New Dork Review's Most Anticipated Books of 2025

Last week, we looked back on the bookish year that was. This week, let's look ahead. Here are 13 books I can't wait to read in 2025. 

Before we get to the list, let's quickly talk about preorders (sorry if you've heard this soapbox speech from me before), because we all have a vested interest in writers and books being successful. Preorders are absolutely crucial for the success of a book. A robust preorder number tells the publisher there's a lot of interest in and buzz around a book, and is therefore worthy of marketing dollars. So if any of these books strike your fancy, smash that link and preorder. (All the links below are affiliate links for Bookshop.org, so using those links to order not only supports indie bookstores, but also me!)  

The Heart of Winter, by Jonathan Evison (January 7) -- I've already read this book and I can faithfully report that it's freakin' AMAZING. You already know I'm a huge Evison fan, and this may actually be his best novel yet.

Good Dirt, by Charmaine Wilkerson (January 28) -- The author of Black Cake returns with another "multi-generational epic" about family secrets, past trauma, and seemingly much more. I loved Black Cake an

The Forty-Year Kiss, by Nickolas Butler (February 4) -- Between Evison's book and this one, friends, we're living in a golden age of geriatric romance novels. (That was a sentence so preposterously funny for me to write, I need to take 5 minutes now to compose myself.....Okay. There we go. Back to the post.) Butler's new novel tells the story of a rekindled romance 40 years after the first spark. Butler is one of my all-time favorite writers, and I'll follow him anywhere.

The Dream Hotel, Laila Lalami (March 4) -- Do you want to hear my Laila Lalami story? As usual, it involves me being awkward around brilliant writers. So I was supposed to introduce her before a class she was teaching for StoryStudio. I practiced her name all day, and of course then, when the time came, I said something like, "and with that, I'll turn it over to our instructor, Laila Lamamamalani." She was very nice about it. I'm an idiot. And the world spins on. Anyway...Lalami's follow up to her AMAZING novel The Other Americans is a dystopian story in a future America where dreams are under surveillance. 

Dream Count, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (March 4) -- I learned about this book while I was in a coffee shop and gasped so loudly, I drew concerned glances from people me around me. It's been 10 years since Adichie's last novel Americanah, which is one of my favorite books ever. This is, for my money, THE publishing event of 2025.

Theft, by Abdulrazak Gurnah (March 18) -- When a living Nobel Laureate publishes something new, you read it. This is Gurnah's first novel since he was awarded the Nobel for Literature in 2021.

The Savage Noble Death of Babs Dionne, by Ron Currie (March 25) -- Speaking of writers I love, but who haven't published in a minute, Currie returns with his first novel since 2018's The One-Eyed Man. Currie is also the author Everything Matters! and Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles, both of which are tremendous. 

Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life, by Maggie Smith (April 1) -- Poet, novelist, memoirist, and essayist (she's just a really good writer!) Maggie Smith will publish a craft book in 2025, and if you're a writer who has read your Bird by Bird and On Writing and looking for something new, this is it. 

Rabbit Moon, by Jennifer Haigh (April 8) -- The author of the criminally underrated novels, Mercy Street, Faith, and Heat and Light (among several others) is now a must-read writer for me whenever she publishes. Her new novel is a psychological thriller about a family dealing with an accident in Shanghai. Yes, please! 

Home of the American Circus, by Allison Larkin (May 6) -- Not gonna lie, I've handsold Larkin's last novel The People We Keep approximately 304 times to customers who come into the bookstore and "just want something good to read." Having now read some of Larkin's backlist, too, I can confirm that that novel was not a one-hit wonder. She's an amazingly astute writer, and I can't wait for this new one!  

Mark Twain, by Ron Chernow (May 13) -- Are we really going to read a 1,200-page biography of Twain written by the Hamilton guy? Strong maybe. I'm definitely not ruling it out.  

Flashlight, by Susan Choi (June 3) -- This is Choi's first novel since her National Book Award-winning story of arts school kids, Trust Exercise. I got meet Choi in September, and she's so lovely, and she had plenty of inside info about this literary thriller centers on the disappearance of a father.

So Far Gone, by Jess Walter (June 10) -- So in 2025, we'll have new novels from Jonathan Evison, Nickolas Butler, Ron Currie, and now Jess Walter?! It's an absolute banner year for Middle-Aged White Writers Beloved by Greg Zimmerman. Can someone get Jonathan Tropper on the horn?

(If you're wondering why there are 13 books on this list, but only 12 covers, it's because So Far Gone doesn't have an officially revealed cover yet. Now you can sleep tonight.)

The New Dork Review Best Books of 2024

What a year, man! I wrote, I read, I ran. I wrote 25,000 words on a book project and finished two short stories, I read more than 60 books (which is a light year quantity wise, but readers don't count, and counters don't read, right? Right.), and I stupidly ran three marathons (never doing that many again).

But what matters is the books. Always the books. Here are my 10 favorites of the year. 

James, by Percival Everett -- Let's just get this one out of the way, because yeah, of course the National Book Award (and likely 2025 Pulitzer) winner is a best book of the year. Between this novel and the movie American Fiction (based on Everett's novel Erasure), this year will certainly be remembered as Everett's break-out. Dude had published nearly 20 novels over 30 years prior to this year. He's always had a small and very loyal fan base, but in 2024, he hit the stratosphere. 

Perris, California, by Rachel Stark -- This is the 2024 book I probably spent the most time talking about and trying to convince other people to read, both at the bookstore and generally in the world. Deeply moving, deeply disturbing, and immensely readable, it's about a salt-of-the-earth family just trying to get by in a small California town, all the while dealing with past trauma. It's a really heavy read, but really accomplished.

Same As It Ever Was, by Claire Lombardo -- Rockin' the suburbs just like Claire Lombardo did! Sorry. Sorry about that. Anyway...this, Lombardo's second novel after her massively successful debut The Most Fun We Ever Had, is no sophomore slump. This novel is another long family saga, but this time from the point of view of one character, I got to interview Lombardo for the Chicago Review of Books about this novel, also, which was one of the highlights of my year. 

Playground, by Richard Powers -- Any new Richard Powers novel is a must-read for me, and though this new novel isn't in the same pantheon as The Overstory (which would be nearly impossible, frankly), it's still a fantastic read in Powers' growing oeuvre of environmental fiction. This novel does for oceans what The Overstory did for trees and forests. 

Small Rain, by Garth Greenwell -- Can I interest you in a book about a guy lying in a hospital bed for 11 days, contemplating the world, his relationship, and not much else happens? What if I told you it's actually absolutely riveting? Such is the magic Greenwell works in this novel. This was my first time reading Greenwell, and I can't wait to see what he does next. 

Rejection, by Tony Tulathimutte -- This book of connected short stories which actually feels like a novel (where's the line? whose to say there HAS to be a line?) wins the 2024 Award for Absolutely Most Bonkers and Hilarious Imagined Sex Scene. That's all I'm willing to say about that. But overall, this is easily the funniest book I've read this year, and definitely among the smartest. 

Blue Ruin, by Hari Kunzru -- 2024 is the year Kunzru achieved "one of my favorite writers" status. I'm sure he's very pleased lol. But really, this pandemic novel examines the role of art in the world. It's as entertaining as it is engaging.

Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil, by Ananda Lima -- I got to be on the Chicago Writers Podcast with two very smart Chicago Review of Books editors in June, the topic for which was our favorite books of the year so far. All three of us had this book on our lists, and I'm willing to bet, all three of us will have it on our end-of-the-year lists too. Here's a reason why you should never trust Goodreads ratings: I just looked and this book has a 3.45 average rating, which is preposterous, stupid, and I'm insulted on behalf of the author. This book is brilliant. Period. (By the way, early in 2025 I'm planning to finally jettison my 20-year-old Goodreads account and move to the non-Bezos-infested-and-greener pastures of StoryGraph. Stay tuned.) 

Martyr!, by Kaveh Akbar -- I deeply, deeply loved this book. I read it in January, and it was so much fun to see this book gain momentum among readers all year long, culminating in being a finalist for the National Book Award, and in any non-James year, definitely would've won. This is my favorite novel of the year. 

There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension, by Hanif Abdurraqib -- This is, simply put, the best sports book I've ever read. And it's only  partly about sports -- it's also Abdurraqib's most autobiographical and political book, and it's unlike any sports book (or memoir) you'll ever read. My most overused phrase to tell people about this book was "reading Abdurraqib is a wholly unique experience" and it truly is.

5 Books to Bring You Joy

It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while a reader will come into the bookstore and ask for an unusual recommendation: I need a happy book. 

And then we scramble. Think about it: Sadness, misery, conflict. These are the hallmarks of good fiction. Conventional wisdom is that happy books are boring. 

But of course, that's not always true. 

So because for the next several weeks, months, (at least four) years, we'll all need books to make us feel good, here are five I recommend.

The People We Keep, by Allison Larkin -- This is a lovely rendering of how important it is to find the people we know we can rely on, trust, and love when times are toughest. Finding those people brings you joy. Reading about a wonderful character finding those people also brings you joy. 

I'll Give You The Sun, by Jandy Nelson -- A sad story, but told with prose as ebullient and joyful as the cover. I don't read a ton of YA, but this is still one of my go-to recommendations when anyone comes into the store just looking for a good read. 

The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, by Jonathan Evison -- A very underrated but extremely important skill: Being able to roll with the punches when life presents the unexpected. That's what this funny, sweet novel is about. Here's what I wrote about this book after I read it more than a decade ago: "You should read this book because it'll make you happy. I promise." So yeah, this book fits the bill.

Priestdaddy, by Patricia Lockwood -- Pee-your-pants funny, this memoir is. If Augusten Burroughs's Running with Scissors wasn't quite quirky enough for you, try this one instead.

The Financial Lives of the Poets, by Jess Walter -- Here's the first paragraph of my review for this novel waaaay back in 2010. "This is going to take some linguistic acrobatics. I'm going to spend the next 500 or so words trying to convince you that a story about bad choices, despair, near-financial ruin, and a failing marriage is one of the funniest, most charming, and downright best books you'll read in a long, long time." Holds up.

I desperately need to add to this list. Tell me your favorite joy-bringing books in the comments! 

20 Books to Help Distract You from Your Election Anxiety

The New Dork Review of Books would like to take this opportunity to officially endorse Kamala Harris for president. Because obviously. 

A couple weeks ago when I was in Berlin, I walked through Bebelplatz outside of the The Alte Bibliothek (the Old Library). On May 10, 1933, the Nazis had themselves a book barbecue on this site. Crazed by a speech from Joseph Goebells, the Nazis burned 25,000 books deemed "un-German."

Today, there's a below-ground memorial titled The Empty Library with empty shelves enough to house the same number of books the Nazis torched. Friends, I'm not ashamed to admit I got a little choked up. What an absolutely travesty. And that was just the beginning. 

Are we headed towards a place in this country where book burning is normalized? Though book bans are slightly down this year compared to the past several, according to American Library Association data, the book ban-ners have been exploring other avenues of nefariousness, like trying to make librarians criminals. It's utterly absurd! And there's little doubt that if the wrong candidate wins this election, book ban-ners will be emboldened. It's not hard to imagine Bebelplatz-like scenes all over the country.

So, like many of you, my election anxiety is absolutely through the roof, and when my anxiety maxes out, I find comfort in books. If you do too, here are 20 suggestions (I started with 10, and couldn't stop) for books to get lost in to help ease your anxiety this week. Criteria: Long, imaginative books you can read for hours without even realizing you're reading...and having nothing to do with politics. Here's my list:

20. The Most Fun We Ever Had, by Claire Lombardo -- We love a good family saga, and this is one of the best you can find. 

19. The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss -- You want to see someone get riled up? Ask a fantasy fan which they think will come first, the third book in this series or the next Game of Thrones book. Real funny, I know. 😅 But for real, after cajoling from several Rothfuss fans, I did read this, and I unexpectedly loved it. And I think you will too. Very sink-in-able. 

18. Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee -- If historical fiction is your jam, it doesn't get much more immersive than this novel. 

17. Night Film, by Marissa Pessl -- A long, but riveting, cross-genre delight. Fully get-lost-in-able. 

16. Last Night In Twisted River, by John Irving -- Or, of course, A Prayer For Owen Meany. There isn't a better pure storyteller alive than John Irving.

15. Book Lovers, by Emily Henry -- Sometimes you just need something sweet and funny. 

14. Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates, by Tom Robbins -- This book is so funny you'll forget all about your existential dread. 

13. The Brilliance Saga, by Marcus Sakey -- This trilogy (Brilliance, A Better World, Written in Fire) is more than 1,000 pages of pure adrenaline. These are books that read like a movie. 

12. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte -- Reader, I jest not. I love this book. It's all drama and manners and gossip and wonderful throwback to a "simpler" time. 

11. Broken Monsters, by Lauren Beukes -- Why not distract yourself by scaring yourself silly with this bonkers thriller about a Detroit serial killer? 

10. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski -- A long story about dog breeders in idyllic northern Wisconsin -- a novel that absolutely whisks you away. (Note: A sequel arrived earlier this year -- Familiaris -- which is 900+ pages. I'm saving it for this winter.) 

9. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami -- Weird weird and more weird. But an absolute reading delight. 

8. The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt -- This was a book I stayed up all night to finish. It's just one helluva great story. 

7. A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole -- Maybe this is too on the nose. 😂 But for real, laughter is the best medicine for anxiety, and it doesn't much funnier that this. 

6. The Bone Clocks, by David Mitchell -- Here's what I wrote when I finished this magisterial novel 10 years ago: "In total, The Bone Clocks is just about the bravest, smartest, most entertaining, most inventive, and most fun to read novel I've put into my brain in a very long time." 

5. Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel -- What this novel doesn't have in length, it more than makes up for in impact, so I'm including it among the rest of these longer books. In tough times, I love books that remind us how important art is. No book I've read in a long time does that better than Station Eleven. 

4. A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara -- Comparatively speaking, suddenly, our lives don't seem quite so bad.

3. Version Control, by Dexter Palmer -- This time-traveling, reality-bending novel may just blow your mind enough that if flushes all the anxiety into another dimension. 

2. Ducks, Newburyport, by Lucy Ellmann -- Caveat here: You may read this book for hours, stop for a break, and realize you have NO idea what the hell you just read. So it's sort of perfect for this week. 

1. The Luminaries, by Eleanor Catton -- When you put every ounce of your mental energy into puzzling through this novel, there's no room left for worry. 

There you have it. Definitely read a ton this week, but also talk to friends and family. Donate if you can. And GO FREAKING VOTE!

Rejection, by Tony Tulathimutte: Gives DFW Vibes

When Tony Tulathimutte found out his new novel-in-stories Rejection had been longlisted for the National Book Award, he tweeted, simply and succinctly, "holy shit dude." Given his expansive, brilliant, just-on-the-right-side-of-verbose prose, that reaction was extra funny.

After reading his book, my reaction is exactly the same. Holy shit dude! 

This book is CRAZY. CRAAAAZY. Crazy good. And even crazier smart. 

Honestly, my first thought after finishing this book (well, after "holy shit dude"), was "sure gives DFW vibes." If you've been with me for any amount of time, you know I don't make that comparison lightly. But the playfulness of the prose, the mixture of low- and high-brow humor, the meta-textual commentary, and so much more reminded me of the first time I read "Consider the Lobster" and felt like my reading world had been cracked wide open. This is THAT good. 

So yes, there is A LOT going on here. It's a satiric story broadly about identity, but also about authenticity, two topics which very much go hand in hand. 

Structure-wise, the book is five individual interconnected stories about a bunch of misfits who shouldn't be misfits but see themselves as misfits because they're not normal and boring. And they've been rejected by individual people specifically and society generally. These people have it hard; they they just don't fit. This hardens their hearts -- they become bitter, depressed, cope in other strange ways. 

For instance, in our first story "The Feminist," we follow a super annoying cishet white guy who just wants to be an ally and treads so carefully around identity issues, he annoys literally everyone with whom he comes in contact. But we're not even sure his intentions are pure: Appearing to care is not the same thing as actually caring, Tulathimutte writes. When you appear to care, you get to feel good about yourself -- like no philanthropic act is purely altruistic because you get a jolt of good feeling, too. But so, this "feminist" soon alienates all his friends. It doesn't help that he can't get laid. 

And we go from there. A woman named Alison who is rejected by a friend with whom she wants to be more-than-friends turns bitter and then depressed and adopts a raven, and then has an all-time blow-out in the group chat with her soon-to-be-ex friends. 

A shy Asian man named Kant comes out of the closet only to realize he can't find a partner to match his his sexual proclivities. So he tries to hire a porn star to make him a video. And the 20-page script he sends the porn star are 20 of the wildest pages I have literally ever read.

There's a tech bro who starts dating Alison, but has different expectations for the relationship that she does. And then the longest story in the book is about Bee, Kant's sister and a friend of The Feminist from from the first story. This story is where it all comes together in terms of the discussion of identity, but also the push and pull against authenticity of identity in an increasingly online world. And further, how rejection can stem from something so simple as identity, which shouldn't be the case, but is. You just have to read this story. It's bonkers. 

In total, this is one of the best, funniest, smartest, and most irreverent books I've read in a very long time. A definite favorite of 2024 for me.