KQED's Forum The Best Books of 2025
Dec 30, 2025
Join Tracy Thomas, a savvy book reviewer and host of The Stacks, and Carr Johnson, an event manager at Green Apple Books, as they dive into the diverse literary landscape of 2025. They chat about standout titles like Hasmina Barrera's 'The Queen of Swords' and the politically charged 'One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This.' The conversation flows to intriguing themes such as the evolution of celebrity memoirs and the powerful impact of works on grief. Listeners are encouraged to share their own favorite reads!
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A Year Without One Big Book
- Alexis Madrigal found 2025 lacked a single dominant bestseller and felt more complex and multifaceted than 2024.
- He gravitated toward slim, strange books and a compilation by Ursula K. Le Guin as a standout read.
Rediscovering Elena Garro
- Carr Johnson praised Hasmina Barrera's The Queen of Swords about Elena Garro and her overshadowed legacy.
- Carr called Garro a surrealist figure and noted her ties to dance, fashion, and the I Ching.
Tiny, Dark Translation Surprise
- Tracy Thomas described Hunchback by Sao Ichikawa as a tiny, translated book about a woman with a muscular disorder.
- She found it dark, twisted, and featuring an unlikable protagonist that delighted her.