all different kinds of readers, from both a literary and storytelling standpoint. From narrative nonfiction to romance to horror, we're proud to bring you a list chock-full of diverse genres and perspectives.

Best Books Of The Year 2025 1

USA TODAY reveals its best books of 2025.

Clare Mulroy, covers courtesy of Penguin Random House, Grove Atlantic, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster

You can read about all our 2025 best books here, but I wanted to bring you behind the scenes at my experience reading some of them:

🦇"Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng" by Kylie Lee Baker: A horror novel that kept me up at night in all the best ways. I read this with goosebumps down my arms for all 304 pages, both from the haunting plot and Baker's gorgeous, addictive prose.

🃏"Heart the Lover" by Lily King: This one should come with a warning label on the cover – don't read unless you are prepared to have your heart shattered (gloriously) into a million pieces. Apologies to my fellow subway riders who saw me crying on the train while finishing this.

🍃"Things in Nature Merely Grow" by Yiyun Li: A book I read in a single sitting, both because it was a short read and an engrossing one. Yiyun Li doesn't promise a tidy ending to her memoir, and I appreciated the quiet meditation on grief and loss all the more for that.

How many books have you read on our top 15 list? Tell me at cmulroy@usatoday.com or by reaching out on Instagram. Thanks for checking out USA TODAY Books this week!

Author Sophie Kinsella.

Sophie Kinsella, the bestselling rom-com author of the "Shopaholic" series, has died after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer.

"Nobody's Girl," a book by Virginia Giuffre, sits for sale on the shelf at a bookstore in Washington, DC, on October 21, 2025. (Photo by ARCHANA THIYAGARAJAN/AFP via Getty Images)
 

The reading trend that defined 2025

Reading went social again in 2025, with silent book clubs and big release parties bringing readers together.

Viola Davis and James Patterson are teaming up to pen a new courtroom drama novel, out in 2026.
 

Viola Davis, James Patterson reveal cover for new courtroom thriller

Loved "Finding Me" by Viola Davis? The EGOT winner is now writing fiction, too. See the cover for "Judge Stone" by Davis and James Patterson.

Protesters in support of LGBTQ+ rights and against book bans rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court on April 22, 2025, in Washington, DC.
 

Supreme Court won't hear book ban case, keeping titles off shelves

The decision means that the 17 disputed titles, which cover topics including transgender and race issues, can remain off public library shelves.

USA TODAY's Fall Book Challenge is now live.
 

$100 just for reading? Join USA TODAY's Fall Book Challenge

USA TODAY's seasonal book challenge is back by popular demand. Read books, get bingo and you'll be entered in a $100 Bookshop.org gift card giveaway.

USA TODAY booklist returns
 

USA TODAY Best-selling Booklist

The top-selling titles each week provides book lovers with the most accurate snapshot of what people are reading.

 

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