
Your 2025 reading list, sorted
The most anticipated releases of the year — from moving memoirs to personal accounts of activism that help you get a grip on the world — are coming to a shelf near you.
We Do Not Part
By Han Kang
Blurring the boundaries between dream and reality, this latest novel by the 2024 Nobel Prize winner revolves around the friendship between two women while confronting a hidden chapter in Korean history. After an injury lands Inseon in the hospital, she begs her friend Kyungha to do what seems to be a simple task: travel to her home on Jeju Island and care for her beloved pet bird called Ama. Once Kyungha arrives, however, she is forced to grapple with the devastating effects of the Jeju Uprising in a town beset by icy wind and snow squalls. Lost in a snowstorm, she does not yet suspect the vertiginous plunge into the darkness that lurks ahead. Han Kang’s most revelatory book since The Vegetarian, the disquietingly haunting We Do Not Part is a hymn to friendship, a poignant eulogy to the imagination and, above all, a celebration of life.
The Emperor of Gladness
By Ocean Vuong
There is a powerful emotional undertow to the works that spring from Ocean Vuong’s sincerity and candour. If you are a fan of this Vietnamese-American poet’s debut On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, woven with passion and a presentiment of loss, you will most likely enjoy his second work too. Echoing similar themes, it delves deeper into the labour and loneliness that form the bedrock of American society. Hallmarks of the author’s writing, sharpened by his ability to showcase grit and grace through tenderness, are on full display in this big-hearted novel about an elderly widow succumbing to dementia, chosen family, unexpected friendship and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive. How far would you go to obtain one of life’s most precious and elusive gifts: a second chance?
Saving Five
By Amanda Nguyen
Nguyen grew up listening to anecdotes of Vietnamese refugees who looked to the stars for guidance as they fled war, famine, despair and violence, hoping to reach a land of hope and opportunity. These tales inspired this hopeful young woman, determined to become an astronaut, to attend Harvard University, where she majored in astrophysics. In 2013, however, Nguyen was tragically raped. In this heart-rending memoir of survival, she boldly chronicles the turmoil of her childhood, the sexual assaults on campus and her subsequent fight for justice, which ultimately led to the passing of the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act in 2016. From a Nobel Peace Prize nominee and one of the most influential activists of her time, this call to change the world emphasises the enduring power of speaking your truth, building a movement and never losing sight of one’s dreams.
Accidentally on Purpose
By Kristen Kish
Beneath the casual confidence that this Korean adoptee (and proud product of the Midwest) portrayed during her hosting stint on the culinary reality show Top Chef lies a foundation of deep-seated insecurity, Kish once disclosed. The super suave, Emmy-nominated emcee and chef could never have imagined her meteoric rise to success, especially considering that she spent her younger days as a carefree softball-tossing teen, a temp at a pretzel stand and, for a short time, a model. In this bare-it-all account, she reflects on her life and career with sincerity, while crafting a recipe for a life worth living. Like any great creative, Kish shares her heartfelt narrative so we can better understand our own.
Sunrise on the Reaping
By Suzanne Collins
“When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?” Four years after releasing a Hunger Games prequel (The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which uncovers the origin story of President Coriolanus Snow’s villainous character), Collins is returning to Panem with a new adventure. Set 24 years before protagonists Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark entered the arena, Sunrise on the Reaping trains the spotlight on District 12’s Haymitch Abernathy — a valiant fighter whom long-time fans will remember as Katniss’ mentor in the famed trilogy. Once again, children from the country’s districts are forced to fight to the death for the Capitol’s entertainment as a brutal reminder of past failed rebellions. The 50th edition of the Games proves to be the most gruesome yet, with twice as many tributes taken from their homes to compete.
Matriarch
By Tina Knowles
What do we know about the woman who raised two chart-topping daughters — Beyoncé and Solange — while running a hair salon in Houston, Texas? Not much, since the journalist-averse Queen Bey typically avoids sharing minutiae about her family, except when it comes to praising her mama. “She surrounded us with a positive, powerful, strong image of African and African-American art so we could reflect and see ourselves in them. She has always been invested in making women feel beautiful,” the Grammy winner said. Matriarch finally gives Tina the chance to tell her story, from growing up as the youngest of seven in 1950s Galveston, Texas, to overcoming parenting pains that helped her become one of the most famous mothers in the world.
Holy Ground
By Catherine Coleman Flowers
The American environmental health researcher and member of the Joe Biden Task Force on Climate Change has dedicated her life to fighting for the most vulnerable communities: rural folks living in toxic conditions and those deprived of safe water and sanitation. Unapologetically personal and urgently political, the engaging essays in Holy Ground not only examine the author’s diverse ancestry and challenges but also shed light on the struggles of her mother, a civil rights activist who lost her life to gun violence. One of TIME’s Most Influential People of 2023, this righteous trailblazer puts forth an insightful analysis on how to address social and environmental injustice on both local and global scales.
Three Days in June
By Anne Tyler
What happens when a daughter’s wedding stirs up uncomfortable memories for a divorced couple? The bride’s mum, schoolteacher Gail Baines, discovers that not only has she been passed over to replace the retiring headmistress, but the new recruit is bringing her own deputy along as well. Worse, Gail has not been invited to the spa day organised by the groom’s mother, and her ex-husband Max arrives unannounced, carrying a cat, without a place to stay and an appropriate suit for the big day. Told with sensitivity and a tart sense of humour, Pulitzer Prize-winning Tyler’s novel turns the heartbreaks of love and marriage into familial lessons we can all take a page from.
This article first appeared on Jan 13, 2024 in The Edge Malaysia.