This post is part of my year end "Attack of the Best Lists" coverage. To see every post in my "Attack of the Best Lists 2025" coverage [and more backlist best of the year options] you can click here.
Once the Publishers Weekly best books portal goes live it is on! They are going to come fast and furious from here on at. Not only is PW's one of the first best lists of the year, but it is also the most useful of the bunch.
Look at those screen shots [above]. From the Best Books of 2025 page. On the PW Best Books portal you can access by all ages and genres as well as single click access going back to 2010! And it includes their Summer Reads picks and overall BEST titles all in one place.
This inclusion of Summer Reads access is key because often, those books are better general read options but they don't always make the year end lists. This allows the PW Best Book portal to be a one stop shop for a wider range of "best" options fit for even more readers.
Nowhere will you find a resource that puts this many "sure bet" options in front of you so easily. There are literally hundreds of titles here, at your fingertips, both old and new, that you can confidently suggest to readers immediately. Readers who read across all age levels [down to infants] and in just about every genre.
And, since every title is annotated, you also have a book talk [or annotation] for each title right there. You don't have to have read the book to suggest it. [Reminder: Use the Words of Others.]
I could keep gushing about how much I love this resource but I would rather you played around with it yourself.
Making this year's list even better (in my eyes), my best book of the year overall is on their list. Their overall list-- not genre....overall-- The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. I told you all in March when I had this post:
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter should not be put in a Horror corner (looking at you B&N). It is a loud and proud BEST BOOK full sop.
But back to the annual PW Best Books Portal in general and not just this year in particular. Sure, we are all excited about 2025, but don't forget to look back at older titles, read the annotations, check genres you love and those you don't normally read-- especially those you don't normally read because you will learn much about the current state of that genre [trends, popular authors] this year and going back a few years. You can get access to some great sure bet suggestions AND brush up on your genre knowledge all in one place.
Spend some time really getting to know this resource. And then use it-- all of it including past years and both summer and year end lists-- to make your own lists for your readers. Make displays [digital displays too], make suggested reading lists by genre, by year, by whatever you want. Just embrace the wealth of information available to you with one click and help readers in ways they would not think to help themselves.
Go check out this database of "sure bet" reads for any season, and keep it bookmarked for use anytime you need a solid suggestion [especially for those hard to satisfy readers].
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