It’s not a Top 10 list or a Top 25 or even a Top 100. Nay, NPR’s annual “Books We Love” feature, always a celebration of literary maximalism, offers up 384 recommendations from everybody on staff who likes books. Which is basically everybody on staff because, well, NPR.

Originally called the “Book Concierge,” NPR’s list comes with dozens of filters you can mix and match to your picky little heart’s content. A few of my favorite personal combos:

• Book Club Ideas + Seriously Great Writing
• The States We’re In + Eye-Opening Reads
• For History Lovers + Rather Short
• Staff Picks + It’s All Geek to Me + Identity & Culture
• Comics & Graphic Novels + Funny Stuff

This year’s books join NPR’s picks from the last 12 years to form a mega-list of more than 4,000 books with literally millions of possible filter combinations. If you can’t find something exciting and new here, we’re just gonna go ahead and say the list isn’t the problem. - RS

Even though it’s a holiday week , there are still new books worth checking out. These are hitting shelves just in time for the busiest shopping weekend of the year.

🧩 A book looking at the past, present, and future of the crossword puzzle.

🏡 A psychological thriller about what happens if you just cannot let that dream house go.

🕶️ A memoir about a surprising family history of spycraft.

💰 A much-anticipated (yes, really) 1300-page history of capitalism.

🏪 A dark, comedic debut novel about working at a chain superstore.

🧠 Flex your brain with Puzzle Mania!, the new premium collection from New York Times Games. Curated by lead editor Joel Fagliano, it’s packed with exclusive twists on fan favorites like Spelling Bee and Connections, a Mega Crossword with both easy and hard clues, hand-picked Mini Crosswords, clever logic puzzles, and yes, plenty of Wordle.

Beautifully designed for marking up and sharing, Puzzle Mania! is your joyful daily escape, perfect for cozy weekends, holiday gatherings, or a little friendly competition. If you’re starting your day with NYT Games, this book is for you.

The best revenge is a life well-lived, and the best rebound from a first novel that totally tanks is a sophomore effort that wins the Booker Prize and then sticks around to win both the Booker of Bookers 13 years later and the Best of the Booker 14 years after that. Which is exactly what Salman Rushdie did with Midnight’s Children.

It’s a big novel in every sense of the word. At nearly 600 pages long, Midnight’s Children is a wild ride of stories and side quests populated by a multitude of characters in a noisy world infused with magic and mythology. It’s unruly. It’s challenging. It’s almost too much. And it is bonkers good.

🎧 Hear our conversation about this singular and unforgettable reading experience as we put a bow on the inaugural season of Zero to Well-Read.

The first-ever Chicagoland Bookstore Holiday Trolley is a smash, and it’s not hard to see why: each of the 10 routes visits four to five Chicago-area bookstores offering special holiday swag. Tours begin and end at the same bookstore (so you can go back to your car), and the routes cover 43 individual stores.

Sound like fun? The organizer of the trolleys, the Chicagoland Independent Bookstore Alliance, says all 250 tickets are sold out (though there is a wait-list you can join.) Other bookish cities take note: the people clamor for guided bookstore shopping on alternate modes of transportation. Clamor, I tell you.

Give the fantasy fan in your life a gift they’ll actually gasp over: the gorgeous hardcover editions of Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher series.

The newest release, Crossroads of Ravens, is the perfect jumping-in point for new readers—and a must-grab for longtime Witcher devotees. Plus, the hardcovers of The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny come loaded with eight stunning interior illustrations by award-winning artists.

This is one of the most iconic fantasy series ever written, and these editions are the definitive way to experience it. A holiday gift that will absolutely earn you bragging rights.

A district judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in Rhode Island vs. Trump. 

• This is one of two lawsuits that ensued following the administration’s dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). 
• 21 state attorneys general filed their lawsuit to stop further harm from being done to the only federal agency that provides services, support, and money to public libraries and museums in the US. 
• The judge stated that the administration’s decision to dismantle the IMLS was unconstitutional, violating both the “Take Care” and “Separation of Powers” clauses.

This is a big win worth celebrating, but the IMLS is still not entirely in the clear. The agency’s current funding is part of the Continuing Resolution, meaning that as of now, it is only operating through January. While Trump sunsetted the agency in his Fiscal Year 2026 budget, Congress put the item back in. What will happen remains to be seen. We’ve already seen the IMLS’s budget this year be diverted away from libraries and museums into administrative propaganda projects. 

The second lawsuit brought in the wake of the IMLS dismantling, ALA vs. Sonderling , is set to resume over the next month. A full timeline of what’s been happening with the IMLS, as well as a look at the ways the loss of federal funding has impacted libraries nationwide, is available here.

🚫 Get our literary activism newsletter to stay up-to-date. - KJ

Book lovers contain multitudes. We’ve got bookish gift recs for you this season, of course, but we also know that buying books for people who read a lot of them can be kind of a nightmare. So we asked Book Riot staff to share their picks for the best gifts that aren’t books or book-adjacent.

From beauty faves to gifts for gamers to our favorite teas (and ways to prepare them), we’ve got practical gifts for the home and gifts that tap into whimsy, gifts for better wellness, and some that are just plain fun.

Rebecca’s faves:

• Govee Life Smart Electric Kettle - Set it, forget it, and wake up to water that’s already heated to the perfect temp for your morning cuppa.
• Brick - We can’t fight addictive technology with willpower alone. I’ve tried a lot of screen time management apps and tools over the years, and this is the only one that’s worked long-term. Plus: no subscription fees.

Jeff’s recs:

• Chio Pistachio Cream - Your morning toast will never be the same.
• Lamy Studio Rollerball Pen - I wanted a substantial, quality pen to be my daily driver. One that would stay on my desk and feel different enough that I would remember to keep it there. So far, paired with a simple metal pen holder, this combination has stemmed the tide of cheap pens flowing everywhere except at hand when I need one.

🎁 Discover the rest.

Win a $250 donation to a public library of your choice! We’ve partnered with the Chicago Public Library Foundation to offer a prize that helps your community thrive. Whether it’s helping fund new programming or expanding digital collections, your favorite library deserves a boost. Enter today for your chance to win!

Manuscript burning a hole in your desk drawer? Buck up, dust it off, and shoot your shot. Our friends at The Black List have partnered with Blackstone Publishing on a new initiative that will offer one soon-to-be author a $25k book deal.

📖 Submit your unpublished manuscript by June 9, 2026. Full details here.

💄 Keep running up that hill to the new season of Stranger Things, and look good doing it with this Demogorgon-inspired liquid eyeshadow duo. 50% off for a limited time.**

🍿 Catch the most anticipated adaptations of the year as Oscar season takes off.

📚 Did you miss Book Riot’s best books of 2025? It’s not too late.

Written by Rebecca Schinsky, Jeff O’Neal, and Kelly Jensen. Thanks to Vanessa Diaz for copy editing.

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