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.
This year, the Editors at Library Journal did their Best list a little differently and thought about the books that fit in the widest range of libraries. From the Best Books 2025 landing page:
A Universe of Reads to Remember
Selecting the best books of the year is an undertaking of great pleasure, as remembering wonderful reads is its own lovely pastime. Our list of 100 Editors’ Picks of 2025 highlights titles we never tired of reading, rereading, talking about, or mulling over. We also gather all the LJ-starred titles published this year. These are the works our reviewers highlighted as worthy of LJ's highest accolade, books that deserve shelf space in the widest range of libraries. Taken together, the lists contain over 800 titles, encompassing a constellation of great reads that can generate inspiration, conjure cozy moods, enthrall with densely plotted puzzles, and transport readers to entirely new worlds.
The categories to explore here are:
- Editors' Picks of the Year: Each editor picked books from the categories they edit. And their picks are described in a narrative form which I think gives you much more information than the former title-annotation format. In fact, this format gives you great talking points for all 100 of these titles even if you have not read them or even heard of them.
- Stellar Selections: every book that has been given a star in 2025 ion all adult categories (nearly 800 titles).
- Best Covers: Because people choose books based on covers all the time. More on that and how to use it to help readers by me here (multiple posts).
- Find Great Reads with LJ: a new, interactive category that allows you to explore books by topic and use conversation starters to help readers:
- In the mood to amble through some great titles? Explore a range of entry points to the 2025 universe of best books, designed to support discovery and browsing.
- Searching for Books Everyone Is Talking About?
- Give Me A Find of the Year
- Searching for Books by Award Winners?
- Help, Its My Time To Pick the Book Club Title!
- Looking for a Cozy-Comfort Read?
- More Romantasy? Yes, Please!
- Eek! Looking For a Scary Story?
- The Lives of Writers
- For the Birds!
- Need a Woman Knight in Shining Armor?
Click here to explore the 2025 LJ Universe of Best Books.
And use these links for the past 5 years of best: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020 because if you patron has never read these recent best books, they are still BEST, have a better chance to be currently on the shelf, and most importantly, new to them.
Remember...BEST HAS NO EXPIRATION DATE, especially when you look back 5 years max.
[Ed note: Yes I know some best title don't hold up over time, but all rules have exceptions. When you use the last 5 years as a guide, you are pretty safe in making best suggestions.]
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