Best Books of January 2025

Readers, it’s finally here. The shocking ending to Iron Flame left us with a dizzying need for the third installment of Yarros’ phenomenal series. Violet knows it’s time to fight beyond the walls of her school. With love gained and lost, battles waged and won — Onyx Storm is another razor-sharp ride on dragon back.

Originally meant to publish after his death, Pope Francis decided his autobiography needed to come out now, making Hope the first memoir in history to ever be published by a living pope. With a myriad of global crises like war, environmental disasters and illness plaguing us, the world needs a glimmer of hope, and Pope Francis delivers. Hope chronicles the childhood, adulthood and papacy of an indelible figure. 

The 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning author Han Kang (The Vegetarian, Greek Lessons) is back with We Do Not Part. Here’s what the Pulitzer Prize committee had to say about Kang’s prose: “[Han Kang’s] intense poetic prose … confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.” A story of community and history, humanity and hope, We Do Not Part is a masterclass in Kang’s stunning writing style. 

Pen is starting her first term at the prestigious University of Edinburgh — but she isn’t just there to get a degree. With her parents’ history shrouded in mystery and an unexpected romance catching her off guard, Pen is determined to get to the bottom of her family’s secrets. A sharp coming-of-age journey through the glamorous world of high academia, old money and one eccentric upper-class family. This heartfelt tale is sure to please fans of Sally Rooney and Emma Donoghue.

Grammy-nominated musician Neko Case is known for her powerhouse vocals and introspective songwriting — but did you know her rural, quiet and lonely childhood paved the way to global stardom? This is the story of how she made her place in the world. Both heartbreakingly human and hilarious, Case’s memoir will appeal to readers of Miranda July and Rachel Yoder. 

Bestselling author Grady Hendrix is back with his latest spine-tingling read. Hendrix sets the scene in 1970, driving through Florida in pregnant fifteen-year-old Fern’s father’s sweltering car, we meet Fern at her lowest. A group of teens at a home for pregnant girls face adversity, shame and ostracization until a book of witchcraft puts the power back in their hands. Both triumphant and terrifying, this novel will have you reading from behind your fingers.

We fell in love with Charmaine Wilkerson’s writing with her bestselling novel Black Cake, and we’re so thrilled for her latest. This multigenerational novel follows Ebby through heartbreak and a new beginning. For fans of Abi Daré and Nikki May, Good Dirt takes us from Long Island Sound to West Africa and France on a quest to uncover the secrets of the past and build a new future. 

Nicholas Carr (The Shallows) asks: how much progress is too much progress? With social media growing and rapidly evolving every day, Carr warns that we may not be heading in the right direction. The bestselling author explores the history of technological advances and questions where we need to draw the line between innovation and societal dislocation in Superbloom. Groundbreaking and thought-provoking, this is great for readers of Ruha Benjamin, Malcolm Gladwell, and Sherry Turkle.

With her personal and professional life in shambles, Zelu decides to do something bold: she’s going to write a wonderfully wild and weird new novel for herself. With no expectation of mainstream success, Zelu shares her manuscript and is thrust into a whole new life. An ingenious blend of sci-fi and literary, this is a novel about what it means to be a storyteller. Okorafor’s brand-new tale will delight fans of George R. R. Martin’s wide-ranging imagination and Ursula K. Le Guin’s sharp worldbuilding.

What do you know about Herod the Great? He was a cruel and wicked ruler from the first century BCE. Zora Neal Hurston flips this perception on its head in The Life of Herod the Great — this is a fictional account of a complex Biblical figure from an iconic storyteller. Challenging the worldview of this infamous ruler and painting a vivid portrait of his life from childhood to his controversial reign and his friendships with people like Mark Antony and Julius Caesar. 

Dystopian, haunting and unforgettable, All the Water in the World tells the story of a flooded world, and one family’s determination to keep their community alive. Nonie and her family live in a deserted New York City atop the American Museum of Natural History. When a devastating superstorm hits, they’re faced with the impossible. This all-too-prescient story introduces us to a fictional account of a terrifying dystopian future. 

The award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is back with an equally haunting tale. Bestselling author Eric LaRocca returns with a dark, decadent story of loneliness and longing, life and death. With claustrophobic rituals and spine-tingling horror you won’t be able to look away from, this is LaRocca at his best. 

The 2022 National Book Award-winner for Nonfiction with South to America is back with a stunning meditation on all things blue. Imani Perry studies the color blue in all its history and hues in this remarkable analysis. From West Africa to the American South, Black in Blues examines the color’s relation to Blackness and culture from the acclaimed author.  

The latest in the series that began with The House on Vesper Sands is complex, cutting and macabre. Paraic O’Donnell’s latest takes readers back to dark and gloomy Victorian London with a relentless killer on the loose. Sharp and cutting, O’Donnell thrusts Sergeant Bliss into the spotlight who must rely on his own wits to bring this murderer to justice.  

Bestselling author, podcaster and motivational speaker Mel Robbins returns with her most insightful and life-changing book yet. From helping you build friendships to break free from insecurities to finding joy and success in everyday life, The Let Them Theory is a liberating read, perfect for fans of Brené Brown and Glennon Doyle. 

Fans of Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, this is the book for you! Water Moon takes readers to an unassuming Tokyo ramen shop contains a portal to another realm where customers can change their lives for the low price of one regret at a time. When the shop’s owner, Hana, finds the shop has been ransacked overnight, she embarks on a quest to recover what was stolen. This is a breathtaking, magical story that feels like a dream. 

The story that began in The Stars Are Dying continues in this fast-paced, swoon-worthy romantasy featuring our favorite doomed pair. After enduring the Libertatem, Astraea is faced with an impossible situation: to keep her newfound freedom she must betray what she loves the most. Can Astraea and Nyte defy the odds and save the world — and each other?

Politics and romance collide in this heartfelt and hilarious read. With the wry voice reminiscent of Emma Straub and the banter of Taffy Brodesser-Akner, How to Sleep at Night is a tender and timely read.

Inspired by the true, gruesome story, A Gorgeous Excitement chronicles one mesmerizing, hazy, drug-fueled summer in the 1980s. It’s a blistering summer in New York City and Nina has one thing on her mind: lose her virginity before going off to school. With an unstable mom, a city to herself — at least, that’s what it feels like — and enough of her parents’ booze to get by, Nina is determined to have an unforgettable summer. This coming-of-age covered in warning signs will appeal to fans of The Girls by Emma Cline.

Pulitzer Prize finalist Adam Haslett (You Are Not a Stranger Here, Imagine Me Here) returns with a story about new beginnings, old grudges and complicated family ties. When Peter takes on a life-altering immigration case, it unearths memories that haunt his thoughts and sets him on a collision course with his estranged mother. Mothers and Sons is perfect for fans of Elizabeth Strout and Ann Patchett. 

A woman sets out to discover the truth behind her twin brother’s mysterious death in this captivating novel from the author of The Unmaking of June Farrow. Ever since James lost her brother in a freak accident, life hasn’t been the same. Both tragic and tender, this is a breathtaking journey of grief, love and history from the bestselling author of Fable.

Based on on-the-ground research compiled over seven years of travel through thirty countries in Africa, An African History of Africa is a meticulously researched, sweeping study of the continent’s culture, people and history. Shining a light on overlooked African scholarship, Badwai presents a decolonized history in this remarkable and accessible account.