17 Books You Must Read, According to Our Favourite Writers (And Readers)
Stuck on what to read next? Start with the standout books you might have missed last year.
If you’re anything like us, you’re constantly asking the same question: what should I read next? This month we went straight to the source and asked local writers and bibliophiles for the books they couldn’t put down in 2025. The result is a reading list that’s as eclectic as it is exceptional: sweeping family sagas, sharp contemporary fiction, twisty page-turners, and deeply human stories that linger long after the last page. Add a few (or all) to your stack, and thank us later.
The 10 Year Affair (Erin Somers)
Imperfect female protagonist: check. Millennial malaise: check. Sharp, witty dialogue: check. This book has all the ingredients for a lit fic hit. It follows Cora, a mother who spends a decade intellectualising an affair rather than having one. The novel skewers a generation stalled by self-awareness, moral rigidity, and exhaustion, something that will resonate with many readers, I'm sure. Somers writes with precision and bite, exposing how parenthood, work, and status anxiety hollow out pleasure. I wouldn't call this a romance, but if you're looking for a ruthless portrait of deferred longing, you'll find it here.
– Arabella Peterson, Managing Editor at Bed Threads
Before We Hit the Ground Running (Selali Fiamanya)
This is a story of love and belonging set across Ghana and Scotland. It’s Open Water (Caleb Azumah Nelson) meets What I Know About You (Éric Chacour) with a dash of Transcendent Kingdom (Yaa Gyasi) – books we’ve known and loved, and that our readers have too.
– Jing Xuan Teo and Marina Sano, Amplify Bookstore
Buckeye (Patrick Ryan)
I loved Buckeye with my whole being. Patrick Ryan’s beautifully written work of historical fiction follows the life of one family from the early 1900s, moving quietly through the shadows of two world wars. Yet the novel is less concerned with the wars themselves than with the weight carried by those left behind, and the complicated silences of those who return. Reading it, I felt like a fly on the wall, privy to the small, intimate details that reveal who these characters truly are: the things we do, say, think, and feel when no one else is watching (the moments when we are most ourselves). It’s one of the few books this year that genuinely moved me, and one that will be in my thoughts for a long time. If you loved Pachinko for its sweeping family saga and story momentum, this will stay with you too. It's different in culture and prose, but just as quietly devastating.
– Jordan Turner, Writer and Owner of Gertrude & Alice Bookstore
Heart the Lover (Lily King)
In 2025, every literary-loving or-adjacent person on my Instagram feed seemed to be talking about Heart the Lover. I bought it late in the year, let it glare at me from my bedside table for months, and finally tore through it over Christmas. It’s deceptively breezy – technically both a prequel and sequel to King’s Writers & Lovers, though entirely readable on its own – but it’s sharp, economical, and full of emotional texture. The story opens with a campus love triangle and tracks the leads across decades as their lives knot and unknot through love, grief, and personal reinvention. Campus novels aren’t universally adored, but I’m a sucker for them, as well as a friends-to-lovers entanglement, so I didn’t stand a chance. But I was still surprised at how long it lingered for me after I had finished.
– Victoria Pearson, Writer
The Inseparables (Simone de Beauvoir)
A stunningly short yet deeply captivating novel, The Inseparables by Simone de Beauvoir explores the intensity and complexity of young female friendship. Set in early 1900s France, it follows two girls as they come of age, negotiating familial expectations, self perception, codependency and repression, shaping both their lives differently. Knowing the novel is drawn directly from de Beauvoir’s own life makes it even more moving, more intimate. Written decades earlier and published posthumously, the story behind the book is as compelling as the novel itself. It is a heartbreakingly precise portrait of young friendship that has left a mark on me until today and cannot recommend more.
Pia, Co-Founder of To Be Read Book Club
The Lamb (Lucy Rose)
Not for the squeamish, but Lucy Rose's debut is a dream world for those who like their Cannibal Girl Lit; full of gore, melancholia, and a contender for 'World's Worst Mother', The Lamb is a pretty nightmare to get lost in for a while.
– Lilith Hardie Lupica, Writer and Founder of Have a Nice Book
Love On The Air by Ash London
Pure joy and serotonin in a book, which is more important than ever. This romcom set at a radio station with a fearless female lead is witty and real and makes you feel good, much like Ash London herself. I inhaled this and immediately got really excited afterwards because Ash is already working on Book #2!
– Hannah Diviney, Author
Lyrebird (Jane Caro)
A gripping crime thriller. That's what this is. You’ll be hooked on every page until you figure out what the heck happened to these characters. Jane is a master at intrigue and mystery, it's hard not to feel like you're in a game of chess reading this, trying to piece together and anticipate her next move.
– Hannah Diviney, Author
Marrying Off Morgan McBride (Amy Barry)
Marrying Off Morgan McBride by Amy Barry is book two in what is easily my favourite historical romance series. Set in the wilds of Montana in the 1880s, where 14-year-old Junebug lives with her four older brothers. Sick of chores and hard work, she decides to ease her load by ordering each of them brides. Overflowing with wit, warmth, and a sort of tenderness that pulled on my every heartstring, I ate this up in two days.
– Ruby Jean Cottle, Author
Mother Tongue (Naima Brown)
Since becoming a mother, I’m always on the hunt for stories that feel refreshing and can poke fun at the ways in which our lives morph after we become parents. Mother Tongue is such a funny and, often dark, examination of parenthood and identity. Je suis obsédé.
– Lilith Hardie Lupica, Writer and Founder of Have a Nice Book
The Mushroom Tapes (Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein)
Having not really followed the mushroom trial as it was unfolding, I was so eager to dive into this book. Three incredibly talented writers come together to deliver a truly moreish read - one I didn’t want to end. Moving seamlessly between courtroom scenes and transcript format, I honestly couldn’t put this book down. This book dives deeper than the facts and takes you behind the fascinating thoughts of the writers as the story unfolds. If this isn’t already on your TBR pile, it absolutely needs to be.
Eva, Co-Founder of To Be Read Book Club
The Prince Without Sorrow (Maithree Wijesekara)
An exciting fantasy debut from a local author! Set in a high fantasy world inspired by Ancient India’s Mauryan Empire, The Prince Without Sorrow follows a prince and a witch as they grapple with what’s more important: power, or preventing the end of the world?
– Jing Xuan Teo and Marina Sano, Amplify Bookstore
Rytual (Chloe Elisabeth Wilson)
This is the type of book I wish I could read for the first time, again – entering into it not knowing how weird and twisty it’s really going to get. I went cover-to-cover in 24 hours. It’s for anyone who’s had a toxic boss, a toxic boyfriend, or a toxic friendship. If you’ve had the lucky trifecta and you’re a millennial with a penchant for true crime and Netflix thrillers, it will really get you going. Take it to the beach, take it to the bar, take it to bed. Gorge yourself on it and then make your best friend read it so you can unpack all the really hairy bits.
– Alice Jeffery, Culture Writer and Editor
Seduction Theory (Emily Adrian)
I can always tell I'm loving a book when I have to force myself to slow down while reading it. In 2025, I didn't want to tear through anything quite as quickly as I did Seduction Theory by Emily Adrian. Much more than just another affair novel, it's clever, a little kooky, and contains the exact type of complicated relationships I love escaping into while on holiday.
– Gyan Yankovich, Writer and Editor
Stinkbug (Sinead Stubbins)
Edith isn't on an ordinary corporate retreat. Described as an anxious millennial fever dream, this novel from Melbourne author Sinead Stubbins is another biting satire on the state of work and career in the 2020s.
– Jasmine Wallis, Writer and Co-Founder of Culture Club Podcast
A Sunny Place for Shady People: Stories (Mariana Enríquez)
For lovers of the macabre, Mariana Enríquez is something of a modern-day Shirley Jackson. An Argentine journalist and master of literary horror, she crafts stories that delve into the darkest corners of urban life, blending the supernatural with sharp social commentary. This collection of short stories got under my skin, in the best way.
– Arabella Peterson, Managing Editor at Bed Threads
We Do Not Part (Han Kang)
We Do Not Part was originally published in 2021 (so may be a bit of a cheat), but the English translation was first published in 2025. For the unfamiliar, Han Kang's books – The Vegetarian is probably the most famous – are dreamlike and poetic but also visceral and unnerving. This is no exception, and I think it may be my favourite book of hers so far. It describes a friend's journey to Jeju Island to feed a pet bird after a violent accident, which, yes, sounds absolutely bizarre. The narrative also weaves in devastating details about Jeju's history and massacres that took place there. It's gripping and beautiful and was easily my favourite book of 2025.
– Elfy Scott, Author and Journalist
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