Best of 2025 Book Lists
It’s that time of year when anyone and everyone starts sharing their thoughts and opinions on the best things of the year. In my nook of the world, this is typically the best books of 2025. And while I’m as curious the next person as to who makes these lists, I like to keep one simple thought in my mind – these are all strictly opinions. What makes books and other art forms so amazing, is that they are subjective in some respects – some people will love it, some will hate it. But isn’t that the point of art – to make people feel something?
In fact, I don’t create a best of book list, rather I create a picture book gift guide of titles that have been published this year. There are a few caveats to my list – I have to have read it myself and I want it to make me feel something – safe, happy, sad, joyful, silly, thoughtful, etc. I love that even though I read over 150 picture books for my gift guide, it’s only a small portion of the hundreds of books published every year! And, I’ll be the first to say, you don’t have to agree with the titles that I’ve included in my list, that’s the point of books, that they may not be for everyone, but someone, somewhere will understand and connect with that book.
While I don’t create my own “Best of” book list, I do want to share with you some of the other lists out there. I think of these as tools – places I can go to get great book suggestions that someone else liked enough to add to a list. Do I always agree? Heck no, but I love seeing what books people are excited about!
10 Best of 2025 Book Lists
So, without further ado, a list of ten “best of” book lists in alphabetical order:
Amazon Editors’ Best Books of 2025
You can see selections by specific Amazon editors or by categories with a wide variety including children, teen, adult fiction and nonfiction.
Barnes & Noble
With 19 different lists to choose from Barnes & Noble offers a little bit of something for everyone!
Book Riot
Nine genres, two age categories, and a format will give you a host of titles to peruse at your leisure.
Goodreads
Chosen by readers, I love seeing what other readers loved this year!
Kirkus
If you’re unfamiliar with Kirkus, it’s a book review journal with six lists this year. I’m definitely going to take a closer look at the Indie list, there are sure to be books on that list you don’t often see in other places.
NPR
I love how NPR has created a webpage that includes filters that create new and adjustable lists for pretty much anything you can thing of!
NYPL
With handy downloadable lists, you can easily take one of these to the library and start checking books off your TBR!
Oprah
While not as extensive as some of the other lists available here, there is an audience who will gravitate toward Oprah’s recommendations.
Publisher’s Weekly
Publisher’s Weekly is chockful of publishing news, newly released titles, and an extensive list of books for the best of 2025 broken down by genres and age groups.
Time
With 100 titles on the list, it’s definitely worth the time to take a look and see what made the Time Magazine list this year.
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