Once again it’s time for a quick recap of this year’s reads. As in past years, these are the best books of 2025 that I read. Not the best books anyone could have read, or the best books published that year. Instead, these are just the best books I read and a good list of books that you should read in 2026.
Horror
Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLioue (review forthcoming). This is a well-written fast read that takes good advantage of technology and modern horror. The end waffles a bit, overall this is a fun ghost story.
The Country Under Heaven by Frederic Durbin. This might very well be the best book I read in 2025. You should absolutely read it too.
Old Country by Matt Query. Also superb, to the point where I used it as a framework for a series on horror earlier this year. What’s terrifying about a beautiful ranch in Idaho? Read the book and find out.
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canes. (Reviewed here) I still maintain that if vampires existed, the US military would absolutely weaponize them.
Science Fiction
The Martian by Andy Weir. Long after Matt Damon was stuck on Mars, I finally read the novelization of the movie. Kidding! But I did just read it this year. And it is fantastic.
Biography
Lives of the Caesars by Suetonius, trans. Tom Holland. When he’s not web-slinging around New York, he’s translating Latin for us. And doing an excellent job of it with excellent materials.
Reagan: An American Journey by Bob Spitz. A phenomenal biography of a phenomenal man. The standout moment to me was Reagan as a sports broadcaster on the radio. Apparently, all he had to work with was each play sent by telegram. “Player x, hit; Player y, run.” He had to fill in all the details himself without being able to see the game. That… I could not do that.
Memoirs by Ulysses S Grant. Yet another book I had dragged my feet about getting into. But boy was I wrong–this book was excellent. Grant was a great general and an even greater human being. Just a decent guy all around.
Culture
Life in the Negative World by Aaron Renn. This book was so good I assigned it to a reading group. Really excellent stuff.
Scrolling Ourselves to Death by Brett McCracken and Ivan Mesa. Go ahead and put this book in the “I agree with everything it says but won’t actually make any life changes” stack.
Religion
A Heart Aflame for God by Matthew Bingham. How do you grow in holiness? Read this book to find out! (And your Bible, of course…)
Tim Keller on the Christian Life by Matt Smethurst. (Reviewed here) I cannot stress enough how good this book is. We should all learn from Tim Keller, and this book is good gateway in doing so.
Dr. Coyle Neal co-hosts the City of Man Podcast and is an Amazon Associate (which is linked in this blog). He teaches Political Science, Philosophy, and History in Southwest Missouri.
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