The Best Books of 2025, According to The Atlantic

Historical novels for girls

If you’re looking for a more specific, historical fiction-flavored best list, new york times It’s on you (Hmmmmso do we). Historical fiction has forever been one of the most widely read genres, and that list includes some books you’ve probably seen everywhere, such as Karen Russell’s Antidote, which was a finalist for this year’s National Book Award along with Anget Daanje’s The Soldier Who Remembered. There were also a few books I definitely missed this year, including Princess Joy L. Perry’s This Here Is Love, a debut novel about plantation life in Colonial Virginia, and Amira Ghenim’s A Calamity of Noble Houses, a multigenerational story of two Tunisian families. I’m really surprised Stephen Graham Jones’s Buffalo Hunter Hunter isn’t on this list, but is it because it’s more speculative? I can’t wrap my head around it. See the complete list here.

Chloé Zhao speaks Shakespeare for us all

I found a video of Chloe Zhao saying this. new yorker He spoke to the magazine about how his conversation with Paul Mescal changed the way he thought about Shakespeare and influenced the filming of the long-awaited film adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet. hamnet Chao, the film’s writer and director, doesn’t speak much English, but Mescal said he told her that when Shakespeare is done correctly, “you feel it in your body. That’s how the language is written.” This short conversation about Shakespeare very succinctly and beautifully captures what I, and I’m sure many Shakespeare lovers, feel about the Bard’s work. I first encountered Shakespeare when I was in 4th grade, playing Juliet in the class’ production of “Romeo and Juliet” (NO BIG DEAL).Although I was not a Shakespeare scholar at the time, I felt Juliet’s balcony monologue and performed this work from a young age, which made me a Shakespeare fan. If someone is hesitant to enjoy a performance of Shakespeare’s works because they don’t seem to understand the language, send them this clip.

Book Riot’s 2026 Read Harder Challenge

The time has come! For those of you who love the challenge of reading and want to expand your book tastes, we’ve set reading goals for 2026. The annual Read Harder Challenge begins at the beginning of the year. To help you prepare, we have published 24 challenge tasks. As always, we focus on inclusivity, originality, and fun to make your reading life more thoughtful, interesting, and engaging. Come join us and see what the 2026 Read Harder Challenge has in store.