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The mid-way point of 2025 is July 1, but that hasn’t stopped several major outlets from beginning to name their best books of the year so far. Among the lists so far are those from Esquire, The New York Times, and Barnes & Noble. Today, we can add another big name to the best of lists roster: Amazon has released their best books of 2025 so far.
Amazon Books Editors selected 20 of the titles they deemed best from the books published between January and June. They also selected titles from an array of genres as best ofs, including literature and fiction, nonfiction, mystery and thrillers, romance, romantasy, science fiction and fantasy, history, biographies and memoirs, business, cookbooks, and children and YA books.
Here’s a look at 10 of the titles that made the cut:
The Amazon Book Editors noted that McConaghy’s novel stuck out as number one, calling Wild Dark Shore “a profound and propulsive novel about family and our fragile planet.”
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“Selecting the Best Books of the Year So Far is a tireless—and fun—process for the Amazon Books Editors. Over thousands of hours, we read across genres from authors both new and established, searching for the very best books that make us smile, think, cry, cringe, and pique our sense of wonder,” said Sarah Gelman, editorial director, Amazon Books. “Our top pick of the year so far, Wild Dark Shore, is a novel that masterfully evoked each of these emotions in our team, and beautifully highlights the imperfections of human nature even when we have the best intentions.”
You can read the full list of Amazon’s Best Books of 2025 so far over here, including picks from a wide span of genres. Want to learn more about why each of the titles were selected? Check ’em out here.
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