{"id":952548,"date":"2025-12-08T14:28:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T11:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=952548"},"modified":"2025-12-08T14:28:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T11:28:00","slug":"the-best-books-of-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=952548","title":{"rendered":"The best books of 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"article-body wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><em><span>DISAPPOINT ME, <\/span><\/em><span>NICOLA DINAN<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>Max, the trans protagonist of Nicola Dinan\u2019s sophomore novel, has all the outward trappings of success \u2013 she\u2019s a well-paid legal counsel and a published poet to boot \u2013 but deep down, she\u2019s plagued with a gnawing ennui. She\u2019s still reeling from a recent break-up with her insufferable ex, while her relationship with her alcoholic father isn\u2019t getting any easier. But then she meets Vincent, a hotshot lawyer who is ostensibly a catch. Romance between the two blossoms easily \u2013 but Vincent is still haunted by an incident that happened during his gap year over a decade ago, and it\u2019s a secret which, if brought into the light, could rend the pair apart for good. (<\/span><em><span>SS<\/span><\/em><span>)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instagram-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-instagram\" data-script-depends=\"instagram-embeds\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><em><span>I WANT TO GO HOME BUT I\u2019M ALREADY THERE<\/span><\/em><span>, R\u00d3IS\u00cdN LANIGAN<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><em><span>I Want To Go Home But I\u2019m Already There <\/span><\/em><span>may be the debut novel from writer and editor R\u00f3is\u00edn Lanigan, but it reads like the work of a seasoned author. Billed as a \u201cghost story set in the rental crisis\u201d, the novel follows twentysomething couple \u00c1ine and Elliot as they navigate moving into their first (rented, obviously) flat together in an affluent, Dulwich-coded neighbourhood. Elliot seems to think all is well in their new home, but \u00c1ine struggles to settle. From the pernicious spread of damp to the unsettling omnipresence of their upstairs neighbours, something isn\u2019t quite right with their new abode \u2013 and, as \u00c1ine begins to suspect, it seems increasingly evident that something isn\u2019t quite right with her relationship with Elliot either. (<\/span><em><span>SS<\/span><\/em><span>)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instagram-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-instagram\" data-script-depends=\"instagram-embeds\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><em><span>UNIVERSALITY, <\/span><\/em><span>NATASHA BROWN<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>Longlisted for the Booker Prize, <\/span><em><span>Universality<\/span><\/em><span> is a must-read for anyone with an interest in capitalism, class, and society. The concise novel centres around a violent crime involving a man getting brutally bludgeoned with a bar of solid gold. The first section is a fictionalised longread about the attack titled, <\/span><span>written by our freelance journalist protagonist, Hannah, while the subsequent sections explore the reaction to the viral article and unpack exactly how and why Hannah came to tell the story in the first place. We\u2019re introduced to a coterie of unpleasant people in Hannah\u2019s orbit: her snobby university friends; Richard Spencer, an amoral banker-slash-landlord; and Miriam Leonard, the <\/span><em><span>Telegraph<\/span><\/em><span> columnist turned <\/span><em><span>Observer<\/span><\/em><span> columnist, with her own twisted agenda. It\u2019s an engrossing read \u2013 not only because of its taut plot and acerbic skewering of the upper-middle classes, but also because of its profound, astute observations on the power of words. (<\/span><em><span>SS<\/span><\/em><span>)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instagram-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-instagram\" data-script-depends=\"instagram-embeds\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><em><span>SLANTING TOWARDS THE SEA, <\/span><\/em><span>LIDIJA HILJE<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>I\u2019m ashamed to say <\/span><em><span>Slanting Towards the Sea<\/span><\/em><span> remained on my \u2018to be read\u2019 pile for months after I\u2019d got my hands on it \u2013 but once I\u2019d started reading, it was difficult to put down. The novel, set in early 2000s Croatia, follows ex-lovers <\/span><span>Ivona and Vlaho. A decade after first falling in love as students in Zagreb, they\u2019re divorced \u2013 but their lives in the coastal city of Zadar remain as closely intertwined as ever. Ivona is close friends with Marina, Vlaho\u2019s new wife (technically, she introduced them), and she\u2019s a regular fixture at family gatherings with the couple\u2019s young children. It\u2019s an unusual dynamic, but one that works \u2013 until Ivona gets a new boyfriend, bringing long-buried resentments to the fore. Be warned \u2013 this is a novel that will bring you to tears. (<\/span><em><span>SS<\/span><\/em><span>)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instagram-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-instagram\" data-script-depends=\"instagram-embeds\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><em><span>ANTIMEMETICS: HOW SOME IDEAS RESIST SPREADING, <\/span><\/em><span>NADIA ASPAROUHOVA<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>What is an \u2018antimeme\u2019? As described by Nadia Asparouhova, it\u2019s an idea that resists being seen despite its significant impact on our lives \u2013\u00a0the polar opposite of the much more familiar \u2018meme\u2019. It might be a taboo opinion that\u2019s too risky to express outside a trusted group chat, an idea that doesn\u2019t fit the mould of our current attention ecosystem, or a fact that simply seems to slip our mind no matter how many times we encounter it. Despite the slippery, inherently opaque nature of the phenomenon, Asparouhova manages to give an accessible, clear-eyed account of how it\u2019s affected our lives in recent years, across<\/span><span>the \u2018cancel culture\u2019 era of the mid-2010s, the widespread retreat from public life in the Covid era, and the new \u2018dark\u2019 era of group chats and hidden social networks. In yet another win for the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/darkforest.metalabel.com\/antimemetics\"><span>Dark Forest Collective<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0(the book\u2019s publisher) Asparouhova gives a name to the unnameable, and lays the groundwork for navigating a new age of whispers and shadows. (<em>TW<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content has-tweet\" data-embed-type=\"media-twitter\" data-script-depends=\"twitter-widgets\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I wrote a new book! It&#39;s called ANTIMEMETICS: Why Some Ideas Resist Spreading, and it&#39;s about ideas that don&#39;t want to be shared or remembered, despite their importance.<\/p>\n<p>Now available for pre-order: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/M2ytKTFpbf\">https:\/\/t.co\/M2ytKTFpbf<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/s4yV1odQYU\">pic.twitter.com\/s4yV1odQYU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Nadia Asparouhova (@nayafia) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nayafia\/status\/1904912486408856059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><em><span>HOW TO FALL IN LOVE WITH THE FUTURE<\/span><\/em><span>, ROB HOPKINS<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>The subtitle for <\/span><em><span>How to Fall in Love with the Future <\/span><\/em><span>is: \u201cA time traveller\u2019s guide to changing the world.\u201d This is not a mere metaphor. In the book, Hopkins actually casts himself as a time traveller returned from the year 2030, where we\u2019ve done everything we can to usher in a new age of ecological sustainability, social equality, and abundance. In his dispatches, the signs of our success are tangible: green cities are filled with birdsong, the streets are filled with bicycles, and normal people are filled with hope for an even brighter future ahead. Is this vision of the next half-decade incredibly optimistic? Yes. Is Hopkins, in his tin-foil space suit, a little bit mad? Maybe! Nevertheless, his best-case scenario is a much-needed antidote to the dread and nihilism that dominates today\u2019s discourse about what the future might look like, and maybe it\u2019s not so far from reality as you think&#8230; In fact, many of the most inspiring images in the book are lifted directly from real life, where experiments with different ways of living (many initiated by the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/transitionnetwork.org\/\"><span>Transition<\/span><\/a><span> movement, co-founded by Hopkins some 20 years ago) are already paying off. (<em>TW<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instagram-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-instagram\" data-script-depends=\"instagram-embeds\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><em><span>SUNSTRUCK<\/span><\/em><span>, WILLIAM RAYFET HUNTER<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>William Rayfet Hunter\u2019s debut novel, <\/span><em><span>Sunstruck<\/span><\/em><span>, has been compared to <\/span><em><span>Saltburn. <\/span><\/em><span>It\u2019s easy to see why: the unnamed narrator, a mixed-race musician from Manchester, is invited to spend the summer at a mansion in the French countryside by his rich university friend, Lily Blake. There, he becomes charmed by her brother, Felix, and obsessed with the Blake family. Like <\/span><em><span>Saltburn<\/span><\/em><span>, there are plenty of days spent by the pool and nights out at extravagant parties. But the book digs far deeper into ideas around friendship, power, desire, race and class than the 2023 movie. Once they return to London in the second half of the book, and after the narrator\u2019s black best friend is beaten up by the police, the reality of his and Felix\u2019s imbalanced relationship kicks in. <\/span><em><span>Sunstruck <\/span><\/em><span>is a\u00a0<\/span><span>thoughtful summer blur of a book that ultimately explores identity, belonging and the parts of ourselves we risk losing when we fall in love. The fact that Hunter wrote the novel while working as a doctor in an emergency room only makes it more impressive and compelling. (<em>LP<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instagram-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-instagram\" data-script-depends=\"instagram-embeds\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><em><span>LOVE IN EXILE<\/span><\/em><span>, SHON FAYE<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>Much like Faye\u2019s debut book, <\/span><em><span>The Transgender Issue,<\/span><\/em><em><span>Love in Exile<\/span><\/em><span> felt like a definitive intervention from the moment it was published \u2014 even earning the dubious honour of cropping up in \u201cperformative male\u201d starter pack memes alongside timeless works by Angela Davis, Joan Didion and bell hooks. <\/span>Informed by <span>Faye\u2019s own experiences of dating as a trans woman but much larger in scope, <em>Love in Exile<\/em> offers a far-reaching account of the political and economic forces which have led to romantic love being placed on so high a pedestal, an ever harsher punishment imposed on those who find themselves excluded. Faye is the rare writer who can combine rigorous political analysis with pathos, lyricism and wit. (<em>JG<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instagram-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-instagram\" data-script-depends=\"instagram-embeds\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><em><span>STAG DANCE,<\/span><\/em><span> TORREY PETERS<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><em><span>Stag Dance<\/span><\/em><span> is a fascinating exercise in genre experimentation. Much like Peters\u2019 debut novel, <\/span><em><span>Detransition, Baby<\/span><\/em><span>, which was originally conceived of as a soap opera, in <em>Stag Dance, <\/em>comprising three short stories and the titular novel, we have psychological horror, dystopian sci-fi, YA romance and a ripping tall tale about a 19th century lumberjack wrestling with what might today be described as gender dysphoria. Eschewing straightforward representation, <\/span><em><span>Stag Dance <\/span><\/em><span>explores the ambiguities of gender and identity, and questions whether \u2018trans\u2019 and \u2018cis\u2019 are always neatly separable categories. While often dark in subject matter, it\u2019s a delight to read: heartbreaking and hilarious, formally inventive and narratively gripping. (<em>JG<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instagram-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-instagram\" data-script-depends=\"instagram-embeds\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><em><span>HERCULINE<\/span><\/em><span>, GRACE BYRON<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>In Herculine, a young trans woman, haunted by literal demons and leading a precarious life in New York, seeks refuge in an all-trans commune in the Midwestern wilderness, which turns out not to be quite so idyllic as it first appears. Bryon is a talented essayist and critic, and she brings these skills to bear in her debut novel, which is incisive and sharply satirical in its portrayal of contemporary America. Herculine succeeds as both literary fiction and horror thrill-ride, enjoyable as much for its elegant prose as its propulsive narrative. And while it gets pretty out-there, the more fantastical elements are grounded by the pathos of its achingly sympathetic protagonist. (<em>JG<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instagram-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-instagram\" data-script-depends=\"instagram-embeds\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><em>BREAKING AWAKE<\/em>, PE MOSKOWITZ<\/h1>\n<p><span>Combining memoir, reportage and cultural criticism, <em>Breaking Awake: My Search for a New Life Through Drugs<\/em> is partly about Moskowitz\u2019s recovery from a mental breakdown with the help of drugs both proscribed and illicit, but it also asks broader questions about the origins of suffering in capitalist societies. Why do so many of us feel miserable, anxious and alone? Why do the affluent countries of Europe and North America face such high levels of addiction? And what solutions are possible absent the kind of large-scale societal transformation which, regrettably, doesn\u2019t seem to be on the cards any time soon? Eschewing easy answers, <em>Breaking Awake<\/em> is nuanced and provocative, and a hugely compelling read. (<em>JG<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instagram-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-instagram\" data-script-depends=\"instagram-embeds\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><span><em>LONELY CROWDS,<\/em> STEPHANIE WAMBUGU\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>Pitched as <em>Luster<\/em> meets <em>The Idiot<\/em>, Stephanie Wambugu\u2019s debut novel <em>Lonely Crowds <\/em>explores similar themes of art, privilege, and belonging. The story documents the tumultuous friendship of Ruth, an only child to immigrant parents, and Maria, an orphaned girl she befriends at the pair\u2019s Catholic school. Throughout the novel, we witness the duo navigate their New England hometown, liberal arts school, and, eventually, the art scene of early 90s New York. Heartfelt and thought-provoking at once, it\u2019s a tale that grapples with both the pitfalls of an all-consuming female friendship, and of artistic pursuit. (<em>IB<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instagram-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-instagram\" data-script-depends=\"instagram-embeds\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><em>SOFT CORE<\/em> BY BRITTANY NEWELL<\/h1>\n<p>No one writes a sentence like Brittany Newell. The San Francisco author (and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/user\/brittanynewell\">former Dazed columnist<\/a>) is a prodigal talent: her first novel <em><span>Oola<\/span><\/em><span> was published in 2017 when she was just 21. She has gained a cult following in the years since, teasing us with delicious trickles of prose for publications like <em>Granta<\/em> and <em>N+1. <\/em><em>Soft Core <\/em>is her second novel: a hazy, dreamlike trip through San Francisco\u2019s erotic underworld, where danger looms like \u201casbestos\u201d, and no one is quite what they seem. It follows the story of 27-year-old Ruth, a newbie dominatrix on the hunt for her missing ex-boyfriend Dino. His disappearance sends Ruth into a spiral of \u201clove-shaped lunacy\u201d, splitting the very foundation of her reality. <em>(DS)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instagram-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-instagram\" data-script-depends=\"instagram-embeds\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"raw-html\">\n<h1><span><em>IT\u2019S TERRIBLE THE THINGS I HAVE TO DO TO BE ME: ON FEMININITY AND FAME <\/em>BY PHILIPPA SNOW\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span>This was just such a pleasure to read. I had to keep stopping every few sentences to either underline bits in pencil, or take pictures of the text so I could savour it again later. Phillippa Snow is the best kind of critic, turning profound cultural theory into something both artful and accessible. In this book, she tells the story of the women we all think we know \u2013 from Marilyn Monroe and Pamela Anderson, to Aaliyah and Amy Winehouse \u2013 offering compelling new insights clearly grounded in rigorous research. Along the way, she asks powerful questions about fame and female subjectivity. It\u2019s the literary equivalent of icy lemon water on a sweltering day: sharp, invigorating, and actually very good for you. Drink it down!! <em>(DS)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"instagram-container embed-content\" data-embed-type=\"media-instagram\" data-script-depends=\"instagram-embeds\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> Source URL: https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/life-culture\/article\/69203\/1\/the-best-books-of-2025-philippa-snow-nicola-dinan-shon-faye<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DISAPPOINT ME, NICOLA DINAN Max, the trans protagonist of Nicola Dinan\u2019s sophomore novel, has all the outward trappings of success \u2013 she\u2019s a well-paid legal counsel and a published poet to boot \u2013 but deep down, she\u2019s plagued with a gnawing ennui. She\u2019s still reeling from a recent break-up with her insufferable ex, while her [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":952549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[76],"class_list":["post-952548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/952548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=952548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/952548\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/952549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=952548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=952548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=952548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}