The best books of 2025 (so far)

Reading

It's only June, and yet we've already been blessed with a wealth of heart-rending memoirs, absorbing novels, and mind-expanding nonfiction. Here are just a few of the best books released in 2025 so far:

• The Antidote. An American epic that takes place in the 1930s in the fictional town of Uz, Neb., the story centers on a prairie witch called “the Antidote” who collects memories. But when a dust bowl devastates the town, it takes the witch’s memory deposits with it and leaves her fearful for her safety. Read more.

• The Audition. The unnamed narrator, a successful actress navigating a difficult new role, goes to a Manhattan restaurant to meet a younger man who claims he's her son. Which isn’t possible. Read more.

• The Emperor of Gladness. In his second novel, Ocean Vuong, 19-year-old Hai meets a dementia-stricken elderly woman who says he can move into her place if he’ll care for her. Read more.

• Gingko Season. There are many debut novels about young people finding love and seeking purpose, but few are as perceptive about the connection between those pursuits as Naomi Xu Elegant’s ruminative novel. Read more.

• Is a River Alive? Robert Macfarlane lends his expertise to raise awareness about a part of nature that is often taken for granted. Read more.

See the full list here.

Watching

• Materialists. Based on filmmaker Celine Song’s experiences as a matchmaker, this film honors the romantic comedy, though it’s more bittersweet than sweet. Read the review here.

• Ballerina. The new installment of the John Wick franchise may be silly, but its cathartic, cartoonish brutality and larger-than-life farces are reason enough to go to the movies. Read more.

• Mercy for None. Bloody and brutal, the backstabbing in this Netflix noir is both figurative and literal. We break down the ending here (spoilers ahead!).

Talking About

• Musician Sly Stone passed away on June 9 at the age of 82. TIME looks back on Stone’s legacy and his understanding of why America riots. Read more.

• Brian Wilson, co-founder of the Beach Boys, died on June 11, also at the age of 82. TIME takes a look at the legacy of his album Smile. Read here.

• The judge in Harvey Weinstein’s sex crimes retrial declared a mistrial on the final charge the disgraced movie mogul faced, a day after the jury delivered a split verdict on two other charges. Here’s what to know.