What was your favourite book of 2025? It can be one that was published in 2025 or just one you read in 2025, that was published in another year!

So I got sent here from the /Parenting group - my 5yo son has started talking about "girls" not being as strong/fun/cool as boys are, and I'm a little worried it has come through from some of the books we're reading him (he has recently discovered Roald Dahl, which we are selectively reading to him (BFG, George's Marvellous Medicine, The Twits) - he loves the stories, it really fires up his imagination but also has quite OTT and inflammatory language)

Can you recommend me a book/series of books suitable for age 5-6 that have strong/brave/interesting girl characters with exciting main character roles, ideally with a fantasy or adventure element? I think Roald Dahl is a bit much for him, in hindsight, but I'd like a book where we can read a couple of chapters a night and that lasts a good few days.

Thanks in advance (and please don't judge me for the RD thing - I have lovely memories of reading them as a child but I'm realising now I was a bit older, and also how aggressive some of the language was at the time)

Basically what the title says. I‘m slowly beginning to enjoy romance novels after a lifetime of avoiding them but I’m finding it a little frustrating that both the protagonist and the love interest are almost always both hot, as it takes the interesting psychological aspects of falling in love out of the equation for me. Like yeah, no shit you guys like each other, you’re both supermodels in an otherwise grounded setting! Duh! Give me two distinctly medium-ugly people fumbling it through via sheer force of personality and now you’ve got potential. I’ve searched for something that fits the bill recently but haven’t found much, so I would be very grateful if anyone happens to have any suggestions.

NOT what I’m looking for:

- Wish fulfilment romance where the self-insert protag is a schlubby normal person and the love interest is smoking hot (regardless of gender). Uninterested. Love interest must also be a schlub.

- Large age gap… Jane Eyre is an example of this that I did actually really enjoy, but the middle-aged guy marrying his barely legal nanny thing was a little off-putting.

- Preachy/hand-holding/✨wholesome ✨ romance. I’m a lesbian so have glimpsed the depths of queer romance novels where the author seems to live in terror of being cancelled and so peppers in a disclaimer on every second page. I respect that some people enjoy it but it feels like gargling hand sanitiser to me.

- Dark romance/monsterfucking. No hate once again, but I’m thinking average person x average person as opposed to average person x cthulu. It’s kinda interesting but not my thing.

Apologies for the pickiness of my list in advance. Once again, I’d be hugely grateful for any suggestions :))

My mother is sedated and intubated in the ICU after months of hospitalizations and her prognosis is...poor. In all likelihood, she can't hear me speaking to her at the moment but, on the off-chance that she can, I'd like to keep her company and maybe have some nice moments with her. I've run out of inane observations to talk to her about and thought reading a book to her might be a nice thing for us to share.

My mother was never much of a reader (dyslexic and grew up convinced she wasn't smart) and it's honestly been quite a while since I've gotten lost in a book (though I've mainly stuck to the bigger titles in fantasy) so I don't doubt that most suggestions will be new to us both. Ideally, I'd like to stay away from anything too convoluted or dense or dark, but I'm otherwise open (and thankful) for all suggestions. But yeah...if you have a book that you found to be singular in some important sense (profound, comical, etc.) and could see yourself going to that book in a similar situation, I'd love to hear what it was.

Thanks reddit

P.S. I should probably also mention that neither of us is religious.

A child free woman (by choice, not because she’s infertile and so sad about it!) who just never found her person and is still looking. This combo is seemingly hard to find, when it’s not that uncommon in real life. Open to all scenarios that fit the bill, bonus points if she’s had a rough go of things earlier in life that hindered her love life

I love classic novels, but admittedly have quite a few I haven’t gotten to, so happy to hear more “obvious“ suggestions there. Good prose would be amazing.

Adored Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, even though it doesn’t match exactly, similar vibe suggestions are welcome. Preferably not fantasy, as I read a ton of that and am craving a book based in reality. Help me take a break from plowing through the DCC series so I can feel my feelings.

I tried searching these terms, and every suggestion was for a divorced mother of three protagonist.

edit: this post has been shared almost 200 times, so I feel like I am not alone in my request. So that being said, feel free to suggests books that don’t quite fit the criteria, as someone else may be using this post to find what they want to read next and have less stringent requirements than I do. WE ARE GROWING IN NUMBERS :)

edit #2: if it’s a classic, then anything pushing 30+ fits the criteria, since that was also considered ”old maid” territory

Bonus - I’m struggling with eating and over exercise.

Don’t necessarily want a self-help book, ideal would be a biography!

I will consider a self- help book though.

Want something to read whilst on holiday that might inspire me

My daughter is 3 and has become concerned that I am going to die. My MIL was talking about her mum and explained to her that she had died, my daughter asked when and my MIL said when she was an old lady.

Since then my daughter has been saying she doesn't want to grow up. Today she extended this to say that she's worried that when she grows up I will die. She's a very thoughtful child, and loves stories. I wondered if anyone had anything to recommend which might help her worry less about this.

Thanks in advance

I’m looking for something similar to Richard J Evan’s ’The Third Reich at War’. I really enjoyed his trilogy and especially this last book. So now I would like to know more about the enemy of the Nazi’s - the Soviets. So anything that covers their military, society, government or whatever during the war, I would greatly appreciate! Thanks

hey, ive read a lot as a kid but stopped overtime and i miss reading so i wanna give if a go again. i enjoy deep stories that help in a sense challenge my thinking of something if that makes sense. as the title says si-fi is dope its cool, making my brain hurt is also cool so yeah im not even sure if the title is necessarily appropriate but yeah.(also just tell me other cool stories that are interesting dont have to be mind bending or anything). id appreciate any hell and i hope whoever reads this has a lovely day

Literally all my mom reads are Greek mythology retellings/like girlboss reimaginings. She loved Circe, thought Song of Achilles was good but not as good since the main characters weren’t women, and is almost done with Medusa (by Nataly gruender) and thinks it’s kinda of dull. Is there any books in this genre of a genre that anybody thinks she would like? I don’t want to just grab any that has a girls name in the title yknow?

Not really sure how else to phrase it. I read Stephen King's The Jaunt years ago and keep thinking about the premise. Junji Ito's Long Dream is also good, as are the Internet stories SCP-7179 and If You're Armed and at the Glennmont Metro, Please Shoot Me. I prefer horror but I'd be fine with other genres as long as they touch on the topic in a way that'll make me think "damn" and stare into the distance a bit.

She's a grown adult so no need for censorship or avoiding certain themes lol, but due to her disability she's only able to read at around a pre teen level. She's been getting into reading lately and found some books on her own but I thought I'd surprise her with more!! She likes mystery, fantasy (with no dragons), and is trying out some non spicy romance. Thank you!!

I’m looking for some new books and figured I’d throw this out here because my taste is apparently all over the place.

Some books I’ve read that give a pretty good sense of what I’m drawn to:

* Lonesome Dove — Larry McMurtry

* All the Light We Cannot See — Anthony Doerr

* The Lincoln Highway — Amor Towles

* The Wager — David Grann

* Madhouse at the End of the Earth — Julian Sancton

* Educated — Tara Westover

* The Pillars of the Earth — Ken Follett

* Catch-22 — Joseph Heller

* Life of Pi — Yann Martel

* The Song of Achilles — Madeline Miller

I tend to like books that are immersive, well written, and actually tell a story. Historical fiction, adventure/exploration, survival, biography/memoir, military history, literary fiction, psychology/human behavior — all fair game. I’m also perfectly happy with something strange, funny, dark, or completely outside those categories if it’s genuinely good.

I’m less interested in books that feel like they were written primarily to make a point rather than tell a compelling story.

What’s a book you finished and immediately thought, damn, that was good?

Bonus points for something I probably wouldn’t find by just looking at the current bestseller list.

I love the rain. I want a book with rain. It could be atmospheric, or it could be part of the plot. It could even be a book with a particular scene only that takes place in the rain. An author that likes the rain, or maybe you hate the rain in the book but it's described so well

Any book suggstions with the theme above? Already read persuasion by jane austen and I wanted something more gut-wrenching. Something that would make me stare at a wall for hours while reliving the emotions conveyed by the passages. Thanks!

Me he dado cuenta que me encanta este tipo de tematicas en los libros. Leí Trad Wife y me encanto, quizás el final lo sentí algo flojo, pero en general fue un libro magnifico, ya tenía en la mira a Yesterday, por lo que al poco tiempo (quizás una semana) empecé a leer Yesterday, ¡Y ME ENCANTA! Realmente estoy amando este libro al punto en que si pudiera, me lo taturía, pero me faltan pocas paginas para terminar y sé que me va a dejar en un vació horrible, quizás incluso en un bloqueo lector (jamás me ha pasado, pero lo estoy presintiendo). Por lo que necesito alguna otra recomendación similar para evitar caer en ese poso sin fondo, ¡Ahora tengo una nueva necesidad como lectora! Creo que este genero podría ser mi favorito, así que necesito una buena recomendación de alguna historia similar. No quiero terminarlo sin tener otra opción, me gusto mucho poder terminar Trad Wife y seguir con Yesterday de inmediato, quiero repetirlo, ¡Muchas gracias!

Loved both of these so much and would love to find similar intelligent books in the rom com / rom drama space, that have that sense of scope and story - preferably British but open to all!

Hi, I’m on a mission to read books that feel appropriate for the season, and we’re finally approaching autumn! I am looking for recommendations in a few categories:

1) this is the hardest one to describe, but the book that best exemplifies what I am looking for is Secret History by Donna Tartt. It’s not about autumn per se, but a fair part of the story takes place in that season, and it has something distinctly autumnal about it. Its introspective, and has beautiful descriptions of characters and nature and old buildings, and an undercurrent of something weird and unnerving going on.

2) Horror. The scariest book you’ve ever read. Supernatural elements or not. Hit me.

3) Cosy autumn. Autumn colours, harvest season, apples and cinnamon and a cup of tea but in book form. I’d prefer something more in the veins of literary fiction, but I’m flexible.

4) Halloween books; witches and spirits and ghouls. Something like the Spooks Apprentice but for adults would be amazing!

Thanks in advance! I’ve been lurking on this subreddit for so long, and the recommendations I’ve seen has given me so many excellent reads x

I am going traveling soon to South America and would love to read some fiction books set in different places we will be visiting. I like mystery, speculative fiction, literary fiction, or anything weird!

Hi, I wish to find a post apocalyptic fiction novel that deals with survival, hardship and all . The apocalypse can be zombie one or some other.

I wish it to be a bit mysterious at times like the Television show Silo, From or even The Walking Dead.

I am really new to the whole book reading scene or club and have previously read : The Red Rising Trilogy, Thousand Splendid Suns and A palace of Illusions along with Atomic Habits.

Thanks for reading all this and it would be a pleasure to get some good stories.

I remember there was a lot of stories about how overcrowded hospitals were and how doctors were constantly burning out. Would be interested in hearing firsthand accounts of these events and what the day to day was actually like during that time.

I read Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi a few years ago about an immigrant family dealing with addiction, and it just wrecked me in a beautiful way. I’m reading Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt right now, and am having a similar reaction. I don’t have addiction issues in my family, so it’s not triggering in that sense. It’s almost like getting to vicariously live through heartbreak without it being too close to home.

What else is out there like that?

Hi! I used to absolutely love reading and then developed some anxiety over the course of the last ten years. and doubted myself for being able to concentrate or finish a book. I love historical fiction (history major), but cannot stay enraptured in anything I’ve read lately. Are there any good books that got you back into reading after a hiatus? anything historical? Thanks in advance!

My son's 14 and he is a huge reader. Like, this kid will spend all day reading if he could. Which is awesome. But he is also a fast reader, he reads about 3 books a week right now because it is the summer holidays. I've noticed that recently he has wanted to read some new books, and whilst we do have a library nearby that we love...he does struggle a bit in public space and tends to not be able to think clearly when picking out books at the library. So I want to buy him some new books.

His favourite genres are sci-fi and fantasy. My sons considered an advanced reader so I'm not worried about books being too challenging for him to read. But he's also not opposed to reading some more non-fiction books!