December 2025 list by Donalee Jacobs |
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Across the Universe
by Natan Last
Today, 36 million Americans solve crosswords once a week or more, and nearly 23 million solve them daily. Longtime New Yorker crossword contributor Natan Last explores contemporary challenges to creating the word games, including the impact of social and cultural changes, and a larger, younger, more tech-savvy group of puzzle solvers.
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Blank Space
by W. David Marx
Over the past twenty-five years, pop culture has suffered from a perplexing lack of reinvention. We've entered a cultural blank space--an era when reboots, rehashes, and fads flourish, while bold artistic experimentation struggles to gain recognition. Acclaimed cultural historian W. David Marx combines sociological, economic, and political insights with a deep dive into art, street culture, fashion, and technology to understand the chaos of the twenty-first century and how we might push our culture forward over the next quarter century.
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The Breath of the Gods
by Simon Winchester
Bestselling author Simon Winchester returns with a thought-provoking history of the wind. In 2022, a report was released by atmospheric scientists at the University of Northern Illinois, warning that winds are expected to steadily increase in the years ahead. This means wind will strengthen in power, speed, and frequency resulting in increased disasters while simultaneously aiding in wind power. Between these two poles--wind as a malevolent force, and wind as savior of our planet--lies a world of fascination, history, literature, science, poetry, and engineering which Simon Winchester explores with the curiosity and vigor that are the hallmarks of his bestselling works.
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Countdown to Riches
by Rhonda Byrne
Countdown to Riches, the latest from the bestselling author of The Secret, reveals simple, proven wealth-attracting practices that are easily incorporated into daily life, and that will rapidly change the financial circumstances of anyone who applies them. In these pages, you can find life-changing practices leading to financial freedom, unlock the power of the mind to create a rich life in every sense, adopt new habits that will create and maintain wealth, and learn profound wisdom about our world and how life really works.
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Family of Spies
by Christine Kuehn
It began with a letter from a screenwriter, asking Christine about a little known family history. Her family, the Kuehns, were a prominent Berlin family, who saw the rise of the Nazis as a way out of the hard times that had befallen them. The family was sent to Hawaii, to work as spies, where they established an intricate spy operation from their home, passing secrets to the Nazi's and Japanese. This propulsive, never-before-told story of the family's shocking involvement reveals their pivotal role in the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
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The Finest Hotel in Kabul
by Lyse Doucet
When the Inter-Continental Kabul opened in 1969, Afghanistan's first luxury hotel symbolized a dream of a modernizing country connected to the world. More than fifty years on, the Inter-Continental is still standing. It has endured Soviet occupation, multiple coups, a grievous civil war, a US invasion and the rise, fall and rise of the Taliban. History lives within its scarred windows and walls. Lyse Doucet, the BBC's Chief International Correspondent, has been checking into the Inter-Continental since 1988. And here, she uses its story to craft a richly immersive history of modern Afghanistan. The result is a remarkably vivid history of how Afghans have survived a half century of destruction and disruption.
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Girls Play Dead
by Jen Percy
A lyrical and groundbreaking exploration of the misunÂderstood ways women survive and forever carry trauma from the award-winning New York Times Magazine writer Jen Percy. Drawing on original reporting, years of conversations with survivors, and her own life story, Percy explores the surprising ways in which responses to sexual violence are shaped by both evolutionary instinct and gendered scripts. Girls Play Dead meaningfully expands the language available to survivors and complicates our expectations of how a trauma story should sound--especially when belief, justice, and healing are contingent on how well a story makes sense.
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The Greatest Sentence Ever Written
by Walter Isaacson
To celebrate America's 250th anniversary, Walter Isaacson takes readers on a deep dive into the creation of one of history's most powerful sentences: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.' Drafted by Thomas Jefferson and edited by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, this line lays the foundation for the American Dream and defines the common ground we share as a nation. Isaacson unpacks its genius, word by word, illuminating the then-radical concepts behind it and its ongoing importance for the country.
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The History of Money
by David McWilliams
In The History of Money, McWilliams takes us across the world, from the birthplace of money in ancient Babylon to the beginning of trade along the Silk Road, from Marrakech markets to Wall Street. Along the way, we meet a host of innovators, emperors, frauds, and speculators, who have disrupted society and transformed the way we live. Filled with memorable anecdotes, and with a foreword by Michael Lewis, The History of Money is an essential, extremely readable history of humanity's most consequential invention.
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Hope in Action
by Sanna Marin
Sanna Marin, the world's youngest prime minister when she took office in Finland, shares her inspiring path to leadership and encourages readers to effect change in the world. Through vivid retellings of her experiences, Marin shares how she overcame significant political challenges and how she coped with her personal life becoming public, while urging the next generation of leaders to bring their full selves to the job.
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John Candy
by Paul Myers
From his humble beginnings in sketch comedy with the Toronto branch of Second City, to his rise to fame in SCTV and Hollywood film classics like Planes, Trains and Automobiles, The Great Outdoors, and Uncle Buck, John Candy captivated audiences with his self-deprecating humor, emotional warmth, and gift for improvisation. Now, for the first time since Candy's tragic death, bestselling biographer Paul Myers tells the full story of the man behind the laughs.
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The Joy of Solitude
by Robert J. Coplan
An engaging, practical guide through the promises and paradoxes of solitude, offering science-backed advice for getting the most out of your alone time and deepening your relationship with yourself and others.
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Life On a Little-Known Planet
by Elizabeth Kolbert
A landmark collection of Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Kolbert's most important pieces about climate change and the natural world. An intrepid reporter and a skillful translator of scientific idees, Kolbert expertly captures the wonders of nature and paints vivid portraits of the researchers and concerned citizens working to preserve them. She takes readers all around the globe, from an island in Denmark that went carbon neutral, to a community in Florida that voted to give rights to waterways, to the Greenland ice sheet, which is melting in a way that has implications for everyone.
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Magnetic
by Rochelle Fox
In Magnetic, meditation teacher and personal growth coach Rochelle Fox guides readers through the secrets of magnetism, equipping them with the ultimate law of attraction toolkit for mastering their subconscious mind and directing their attention and energy toward turning their dream life into reality-starting now. Readers will learn to tap into the three pillars of magnetism: - Mindset to calm the chaos of your past - Meditation to make room for new in the present - Manifesting to curate the future of your dreams and elevate your life
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The Miracles Among Us
by Marc Siegel
From Fox News Senior Medical Analyst and Clinical Professor of Medicine at NYU Langone Health, Dr. Marc Siegel, comes a collection of powerful, true-life stories of healing, faith, and surprise, complete with a beautiful prayer guide inside.
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Nightmare Obscura
by Michelle Carr
In Nightmare Obscura, dream researcher Michelle Carr unlocks the science behind the sleeping body, exploring the relationship between dreams and mental health, with a deep dive into the neuroscience behind some of the most interesting aspects of dreaming: nightmares, lucid dreams, and the cutting-edge field of dream engineering.
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Notes on Being a Man
by Scott Galloway
Bestselling author, NYU professor, and cohost of the Pivot podcast Scott Galloway offers a path forward for men and parents of boys. Boys and men are in crisis. Boys are less likely to graduate from high school or college than girls. One in seven men reports having no friends, and men account for three of every four deaths of despair in America. Galloway explores what it means to be a man in modern America. He promotes healthy masculinity and mental strength. He shares his own story from boyhood to manhood and his life raising two boys and the lessons learned along the way. With unflinching honesty, Scott Galloway maps out an enriching, inspiring operator's manual for being a man today.
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The Outsider
by Vir Das
When comedian and actor Vir Das found himself stranded on a pier in Cozumel, Mexico, watching his cruise ship sail away without him due to visa issues, it became a metaphor for his life. As a child, Vir bounced from India to Lagos, Nigeria, and back again. He navigated life between worlds, never quite fitting in. The Outsider is more than just a memoir about Vir's rise to comedic fame; it's a powerful reflection on how being a misfit can shape one's identity into something truly unique. Vir's story speaks to anyone who has ever felt out of place, serving as a testament to the resilience and humor that can arise when you resist the urge to fit in, and stay true to who you are.
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Ozzy & Me
by Stephen Rea
Stephen Rea was born in Northern Ireland in 1969, the same year The Troubles began. Violence was everywhere. He found refuge in heavy metal--especially the music of Ozzy Osbourne. In late 1984, he read about a festival in Rio de Janeiro called Rock In Rio whose bill included Osbourne. His mother began a correspondence with Osbourne's secretary, who scored the family VIP passes and introduced them to Osbourne in Brazil. Thus began a friendship with Ozzy and the rest of the Osbourne family. While traveling on tour in the mid-nineties, Ozzy gifted Stephen a pair of fancy leather notebooks and told him to keep a record of their adventures and conversations. The result is Ozzy & Me.
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The Rembrandt Heist
by Anthony M. Amore
On April 14, 1975, Myles Connor, already a known art thief, entered the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in disguise along with a cohort. The pair went directly the Dutch Gallery and proceeded to remove Portrait of Elsbeth van Rijn from its place on the wall. After a brief scuffle with the guards the pair was gone, leaving behind no traceable evidence. Filled with unforgettable personalities and non-stop action and intrigue, The Rembrandt Heist lays out the anatomy of this notorious art theft while describing the criminal genius that is Myles Connor and the complexity of the relationship between lifelong friends.
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Rivers Always Reach the Sea
by Monte Burke
Thirty-one essays and profiles of some of the biggest names in angling, including Lefty Kreh and Andy Mill--take the reader from the rainforests of Chile to the windswept tundra of Russia, from the remote mangrove-choked basins of Florida's Everglades to the congested littoral zone of New York City, and to many places in between. The quarry includes trout, Atlantic salmon, tarpon, bonefish and striped bass, but the real quest is for something else entirely. Told in a voice described by the novelist, Carl Hiaasen, as funny, wistful, and wonderful, the stories keep the focus on the why of the sport of fly fishing.
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The Self-Fed Farm and Garden
by Eliot Coleman
Renown organic grower and best-selling author Eliot Coleman presents the organic method as the self-sustaining system it was meant to be, rooted in soil health care. With clarity and confidence born from years of experience, he shows readers how they can shift to a model that continually recharges the soil with organic matter, thus allowing the soil food web to provide all the nutrients that crops need for healthy growth and excellent yields.
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Shibui
by Sanae Ishida
Shibui introduces readers to a transformative Japanese approach to aging that celebrates the subtle beauty, wisdom, and joy that emerge with time. Through engaging personal essays and practical activities, Japanese-American author Sanae Ishida presents a refreshing alternative to Western anti-aging messages. Each chapter explores a different dimension of aging beautifully: beauty (bi), health (kenkou), purpose (mokuteki), wealth (tomi), connection (tsunagari), and approaching life's end (owari).
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Simply More
by Cynthia Erivo
In this vulnerable and enlightening book of life lessons, globally renowned performer Cynthia Erivo draws from her singular experience to show us how to embrace being too much and to live up to the fullest iteration of ourselves. Cynthia draws from her experiences running marathons, both real and metaphorical, onstage and onscreen, to show how each challenge can help us. She urges readers to lean into the wisdom of their bodies, to understand and strive for a physical and mental balance. Because when we chase our deepest desires, each small step leads us closer to where we want to go.
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Sisters of the Jungle
by Keriann McGoogan
Since the 1970s, the science of primatology has been dominated by women. Today, one of those women is primatologist Keriann McGoogan, who has traveled to the far corners of the earth in search of wild primates. In Sisters of the Jungle, McGoogan combines stories about her own studies of howler monkeys and lemurs with those of the women who paved the way: intrepid scientists like Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, Biruté Galdikas, and Alison Jolly who broke boundaries, made astonishing discoveries and ultimately shaped the trajectory of an entire branch of science.
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Together in Manzanar
by Tracy Slater
On a late March morning in the spring of 1942, Elaine Yoneda awoke to a series of terrible choices: between her family and freedom, her country and conscience, and her son and daughter. She was the child of Russian Jewish immigrants and the wife of a Japanese American man. On this war-torn morning, she was also a mother desperate to keep her young mixed-race son from being alone at Manzanar, a US concentration camp. Together in Manzanar tells the story of these painful choices and conflicting loyalties, the upheaval and violence that followed, and the Yonedas' quest to survive with their children's lives intact and their family safe and whole.
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Unfettered
by John Fetterman
In this candid memoir, United States Senator John Fetterman shares the story of his journey in public service, including unvarnished details of his life-threatening stroke and struggles with depression, the truth about what really happens in Washington, and his vision for navigating our divided country's future.
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Voices from the Kitchen
by Marc Meyer, ed.
Restaurants in the US would not exist without immigrant labor, begins Chef Marc Meyer's preface to this unique collection. With these words, Meyer centers the voices of the staff members who make his restaurants possible. All 27 of the contributors came to New York from another part of the world--Mexico, Bangladesh, Ivory Coast, and beyond--and all found their foothold in the restaurant industry. Their stories are a window into the staggering range of life experiences that immigrant workers carry with them. They are by turns funny, dark, poignant, surprising, and relatable.
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The Way Out
by Devon O'Neil
A harrowing, never-before-told story of life and death in the Colorado mountains that changed lives forever and forced a reckoning about the cost of adventure. You wanna ski a lap? Fifteen-year-old Cole Walters-Schaler couldn't resist. This was why they'd come to the backcountry, after all -- three fathers and four teenage children together for a bonding alpine getaway outside Salida, Colorado. Within minutes, Cole and Brett Beasley, a longtime Forest Service ranger and expert outdoorsman in his mid-forties, had pushed off from their cabin, expecting to be gone for a half hour or so. But an unforgiving blizzard transformed their quick jaunt into a thirty-hour ordeal that would end in tragedy, as the community raced to find them..
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Winning the Earthquake
by Lorissa Rinehart
The first major biography of Jeannette Rankin, the first American woman to hold federal office. Born on a Montana ranch in 1880, Jeannette Rankin knew how to talk to people and unite them around a shared vision for America. It was this rare skill that led her to become the first woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. As her first act, Rankin put forth the legislation that would become the Nineteenth Amendment. A suffragist, peace activist, workers' rights advocate, and champion of democratic reform who ran as a Republican, Rankin remained ever faithful to her beliefs, no matter the price she had to pay personally.
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