The Best Books of November 2025 https://ift.tt/vrqmUKy
Everything is a disaster and it feels like it gets worse every day. But I am so grateful for the difference stories make in my life, and for the community of people who love books as much as I do. So thanks to you all for being here, for caring about the South and our stories, and for the joy you bring into my world. Happy reading!
Penguin Books: “Shade is a place meanders east–west along Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall, seeking ‘a Black sense of place’ at the pace of stressed shade and street trees, the mall’s architectural history, and the speaker’s ongoing questions and reflections. The collection of poems is a moving invitation to open one’s attention by looking up, down, and always within.”
The New Press: “Our country stands at a critical cultural crossroads, with a wave of anti-trans legislation emerging at unprecedented levels, targeting trans children, in particular, who face increasing stigmatization and erasure. Sim Butler’s And the Dragons Do Come is a poignant account of one family’s experience of parenting and supporting a trans child against this nightmarish backdrop.”
Tiny Reparations: “Black-Owned celebrates the history of Black bookstores and their role as centerpieces of resistance and liberation. Drawn from the author’s in-depth research and reporting, Black-Owned is a story of activism, espionage, violence, and perseverance. Char Adams details Black bookstores’ battles with racist vigilantes, local law enforcement, and federal agents as they fueled Black political movements throughout American history.”
FSG: “The mother, wrestling with memories of her youth in Jamaica and her own complicated brother, works to reconcile her good intentions with her missteps. The son struggles to forgive. But as life steers them in unexpected directions — the mother to a tentative friendship with a local bistro owner and the son to a cautious acquaintance with a new patron of the bar — they begin to see each other more clearly. During meals and conversations and an eventful trip to Nara, mother and son try as best they can to determine where “home” really is — and whether they can even find it in one another. Written with understated humor and an open heart, moving through past and present and across Houston, Jamaica, and Japan, Bryan Washington’s Palaver is an intricate story of family, love, and the beauty of a life among others.”
Oni Press: “When Lamont arrives in the tiny Appalachian town of Heaven, West Virginia, its lush landscape feels stubbornly at odds with the roiling anxiety that’s come to define his inner life. Living there and learning the art of foraging and tea-making from his kind, stoic aunt LaToya should be idyllic — even a paradise. But in the shadows of Heaven’s woods, Lamont sees a dark, hulking figure, long, glimmering teeth, and piercing red eyes. No one else seems to see this beast… not his aunt, and not the handsome cowboy, Coyote, whose gentle voice evokes the comforting, electric aroma of LaToya’s brews. Escaping its voraciously hungry pursuit feels impossible, and Lamont will have to face more than the darkness of the woods to do so.”
Acre: “As a front-line physician, M. Cynthia Cheung started writing poetry during the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her remarkable debut collection, Common Disaster, chronicles these experiences. Confronting not just the coronavirus but also war crimes and the death of loved ones, Cheung shows us that the pandemic is only one of many disasters we hold in common. In poems that look to both the past and future, she takes a stand against the extinction of self and memory, challenging the violence of erasure.”
Blair: “Hal Crowther is a writer who has made a long and illustrious career with sharp political and social commentary in the pages of national and regional outlets, from Time to the Atlanta Constitution to the Oxford American. In this collection, Crowther turns his attention once again to the Bible Belt, the American South, where he finds plenty of fodder for the blues: the descent from George Washington to Donald Trump, the difficulty of finding civil political discourse in a world where folks spew vitriol from behind their keyboards, Klan members marching down the street in Crowther’s hometown, the infantilization of culture (starring Mark Zuckerberg), the continued intertwining of religion and governance, and more.”
Celadon: “An insanely competitive housing market. A desperate buyer on the edge. In Marisa Kashino’s darkly humorous debut novel, Best Offer Wins, the white picket fence becomes the ultimate symbol of success — and obsession. How far would you go for the house of your dreams? Dark, biting, and laugh-out-loud funny, Best Offer Wins is a propulsive debut and a razor-sharp exploration of class, ambition, and the modern housing crisis.”
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