HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD BOOK AND WHAT YOU NEED ON YOUR READING LIST

By Tiare Snow | Guest Editor

Being in the business of books I am often asked for book recommendations. Anyone that asks this of me will notice a wave of enthusiasm roll over me and may very well wish they had never asked. The excitement is palpable.

I will dive in and ask what genre you best prefer, what you read last, what you absolutely think you don’t enjoy. I will start mentally rummaging through my list of previous reads, narrowing down titles to ones I absolutely loved and hope you will, too. 

Lately I’ve been reconsidering my book recommendation strategy. I could attempt to list for you the top 10 reads of 2025, but alas, I’ve only read three books this year (it is only February) and I like to recommend books that I have read myself. I could recommend my favourites from 2024 but likely you have already seen those books listed all over the internet.

So, in saying that, I have been asking myself what considers a book a “must read”. Putting a twist on my most received question, I have collated for you my newly strategised top five list of must-reads for 2025.

You absolutely must read:

The book that makes you want to pick up another book right after

You might find this experience in the highly recommended by almost all humans on Earth (predominately women), The Fourth Wing Saga, by Rebecca Yarros. But if you don’t have the option to completely remove yourself from society for a few weeks, then I’d suggest something twisty and relatable from the women’s fiction genre. Think authors such as Sally Hepworth or Liane Moriarty.

The book that reminds you why you love reading

This book might be the one you read with a group, dare I say a book club, and it gave you so much to talk about. It’s the book that gets you back into the hobby you tell yourself you don’t have time for anymore. Use topics you are interested in to filter your book search.

The book your best friend recommends you

Who knows you better than them. Even if your friend has selfishly recommended it purely so she has someone else to talk about it with, read it, because you might enjoy it, and even if you don’t you will both have something else to talk about other than work and family. Logically, what kind of friend recommends a book she thinks you will hate?

The book that made you pause when you saw the front cover

The one that made you pick it up and flick from cover to blurb, cover to blurb until you quietly said to yourself, in that same whisper we all use in the library or bookstore, “Hmm this looks interesting”. 

The book sitting at the very top of your TBR (To Be Read) pile that you keep bypassing

Something keeps holding you back from picking it up and yet it stays on the pile, at the very top no less. You’re intrigued but unsure. Read the first 50-100 pages. Give it a go!

TOP 5 READS FOR 2025

If the above list was too vague and really all you want is for someone to say, “Hey, read this,” then righto here we go.

1. No Fault: A Memoir Of Romance And Divorce, by Haely Mlotek

Let’s get comfortable with the uncomfortable with an intimate and candid account of one of the most romantic and revolutionary of relationships: divorce.

2. The Fourth Wing Saga, by Rebecca Yarros

Don’t roll your eyes at me. I get it. It’s so blown up. You don’t get the hype. You think it’s for children (it most certainly is not). Politics, war, romance, sex, magic, and yes dragons. Just try it. If not for you, do it for your friends (see point three of the above list).

3. All The Other Mothers Hate Me, by Sarah Harmen

You are going to do that thing I mentioned in point four of my above list. 

4. A little life, by Hanya Yanagihara

This will likely be on every book recommendation list I ever write for the rest of my life unless it makes absolutely no sense to do so. This is not a 2025 release, but for the sake of reading great literature and knowing what it feels like to experience true human emotions while reading, your soul will hate me and thank me. You’re welcome.

5. The Death of Us, by Abigail Dean

Expected to drop in April, I’m excited to sink my teeth into this psychological crime thriller about a marriage turned inside out by a violent encounter.

MUSE PAPER
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Follow Tiare Snow on Instagram and check out her other book-related content at Guiltless Book Club.