Episode · The Book Review · 2025-12-02
Books mentioned on The 10 Best Books of 2025
Gilbert Cruz recommended Angel Down by Daniel Kraus, and discussed Learning from Silence by Pico Iyer, The Director by Daniel Kehlmann, and Mother Emanuel by Kevin Sack. Joumana Khatib recommended Audition by Katie M. Kitamura. Dave Kim recommended The Tokyo Suite by Giovana Madalosso. Emily Eakin recommended Baldwin by Nicholas Boggs, and discussed There Is No Place for Us by Brian Goldstone. Greg Cowles recommended Dark Renaissance by Stephen Greenblatt. Nema Jeromi recommended Motherland by Julia Ioffe.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Learning from Silence
Learning from Silence by Pico Iyer is a reflective memoir chronicling the author's decades-long visits to a Benedictine hermitage in Big Sur, California, in search of inner peace and contemplation.
Discussed“Earlier this year, I read a memoir, a piece of non-fiction by Pico Ayer. The title of that was A Flame Learning from Silence, and I interviewed him on this podcast, and it was a memoir about his visits over decades to a Benedicting hermitage in in Big Su, California.”
Where to get it
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The Director
The Director by Daniel Kehlmann is a historical fiction novel inspired by the complex life and career of renowned Austrian filmmaker G.W.
Discussed“Dave, I'd love to talk about the next book on our list, which is The Director by Daniel Kan.”
Where to get it
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Angel Down
Angel Down by Daniel Kraus is a contemporary fiction novel that explores dark and complex themes.
Recommended“It is a book called Angel Down by Daniel Krauss.”
Where to get it
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Audition
Audition by Katie Kitamura is a compelling and deeply psychological contemporary novel that explores identity, performance, human relationships, and the subtle tensions underlying everyday social interactions.
Recommended“One is Audition by Katie Kamura. I'm always interested in what she publishes.”
Where to get it
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The Tokyo Suite
The Tokyo Suite by Giovana Madalosso is an immersive contemporary novel written by the acclaimed Brazilian author.
Recommended“I really liked the book called The Tokyo Suite by the Brazilian writer Giovana Madalloso.”
Where to get it
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There Is No Place for Us
There Is No Place for Us by Brian Goldstone is a work of narrative non-fiction examining the reality of the working homeless and the housing crisis in America through the lives of families in and around the Atlanta area.
Discussed“This is There Is No Place for Us. All right. There is No Place for Us by Brian Goldstone.”
Where to get it
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Mother Emanuel
Discussed“This is Mother Emmanuel. Two centuries of race, resistance, and forgiveness in one Charleston church.”
Where to get it
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Baldwin
Baldwin by Nicholas Boggs is an intimate and comprehensive biography exploring the life, relationships, and literary legacy of the iconic American writer and activist James Baldwin.
Recommended“I will go with the biography Baldwin by Nicholas Bogs. It's a biography of the writer James Baldwin.”
Where to get it
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Dark Renaissance
Dark Renaissance is a compelling historical and literary non-fiction work by Stephen Greenblatt that investigates the dangerous times and fatal genius of William Shakespeare's greatest rival, Christopher Marlowe.
Recommended“I'm going to mention Dark Renaissance by Steven Greenblat.”
Where to get it
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Motherland
Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia from Revolution to Autocracy by Julia Ioffe is an expansive historical non-fiction work that traces the complex political and social evolution of Russia through the lens of its women and leadership.
Recommended“I'm going to recommend Julia Yafi's Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia from Revolution to Autocracy.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (22) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“Angel Down by Daniel Krauss.”
“The Director by Daniel Kelman.”
“And Stonyard devotional by Charlotte Wood.”
“And I think I read this and Stoneyard devotional at around the same time.”
“That was Stoneyard Devotional by Charlotte Wood.”
“That was the director by Daniel Kan.”
“And if you've read Daniel Krauss before, or at least if you read his last book, which was called Whalefall, came out two years ago.”
“So that is Angel Down by Daniel Krauss.”
“The Director,”
“and Stoneard Devotional.”
“So, our five best non-fiction books of the year are A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhurst,”
“Mother Emmanuel, Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness, and One Charleston Church by Kevin Sack.”
“There is no place for us. Working and homeless in America by Brian Goldstone.”
“You may remember from our discussion last year of Hampton Sides's wide wide sea. What a book. Love that book.”
“I read The Perfect Storm.”
“It was a book called Survival on the Savage Sea by a guy named Duel Robertson, a Scotsman who with his family was a couple of hundred miles off of the Galapagus, capsized by in in his case it was a pod of killer whales.”
“I think it belongs on a shelf with Evicted by Matthew Desmond and Invisible Child by Andrea Elliot.”
“I think it belongs on a shelf with Evicted by Matthew Desmond and Invisible Child by Andrea Elliot.”
“activist and novelist who wrote the god of small things.”
“I think the most obvious example is Janette Mccertie searing I'm glad my mom died about the abuse she got from her mother as a child actress.”
“We should say The God of Small Things won the Booker Prize and a subsequent novel was long listed for the Booker Prize.”