The end of the year is a time for reflection. And for the readers among us, it’s a time to peruse lists of the top books that came out in the past 12 months.
There are a few big best-books-of-the-year lists that lead conversations, and one of them is put out by NPR. It’s called “Books We Love,” and it includes staff picks from across genres.
NPR Arts Desk reporter Andrew Limbong joined the Standard to share some of his picks from the list, as well as highlight a Texas author. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: Tell me about the books on this list. I noticed it’s not called the “best books of 2025.” Is that an important distinction?
Andrew Limbong: We try to make it a point by saying we are not a “10 best books of the year” sort of list.
Every year we ask everyone at NPR what their favorite books of the year were, and we don’t just ask the people who work on the books team, but we ask literally everyone who works at NPR. Producers have a say, editors have a say, people in the business department have a say, people in the finance department have a say. And so what we get is a pretty eclectic and wide mix of books.
This year, I think we’re in the neighborhood of 380 books on the list. And yeah, the sort of size and scale and scope of it is kind of the point, right? We’re not saying these are the best books. What we’re saying is, you’re gonna find something in here for you.
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I was going to ask you about that, because it’s not just a list you scroll through – it’s interactive. You can use filters to get recommendations. How do you hope people will use this tool? What do you want them to get out of it?
I find myself using it in the middle of the year, actually, when I’m in a reading slump. I’ll check back on a recent year and use the filters.
There’s obviously the genre sections of fiction and nonfiction, but I like using the “rather long” and “rather short” tags to filter out what kind of commitment I’m ready for.
You can filter for books about sports. “Seriously good writing” is one of the tags I use quite a bit. I think it’s a really good personal recommendation machine.
Speaking of personal picks, a number of yours made it onto the list this year. Could you tell us about a few of those titles?
One of my favorite books this year was called “Among Friends” by Hal Ebbott. It’s a debut novel and it’s about two families who are old friends and they end up going on vacation together and renting out the house.
Something happens part way through that kind of unravels their relationship. But it’s a really interesting look at what it means to be friends for a long time.
Courtesy of Simon & Schuster
We’re always looking for a Texas connection. Any on this list that you know of that highlight Texas authors or books about Texas on the list?
There’s a book on here called “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones. I think he’s up in Colorado now, but he was born in Texas.
It’s a horror book about a Native vampire who haunts this Lutheran pastor and his family for decades. And it’s kind of reminiscent of Dracula in that it’s written in this sort of epistolary style. But it has some really fascinating takes on history, particularly Native history and colonialism and what that does to generations of people.
Is there a book that you’ve read this year that you just can’t get out of your head that you think maybe is underrated?
There’s a graphic novel called “Cannon” by Lee Lai, and it is about a woman who’s working kind of a mid-level crappy job at a restaurant as a cook. She’s got a best friend who is honestly not that good at being a best friend. She’s not that good at listening and she is too busy with her own stuff.
The main character, Cannon, is dealing with an ailing patriarch. She’s got a mother that she’s having a hard time talking to.
It’s a really intimate slice-of-life sort of graphic novel about the straw breaking a camel’s back, emotionally speaking. The art in this book is so beautiful.
