New Books

If you are looking for your next favourite read, why not try one of these five buzzed-about novels published in the summer of 2025? We've put together a summary of the new fiction books that have caught our eye this season, from the latest, brilliantly ambitious offering from Susan Choi to the most hotly anticipated debut novels.

Every year, the judges of the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction highlight the very best new books published in that genre over the past twelve months. In 2025, the six book shortlist features historical novels set as widely apart as ancient Sicily, 16th-century England, and 20th century Holland. Here, judge Katharine Grant talks us through their selection.

From the death of Stalin and the career of Putin's chef to shaministic rituals on the Indonesian island of Siberut, Five Books editor Sophie Roell gives an overview of some of the excellent new nonfiction books that have appeared since April.

It's a golden age for historical writing, as well-researched and sometimes quite specialist books by historians are written in an engaging style for a broad audience. History books out in recent months range from ancient Assyria to the CIA in the 21st century.

Welcome to our running list of the best mystery books of 2025, which we'll be updating throughout the year. Our definition of mystery is broad, and can include any novel that has a crime at its heart with (ideally) an unexpected plot twist. Throughout the year, we'll be looking out for new mystery books as they're published and adding them whenever we think they're worth reading.

Every year, the judges for the Royal Society Book Prize search for the most informative and most readable new books on scientific subjects. In 2025, their shortlist of the best popular science books includes a history of extinction in the colonial world, and the heartrending story of the struggle to save the world's first seed bank during the Siege of Leningrad. We spoke to the botanist Dr Sandra Knapp, chair of the judging panel.

Lots of new economics books are published each year, catering to a range of readers. Many are aimed at non-economists, trying to explain what the subject is about. Others focus mainly on how economics has been interpreted or used by politicians, with lots of analysis of 'neoliberalism' in particular over the past few years. Within academia, economics is normally expressed in equations, with new work published in article form and only occasionally as books.

The Arthur C Clarke award highlights six outstanding science fiction books every year. The judges look for books that reward re-reading and make them think, says chair of judges Andrew M. Butler. He introduces this year’s shortlist, taking in everything from time travel to heist novels: books that provoke questions, confront crises, and make us laugh.

The Pushkin House Book Prize is awarded annually for a nonfiction book that encourages "public understanding and intelligent debate about Russia." Political scientist Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, chair of this year's judging panel, talks us through the six fantastic books shortlisted in 2025, illuminating different parts of Russia's politics and history — from the memoir of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison in 2024, to a history of the Russian Orthodox Church and its role in propping up political regimes from the Middle Ages to the present.

Philosophy books, at their best, open the door to thinking about how to live our lives and interact with the world around us. Fortunately, the past decade has seen many popular philosophy books published that are highly readable. Some (e.g., books on Stoicism) verge on self-help, others on how to help others. Some introduce the thought of a particular philosopher, others on the skills philosophy teaches, like critical thinking.