At the beginning of 2025, I made a promise to myself (I think I announced it on social media too) that I would cherry pick only five or seven books for the ‘best books of 2025’ list. There’s no logical reasoning behind this decision other than the fact that I am trying to be more intentional with my reading time, and I want my lists to be shorter. Dear Reader, I failed. So here are ten books that were my best books of 2025. I found it interesting that two books on the list this year were non-fiction, because I am someone who distinctly craves fiction. Perhaps my tastes are changing? I have ordered another non-fiction as a holiday treat. What is happening? Who knows! But what I do know is you cannot go wrong with these books; they are the best books of 2025 for me. Happy reading!
And Happy holidays!
Best Books of 2025
1. The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (2025)
Set in the Dutch countryside during the summer of 1961, The Safekeep follows Isabel, a solitude-loving single woman, who often appears unpleasant or bitter.She lives in her mother’s home (which actually belongs to her uncle and will be legally passed on to Isabel’s brother Louis). Isabel is trapped in her memories and discipline, with an unhealthy obsession with her routines honoring her mother and her house. When Louis’s bubbly girlfriend, Eva, comes to stay with Isabel, she brings disruption in Isabel’s carefully constructed routines. Everything’s in disarray, kitchen items go missing.
Midway, this novel becomes a steamy and fragile (I was surprised with how steamy this piece of literary fiction gets) tale of infatuation and obsession. Then it slowly shifts into something more heartbreaking, bearing the burdens of our collective past. The Safekeep is a novel on womanhood, the aftermath of world war II, dispossession, the idea of home, and our ownership over memories and heirlooms. Give in to the slow rhythm of the book and you will be rewarded with a satisfying reading experience that is achingly human.
2. Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang (2025)
This book is almost like getting two novels in one! So grab this one for last minute holiday gifts. It begins as a contemporary read on influencer life and entertains you with performative camera-friendly ‘personal branding’, and the loss of individuality and selfhood. Then it quickly undergoes a tonal shift to become a fever dream with cults, isolated islands and strange rituals (Think Bunny by Mona Awad). If I have to sum up this book in one sentence—the novel follows Julie, a supermarket employee, who impersonates her murdered, rich influencer twin, and discovers some terrible secrets. It is dark and delicious; I could not put this down!
Read my longer review on Satchel Notes.
3. My Husband by Maud Ventura, translated by Emma Ramadan (2025)
I was completely engrossed in the workings of the mind of this forty something woman who is obsessed with her husband. Her toxic obsessiveness, the urge to curate everything in her life, her overthinking mind that analyses every trivial move of her husband—this one’s literally unputdownable. It’s a quick read under 300 pages and the ending will blow your mind, so it’s perfect if you are short of time.
Read my longer review on Satchel Notes.
4. Love at First Sighting by Mallory Marlowe (2025)
Look no further if you are looking for a smashing fun-tastic book! I finished this with a big smile on my face. And sure, we need more books like this that are absolutely fun. In Love at First Sighting, a nerdy sexy man in black meets an influencer in a career crisis. The influencer live streams a UFO encounter, making her the butt of all jokes, but our man knows there’s something more to it. Pick up this steamy rom-com for witty banter, (really) good chemistry, fun twists and a tonne of pop culture references.
Also Read : How fun are your books? Recommendations for midnight burners
5. Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri (2020)
I went back and forth about including this book in my 2025 list because it is not a new release. If you think middle grade/YA books cannot move you, prove yourself wrong by reading Everything Sad is Untrue, one of my absolute favorites of the year. This novel, inspired by true events, is the story of an immigrant boy Daniel from Oklahoma, who decides to narrate his memories to his class, as part of a school assignment, in the fashion of the 1000 Arabian nights. It is a beautiful blend of the West and the East, the culture shocks, the storytelling, the magic in the ordinary, the idea of home, religious beliefs, and the very nature of memories that we hold dear to our hearts. Daniel finds himself reliving his memories, occasionally questioning their authenticity, and ultimately growing up. The surge of hope that washes through you as you read the last page is definitely a reason to read this book as soon as possible.
Read more thoughts about this book on Satchel Notes.
6. On the Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle, translated by Barbara J. Haveland
If a book whose plot revolves around a single day in November getting repeated on loop for a year, keeps you glued to its pages, then it must be very good, am I right? I was never bored in spite of the predicted outcomes, the mundanity, and the absurdness of it all. I found myself thinking ‘why’ like our heroine Tara Selter, unsuccessfully trying to break the time loop, but I kept turning pages in spite of her failed attempts to understand the mystery. This book offers a really close look at the everyday, and then takes a step back, making you gasp at a bigger picture, and so on. I enjoyed it! This is the first volume in a seven volume series.
7. The Anthropologists by Aysegül Savas (2024)
I am so glad this book exists in the world! It is one of the few novels that perfectly captures the human experience of finding home in different countries. A young couple tries to build a home in another country. Their life is marked by the people whose lives intersect with theirs in this new country, the helplessness of watching parents age, and the small circle of friendships that keep them afloat but where a myriad of feelings overlap. It is about the painful realization of how, despite being in touch with family back home, they have changed in ways that family will never understand. A beautiful exploration of the immigrant’s sadness, happiness, guilt, love, passion, urge to create new traditions, and the building of a beautiful life.
Read my review of The Anthropologists, which I loved writing.
8. Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy’s memoir is mostly about her mother Mary Roy, the feminist who fought for Christian women’s share in parental property in Kerala, India. Mary Roy was a legendary educator, but she was mean in many ways to those she called her own. The book shifts into other stories—It is also about Roy’s coming of age, her relationship with her absent father and dear brother, her rise to fame, her relationship with her mother and Kerala, and the way she runs from being tied down by money or love. Any brief description to fit a word count is going to dilute the essence of this memoir. It is funny, heavy, shocking, irresistible—one of my absolute favorites!
9. Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li
If you look through Goodreads reviews of Things in Nature Merely Grow, you would notice that most people feel like they are unable to describe the book. I join this category of people. What I can tell you is that it is not a meditation on grief, it asks no questions, it offers no answers or closure. It is a book about Li, her life and sons.
“There is no good way to state these facts, which must be acknowledged. My husband and I had two children and lost them. Vincent in 2017, at sixteen, James in 2024, at nineteen. Both chose suicide, and both died not far from home,” Li writes. As you read you find yourself thinking about Li, her husband. And then maybe you start thinking about yourself too (This book is not only about grief, but about the many things that shape a person). This memoir will stay with you for a long time after you finish reading.
10. The Wedding People by Alison Espach (2024)
I think I read this book in January and I still think about it. It is the story of an unlikely friendship between two women. Phoebe, who has decided to take her life at a Newport Inn meets the bride who is to be married at the inn the very same day. The inn is fully booked for a week-long wedding celebration and Phoebe is the only person who isn’t with the wedding party, but she is soon swept into the exuberance, eccentricities, and chaos of the wedding celebration.
Set in the old money glam of a New England coastal wedding, The Wedding People is incredibly witty, and at the same time devastating and wise. It offers nuggets of reflections on marriage, friendship, and commitment while being a perfect beach read that balances humor and drama. A five star read indeed!
Read my review on The Wedding People by Alison Espach on Satchel Notes.
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My experience with Ventura’s My Husband was similar. I was so hooked that I completed it in one sitting.