Congratulations to the winners of our 2025 End-of-the-Year contest! One reader received all 42 of Carol Fitzgerald's Bookreporter.com Bets On picks from 2025, while seven others won six of these titles.
You can see all the winners below, along with 2025's Bets On selections.
If you would like to know more about these books, be sure to check out this video and podcast where Carol talks about each of her 42 picks.
Paperback releases for the week of September 28th include BUCKEYE by Patrick Ryan, a sweeping novel that weaves the intimate lives of two midwestern families across generations, from World War II to the late 20th century; ALL THE WAY TO THE RIVER, a landmark memoir from Elizabeth Gilbert that will resonate with anyone who has ever been captive to love --- or to any other passion, substance or craving --- and who yearns for liberation; PENDERGAST: THE BEGINNING by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, which serves as a golden opportunity for longtime fans and newcomers to learn about Agent Pendergast’s strange and shocking first case; and Angela Flournoy's THE WILDERNESS, an era-defining novel about five Black women over the course of their 20-year friendship, as they move through the dizzying and sometimes precarious period between young adulthood and midlife.
In Bonhomie, Ohio, a stolen moment of passion, sparked in the exuberant aftermath of the Allied victory in Europe, binds Cal Jenkins, a man wounded not in war but by his inability to serve in it, to Margaret Salt, a woman trying to obscure her past. Cal’s wife, Becky, has a spiritual gift: She is a seer who can conjure the dead, helping families connect with those they’ve lost. Margaret’s husband, Felix, is serving on a Navy cargo ship, out of harm’s way --- until a telegram suggests that the unthinkable might have happened.
I had the pleasure of meeting Patrick Ryan at a publisher lunch where he talked about his debut novel, BUCKEYE. I was intrigued by the storyline and his extensive research in writing the book, which moves from World War II right up until the Vietnam War. I listened to the audiobook; the narrator, Michael Crouch, did a wonderful job of bringing the story to life for me. The characters were so well drawn, and I felt invested in what was happening to each of them.
This is the time of year when “Best Of” lists are everywhere. These annual roundups always seem to spark lively discussions among readers as they reflect on their favorite books of the year.
We’ve compiled a number of them for you here. See which of your top picks appear on these lists and which titles you feel should've been included but weren't. Perhaps you’ll even find some books to add to your reading list for the new year!
This is the time of year when “Best Of” lists are everywhere. These annual roundups always seem to spark lively discussions among readers as they reflect on their favorite books of the year.
