Books that capture the Before trilogy vibe

Jeff and Rebecca wrap up the 2025 Holiday Recommendations.

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In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

2 AM at the Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helen Bertino

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr

The Slough House series by Mick Herron

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Jane Harper

Tilt by Emma Pattee

A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean

The Unveiling by Quan Barry

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Riverman by Ben McGrath

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy

Kevin Wilson

People Like Us by Jason Mott

Marie-Helene Bertino

Katie Kitamura

Colson Whitehead

Tom Robbins

Oreo by Fran Ross

Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey

Something From Nothing by Alison Roman

Start Here by Sohla El-Waylly

Good Things by Samin Nosrat

Six Seasons of Pasta (and/or Six Seasons of Vegetables) by Josh McFadden

Now & Again by Julia Turshen

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

The Lost Man by Jane Harper

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

Like a Mother by Angela Garbes

Essential Labor by Angela Garbes

Splinters by Leslie Jamison

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Jonathan Evison

Model Home by Rivers Solomon

Reign & Ruin by J. D. Evans

So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport

The Imposter Cure by Jessamy Hibberd

Life in Three Dimensions by Shigehiro Oishi

The Broken Shore by Peter Temple

Light Years by James Salter

I Married You for Happiness by Lily Tuck

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levitan

Ross Gay

Hanif Abdurraquib

Ada Limon

Sarah Kay

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