There's too much Stuff (so I read books instead)

The five best books I read in 2025

I have been woefully remiss in writing essays the last month or so. There are countless reasons for this — the frenzy of the holidays, illness, a lack of good ideas. But one that has percolated of late is simply the amount of Stuff happening.

And by Stuff, I mean goings-on in the world. As a communicator by trade, it is important that I know Stuff. Most Stuff that gets reported in the news ranges from kinda-not-great to soul crushingly bad, and the consistent consumption of Bad Stuff can weigh on the consciousness and make it hard to write. Here’s a smattering of the Bad Stuff that’s happened lately:

The Secretary of Defen– sorry, War. The Secretary of War¹ reportedly ordered military strikes against boats carrying drugs. These strikes that have been described² by the Former JAGs Working Group as “war crimes, murder, or both,” and a decision Jack Goldsmith, former United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel said³ has “no conceivable legal justification.” A recording of US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff was leaked in which he advised⁴ Russians on how to deal with Trump, which was rapidly followed by a deep expose⁵ that the Ukrainian peace plan in which Witkoff had a large hand in drafting had one central tenant: “borders matter less than the business.” Nine days prior to this report, Russian forces bombed a Ukrainian high rise, killing more than 30 civilians.

Many corners of the American Christian Institution have turned on empathy as a value worth upholding. Two National Guardsmen were shot outside the White House. Baby boomers are more likely than any other prior generation to run out of money during retirement — while US debt explodes and mandatory spending programs like Social Security remain on a fiscally unviable march towards an acrimonious death. AI and deepfakes are running rampant, empowering scammers during the holiday season, and this is to say nothing of the potential havoc they will wreak during elections.

All of this happened in the last seven days.⁶

It is exhausting.

I have been woefully remiss in writing essays because of the Stuff, and my simultaneous pursuit to escape the Stuff. For me, the escape is reading — I love diving into a good bit of fiction, enveloped by a world born of an author’s mind. If you want to join me in a brief respite from all the Stuff, here are, without further ado, the five best books I read in 2025, pitched to you in the length of a tweet.

Katabasis by R.F. Kuang: 4.75/5

Katabasis is the new novel by Poppy War, Babel, and Yellowface author R. F. Kuang. A true master of genre, Katabasis is a story about two students who descend into hell to rescue their professor’s soul. It’s also a story about love and responsibility and what we owe each other — and what we owe ourselves. Anything Kuang writes is a must-read, and this is no exception.

Red Country (FIrst Law World #3) by Joe Abercrombie: 4.75/5

Red Country is one of the semi-standalone novels in Joe Abercrombie’s sprawling First Law Series. There is a primary trilogy and a sequel trilogy — in between the two, there are three standalone novels, the third of which is Red Country. No spoilers here, but Red Country brings back an OG character from the original trilogy, and the payoff of his long journey is sublime. There is a scene towards the end of this book where I felt the hairs on the nape of my neck stand on end. Truly awesome.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow: 4.75/5

I know I am six years late to reading The Ten Thousand Doors of January (much to the chagrin of my wife), but books have no expiration date. What started slow — admittedly, I didn’t love it in the beginning — became a sprawling, world-hopping exploration of family and the lengths we’ll go for the people we love. It’s never too late to read a great book.

Lightbringer by Pierce Brown: 4.5/5

Pierce Brown rocks. Lightbringer is the sixth book in the Red Rising saga and it delivers. I love the original Red Rising trilogy — it is an all-time favorite of mine, and I’ve read each book in the trilogy at least three times. When I originally picked up the fourth book, some years ago, I couldn’t get into it because Brown, for the first time, introduced POV shifts (rather than staying with one character the whole novel). When I finally got over that and continued my journey with Darrow and company (thanks to some friendly peer pressure from fellow Howlers), I read it with reckless abandon., I laughed, I cried, I felt furious, and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck: 4.5/5

Another wife recommendation, A Short Stay in Hell is indeed short, coming in just a hair over 100 pages. However the stay in hell is anything but; this short story covers a longer period of time than any other book I’ve ever read and perhaps any book ever written. It is astoundingly bleak, which makes it perhaps not the best cure for Stuff, but it is so damn good I would be remiss in my book recommending duties if I did not include it in the list. My personal rankings of the 19 books I’ve read this year are what they are, and soul-crushing or no, A Short Stay in Hell made the cut.

I’ll add a brief honorable mention for A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine’s sprawling and sublime space opera. I’m in the throes of it now. I expect, had I finished it before writing this essay, Martine’s novel would have made the list — it’s a very non-traditional sci-fi book (dealing mostly about politics), the worldbuilding is one-of-a-kind and deft, and Martine has a discrete style of prose that enraptures (her use of parentheticals is a delight) — but alas, no unfinished books on the list!

Now that you know my five favorite books from 2025, tell me yours. What’d you read, what’d you love? Bonus points for fantasy and sci-fi novels. Comment below ⬇️

1. Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all

2. Former JAGs say Hegseth, others may have committed war crimes

3. A Dishonorable Strike

4. Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump

5. Make Money Not War: Trump’s Real Plan for Peace in Ukraine

6. As of this writing, December 2 2025