my favorite books + music of 2025

My favorite books and music of 2025.

Hi friends —

I’ve been sitting on this one for a few weeks now. I initially thought of writing about my ten favorite books and ten favorite albums released this year. As I started writing, it felt like I was forcing the list instead of being honest with it. So I left it and came back, and what I realized is that there was so much I enjoyed this year, but the things I loved. The ones I kept talking about over and over were a much smaller list.

Today I’m sharing the books and albums that stayed with me this year.

The books I cried to or kept telling everyone about, including: friends, booksellers, random people in comment sections on Substack, Instagram, or TikTok (my algorithm finally started serving me BookTok content). And the albums I could not stop talking about or singing along to in the car with my friends.

These books and albums entertained me, held space for something I was feeling, or just gave me the joy of great writing.

Without further ado, let’s get into my list:

MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Slanting Towards the Sea by Lidija Hilje
I had the privilege of interviewing Lidija recently, and talking to her about this novel only deepened my love and appreciation for it. I’ve mentioned before that I was initially drawn to this book by its beautiful cover, but this was such a beautiful, beautiful book. Slanting Towards the Sea is quiet, devastating, and achingly beautiful. It explores so many different themes: family, love, loss, grief, and Croatia. The writing was stunning. The characters and surroundings are vivid, and I appreciated how the backdrop of Croatia played such a big role—almost like an additional character. Since reading it, I’m still thinking about Ivona, the protagonist, and her connection with Vhalo. Hilje writes with such precision and tenderness, making every sentence feel carefully thought out.

If you haven’t watched/listened to my interview with Lidija, please do. Here’s a snippet of our conversation:

Heart the Lover by Lily King
I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book that made me feel as emotionally depleted as this one, but it really crushed me to my core. While that isn’t a good sales pitch—why read a book if you know it’s going to make you cry? I think the tears were due to the beauty of the writing. This was my first Lily King book, and it made me want to go back and read her earlier work, including Writers & Lovers, which connects to this book. King understands the messiness of human connection and knows how to draw readers in. The story focuses on a love triangle that spans time, split into three parts. While parts one and two provide context to the characters and their journey together, part three was the part that really grabbed my heart and drew me in.

Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley
When I say I make friends with the booksellers at my local Barnes & Noble, I’m not joking. I have one friend I love, Alice, and she suggested I read Deep Cuts. She said, based on our conversations, that this would be a book I’d love, and she was right. This is one of the first books I read this year, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. This was also the first book I read in every format: print, digital, and audiobook, because I needed to continue the story in all forms.

The book follows Percy, a music-obsessed college student who befriends Joe, a musician who doesn’t write the best music. We explore their friendship through the years, feelings, and perspectives in familiar terrain for me: they meet in Berkeley. Percy has worked at both Rasputin’s and Amoeba, which, if you know the Bay Area, you know. I love how music was intertwined throughout each chapter. The music mentioned almost creates a timestamp and soundtrack of the time. The book is sharp, funny, heartbreaking, and is also being adapted into a film for A24, which means it will be quirky and entertaining.

We Don’t Talk About Carol by Kristen L. Berry
We Don’t Talk About Carol, was one of my favorite books of the year, and a major flex is it was written by my friend Kristen (who also happens to be one of my favorite readers).

The book follows Sydney, a former journalist who makes an interesting discovery while cleaning her grandmother’s house. This starts a mystery and journey of discovery into her family history and the disappearance of Black female teens from 1963 to 1965. The book hooked me from the beginning and has so many layers: family secrets, motherhood, grief, and a true crime theme. This is one of those novels where you finish it and immediately want to pass it on to someone else—which I did, to my stepmom, my aunt, and even my book club.

If you haven’t watched/listened to my interview with Kristen, please do.

Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray
Whenever people ask me if I could teleport into another time period, that’s an easy answer for me: The Harlem Renaissance. The writing. The music. The glam. One of my favorite eras to read about, which is why I was so excited to read Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray. With this book, Victoria writes the story of Jessie Redmon Fauset, one of the people responsible for the Harlem Renaissance. Jessie was a Black literary editor who worked alongside W.E.B. Du Bois—but there was more to this story. She was a force.

I thought the writing was great. The only thing that annoyed me at times was Jessie’s alleged love affair with W.E.B. Du Bois, which was front and center, which also makes me wonder: 1) the validity, and 2) if this is why we don’t know her as we should. Truthfully, though, I truly enjoyed this book and talked about it for months after reading.

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Honorable Mentions: Dominion by Addie E. Citchens (Read as an audiobook, please. This has been my favorite audiobook I’ve ever listened to), The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson, Love You to Death by Christina Dotson (listen/watch our interview), The Great Mann by Kyra Davis Lurie, Matriarch by Tina Knowles, No Sense in Wishing by Lawrence Burney (a collection of essays, so beautifully written: nostalgia, hip-hop, family), Can’t Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan, Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

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MY FAVORITE ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

Giveon - Beloved
By now, if you’ve read this newsletter for some time, you know Giveon’s Beloved would make the list. I LOVED/LOVE this album so much (not to be confused with his Tiny Desk, which I did not enjoy). Via my Spotify Wrapped data, this album was my top album of the year, Giveon was my top artist of the year, and several songs from the album made it into my top five songs of the year.

I think this album showcases Giveon’s ability to make heartbreak and being a little bootsie (very Bay of me but so fitting—you can also replace it with triflin’) sound so beautiful. I’ve listened to this album every day to some capacity, whether a song or shuffling the album.

My favorite songs: “Mud,” “Avalanche,” "I Can Tell,” “Good Bad Ugly,” “Rather Be” “Keeper”

Olivia Dean - The Art of Loving
I LOVE THIS ALBUM.
That’s the whole note.

Well, no, let me add more.

Olivia really did her thing with this album. It’s beautiful. It’s vulnerable. It’s liberating. It’s heartwarming. And truthfully, it’s an album that makes me feel like a woman in all my dimensions. Olivia was inspired to write this album after visiting the Mickalene Thomas exhibit, All About Love, a response to the book of the same name by bell hooks. The result is an album full of layers about finding and honoring love in all formats, while also honoring yourself in the process.

My favorite songs: “Lady, Lady,” “A Couple of Minutes,” “Baby Steps,” “Let Alone the One You Love”

CARRTOONS - Space Cadet
Similar to Olivia Dean’s album, I LOVE THIS ALBUM. CARRTOONS describes Space Cadet as “about love and jealousy in the age of social media. The project represents me going back to the things that are the most important to me, and not worrying as much about people’s feedback.” That intention comes through in every track—this album feels like permission to stop performing and just be.

It’s become one of my most-played albums this year. Whether I’m deep in work mode, traveling, or just need good vibes without trying too hard, Space Cadet delivers. Collaborations with Phonte, Haile Supreme, Rae Khalil, and frequent collaborator Joanna Teters elevate the project as a whole. (Seriously, watch their Tiny Desk—Joanna’s vocals alone are worth it.)

My favorite songs: “Measure Up” featuring Joanna Teters (seriously my jam), “Space Cowboys” featuring jev and August Charles, “Sunshine” featuring Julia Zivic, and “Thursday Disco” featuring Haile Supreme

Durand Jones & The Indications - Flowers
If Space Cadet gave me space, Flowers gave me feelings. This album is pure soul—warm, generous, the kind of record that wraps around you like a favorite sweater.

Durand Jones & The Indications simply don’t know how to miss. They’re one of those groups that never disappoints me, no matter what they release, and Flowers might be their most excellent collection yet. It’s one of those albums where you press play, it ends, and you immediately press play again.

The album explores different topics, including love, loss, and the deep and glossy things, too. Durand Jones and Aaron Frazer trade lead vocals, which gives a real old-school vibe. With this album, you get slow, groovy R&B music with hints of disco throughout.

My favorite songs: “Flowers,” “Paradise,” “Been So Long,” “Really Wanna Be With You”

Kokoroko - Tuff Times Never Last
This was my most anticipated album of the year, and it absolutely delivered. I was already a fan, but the lead singles—”Sweetie,” “Closer to Me,” and “Just Can’t Wait”—had me hooked before the full album even dropped. Then they released their Tiny Desk on my birthday. A gift, truly.

Tuff Times Never Last is Kokoroko’s second album, and it’s a beautiful blend of neo-soul, disco, bossa nova, and funk. The vibe shifts from joyful to mellow to downright sexy, especially on “Idea 5 (Call My Name),” which features some of my favorite production and instrumentation of the entire year.

My favorite songs: Again “Idea 5 (Call My Name)” “Just Can’t Wait” “Closer to Me” “Time and Time” “Sweetie”

Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out
Fifteen years. That’s how long we waited for new Clipse, and Let God Sort Em Out was worth every single one of them. This album is a master class in how to return, sounding fresh and relevant in 2025’s hip-hop landscape without sacrificing the sound or substance that made them legendary in the first place.

One of the best things about this album? It holds a place for the diehard fans while also inviting new listeners into the fold. That balance is rare and difficult to pull off, but Clipse makes it look effortless.

The production and lyricism feel both current and classic, nodding to their previous work and earlier eras of the genre without ever sounding like a nostalgia play. Pusha T and No Malice haven’t just reunited—they’ve been revived. The chemistry, the precision, the bars—it’s all there, sharp as ever.

The Grammy nominations (several of them) are well-deserved. This is what a comeback should sound like: confident, essential, and proof that some artists don’t need to chase trends because they helped create them.

My favorites: “M.B.T.B.T.F” (that entrance alone + probably will not be a single), “E.B.I.T.D.A,” “P.O.V,” “So Be It,” and “Inglorious Bastards.”

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HONORABLE MENTIONS: Leisure Welcome to the Mood, Larry June, 2 Chainz & The Alchemist Life Is Beautiful, Terrace Martin & Kenyon Dixon Come As You Are, Bad Bunny DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, Joey Bada$$ Lonely At The Top, anaiis Devotion & The Black Divine, DESTIN CONRAD wHIMSY, Mereba The Breeze Grew a Fire, HAIM I quit, kwn With All Due Respect and Little Simz Lotus

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In a year that has felt so… weird and annoying at times, these books and albums made it more bearable, more beautiful, and more full. They reminded me why I love books and music so much: they can provide a necessary escape when needed.

Thank you so much for being here, for reading my newsletter, and for sharing your favorites with me all year long.

Here’s to 2026.

*pouring coffee in the cup* (I don’t know why I could not just say popping champagne for the new year, but whatever).