25 *MORE* Books to Check Out for 2025
Way back in January, we compiled a list of the 25 books we were most excited to crack open in the coming year. Three months in, even more books are on our radar—so we’ve rounded up 25 additional recs for you. Some of these new and forthcoming titles were penned by chart-topping literary legends; others are cult classics in the making from cool indie publishers. All of them are worth your attention, and your TBR pile is looking too short anyway.
Pathemata, Or, the Story of My Mouth, Maggie Nelson
Memoir, April 1, 2025
Like so many of us, Maggie Nelson—celebrated author of The Argonauts and Bluets—did some heavy-duty reflecting during quarantine. She emerged with Pathemata, Or, the Story of My Mouth, which reflects on the isolation engendered by the pandemic and the ongoing struggles caused by the writer’s chronic jaw pain. In classic Nelson style, daily reflections and dream imagery are woven throughout.
Plum, Andy Anderegg
Fiction, April 8, 2025
Novels in the second person are rare for a good reason—they’re difficult to pull off. Yet Andy Anderegg’s “Plum” is already receiving rave reviews. The book’s protagonist is a young girl living with a physically abusive father and an enabling, alcoholic mother. She’s close with her older brother, but she must develop her own survival plan when he moves out. The topic is bleak, but ultimately, our heroine comes out on top.
I Love Shopping, Lauren Cook
Fiction, April 8, 2025
Lauren Cook’s I Love Shopping, composed of anecdotes that straddle the line between short story and prose poem, was first published in 2019. A passage from the text went viral (“Here is my kinky roleplay: I am an honest person. I am not ashamed of myself, the things I do… I have everything I need in this life”); the collection was even featured in Interview. Now, after the success of Cook’s most recent release, Sex Goblin, it’s back in print for your literary enjoyment.
Hellions: Stories, Julia Elliott
Fiction, April 15, 2025
Julia Elliott, award-winning author and University of South Carolina Gender Studies professor who has been called a modern-day Angela Carter, is keeping the fairy tale tradition alive with Hellions. The stories bounce throughout space and time—one takes place in a medieval convent, while another is anchored in a North Carolina feminist colony. Yet echoes of Southern Gothic folklore are present throughout the text.
Fish Tales, Nettie Jones
Fiction, April 15, 2025
Written in the 1970s, Fish Tales captures the exploits of Lewis Jones, a free-spirited 30-something woman who bounces back and forth between bohemian New York and the affluent Black community of Detroit. As she surrounds herself with a flurry of friends and lovers, the author probes themes such as race, sexuality, agency, and exploitation. Fish Tales was quickly forgotten in its time; this year, Macmillan is reprinting it for a new generation, finally giving the author her moment in the sun.
The Surrender of Man, Naomi Falk
Nonfiction, April 22, 2025
As an editor at Archway Editions, Naomi Falk is part of a team that has published the likes of Blake Butler, Paul Schrader, and Lynne Tillman. The Surrender of Man marks her literary debut. Combining memoir and criticism, Naomi writes about the art that has impacted her most deeply, devoting each chapter to a new work. Featured artists include Louise Bourgeois, Remedios Vara, Gregory Crewdson, and Wendy Red Star.
Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves, Sophie Gilbert
Nonfiction, April 29, 2025
The current wave of 2000s nostalgia tends to turn a blind eye to the sexism that ran rampant in the era. Pulitzer Prize finalist and Atlantic writer Sophie Gilbert is taking a closer look. The journalist investigates everything from the trickle-down effects of Internet porn to the culture of objectification and infantilization that characterized society’s attitudes toward female pop stars, noting how these phenomena continue to influence us in the 2020s.
Glib, Ashley D. Escobar
Poetry, May 1, 2025
In 2024, Changes Press ran a competition judged by literary legend Eileen Myles. One emerging poet, hand-picked by Myles, would have their collection published. Glib by Ashley D. Escobar, who also works as a journalist and filmmaker, was the winner. With praise from Perfume and Pain author Anna Dorn, this is one to look out for.
Little Bosses Everywhere, Bridget Read
Nonfiction, May 5, 2025
We all know at least one person who has fallen into the bizarre world of multilevel marketing schemes, bragging about the advantages of becoming their own boss. Little Bosses Everywhere delves into the history of the most notorious MLMs, investigating the economic and political implications of the phenomenon—which tends to disproportionately affect women. The book features profiles of various individuals who have gotten roped into pyramid schemes, from a veteran in Florida to a young mother in Texas.
Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age, Amanda Hess
Nonfiction, May 6, 2025
If anyone is fit to write about being a mother in the Internet era, it’s Amanda Hess, known for reporting on digital culture for the New York Times. Drawing upon research as well as her personal experience, she dives into a host of modern developments in pregnancy and parenting (good and bad), from fertility apps to influencer moms to gender reveal parties. Whether you’re already raising a kid or simply considering having a child in the future, this is worth checking out.
The Stalker, Paula Bomer
Fiction, May 6, 2025
The copy for The Stalker describes the novel as “An Untalented Mr. Ripley, a Dumb American Psycho.” In other words, it sounds fantastic. The protagonist, a college dropout from a Connecticut family that has fallen from wealth, cons his way into social success in bustling ’90s New York. His friends believe he works in real estate; meanwhile, he whiles away the hours watching TV, smoking crack, and, most importantly, harming the women around him.
Jeanne, Arielle Burgdorf
Fiction, May 31, 2025
It’s always exciting to read a good novel about writing—and Jeanne sounds like it will deliver. The protagonist, Jean, is a translator of French and Russian works who moves to Montreal for a mysterious new assignment. As she dives into the local literary scene, trying to find herself amidst a difficult marriage, she pushes the boundaries of art, gender, and sexuality.
Waiting for Britney Spears: A True Story, Allegedly, Jeff Weiss
Nonfiction, June 10, 2025
If you read Britney Spears’ The Woman in Me in 2023 and are eager for more context, Waiting for Britney Spears: A True Story, Allegedly will satiate your curiosity. Author Jeff Weiss is now a lauded journalist—but in 2003, he was trying to make ends meet as a writer for a tabloid. Assigned to follow Britney Spears, he witnessed firsthand how the media treats its stars. In this memoir, he reflects on what he learned—not just about the popstar, but about celebrity culture and the American public.
The Möbius Book, Catherine Lacey
Hybrid, June 17, 2025
Catherine Lacey’s The Biography of X, which dabbles in meta-narrative and alternate history, enchanted readers with its unique structure. The Möbius Book is equally mind-bending. Existing in fragments, dipping into both fiction and memoir, it reflects on heartbreak and Lacey’s ever-evolving relationship with spirituality.
Information Age, Cora Lewis
Fiction, July 15, 2025
Joyland is one of the most exciting fiction pubs of the modern era. Earlier this year, EIC Michelle Lyn King announced that the magazine was founding its own press for “books that do not fit into the traditional publishing landscape,” aptly titled Joyland Editions. Their first release is Cora Lewis’s Information Age, a novel in fragments about a reporter covering technology and politics in the 2010s. Inspired by Lewis’ time at BuzzFeed News, it’s bound to be insightful.
Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer’s Legendary Editorship, Dana Williams
Nonfiction, June 17, 2025
We know Toni Morrison as the author behind classics such as Song of Solomon and Beloved—but the visionary author was also an editor at Random House. (Fun fact: one of the books she acquired was Fish Tales, which appears earlier on this list.) Dana Williams—who was encouraged by Morrison herself to write this book—explores the Nobel Prize winner’s legacy at the publishing house, where she developed books by the likes of Lucille Clifton, Angela Davis, and Muhammad Ali.
The Girls Who Grew Big, Leila Mottley
Fiction, June 24, 2025
Leila Mottley made history with her 2022 debut, Nightcrawling, becoming the youngest Booker Prize nominee (she was just 20 when the book came out). Now 23, she’s back with The Girls Who Grew Big. The book follows a group of teen mothers who band together to raise their children against the backdrop of a judgemental community in Florida. Teen pregnancy has been so sensationalized with the rise of 21st-century reality TV—it’s great to see a young woman sincerely exploring the subject.
Lonely Crowds, Stephanie Wambugu
Fiction, July 29, 2025
Lonely Crowds tells of two best friends who bond over being the only students on scholarship at the local Catholic girls’ school—but that’s only the beginning of the story. The girls continue to the same college and finally dive into the wild world of New York City’s art scene in the ‘90s, with easygoing Ruth following confident Maria’s lead. The push and pull between the two will surely make for a riveting read.
Trying, Chloe Caldwell
Memoir, August 5, 2025
Chloe Caldwell’s Women, fittingly about the author’s first time falling in love with a woman, skyrocketed from indie fave to bonafide classic—seriously, the recently reissued version has a blurb by Emily Ratajkowski. Her follow-up, Trying: A Memoir, will likely join its ranks soon. The book delves into the struggles with fertility Caldwell navigated in her marriage, as well as the freedom she found when it ended.
Breaking Into New Hollywood: A Career Guide to a Changing Industry, Ada Tseng and Jon Healey
Nonfiction, August 12, 2025
Published by the Los Angeles Times, Breaking Into New Hollywood is exactly what it sounds like: a comprehensive guide to the entertainment industry as it exists in the current moment, taking into account the effects of streaming, CGI, and other modern developments. If you have TV and movie aspirations, whether you want to be onscreen or behind the scenes, you might want to add this to your reading list.
The Housekeeper, Rose Tremain
Fiction, September 4, 2025
If you’re a fan of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, this one’s for you. The Housekeeper is a fictional spin on the events that inspired du Maurier’s Gothic classic, imagining a romance between du Maurier herself and the Mrs. Danvers character. A film starring Uma Thurman, Phoebe Dyvenor, and Anthony Hopkins is already in the works—start reading now to get ahead of the game.
We Love You, Bunny, Mona Awad
Fiction, September 23, 2025
Mona Awad’s Bunny, compared to both Heathers and The Secret History, struck a chord with fans of what has become known as the dark academia genre. The novel focuses on an outcast MFA student named Sam who falls in with a toxic clique of writers known as the Bunnies, losing touch with her old friend and her identity in the process. We Love You, Bunny shows Sam going head to head with the Bunnies once more after successfully publishing her first book.
Grand Rapids, Natasha Stagg
Fiction, September 30, 2025
Forthcoming from celebrated author and former V Magazine editor Natasha Stagg is Grand Rapids, a new novel that straddles the 2000s and 2010s. Protagonist Tess moved to—where else?—Grand Rapids at the age of fifteen in the wake of her mother’s death. A decade later, adult Tess investigates how her time in the Michigan suburbs shaped her into the woman she has become.
The Living god, Sam Heaps
Fiction, October 2025
In 2023, newly established Sarka Press (founded by poet Francesca Kritikos) published the debut novel by Ben Fama, founder of a brilliant indie publisher in his own right (Wonder). Last year, Fama fielded contest submissions to determine Sarka’s next release. The Living god came out on top. Taking place over the course of just 24 hours outside Whitehall, Montana, the novel examines how a couple responds to a catastrophe in their fringe religious community.
Nowhere Burning, Catriona Ward
Fiction, October 7, 2025
This might be the most inventive Peter Pan adaptation yet. In this new horror novel by award-winning author Catriona Ward, a teenager and her younger brother run away to the abandoned mansion in the Rocky Mountains, where a famous actor lived a life of crime before the place burned down. They’re excited to join a colony of feral children dwelling on the premises—but of course, their inclusion in the group will come at a great cost.