I asked my book club what they’re excited to read this year
Readers weigh in on their most anticipated books of 2025
My book club doesn’t really have a theme, unless you call not having a theme a theme. We read all kinds of stuff, from airport sci-fi thrillers and gory good-for-her horror to family sagas, fantasy series, and emotional memoirs. When I started LBC back in 2021, I didn’t want to pick a theme, as tempting as that was, because I, myself, enjoy reading across all genres. So I trusted other people would feel the same way, and they did: we’re still standing four years later, 800+ members around the world discussing books on Discord on a monthly basis.
I can’t say I planned for it, but the very best thing about having a themeless book club is that everyone is reading wildly different things all the time. And when you find yourself looking for a specific type of book, no matter how niche, you can trust that someone will have the perfect recommendation for you. I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m my book club’s biggest fan.
For that reason, I thought it would be fun to ask a group of fellow members about their most anticipated reads of 2025. Everyone reads differently, as you’ll see in a second—although the new R.F. Kuang is clearly highly and widely anticipated; maybe we should read it together in September?—but the excitement around tackling a promising TBR is universal.
What are you most excited to read in 2025?
Sofia says…
“I’d have to say Babel: The Poppy War trilogy is in my hall of fame of books and I need to complete my reading of all of R.F. Kuang’s works (I will not be reading Yellowface).
11/22/63: My partner thoughtfully picked it out for me, and I’m getting into Stephen King this year, so I want to tackle one of his longer works.
They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib: Music has always been a big part of my life and has helped me get through the worst traumas, so I’m excited to read about how other people have used music in their lives.”
Margarida says…
“I can't wait to read Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil (out June 2025); I loved The Invisible Life of Addie Larue and V. E. Schwab became an auto-buy author for me.”
Inês says…
“My favorite read from last year was Bunny, which was also my first from Mona Awad, so this year I want to read her other books. I already bought All's Well for my kobo, and when I was doing some last minute Christmas shopping I also bought Rouge for myself.”
Sofia says…
“I guess I'm most excited to read War and Peace, since I've started it four years ago but only read like 200 pages... I restarted it already this year and it feels so good to be returning to a novel I've previously started—I remember a lot from it, that's how good Tolstoy's writing is! It will probably take me four months to finish it, though.”
Cassie says…
“Due to the current climate in the United States, I'm going to finally read The Parable of the Sower, The Handmaid's Tale, and re-read Fahrenheit 451. I made a promise to myself that I would start incorporating more intentional reads into my rotation this year.”
Aimilia says…
“Aiming to read Babel!! Having failed your big book read on Discord, I’m trying again! And giving myself the whole year to do so to relieve pressure but hoping I’ll love it and whizz through it once I start. Also The Invisible Life of Addie Larue; having had the book for ages, it’s time to tackle that TBR and this has been one I’m most excited about!”
Carina (from ) says…
“There is no release date yet, but I have a feeling it's coming out this year, and that's the new Emily St. John Mandel. Love absolutely everything she writes and I am currently going through her backlog—only one more to go and I have read everything, which is a bit bittersweet; backlog complete but currently nothing new of hers to read. I do a yearly reread of Sea Of Tranquility—it's a book that means a lot to me but it would be great to read a new novel by her.
For released books, probably Persepolis, as I have the whole collection and I've been meaning to read it for ages. I want to watch the movie afterwards as well. It's gonna be a buddy read with a friend, and those are always fun!”
Ewan says…
“I’m looking forward to reading Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. And also a book called Idolfire (out March 2025) by an independent author called Grace Curtis. It’s an epic sapphic fantasy road trip, inspired by the fall of Rome. Hopefully going to the book signing and talk for it.”
Nea says…
“Katabasis (out August 2025): R.F. Kuang has become an auto-buy author of mine after reading and loving all of her previous works, so I’m beyond excited about Katabasis! My personal favorite of hers is Babel and it seems like she’s leaning into the dark academia again with this new release, so I’m very excited to see what she does with it this time. I think R.F. Kuang is one of those really rare authors that change the literature world, and I think she’ll be remembered in history! It’s super exciting to be able to follow her along on that journey.
A Memory of Light: I’ve been slowly working my way through the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan for a good two years at this point, and I’m so excited and nervous to finish it off this year. It’s one of those notorious fantasy series, a staple in the genre, and even though I’ve enjoyed every single book so far, I’m still nervous and giddy every time I jump into the next one! The scope of this series is beyond anything I could’ve imagined, and I’m so interested in seeing how it all comes together at the end. Sadly, Robert Jordan died before he could finish it; after his death, it’s been completed by Brandon Sanderson, so I’m also very interested to see how he’s wrapped up the series in a way that (hopefully) honours Robert Jordan.
House of Leaves: This book is so notorious within the horror genre that it’s actually freaky. I’ve been wanting to read it for what feels like forever, but I always end up pushing it back because it’s daunting and intimidating. However, the time for procrastination is over… I’m gonna tackle this beast in 2025. This book is mixed media at its best; one sentence per page, text written backwards, in a spiral, you name it. From what I’ve heard, the fragmented writing style is meant to mirror the MC’s journey throughout the book, which sounds super interesting! Everyone I know that’s read it absolutely loves it, and I’m sure I will too whenever I get to it.”
Kristen says…
“I'm really excited for Hot Wax by M.L. Rio (out September 2025) as If We Were Villains is one of my favorite novels, and the plot of a girl traveling with her father's band and a ‘love letter to 90s rock and roll scene’ sounds right up my alley!”
Milla says…
“It feels almost impossible to choose only three books, but the top 3 on my TBR would probably be:
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson: I read the Mistborn saga last year and loved it! The Hero of Ages might now be one of my all-time favourite books and I'm so excited to start The Stormlight Archive.
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler: This will be my first read from Butler and I feel like it's long overdue. I have heard nothing but great things and praise for her writing and I've heard Kindred is a great place to start.
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang: Definitely the most anticipated 2025 release for me! I mean, it's R.F. Kuang, need I say more? I've really liked every single book I've read from her and the premise of this book sounds like something I would very much enjoy.”
Readers also mentioned…
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir
My Friends by Fredrik Backman (out May 2025)
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (out May 2025)
A Curse Carved in Bone by Danielle Jensen (out May 2025)
The Listeners by Maggie Stievfater (out June 2025)
The Möbius Book by Catherine Lacey (out June 2025)
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (out July 2025)
Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward (out October 2025)
Behind the paywall, I talk about the 8 books I’m excited to read in 2025, from new releases to backlists. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to read the full list, get exclusive perks and further support my work!
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