Anticipated Page-Turners: Our Must-Read Books for 2025!

Of course, you’re likely still trying to catch up on all the titles you overlooked from 2024. Yet time keeps moving forward! Hence, here are several upcoming (or currently available!) books that have captured our attention.

Fiction

Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor (Jan 14)

In this narrative, a mediocre literary author ventures into the realm of science fiction and pens a successful story about robotics and artificial intelligence. Okorafor’s novel shifts between the author’s story and the narrative contained within it (concerning the robots), resulting in a daring fusion of genres.

Dream State by Eric Puchner (Feb 18)

A man is about to marry and his college best friend is the officiant. However, the best friend ends up wedded to the fiancée instead. The book contemplates the what-ifs of existence – what if I had chosen a different partner, what if I pursued that career, what if individuals simply engaged in conversation rather than leaving things unspoken between them?

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (March 18)

This is a new Hunger Games novel, of course. The book serves as a prequel to the original trilogy with events occurring 24 years before the first book. As is typical with Suzanne Collins, not much information has been disclosed about the book, apart from the fact that she drew inspiration from Scottish philosopher David Hume alongside the influence of propaganda.

Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah (March 18)

This marks Gurnah’s first novel following his Nobel Prize victory in Literature in 2021. It’s a coming-of-age story set in a Tanzania experiencing rapid shifts due to tourism and technology, focusing on a couple who take in a young boy amidst growing suspicions among them all.

Tilt by Emma Pattee (March 25)

Pattee, a climate journalist, delivers a suspenseful and rapid-paced thriller featuring a pregnant woman named Annie attempting to navigate a trip to IKEA. Suddenly, an earthquake strikes. Every choice Annie makes – whom she aids and whom she abandons – carries significant weight without ever hindering the book’s narrative momentum.

Nonfiction

Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist by Liz Pelly (Jan 7)

A journalistic exploration into the inner workings of an application millions utilize every day. This work examines the app’s inception, the economic repercussions its reach has had on artists, as well as how it has transformed the way we all experience music – or, perhaps I should say, muzak?

Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed To Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman by Brooke Shields (Jan 14)

A surprisingly humorous exploration of aging as a woman in Hollywood, penned by the renowned actress and model. Shields candidly discusses the challenge of juggling her roles as a mother and an actress while criticizing the kinds of positions available to women deemed “of a certain age.”

Bibliophobia: A Memoir by Sarah Chihaya (Feb 4)

For Chihaya, there are specific titles she calls “life ruiners.” These are the books that have so profoundly shifted your perspective that they have irreversibly changed how you perceive your place on this planet… and not necessarilyin a positive and beneficial manner? It’s a narrative concerning mental well-being and sadness portrayed through the perspective of a literature enthusiast.

How To Sell Out: The (Hidden) Cost of Being a Black Writer by Chad Sanders (Feb 4)

Sanders’ journey as a writer took off in the summer of 2020, following an essay of his gained worldwide attention. He received a surge of fresh writing opportunities – the kind of roles where he would be compensated to share his experiences as a Black individual. This book consists of personal narratives regarding the price of extracting your personal tales for financial gain.

Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer’s by Charles Piller (Feb 4)

Science magazine reporter Charles Piller delves into his investigatory works examining the years of Alzheimer’s studies that relied on inaccurate data. The book discusses the events that transpired as well as the profit-driven intentions of the principal participants that led us to this point.