Top Five Books of 2025

List of the Month
December 2025 (see all)
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Top Five Books of 2025
Description
The year is coming to an end, and our December List of the Month is dedicated to LibraryThing members' Top Five Books of 2025. Please note that books don't need to have been published in 2025, just read this year. You can see the LT Staff picks on the blog: https://blog.librarything.com/2025/12/top-five-books-of-2025/
3
3,565 members
151 reviews
½ 3.7
13 Members
Aquila, Stevil2001, kleo, SohoReader, wanderlustlover, Eat_Read_Knit, LDVoorberg, bnk, booknest, vwinsloe, Yrrol, judybon, lnoffke
Explanations
Aquila: Really effective approach to time travel as a woman "babysits" a man ripped from another time.
4
948 members
59 reviews
½ 4.4
5
7,356 members
263 reviews
½ 4.3
8
914 members
35 reviews
4
9
2,298 members
97 reviews
4.1
10
2,546 members
117 reviews
4.2
11
1,408 members
63 reviews
4
12
5,439 members
119 reviews
½ 4.4
13
3,918 members
117 reviews
4.2
7 Members
knerd.knitter, Karlstar, nightbyrd7, amanda4242, lyzrdpye, Yrrol, Brandy1411
Explanations
knerd.knitter: LitRPG! A genre I didn't realize existed! This book was a lot of fun to read for someone who's played a lot of video games. I also love Princess Donut; she's a riot.
amanda4242: I snagged the first three books in the series from NetGalley and blasted through them in a couple of days. I am currently climbing up the walls waiting for book 8 to come out.
14
1,345 members
39 reviews
4
15
8,414 members
488 reviews
4.1
16
25,152 members
645 reviews
4.1
6 Members
wyliem, booknest, booksbooks63, Rakketytam, shimmermarie, merbes00
Explanations
shimmermarie: I loved the writing style and depth and I was so drawn in by the academic setting! Truly engrossing!
17
2,153 members
76 reviews
4.2
19
1,377 members
59 reviews
4.1
20
1,944 members
91 reviews
4.2
21
10,482 members
285 reviews
½ 4.6
22
2,551 members
97 reviews
4.1
23
2,318 members
131 reviews
½ 4.3
24
559 members
28 reviews
3.9
5 Members
lyzrdpye, katemcangus, Tosta, GHA.Library, hey_judy
Explanations
hey_judy: Women are tough as hell even when their worlds are falling apart. A realistic portrayal of catastrophe and the state of things during one.
25
2,361 members
90 reviews
4.1
26
9,432 members
402 reviews
4.2
27
3,052 members
60 reviews
3.9
5 Members
g33kgrrl, ablachly, Kyler_Marie, tamste3935, frog2312
Explanations
ablachly: Toxic lesbian vampires, yes, without a doubt. But also delicious prose to get lost in. Humanity, and losing it. Life and rot.
28
5 Members
dchaikin, lauralkeet, Boand, hey_judy, BonneVivante
Explanations
dchaikin: Left me wanting to read everything
Boand: Fascinating history of Jane Austen’s contemporary female writers and their influence upon her writing.
hey_judy: Shows that Jane Austen was only the tip of the iceberg of her time and we never knew it
29
287 members
5 reviews
½ 4.3
30
10,057 members
436 reviews
4.1
5 Members
reading_fox, BonnieJune54, booksbooks63, Siobhan17, mkcshaw
Explanations
reading_fox: Social comment wrapped up in clever story telling.
31
357 members
19 reviews
4.2
32
6,545 members
284 reviews
½ 3.6
33
251 members
14 reviews
3.9
4 Members
tardis, Karlstar, jsburbidge, msjudy
Explanations
Karlstar: Another superbly well written in Kay's semi-historical fantasy series. The characters are wonderful.
34
3,216 members
143 reviews
4.2
35
499 members
30 reviews
4
36
885 members
47 reviews
4.1
37
1,383 members
59 reviews
4.1
38
1,391 members
67 reviews
3.9
39
1,091 members
36 reviews
4
40
1,350 members
27 reviews
3.8
4 Members
merrystar, lottpoet, pussreboots, shimmermarie
Explanations
shimmermarie: Great fantasy worldbuilding!
41
19,550 members
357 reviews
½ 4.3
42
644 members
28 reviews
4.1
3 Members
Aquila, annecm, ggnanadesikan
Explanations
Aquila: My favourite book of the year, and one I'm going to look forward to rereading.
43
386 members
22 reviews
½ 4.5
44
51,596 members
574 reviews
4.2
45
20,686 members
749 reviews
4.1
46
921 members
57 reviews
3.8
47
18,538 members
482 reviews
½ 4.3
48
5,919 members
233 reviews
4.2
49
3,237 members
122 reviews
3.9
50
2,483 members
141 reviews
4
51
240 members
13 reviews
3.9
52
642 members
27 reviews
4
53
6,649 members
390 reviews
½ 4.3
54
908 members
46 reviews
4
55
781 members
54 reviews
½ 4.3
56
15,482 members
699 reviews
4
3 Members
sogamonk, kootibkiteer, Charon07
Explanations
Charon07: I also read Bring Up the Bodies this year, which would also have made my Top 5 list if space permitted.
57
12,677 members
557 reviews
½ 4.3
58
4,319 members
235 reviews
4.2
3 Members
Jim.Shine, elphie93, merbes00
Explanations
Jim.Shine: A beautiful and evocative novella that really took hold of me. Side note - you also need to see the film, with an achingly good performance by Cillian Murphy.
59
1,430 members
81 reviews
4.1
60
1,131 members
37 reviews
4.1
61
6,874 members
309 reviews
4.2
3 Members
booksbooks63, auldhouse, emfstreit
Explanations
auldhouse: A reread this year for a book club—such a beautiful story.
62
12,870 members
310 reviews
4.2
63
221 members
9 reviews
½ 4.4
3 Members
ablachly, Othemts, KeithChaffee
Explanations
ablachly: A coming of age story with two trans heroines, a teenager and a high school teacher. It’s wry and sharp and FUNNY and messy and fantastic.
64
9,676 members
335 reviews
4
65
11,433 members
378 reviews
4.2
66
2,877 members
162 reviews
½ 3.6
67
638 members
36 reviews
3.8
3 Members
tardis, pussreboots, hey_judy
Explanations
hey_judy: Fun and touching; robots face real world problems that we are all familiar with. Would make a good movie; in the right hands.
68
27,912 members
513 reviews
4.2
69
2,658 members
61 reviews
3.9
70
2,922 members
121 reviews
4
71
581 members
31 reviews
½ 4.3
72
4,493 members
374 reviews
½ 4.5
2 Members
Charon07, LiterallyAdele
Explanations
LiterallyAdele: Not a single written word but it still made me cry. Such a beautiful story which highlights the disorientation felt by immigrants in an entirely new culture, with the added complication of a disability. And the artwork is spectacular.
73
1,121 members
55 reviews
4
74
650 members
28 reviews
½ 4.4
2 Members
srdr, gypsysmom
76
208 members
11 reviews
4.2
2 Members
rarm, Kyler_Marie
77
44,306 members
579 reviews
4.1
2 Members
YoavCohen, mazecto
78
25,548 members
360 reviews
3.8
2 Members
tina1969, c728
79
3,623 members
112 reviews
4.2
80
1,189 members
54 reviews
4.2
2 Members
BLBera, Boand
Explanations
Boand: Simply the very best book I’ve read this year. Heartbreakingly sad but explains how wars begin and the lasting damage they cause.
81
349 members
13 reviews
3.9
2 Members
oceancat, mistressofmuses
Explanations
oceancat: rip my heart out and stomp on it why don't you, martha wells
82
41,647 members
618 reviews
3.8
83
25,827 members
463 reviews
4.1
84
1,223 members
41 reviews
4
85
1,112 members
36 reviews
3.9
2 Members
mdexter, Boand
Explanations
Boand: A truly original piece set in the future but investigating the past writing and life of a poet. Shows how people mistakenly make assumptions which are simply untrue.
86
592 members
22 reviews
½ 3.7
87
590 members
15 reviews
½ 4.3
88
499 members
29 reviews
3.9
89
287 members
17 reviews
4.1
2 Members
iansales, Edward528
Explanations
Edward528: I always feel at home in Pulley’s style, so I enjoy her books even when the setting does not really appeal to me. She is also a very linguistically aware writer, and this would have been worth it for the mammoth language alone.
90
49,789 members
1,200 reviews
½ 4.4
2 Members
mazecto, c728
91
6,765 members
174 reviews
3.9
93
7,636 members
178 reviews
4.2
94
4,185 members
85 reviews
½ 4.3
2 Members
mbookshelf, KarlN
95
1,757 members
61 reviews
4
96
30,726 members
493 reviews
½ 4.3
2 Members
shaunie, msf59
97
11,501 members
212 reviews
4.1
2 Members
fulner, AuthorSSD
98
4,341 members
101 reviews
3.9
2 Members
stephanieann1983, hey_judy
Explanations
hey_judy: King knows how to tell a tale…especially when the premise sounds ridiculous.
99
2,992 members
43 reviews
½ 4.4
100
1,932 members
92 reviews
3.8