8 Must-Reads You’ll Regret Skipping This Year

In a digital world brimming with content, discerning the best reads is no easy feat. Yet, certain books transcend trends, genres, and fleeting hype, etching themselves into the reader's memory for years to come. Below is a list of 8 essential reads that you simply cannot afford to miss this year—from breathtaking fiction to illuminating non-fiction. These books are not only critically acclaimed, but deeply impactful, each offering value that resonates on personal, professional, and global levels.

1. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

This novel is a sweeping, emotionally resonant tale that spans generations, centered around a mysterious hereditary condition in a South Indian family. Abraham Verghese intricately weaves themes of faith, love, medicine, and fate, while offering a vivid portrayal of Indian life across the 20th century. The prose is lyrical and deeply human, with characters that leap off the page. Verghese, also a physician, brings an intimate understanding of the human body and spirit, making each scene pulse with life. This is a book for lovers of rich historical fiction and epic storytelling that rewards patience and emotional investment.

2. Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond

In Poverty, by America, Matthew Desmond presents a searing examination of the economic systems that allow poverty to persist in one of the world’s wealthiest nations. He explores how affluent Americans, often unknowingly, benefit from poverty through housing subsidies, low-wage labor, and discriminatory policies. Drawing from in-depth research, data, and interviews, Desmond dismantles myths around poverty being the result of personal failure. Instead, he offers compelling evidence that poverty is a product of deliberate policy choices. It’s a galvanizing, deeply human account that challenges readers to examine their own roles in the structures of inequality.

3. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Spanning decades, it delves into themes of creativity, failure, love, disability, and identity. Zevin masterfully blends the digital world with real-life emotional stakes, creating a narrative that feels fresh and timeless. The book isn’t just about games—it’s about what it means to create, to connect, and to cope with life’s inevitable disappointments. A heartfelt, intelligent novel that redefines the boundaries of literary fiction and storytelling.

4. The Wager by David Grann

David Grann’s The Wager tells the harrowing true story of a British shipwreck in the 18th century and the subsequent mutiny and survival of its crew. Set against the backdrop of imperial ambition and maritime peril, Grann reconstructs the dramatic events with the tension and pace of a thriller. What makes this tale extraordinary is its exploration of human nature when laws vanish and survival instincts take over. The historical detail is impeccable, and Grann’s prose makes the oceanic wilderness come alive. This is more than just history—it’s a deep dive into leadership, ethics, and the cost of empire.

5. Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

The book explores mental illness, love, family loyalty, and the long arc of healing. Napolitano’s prose is elegant and understated, letting emotional truths emerge gently through quiet moments and internal struggles. The narrative avoids melodrama, focusing instead on the resilience of connection and the strength found in vulnerability. It’s a deeply touching novel that honors the emotional labor required to build and rebuild relationships.

6. Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

Birnam Wood is a sharp, satirical eco-thriller about a guerrilla gardening group in New Zealand who collide with a mysterious American billionaire. The novel explores surveillance capitalism, ecological urgency, and the commodification of altruism. Catton’s prose is rich and razor-edged, her characters morally gray and deeply compelling. This is a book that demands attention, combining thrilling plot mechanics with critical examinations of power, trust, and human consequence. A timely and intellectually charged novel that’s both readable and thought-provoking.

7. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Inspired by Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, Demon Copperhead is a moving and raw portrait of contemporary Appalachian America. Barbara Kingsolver channels the voice of Demon, a boy born into poverty and neglect, who narrates his journey through foster care, addiction, exploitation, and survival. The language is vivid and authentic, echoing the region’s unique cultural cadence. Kingsolver’s adaptation is both homage and reinvention, drawing attention to the opioid crisis and systemic failure without losing hope or humor. It’s a novel of heart, grit, and grace—a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

8. Burnham Wood by Eleanor Catton

In her second entry on this list, Eleanor Catton delivers a tense, psychological exploration of environmentalism and corporate corruption. Burnham Wood follows the tensions between an activist collective and an enigmatic billionaire offering support with ulterior motives. Catton crafts a slow-burning narrative where trust erodes, ideals clash, and surveillance and control take center stage. It’s a meditation on power, complicity, and the perilous gap between intentions and actions. The prose is sophisticated, the plot meticulously crafted, and the characters unsettlingly realistic. This is a cerebral thriller for readers who enjoy unraveling moral ambiguity in tightly woven literary fiction.

Final Thoughts: A Reading List That Transforms

Each of these titles has earned its place as a must-read in 2025. Whether you’re seeking thought-provoking nonfiction, immersive fiction, or socially conscious storytelling, this list will guide you toward books that enrich, challenge, and entertain. Skip these, and you’ll miss some of the most powerful voices and narratives shaping today’s literary landscape.