Favorite Books of 2025 (And a Call for Recommendations)

This year was a doozy, but I still managed to read some good books! Here are my favorite reads for 2025. 

Fiction:

The Tainted Cup/A Drop of Corruption(In the Shadow of Leviathan series)/Robert Bennett Jackson: This fantasy mystery series was a delight; I finished off Tainted Cup within a couple of days and then savored Drop of Corruption. The setting and magic are compelling (they get their powers from the very monsters they have to fight), and Ana is delightfully eccentric. I can’t wait for the third book to come out!

 
Kate and Frida/ Kim Fay: This was a wonderful comfort read that I needed this year; I loved how the main characters supported each other and kept trying, even when confronting various challenges.

Sisters in the Wind/ Angeline Boulley: I’ve enjoyed Angeline Boulley’s previous work, and this was an excellent addition to her body of work. The strong community elements woven with a compelling thriller had me turning pages.  

Nonfiction

One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This/Omar El Akkad: This book made me deeply uncomfortable at times, but I also found it cathartic.  El Akkad’s criticisms about the West’s actions in Gaza captures this frustration with Western hypocrisy and inaction resonated. It won the National Book Award for very good reason.

Graphic Novels that I Loved That Weren’t Published in 2025:

These are the graphic novels that I loved, but, because they weren’t published in 2025, I couldn’t list them as my favorites on the No Flying, No Tights Best of 2025 list (which I’ll post once it goes up).  I don’t know why I haven’t included them before!

Brownstone/Samuel Teer & Mar Julia—This sweet story about family and community was another comfort read. I loved watching Almudena’s relationship with her dad and the community build over the course of the story. I was looking for stories about community, and Brownstone delivered.

Leap/Simina Popescu-With beautiful artwork and a strong friendship at the center, this coming-of-age story was a delight to read. Another strength was the exploration of complicated relationship dynamics. If you enjoyed Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, I recommend Leap!

Heavyweight/Solomon J. Brager: Heavyweight was a fascinating, nuanced examination of family lore-making within the context of surviving a horrific tragedy. It deepened my understanding how class and privilege impacted families’ ability to survive the Holocaust.

Brittle Joints/Maria Sweeney-This was a beautiful and compelling graphic memoir; Sweeney has a knack for conveying joy and pain with gorgeous art and brief, impactful scenes. Graphic medicine fans who haven’t read this should take note.

One thing I’ve noticed this year is that I tend to read mostly newer books (i.e. ones published during the year or within the last year or two). This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I’m defaulting to chasing the latest thing when I’m sure there are some good older books that I’ve missed! Therefore, I’m on the lookout for some older titles that I might have missed. I welcome fiction and nonfiction recommendations!

For nonfiction, here are some topics and themes that interest me:

One thing I’ve noticed this year is that I tend to read mostly newer books (i.e. ones published during the year or within the last year or two). This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I’m defaulting to chasing the latest thing when I’m sure there are some good older books that I’ve missed! Therefore, I’m on the lookout for some older titles that I might have missed. I welcome fiction and nonfiction recommendations!

For nonfiction, here are some topics and themes that interest me:

•   History—LGBTQ; U.S History; World; Women’s roles/gender/reproductive rights
•  Relationships/ community building (especially within the context of queer relationships, but really anything on friendship)
•    Nature (learning how to navigate/survival, plant/animal identification and use, cool narrative nonfiction about nature)
•   Technology and society/psychology