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.)