The New Dork Review Year In, Um, Review: Most-Read Posts of 2025

Welp, we've all but 2025'ed as much 2025 as can be 2025'ed. But before we go on to a new year, let's take a quick look back at some of the most-read posts from a year in which I wrote more here than I have in more than a decade.

Let me just say quickly, too: THANK you all so much for reading this thing here at my quiet little corner of the internet. Can you believe this has been going for 16 years now? Your comments and feedback still make this a whole lot of fun. On to year 17!

And but so, here are the most-read posts of 2025: 

1. The Definitive Ranking of Dan Brown's Six Robert Langdon Novels -- Symbology, hell yeah! Robert Langdon (mostly because people found it from Google) is the most-viewed (I say "most-viewed" instead of "most-read" because, again, people found this from Google😅) post of 2025.

2. Top 8 Ways Reading is Like Running -- Shout out to Rebecca at Book Riot for including this post in the Book Riot Newsletter. If you're not subscribed to the Book Riot Newsletter, you should DEFINITELY SUBSCRIBE TO THE BOOK RIOT NEWSLETTER. 

3. The New Dork Review Top 10 of 2025 -- Out last week, ICYMI.

4. 8 Really Great Debut Novels You Should Read Right Now -- People like book lists. Give the people what they want. 

5. Shelf Lives, Vol. 4: A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving -- The fourth of five Shelf Lives posts this year definitely struck a nerve with you, dear readers. It was so much fun hearing how many of you have read and loved this book. 

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This year was also the first full year of being a daily editor and occasional contributor to the Chicago Review of Books. I really love this publication, and its mission is more vital than ever as review pages are being cut in major newspapers everywhere. Subscribe to the CHIRB newsletter here. 

5. Review of Jess Walter's So Far Gone -- But for real, who hasn't wanted to just haul off and cold-cock a MAGA jerk and then go live in the woods for seven years? 

4. Interview with Jonathan Evison -- The Heart of Winter was the first 2025 book I read, and it wound up as a favorite. Loved hearing about Evison's inspirations for this novel. 

3. Interview with Nickolas Butler -- Mr. Butler is one of the nicest people in publishing. I've read every word he's written. And it was so much fun to get to talk to him about his new novel, A Forty-Year Kiss.

2. Review of Pynchon's probably last novel, Shadow Ticket -- So Pynchonian. 

1. Interview with Samira Ahmed about book bans -- "Samira, how can I be brave?" a teacher asked Samira when a school district tried to soft ban one of Samira's novels. This interview was the single-most inspiring thing I had the privilege to be a part of this year. Samira is absolutely incredible, a whirlwind force for good. In fact, she was recently awarded the 2025 Adam Morgan Literary Leadership Award from the Chicago Review of Books for her work with Authors Against Book Bans.

The New Dork Review 10 Best Books of 2025

My assessment of the year in books 2025 is this: There were many very, very good books. But there was not a single great one. But that's okay. It's not every year a book like, say, James in 2024, comes along.

A definite plus for 2025, though, was that several writers I've read and admired for a long time put out their best book yet. Karen Russell, Jonathan Evison, and Ron Currie, for example. There were some other personal highlights, as well, including: 

• I finally read Lonesome Dove
• I finally reread Infinite Jest (and loved it just as much -- if not more -- the second time)
• I've published here 45 times, which is the most since 2013! 
• I'll either break my record or come in second this year for pages read in a year (north of 27,000)

But so, onward! In no particular order, here are my 10 favorite books of 2025: 

The Antidote, by Karen Russell -- I don't know if you classify this as magical realism, sci-fi, historical speculative fiction, or something else, and that's okay. This is the one book this year that surprised me most for how much I liked it. I've read everything Russell's written, and I love her short stories, and very much did not love her first novel, Swamplandia! But this book, I think, is the best thing she's written -- a wholly original story that constantly had me thinking, "How the hell did she conceive of this?"

The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne, by Ron Currie -- A literary thriller with the eponymous feisty old broad who bears more than a passing resemblance to Tony Soprano in thoughts and deeds, this was Currie's first novel in nearly a decade. And it's his best one yet, in my opinion. And even better news: He has a prequel or companion, We Will See You Bleed, coming out next summer! 

Paper Girl, by Beth Macy -- The only nonfiction entry on my list, this book is the most clear-eyed and insightful thing I've read about how small-town American has turned into the Cult of MAGA, how opportunities that existed for low-income people in the 1980s no longer do, and some of the dreadful impacts of people being brainwashed to vote against their own interests has had on their own communities. Authentic and real. Everything Hillybilly Elegy is not. 

Deep Cuts, by Holly Brickley -- This story about collaboration, creativity, inspiration and young love  is just an absolute delight. But the strength of this debut is how astutely Brickley writes about music -- she is able to completely deconstruct a song and make us understand why it works (or doesn't). The novel is also of such a specific time (the early 2000s) that the nostalgia is fierce!

Pan, by Michael Clune -- This novel is a delectable splatter pattern of descriptions of images and light and color literally unlike anything I've ever read. Language in Clune's writing is malleable, formable, turn-able, twistable, and the result is writing so unexpectedly fresh and original, it was hard for me to put this book down. Not because the plot was riveting, but just because I couldn't wait to see what new joys the next sentence would bring

The Heart of Winter, by Jonathan Evison -- The third entry in this year's "best book by I writer I've been reading for years" list, this is a heartwarming tale of a 70-year marriage. Back in early January, I got to interview Evison for the Chicago Review of Books about this book, its inspiration, and fancy hats. Evison, as always, is charming and funny. Have you checked out his podcast, A Fresh Face in Hell? I'm not a podcast person, but I listen to this one as much as I can.

Home of the American Circus, by Allison Larkin -- If you have not yet read Allison Larkin, what are you waiting for?! Her novel The People We Keep was an absolute revelation, and this, her latest is just as good. I love stories about returning home when you're at the end of your rope, and I just love the warmth and humor Larkin writes with. 

So Far Gone, by Jess Walter -- Yes, of course the new Jess Walter would make the list. A novel very much of our times, it's about an old guy who has just had enough and goes and lives by himself in the woods for seven years. But then he is drawn back into the current political hellscape to take care of his grandkids. My favorite podcast episode of the year, by the way, is Jonathan Evison talking with Jess Walter on A Fresh Face in Hell. 

The Emperor of Gladness, by Ocean Vuong -- This was my first time reading literary darling Vuong, and I went in a little skeptical. But this novel surprised me for its range. Yes, it's a mostly sad story of a young man and an old woman forming an unlikely symbiotic relationship. But there is beauty in the sorrow here. 

Heart the Lover, by Lily King -- I guess if really pressed to pick my favorite of the year, this would be it. Slim in size but immense in emotion and wisdom, I really tried to not speed through and instead slow down and savor this book. But King doesn't make that easy. Such an incredible writer. Such an incredible novel about how choices we make when we're young ripple through our whole lives. 

Grace & Henry's Holiday Movie Marathon, by Matthew Norman: Love Actually Is All Around Us

Way back in 2007, Jonathan Tropper, the erstwhile king of dude lit before he quit writing novels to make TV and movies, published a novel titled How to Talk to a Widower. The story is about a 29-year-old fella trying to navigate life after the death of his wife in a plane crash. It's an extremely funny novel about grief. 

Matthew Norman, with his latest Grace & Henry's Holiday Movie Marathon, just said "Hey Tropper, hold my beer." This novel, also an extremely funny novel about grief, includes TWO people who have just lost their spouses. Grace's husband Tim died of cancer, leaving Grace to take care of their two children, Stella and Ian. Henry's wife Glynn died in a plane crash, and the shattered dude hasn't even been able to go back to the Baltimore row house he and Glynn shared to take down last year's holiday decorations.

Now, nearly one year later, the dreaded holiday season approaches again. Meddling family members plot a meet-cute for Grace and Henry, assuming they'd both be interested in meeting someone else whose partner had died. 

They start as awkward friends watching holiday movies together with the kids and Grace's new dog named Harry Styles. But might there be more there? Wouldn't it be a terrible idea, though, if there were -- since they're both so damaged? Will they or won't they? Will they or won't they??? Even if you assume they eventually will, any romcom worth its tropes is adept at planting just enough of a seed of doubt they won't that you continue reading feverishly. We have that here, too, but we also keep turning the pages because Norman is just such a damn good writer. He's funny, he's charming without being schmaltzy, and he can even surprise you with little nuggets of wisdom that sort of catch you off guard for how much sense they make. "So relatable," you say to yourself, nodding. 

And the man knows his holiday movies. Drawing from a deep appreciation of movies ranging from Die Hard (don't @ Norman, or Grace and Henry: it IS a holiday movie) to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Agreed: "Bend over and I'll show you" is the funniest line in any holiday movie.) to A Christmas Story (overrated?) to Love Actually (Grace has issues with it, Henry loves it), these classics are both the way Grace and Henry build their comfort with each other and also a nifty frame for the plot of his novel.

Pulling off a funny novel about grief isn't easy -- overcorrecting the grief with the humor would feel disingenuous, but making it too sad, especially a book centered on the holidays...well, no one wants to read that, really. Norman mixes the perfect ratio in this delightful romcom. I really had a lot of fun here, and I think you will too!

Heart the Lover, by Lily King: "First we make our choices. Then they make us."

Have you heard the thing about how if you're in your 30s or 40s now, your favorite song or album or band in high school or college is likely still your favorite song or album or band? Though that may not always be exactly right (except, it is for me!), and a favorite song or record is much more pedantic than, say, choosing your partner for life, that idea does get to the theme of Lily King's incredible new novel, Heart the Lover. Choices you make and friends and relationships you have when you're young -- big or small, and whether you know it then or not -- have far-reaching consequences for literally the rest of your life. At no other time in your life is that as true as it is in your early 20s. 

If you're a just-graduated young woman, you can, for instance, whip off to Paris to take a nanny job. You can choose to write a novel. Or not. You can throw a dart at the map and choose where to live. The world is there for you to do with it what you can. The freedom! (Even if that freedom is actually kind of an illusion.)

But to back up, Heart the Lover starts with three main characters, Sam, Yash, and Jordan, college students in the South in the late 1980s. Sam and Yash are roommates, and Jordan begins dating Sam, but the dynamics are weird. Narrated by Jordan, the plot proceeds from her college days to her late 40s in three distinct parts. It's a novel, the less you know about plot-wise going in, the richer your reading experience. That's especially true if you've read King's novel Writers & Lovers. (If you haven't, you absolutely should ... and maybe before reading this one.)

This novel is truly a wonder -- a 250-page story that packs the wisdom and sagacity of a book four times its size. King's understanding of how we are the way we are, why we do what we do, our foibles and quirks, and our reactions to pain and cruelty is deep. And her ability to render these so astutely on the page is astonishing. 

And then there's this quote, which has almost nothing to do with the plot, but is the most clearly rendered version of this idea I've ever read: "You know how you can remember exactly when and where you read certain books? A great novel, a truly great one, not only captures a particular fictional experience, it alters and intensifies the way you experience your own life while you're reading it. And it preserves it, like a time capsule." 

This idea is exactly why I started writing the on-again, off-again Shelf Lives series. But I had to stop and put the book down when I read those lines. They're perfect.

And this novel is nearly perfect. I loved it so much. All the feelings all the way through. READ THIS. 

*Note: The quote in the headline is not from this novel. It's Anne Frank. But it's a perfect way to describe the themes in this book.

Workhorse, by Caroline Palmer: "Single White Female" Meets "The Devil Wears Prada"

Bit of an odd reading experience here: I didn’t find my favorite part of this book until the last line of the Acknowledgments, which has nothing to do really with the novel itself. Palmer is telling us she didn’t start writing this book until her mid-40s and encourages all writers that whatever it is, it’s never too late. “This has been one of the great joys of my life,” she writes. I love that so much! 

Anyway...honestly, picking up Workhorse, by Caroline Palmer, a soapy novel about the fashion industry and high society in New York City in the early 2000s, was a stretch for me. But I took I chance because a) I like long novels (this is 550 pages!), b) I like any novel set in NYC about 20-somethings making their ways in the world, and c) I like novels about the heydays of the magazine publishing industry.

The result is a bit uneven, frankly. Flawed, but highly readable. If you like novels in which you hate all the characters, this is for you. They’re scheming, petty, conniving, solipsistic, uber-privileged, supercilious, superficial, jealous, cruel, manipulative, and basically just using each other for whatever gains they can. (Whew, it felt good to get all that out — I really did not like these people 😆.)

The plot is this: Early-20s Clodagh Harmon gets herself a job as an assistant to an editor at a prominent and beloved fashion magazine. She is from a middle class background in Philadelphia and is immediately awed by the glamor and glitz all around her -- including her fellow assistant Davis Lawrence, whom everyone loves and who is the daughter of a famous Broadway star and fashion icon. Clo works hard to insinuate herself into Davis's good graces and the life to which she increasing believes she's entitled. But will Clo maintain even a shred of dignity in her ambitious drive upward? How is it fair that she has to work so hard -- a Workhorse -- whereas so many others like Davis -- Showhorses -- have it so easy? And as her quest to befriend Davis becomes more sinister, bordering on obsession, are there any limits to what she'll do to earn Davis's friendship?

It makes for delicious drama, indeed. But some of the major plot hinges stretch credulity and the characters themselves are a bit inconsistent in how they act individually and towards each other. Sure, humans are messy, but when you start saying “It just doesn’t feel like that’s something (this character) would do” pretty often, it’s a problem. 

Still, if you’re up for a “Single White Female” meets “The Devil Wears Prada,” and are good to spend A LONG TIME (again, this is over 550 pages!) with these people, give this a shot!