The Best Book Club Books of 2025

In The Club

Sign up for In The Club to get tips and tricks to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed.

Chosen by Read with Jenna and The Audacious Book Club in March and April.

Jenna said: “This is a book about how technology shackles us even when it connects us, how it can make us not feel present, and it’s a commentary on that.”

Roxanne Gay said: “It is no surprise that Lalami wrote a fascinating, terrifying novel about finding and trying to hold on to humanity in the midst of dystopia, or that this book represents a refinement and a distillation of so much of her earlier work.”

Laila Lalami on The Today Show: Laila Lalami shares how oversleeping inspired The Dream Hotel

Chosen by The Audacious Book Club in June.

Roxanne Gay said: “Drawing on extensive archival research, interviews, and the work of scholars such as Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha and Saidiya Hartman, Tourmaline reads Stonewall as a site of disability and madness and Marsha’s narrative—and indeed her life—as a kind of critical fabulation, a necessary reimagining of the often whitewashed historical record, by a Black trans woman who was a key instigator in a revolutionary moment that fueled the gay liberation movement.”

Reese’s Book Club pick for September.

Eliana Ramage’s author essay: “At its heart, this is a book about belonging, and belief in our shared future: that we may choose—person by person—to show up for one another. I hope that, when you finish this book, you’re left with a feeling of connection. To your family, your people, and humankind. Wherever we come from, and wherever we may go.”

Selected by a members’ vote in July by Mocha Girls Read.

This horror novel’s setting is based on the Dozier School for Boys and, in part, on Tananarive Due’s great uncle’s experience.

Awards: Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner, Winner of the Bram Stoker Award, and the Shirley Jackson Award.

Starred review: Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus

Selected by Eclectix The Book Club in September.

What Eclectix said: “We have never read a middle grade novel as a book club for adults before, but this notable title seems like a great close to summer and an opportunity to explore a new genre through a set of sisters.”

Awards: Coretta Scott King Award, Newbery Medal Honor, Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

Sapph-Lit’s November pick.

What Sapph-List said: “This book explores the abounding queerness of nature, challenging norms, and highlighting unusual aspects like fungi with many sexes and intersex slugs.”

Selected by Good Morning America’s GMA Book Club in March.

What GMA said: “With a razor-sharp plot and shocking twists, Count My Lies is an unputdownable suspense novel about deception, privilege and the price of keeping up appearances.”

About the upcoming adaptation: The book is being adapted into a limited series that will star Lindsay Lohan and Shailene Woodley and will stream on Hulu.

Selected by Eclectix The Book Club in October.

Eclectix The Book Club said: “I know I’m not the only one who hasn’t read Beloved by Toni Morrison yet, so it is with the greatest pleasure to invite you all to join @EclectixTheBookClub to finally give it a go with an incredible group of readers this October.”

About the adaptation: This is a film that was produced by Harpo Films, which came out in 1998, and starred Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, and Thandiwe Newton. You can see the trailer from way back when.

Selected by two book clubs in October: Jack Edward’s Inklings and The Stacks Book Club.

Inklings said: “To celebrate the spooky season, we’re reading Mary Shelley’s gothic tale, written as part of a contest with Lord Byron to see who could write the creepiest tale. In the process, she essentially invented the sci-fi genre, and wrote a novel that has stood the test of time.”

The Stacks Book Club said: “For the first time ever on The Stacks we’re leaning into horror and ‘spooky season’ with Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. This 1818 novel follows Victor Frankenstein, who creates life with body parts and unorthodox scientific methods. The book is widely considered the first science fiction novel, and Frankenstein’s creation has become one of the most iconic monsters in the cultural imagination.”

About the (newest) adaptation: Guillermo Del Toro finally got to adapt Frankenstein, which is now streaming on Netflix and stars Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, and Mia Goth.

Jack Edwards interviews: Guillermo Del Toro and Rachael Marsay (the Roy Davids Archivist of Modern Literary Archives and Manuscripts at the Bodleian Libraries).

Angela Flournoy joined Traci Thomas for a discussion: Ep. 396 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley — The Stacks Book Club (Angela Flournoy)

Subtle Asian Book Club’s first pick of 2025.

Taiwan Travelogue ended up on my TBR because of this book club, and it’s one of my favorite reads of the year. It’s a delightful gem set in the ’30s, following a Japanese woman who becomes fascinated with Taiwan and her interpreter. She also has a bottomless pit for a stomach as she eats her way around the country.

You can join the book club’s Discord for all the book discussions.

Selected by Eclectix The Book Club in April.

Eclectix The Book Club said: “This will be the first book I’ve read by this author, but I have heard nothing but amazing reviews about Senna’s work! Satirical fiction always leaves me with a good chuckle and a thought-provoking examination of our society, so I’m excited to finally read Colored Television with everyone.”

You can watch the book club discussion on YouTube.