Books of the year for 2025, according to these critics Arts Updated on Dec 9, 2025 6:02 PM EST — Published on Dec 9, 2025 5:22 PM EST

Another year, another stack of great books to read. PBS News Hour’s Jeffrey Brown talked with Maureen Corrigan , book critic for NPR’s Fresh Air, and author Ann Patchett about their top picks this year.

Fiction

“The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny” by Kiran Desai

“It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. It is a sweeping epic about two young people who are both from the same small town in India. They are living in the States. And when they’re in the States, they feel too Indian. And when they go home to India, they feel too American. And this is the story of how they slowly wind their way to one another and maybe cure their loneliness. Kiran Desai

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