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Our first show of Season 14 will begin on January 7, 2026. We’ve been coming up with ideas for book recommendations and will soon be recording with guests. But until then, Amy is going to make merry, and Carrie is going to begrudgingly deal with the holidays. And in this episode, we’re reviewing some of the notable books that we have loved over the last 12 months. Some of these are backlist titles, and some are new releases—we cannot keep up with the publishing industry, nor do we really try. You will also hear from some of our guests from this year who share their favorites of 2025. 

Books Discussed In This Episode:

Carrie's Favorites of 2025

1- Angel Down by Daniel Kraus

2- On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder 

3- The Millicent Quibb School for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon

4- The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh 

5- Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home by Nora Krug

Amy's Favorites of 2025

1- Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce 

2- You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith

3- Culpability by Bruce Holsinger 

4- The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients' Lives by Theresa Brown, RN 

5- Paris Letters: A Travel Memoir About Art, Writing, and Finding Love in Paris by Janice MacLeod 

Other books mentioned

1- I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

2- The Nature of Pain by Mandi Fugate Sheffel 

3- The Strange Case of Jane O by Karen Thompson Walker 

4- The Devils by Joe Abercrombie 

5- Everything's Fine by Cecilia Rabess 

6- The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb

7- I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai

8- Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor

9- Starling House by Alix E. Harrow 

10- Dead Man Blues by S.D. House 

11- God of the Woods by Liz Moore 

12- The Road to Blair Mountain: Saving a Mine Wars Battlefield from King Coal by Charles B. Keeney

13- Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench and Brendan O' Yea 

14- Carpool Detectives: A True Story  of Four Moms, Two Bodies, and One Mysterious Cold Case by Chuck Hogan 

15- Anima Rising by Christopher Moore 

16- The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman

17- The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

18- Grace and Henry's Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman 

19- Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak