Each December, as schedules slow and the days grow shorter, our team at Cabells turns to our favorite end-of-year tradition: reflecting on the books that moved us, challenged us, or simply gave us an excuse to unplug for a while. Our list below, diverse in genre, style, and voice, captures not just what we read in 2025, but how we experienced the world through fiction, memoir, and sharp-eyed nonfiction.
Whether it’s a slow-burn novel about postwar memory, an inside look at the tech giants racing toward AGI, or a surreal and unsettling (in the best way) Appalachian coming-of-age tale, each of these titles struck a chord with a member of our team. Some offered comfort, some unease, but all of them stayed with us. We hope you find a few worth adding to your own reading list and have a chance this holiday season to escape between the covers!
- Mongrel by Hanako Footman, “An emotional intertwining tale of three women with links to Japan, but who don’t feel wholly Japanese.” – Simon L.
- Endling by Maria Reva, “I loved the inventive structure and sharp humor. The story balanced absurdity with insight, revealing the fragility and resilience of identity with remarkable clarity.” – Lacey E.
Smothermoss by Alisa Alering, “A hauntingly atmospheric coming of age story of two young girls in the deep, dark mountains of Appalachia. Jarring and creeping. By far my favorite book of 2025.” – Ashley C.
- The Antidote by Karen Russell, “Russell transformed a surreal premise into a deeply human exploration of fear, hope, and connection that remains arrestingly vivid long after finishing.” – Lacey E.
- Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent, “By far, my favorite book read this year. Daughter of No Worlds is a beautifully written story about persistence, justice, and the fight for freedom in the face of tyranny.” – Ashley C.
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
- “A book that will stay with you; follows a young woman in post-war Netherlands and explores the hidden impacts the conflict had on her and her family.” – Simon L.
- “This novel’s slow-burn construction, acute sensory detail, and charged emotional undercurrents create a haunting examination of desire, guilt, and postwar memory. Its revelations about identity and history are both devastating and unforgettable.” – Lacey E.
- If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio, “Shakespeare and theatre nerds will delight in this story. It’s tense, sometimes frustrating, and toes the line in terms of morality. Oh, and no homage to Shakespeare would be complete without murder and intrigue!” – Ashley C.
- Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams, ” Excoriating insights into how Facebook is run by a former executive.” – Simon L.
- Ubik by Philip K. Dick, “I love it when books start off going in one direction, then, before you know it, you are somewhere completely different. In Ubik, what starts off as a sci-fi corpo-techno espionage story in a microtransaction dystopia erodes into a story about divinity, reality, consciousness, and truth, all while offering no answers – just ideas with no pretense.” – Lucas T.
The Wayfinder by Adam Johnson, “Narrative control! Moral depth! This is a novel that offers an unforgettable study of survival and agency. I have my fingers crossed that it wins the Pulitzer in 2026.” – Lacey E.
- Doppelganger by Naomi Klein, “Makes the list even though I haven’t finished it yet! Initially looks at mistaken identity online between Klein and Naomi Wolf, but delves into the ‘Mirror World’ and ‘Shadow Lands’ of online media.” – Simon L.
- The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova, “Magical realism at its finest. A beautifully written tale of generational power (and curses) passed through time. The idea of a happy ending is up to the interpretation of the reader.” – Ashley C.
Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race That Will Change the World by Parmy Olson, “Lifts the lid on how Google and ChatGPT started, the key people behind them, and what drives them (spoiler alert: win-at-all costs to race to AGI).” – Simon L.
- We Do Not Part by Han Kang, “Kang is a master of quiet intensity. Her disciplined restraint created a meditation on loss that is both intimate and universal. Every page is shaped by exquisite emotional precision.” – Lacey E.
- The Spy and the Traitor by Ben MacIntyre, “MacIntyre (as always) does an amazing job recounting Oleg Gordievsky’s gripping story and heroics as a senior KGB officer who spied for British intelligence for more than a decade.” – Michael B.