FictionMatters The FictionMatters Best Books of 2025
This episode needs no introduction. Today Liz and I are share our favorite books of the year--all new releases. This was a weird year in books, but we each managed to come up with lists we feel excited to share and champion before the new year. As always, we hope you’ll let us know about your best books in the Substack comments.
If you want to hear Liz and I talking about books all year long, now is a great time to upgrade your subscription. With a paid membership, you’ll get our bonus superlatives episode and This Month in Books, our ongoing book discussion series. Subscriptions are 20% off through the month of December, so it’s the perfect time to join!
Alright, let’s get to it!
Books Mentioned
* Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt
* The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
* The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd
* Liz’s Ranking of her 100 Favorite Reads from the past 5 years
* Heart the Lover by Lily King
* Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
* 21:26 - Mother Mary Come to Me by Arundhati Roy (Liz’s #10)
* Hanif Abduraquib
* 24:15 - Days of Light by Megan Hunter (Sara’s #10)
* 26:56 - The White Hot by Quiara Alegría Hudes (Liz’s #9)
* 32:31- Stag Dance by Torrey Peters (Sara’s #9)
* Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters
* 35:330 - The Antidote by Karen Russell (Liz’s #8)
* Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
* 40:48 - The Devil Three Times by Rickey Fayne (Sara’s #8)
* Medium Rare by Natasha Jouvkosky
* Natasha Joukovsky on “the choice plot”
* 44:28 - Ending by Maria Reva (Liz’s #7)
* 47:35 - Among Friends by Hal Ebbott (Sara’s #7)
* A Sport and a Pastime by James Salter
* 51:05 - The Lack of Light by Nino Haratischvili (Liz’s #6)
* The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili
* 55:10 - Fox by Joyce Carol Oates (Sara’s #6)
* 1:00:18 - People Like Us by Jason Mott (Liz’s #5)
* Hell of a Book by Jason Mott
* 1:05:46 - Minor Black Figures by Brandon Taylor (Sara’s #5)
* 1:11:02 - Tom’s Crossing by Mark Z. Danielewski (Liz’s #4)
* House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
* 1:17:41 - Flashlight by Susan Choi (Sara’s #4)
* 1:19:12 - Seascraper by Benjamin Wood (Liz’s #3)
* 1:22:00 - Seduction Theory by Emily Adrian (Sara’s #3)
* 1:26:15 - North Sun, or the Voyage of the Whale Ship Esther by Ethan Rutherford (Liz’s #2)
* Poor Deer by Claire Oshetsky
* 1:31:42 - The Wax Child by Olga Ravn, translated by Martin Aitken (Sara’s #2)
* 1:37:35 - The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (Liz’s #1)
* 1:42:30 - Audition by Katie Kitamura (Sara’s #1)
* The Director by Daniel Kehlman
* The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy
* The Mobius Book by Catherine Lacey
* Flat Earth by Anika Jade Levy
* Universality by Natasha Brown
* The Pilgrimage by John Broderick
* Hunchback by Saou Ishikawa, translated by Polly Barton
* One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
* Dead and Alive by Zadie Smith
* Sarah’s Bookshelves Superlative Episode
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