Books we loved in 2025, plus what's already on our TBR for 2026

It's a new year, which means there are new books to read — hundreds of them.

Honestly, it's overwhelming as someone with more than 600 books on my digital and physical TBRs.

As I write this, I've read five books so far this year, and I'm mere hours away from finishing my sixth. And I have three more novels cued up and ready to go in my Libby app.

Oh no, I almost forgot I'm supposed to start reading David Foster Wallace's controversial behemoth "Infinite Jest" for an episode of "Meet Me Here" (coming Feb. 4).

RELATED: Listen to "Meet Me Here," KUOW's arts and culture podcast

Shucks, and I have an author talk with Thomas Mallon in — checks calendar — less than a month, so I need to get started on "Fellow Travelers."

But there's also a freshly delivered copy of "The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women" waiting on my bedside table to be read in my, erm, spare time!

There are so many great books worth reading out there — and books like "Infinite Jest," which are, you know, there — and it can be hard to sort through them all to find the read that's right for you.

So, I brought in a local expert to help recommend some of the best books from 2025 and put a few upcoming titles on your radar.

Spencer Ruchti is the author events manager at Third Place Books, and he's a reliably ravenous bookworm. Listen to our conversation above if you want to have your mind blown over his unique way of tracking his reading.

We can't all read as much as Ruchti, myself included, but we can benefit from his vast knowledge of what stood out in the last year and what he's already planning for this year. Plus, we have the benefit of NPR's Books We Love 2025 list to help us find a few picks just for Pacific Northwesterners.

2025 picks

'Enshittification' by Cory Doctorow

The full title of this book is actually "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," and both Ruchti and I recommend this one, especially if you're reading up on the tech industry like he has.

"Obviously, bookstores have a long history with tech oligarchs coming in and trying to kind of gut our industry. Despite all of that, bookstores are alive and well, especially in the Seattle area," Ruchti said. "I love that [Doctorow] is such a strong advocate for that economic justice. It makes me feel better when I read him, and it makes me feel smarter."

I couldn't agree more. I saw Doctorow speak and bought a copy of "Enshittification" — a term with a legitimate meaning beyond being a little cheeky, by the way — when he was in Seattle last year.

Doctorow will not BS you. He cleverly and clearly explains how we got to this point in tech history, when Google seems to be worse than ever and AI slop cannot be escaped. If you want to feel smarter about this moment in tech, this is the book for you.

Another book by Doctorow, "Picks and Shovels," also made NPR's Books We Love list, so check that one out if "Enshittification" is up your alley but you want more fiction (and less brutal reality).

'Elita' by Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum

KUOW Book Club readers already know I loved this book. I'm sharing it again here because NPR did, too.

I feature Pacific Northwest books and authors because they capture the region in powerful ways. "Elita" delivered the moody darkness as well as the peculiarities of island life in this dark mystery. I loved every page, but the twist at the end was especially satisfying.

Writing for NPR, critic and author Kristen Martin described the novel as an "absorbing midcentury American take on Nordic noir." That about captures it, at least in terms of the vibe.

Beyond that, though, this debut novel is a sharp exploration of feminine rage in the face of misogyny and a society that wants women to conform. "Wayward" was a popular word in titles for books about stubborn, non-conforming women last year, and you could apply it to the characters in "Elita" if you wanted to seem hip. I think a better word for Sundberg Lunstrum's characters, and many of those allegedly wayward ladies in other stories, would be "resolute," even "free."

If you're looking for a book about breaking out of societal bonds and defying the system, look no further.

RELATED: Feminine rage takes center stage in the conclusion of Seattle mystery 'Elita'

NPR and I agreed on (at least) four other titles, too, all of which you can read more about on the Book Club homepage:

• "The Possession of Alba Díaz" by Isabel Cañas
• "Witchcraft for Wayward Girls" by Grady Hendrix
• "Joyride" by Susan Orlean
• "Tilt" by Emma Pattee

'On the Calculation of Volume (Book III)' by Solvej Balle

Ruchti recommended this, and it shot straight to the top of my TBR.

"The best pitch for it is it's a Danish 'Groundhog Day.' So, it's about a woman who is an antiquarian book collector who gets stuck on the same day, November 18th, over and over again," he explained. "The problem with describing it as a 'Groundhog Day' is then people assume it's funny because, typically, the stuck-in-one-day trope is played off for laughs. This one is very much not."

Ruchti, like me, is a fan of translated works, which "On the Calculation of Volume" is. And, like me, he seems to be a fan of that particular brand of ennui that only seems possible in such works.

Still, Ruchti said readers missed this novel.

"A lot of people sleep on literature in translation because they think it might be too difficult," he said, "[or the false narrative that] if a book has kind of an intermediary between the original writer and the reader that it is lesser than other books, which is of course just demonstrably false."

Don't believe him? This could be your opportunity to give a translated novel a try in 2026.

If you're looking for not one but three such opportunities, all the better. As noted in the title, this is book three in a series about the repeated day. Yay, triple the ennui!

Coming in 2026

'Evelyn in Transit' by David Guterson

Guterson's latest just hit the shelves this week. Fans of his classic "Snow Falling on Cedars," which the KUOW Book Club has been reading this month, should grab a copy ASAP!

The titular Evelyn's life takes a radical turn when a trio of Buddhist lamas show up at her door in the U.S. and proclaim that her 5-year-old son is the reincarnation of the recently deceased spiritual leader. How's that for a pitch?

Guterson is an incredibly detailed writer, capable of making you feel his characters' pain, pleasure, and the vast depths in between. That's why the Book Club is starting the year with "Snow Falling on Cedars" and ending it with "Evelyn in Transit."

If you're looking to dive into Guterson's brand of intricate storytelling, you can't go wrong with either of those novels.

But if you want to read his latest along with the club, try out some of his other works and save this stunning new piece for December — I won't be hurt if you can't wait that long.

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'Now I Surrender' by Álvaro Enrigue

Finally, Ruchti's 2026 pick is another incredible translated novel by an author he described as a "total superstar" — Álvaro Enrigue.

"He's just such a great writer, like, he's just so engaging," he said. "He's a great historical writer, and I just can't say enough wonderful things about him."

That may be why Ruchti himself is interviewing Enrigue March 9 at Third Place Books' Lake Forest Park location. The perks of being in the business!

The novel is described as "part epic, part alt-Western, weaving past and present, myth and history, into a searing elegy for a way of life that was an incarnation of true liberty," so you already know I'm in.

Those of us who aren't cool enough to interview the author will have to wait for our copies, though. "Now I Surrender" will be published on March 3.

That just means you have plenty of time to read everything else on this list. Totally reasonable.