Readworthy by BookBub This Month’s Best New Award Winners In a sea of outstanding new releases, which literary prize winners and finalists stood out this year? We’ve rounded up 2025’s biggest, buzziest award contenders that deserve a spot on your TBR list. ---------------------------------- The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabih Alameddine This sensational novel from ‘a writer with boundless imagination’ (NPR) has the book world abuzz - The winner of 2025’s National Book Award for Fiction <i>and</i> the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction - Outside the tiny apartment Raja shares with his elderly mother, Beirut is in turmoil — but Raja’s search for love and hope is eternally optimistic - “It’s a ravishing performance… Skillfully juxtaposes unflinching depictions of war and deprivation with the narrator’s joie de vivre” (<i>Publishers Weekly</i>) Media Praise: The New Yorker, Time Magazine, NPR, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, The Guardian, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, BookPage, Literary Hub Buy Now: Amazon https://r.bookbub.com/et_active_check/5839?affiliate_variant=readworthy-emai... Learn More: https://www.bookbub.com/readworthy/books/the-true-true-story-of-raja-the-gul... Flesh by David Szalay The winner of this year’s Booker Prize is a profound coming-of-age story - A finalist for the Kirkus Prize and a Best Book of the Year according to <i>The New York Times</i>, <i>Publishers Weekly</i>, and <i>Kirkus Reviews</i> - This haunting portrait of a Hungarian man attempting to overcome shocking childhood trauma “will leave readers in awe” (<i>Publishers Weekly</i> starred review) - “There’s brilliance on every page. Szalay is an ingenious conductor of time, and of the fates and forces that give shape to a life” (Samantha Harvey, author of <i>Orbital</i>) Media Praise: NPR, PBS, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, People, The Economist, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Financial Times, USA Today, Esquire, Vulture, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, The Times, The Boston Globe, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Literary Hub Buy Now: Amazon https://r.bookbub.com/et_active_check/5715?affiliate_variant=readworthy-emai... Learn More: https://www.bookbub.com/readworthy/books/flesh-by-david-szalay?granted_at=20... Buckeye by Patrick Ryan Amazon’s Best Book of 2025 is ‘refreshingly timeless’ (<i>The New York Times</i>) - Jenna Bush Hager calls her September book club pick “a once-in-a-decade novel” - Across generations, two Midwestern families find their lives irrevocably transformed by the consequences of a shattering secret - Rave reviews from Ann Patchett, Ann Napolitano, and Chris Whitaker, who says, “It’s my book of the year. I couldn’t love it more” - An instant <i>New York Times</i> bestseller Media Praise: TODAY Book Club/Read with Jenna, NPR, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, People, The Washington Post, Financial Times, The Guardian, Indie Next List, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, BookPage, Literary Hub Buy Now: Amazon https://r.bookbub.com/et_active_check/5739?affiliate_variant=readworthy-emai... Learn More: https://www.bookbub.com/readworthy/books/buckeye-by-patrick-ryan?granted_at=... One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad <i>The Guardian</i> praises the National Book Award winner for Nonfiction as ‘damn hard to put down’ - “Exceptionally powerful, as a howl of rage and grief against the status quo must be” (<i>Financial Times</i>) - This <i>New York Times</i> bestselling manifesto argues the West has betrayed its own core values with its indifference to the war in Gaza - “With precision and passion, [El Akkad] compels readers to close the emotional distance between ‘us’ and ‘them’” (<i>The New York Times</i>) Media Praise: Time Magazine, NPR, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, Financial Times, USA Today, Foreign Policy, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, The Millions, Electric Literature, Literary Hub Buy Now: Amazon https://r.bookbub.com/et_active_check/5838?affiliate_variant=readworthy-emai... Learn More: https://www.bookbub.com/readworthy/books/one-day-everyone-will-have-always-b... Three Days in June by Anne Tyler The 25th novel from a beloved Pulitzer Prize–winning author is an instant classic - This Goodreads Choice Finalist for Fiction and <i>New York Times</i> bestseller “is like reading a hug” (<i>Star Tribune</i>) - On the eve of her daughter’s wedding, Gail’s ex-husband appears on her doorstep… - “To read a novel by Anne Tyler is to fall in love” (<i>People</i>) Media Praise: Time Magazine, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, People, The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Times, The Boston Globe, The Times Literary Supplement, Indie Next List, Library Reads, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Literary Hub Buy Now: Amazon https://r.bookbub.com/et_active_check/5810?affiliate_variant=readworthy-emai... Learn More: https://www.bookbub.com/readworthy/books/three-days-in-june-by-anne-tyler?gr... Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser Barnes & Noble booksellers across the country crowned this 2025’s Book of the Year! - Ten-year-old Mona is losing her eyesight — so every Wednesday for a year, her grandfather takes her around Paris to show her as much beauty as possible - This sensational international bestseller and “life-affirming narrative” (<i>Booklist</i>) is sure to captivate US readers - James Daunt, Barnes & Noble’s CEO, raves, “This is a novel for everyone, a gentle, moving tale about family, beauty, and the fleeting moments that make lasting memories” Media Praise: People, Parade, The Guardian, The Times, The Boston Globe, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Literary Hub Buy Now: Amazon https://r.bookbub.com/et_active_check/5740?affiliate_variant=readworthy-emai... Learn More: https://www.bookbub.com/readworthy/books/mona-s-eyes-by-thomas-schlesser?gra... Every Living Thing by Jason Roberts An epic scientific rivalry comes alive in this ‘enthralling’ work of history (<i>Publishers Weekly</i>) - 2025’s Pulitzer Prize winner for Biography is “an entertaining compendium of fascinating facts” (<i>The Spectator) - In the 18th century, two men set out to document every species on Earth. How did their conflicting viewpoints shape our understanding of nature today? - “Engaging and thought-provoking… Focused on the theatrical politics and often deeply troubling science that shape our definitions of life on Earth” (<i>The New York Times</i>) Media Praise: NPR, PBS, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, The Economist, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Literary Hub Buy Now: Amazon https://r.bookbub.com/et_active_check/5814?affiliate_variant=readworthy-emai... Learn More: https://www.bookbub.com/readworthy/books/every-living-thing-by-jason-roberts... James by Percival Everett This unforgettable ‘masterpiece’ (<i>Chicago Tribune</i>) earned the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction - Reimagines <i>Adventures of Huckleberry Finn</i> from the perspective of Jim, an enslaved man who accompanies Huck Finn down the river - “Remarkable… Subversive and thrilling, <i>James</i> is destined to become a modern classic” (<i>Esquire</i>) - Also won the 2024 National Book Award for Fiction and the Kirkus Prize for Fiction — and landed a film deal with Steven Spielberg Media Praise: The New Yorker, NPR, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, Oprah Daily, The Atlantic, People, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Financial Times, USA Today, Vanity Fair, Esquire, Bustle, Elle, Vulture, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Guardian, The Times, The Boston Globe, Variety, Indie Next List, Library Reads, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, BookPage, Electric Literature, Literary Hub Buy Now: Amazon https://r.bookbub.com/et_active_check/5841?affiliate_variant=readworthy-emai... Learn More: https://www.bookbub.com/readworthy/books/james-by-percival-everett-2025-11-2... The Compound by Aisling Rawle <i>The New York Times</i> calls this acclaimed Goodreads Choice finalist ‘an <i>Animal Farm</i> for our age’ - A <i>Good Morning America</i> Book Club pick that’s “every bit as addictive as your favorite guilty pleasure… but with all the substance of a literary classic” (<i>Oprah Daily</i>) - Twenty contestants arrive on a remote desert compound to compete on a reality show — but the line between winning and making it out alive soon becomes blurred - One of 2025’s best books, according to <i>Oprah Daily</i> and <i>Good Housekeeping</i> Media Praise: Good Morning America Book Club, Book of the Month, Time Magazine, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, Oprah Daily, People, Harper's Bazaar, Good Housekeeping, Vulture, Forbes, Reactor, Indie Next List, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Booklist, Literary Hub Buy Now: Amazon https://r.bookbub.com/et_active_check/5812?affiliate_variant=readworthy-emai... Learn More: https://www.bookbub.com/readworthy/books/the-compound-by-aisling-rawle?grant... The God of the Woods by Liz Moore The 2025 Anthony Award went to this ‘expertly paced’ family mystery (<i>The New Yorker</i>) - Don’t wait any longer to read one of 2024’s biggest novels, which spent months on the <i>New York Times</i> bestsellers list! - When a teen girl vanishes from an Adirondack summer camp, it’s a disturbing echo of her brother’s disappearance 14 years earlier - “Breaking free of the spell Moore casts is close to impossible” (<i>The Washington Post</i>) Media Praise: Book of the Month, The New Yorker, Time Magazine, NPR, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, Oprah Daily, The Washington Post, Financial Times, USA Today, Vogue, Bustle, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Parade, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Indie Next List, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Booklist, Literary Hub Buy Now: Amazon https://r.bookbub.com/et_active_check/5815?affiliate_variant=readworthy-emai... Learn More: https://www.bookbub.com/readworthy/books/the-god-of-the-woods-by-liz-moore?g... King of Kings by Scott Anderson An ‘exceptional and important’ history of the Iranian Revolution (<i>The New York Times</i>) - This groundbreaking, <i>New York Times</i> bestselling narrative history won the Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction - The acclaimed author of <i>Lawrence in Arabia</i> unearths the full story behind one of the most consequential events of the 20th century - “A must-read for anyone looking to understand the origins of the Middle East’s most dangerous regime” (Pulitzer Prize–winning author Joby Warrick) Media Praise: The New Yorker, NPR, The New York Times/The New York Times Book Review, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Times, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist Buy Now: Amazon https://r.bookbub.com/et_active_check/5434?affiliate_variant=readworthy-emai... Learn More: https://www.bookbub.com/readworthy/books/king-of-kings-by-scott-anderson?gra... ---------------------------------- Discover more Readworthy recommendations: https://www.bookbub.com/readworthy/collections/best-new-book-club-picks?gran... ---------------------------------- You are receiving this Award Winners email because [email protected] is signed up for updates highlighting the best new releases in your categories. If you'd like to change the Readworthy emails you receive, you can update your categories here: https://www.bookbub.com/readworthy/settings/categories?granted_at=2025-11-20.... Purchases through our links may earn us a commission. If you'd like to update the retailer links included in Readworthy emails, you can update your format and retailer preferences here: https://www.bookbub.com/readworthy/settings/reading-preferences?granted_at=2.... 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