Episode · The Book Review · 2025-12-19
Books mentioned on What Did 2025 Mean for Books?
MJ Franklin discussed James by Percival L. Everett, and read What We Can Know by Ian McEwan for a book club. Tina Jordan discussed The Correspondent by Virginia Evans and The Last Samurai by Helen Dewitt and others. John Maher recommended Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees by Patrick Horvath, and discussed The Director by Daniel Kehlmann and The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. Alexandra Alter discussed The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of ..., 107 Days by Kamala Harris, and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
-
James
James by Percival L.
Discussed“I'm thinking about previous years. There were books like James and Martyr of course last year but also Chain Gang Allstars The Beasting Demon Copperhead Trust Hamnet The Vanishing Half They're There The Underground Railroad books that seem to rise up and kind of dominate the conversation and the culture.”
Where to get it
-
The Correspondent
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans is a touching and upbeat contemporary fiction novel written in an epistolary format that captivated readers and dominated bestseller lists.
Discussed“So, one of them is The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. John knows more about this book than I do, but I think it came out last April or May. It was quiet. It was from Crown.”
Where to get it
-
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“It's not the same as they put this year for, let's pick one of our best books, The Director, right? A great book that absolutely was not a book that anybody was gunning to be book of the year, despite the fact that they have a great team over at Summit.”
Where to get it
-
The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of ...
The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of ...
Discussed“It's been a really tough time for non-fiction, unless you're Mel Robbins. [laughter] Her Let Them Theory book has sold millions of copies this year. It came out last year, but it's still on the top of the bestseller list.”
Where to get it
-
107 Days
107 Days is a political memoir by Kamala Harris that offers an insider account of her high-profile campaign and political career.
Discussed“One interesting exception and I have to say the strength of the sales really surprised me is Kamla Harris's memoir 107 days. It has sold, I think, more than 600,000 copies, which at a moment when people probably don't want to think too much about last year's election...”
Where to get it
-
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird explores themes of racial injustice, moral growth, and empathy in the American South through the eyes of young Scout Finch.
Discussed“I was also thinking of the Harper Lee collection of stories which to me that was interesting just because as everyone knows late in her career a sort of prequel which was kind of a sequel to Tequilla Mockingbird came out and there was a lot debate at the time over what her intentions were with that book.”
Where to get it
-
The Last Samurai
The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt is a critically acclaimed and inventive novel that follows a single mother raising a precocious young boy in Tokyo as he becomes obsessed with Akira Kurosawa's film.
Discussed“And then Helen Dwit, uh, the author of The Last Samurai, came out with a book that she wrote about 20 years ago and has been trying to get published for that long. And it was extraordinary to see that project finally arrive.”
Where to get it
-
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees is a comic book by creator Patrick Horvath that combines charming visual aesthetics with dark, unsettling narratives.
Recommended“This is a cozy horror. It's a comic book. It's called Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees. And it was a breakout hit from, I believe, last year.”
Where to get it
-
The Thursday Murder Club
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman is a popular contemporary mystery novel following a group of pensioners who live in a retirement village and investigate unsolved crimes together.
Discussed“let me give you the big mainstream example and that's the Richard Osman Thursday Murder Club books are 100% cozy mysteries there's nothing that's going to make you blanch Tina...”
Where to get it
-
What We Can Know
What We Can Know by Ian McEwan is a contemporary novel by the acclaimed British author that generated substantial literary discussion upon its release.
Book club“We will be back next week with our book club. We're reading [music] What We Can Know by Ian Mchuan. We hope you'll join us.”
Where to get it
