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The Best American Essays 2025: A Premier Showcase of Critically Acclaimed Personal Essays, Selected by Renowned Essayist Jia Tolentino
A collection of the year’s best essays, selected by critically acclaimed author and essayist, Jia Tolentino.
The Best American series, launched in 1915, is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction, and it is the most respected—and most popular—of its kind.
Jia Tolentino, critically acclaimed essayist, editor, and New Yorker staff writer, selects twenty essays out of thousands that represent the best examples of the form published the previous year.
The Best American series, launched in 1915, is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction, and it is the most respected—and most popular—of its kind.
Jia Tolentino, critically acclaimed essayist, editor, and New Yorker staff writer, selects twenty essays out of thousands that represent the best examples of the form published the previous year.
352 pages, Paperback
First published October 21, 2025
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December 27, 2025picked this up because i love everything jia tolentino ever does and also am trying to read more variety in essays rather than sticking to single author collections. my reading tastes are so voice-based that i’m not sure if that was the move—some of these were very good, but others i wish could’ve been replaced with tolentino essays as i think she would’ve done a better job—but nevertheless i think it was worthwhile to see the range of subjects, styles, and structures in here and to have many different ideas to ponder and learn about! particular favorites:
- aziza’s “the work of the witness”—tight, well-crafted, with a smart neat turn at the end that ties it all together; personal and compelling and challenges the reader, everything an essay should be
- alexis pauline gumbs’ “sea grape consciousness”—a reminder that a good essay can still be told in lovely prose, a reminder that the essay is a particularly adept form for tying together varying fields through a central thread
- eula biss, “love and murder in south africa”—such a precisely yet naturally crafted and structured essay, you see in this one why she is such a master at this
- mosab abu toha’s “the pain of travelling while palestinian”—a lot of people probably read this when it came out, and if they didn’t, should; tolentino describes best why this is such an excellent essay: “what I admired was its control, its aperture.”
- namwali serpell, “navel-gazing”—UGHHHHH i just love a smart, well-researched, well-written, well-argued essay. this was pretty perfect to me.
- jarek steele’s “nesting”—i like that this focused less on arguing a thesis or presenting research, and really just on narrative, which was a beautiful narrative
- laura preston, “an age of hyperabundance”—didn’t expect an essay about AI to grip me at every turn, but preston did it. a straightforward structure but compellingly written, letting her ironic turns do the work of driving forward her opinions before she takes over the closing argument with decisive prose
- aziza’s “the work of the witness”—tight, well-crafted, with a smart neat turn at the end that ties it all together; personal and compelling and challenges the reader, everything an essay should be
- alexis pauline gumbs’ “sea grape consciousness”—a reminder that a good essay can still be told in lovely prose, a reminder that the essay is a particularly adept form for tying together varying fields through a central thread
- eula biss, “love and murder in south africa”—such a precisely yet naturally crafted and structured essay, you see in this one why she is such a master at this
- mosab abu toha’s “the pain of travelling while palestinian”—a lot of people probably read this when it came out, and if they didn’t, should; tolentino describes best why this is such an excellent essay: “what I admired was its control, its aperture.”
- namwali serpell, “navel-gazing”—UGHHHHH i just love a smart, well-researched, well-written, well-argued essay. this was pretty perfect to me.
- jarek steele’s “nesting”—i like that this focused less on arguing a thesis or presenting research, and really just on narrative, which was a beautiful narrative
- laura preston, “an age of hyperabundance”—didn’t expect an essay about AI to grip me at every turn, but preston did it. a straightforward structure but compellingly written, letting her ironic turns do the work of driving forward her opinions before she takes over the closing argument with decisive prose
November 26, 2025
Typically, most essays in the annual Best American collection easily hold my interest and provide plenty of wisdom or entertainment, sometimes both. This year's collection, to my surprise, was somewhat of a slog.
The best ones were slices of memoir: "The Pain of Traveling While Palestinian" by Mosab Abu Toha; "A Little Slice of the Moon" by Summer Hammond, about breaking away from her Jehovah's Witnesses family; and "How to Love Animals" by Matthew Denton-Edmundson, about what he learned while raising goats.
Too many, including "On Boredom" and "Within the Pretense of No Pretense" read like academic research papers with a word count to reach.
The best ones were slices of memoir: "The Pain of Traveling While Palestinian" by Mosab Abu Toha; "A Little Slice of the Moon" by Summer Hammond, about breaking away from her Jehovah's Witnesses family; and "How to Love Animals" by Matthew Denton-Edmundson, about what he learned while raising goats.
Too many, including "On Boredom" and "Within the Pretense of No Pretense" read like academic research papers with a word count to reach.
March 7, 2026
Thoughts on the overall curation of this anthology and on the two introductions.
In the first introduction, a “Kim Dana Kupperman” doesn’t quote a religious leader, a political specialist or an economist: instead, she quotes JANE FONDA and she builds her whole point around what Fonda had to say in her latest untethered-from-reality delusional speech at the Screen Actors Guild.
No surprise, the speech was all about us living in “dark times” and a need to be socially rebellious — the intro actually ends with the words “in these dark times”, which it’s a clear red alert for a juvenile privileged leftie for whom politics has an existential dimension, in times when people’s levels of safety, health, freedom, financial security, comfort and entertainment are at their undisputed historic peak.
So — that’s the quality of the first introduction.
Then we get the second introduction, by the curator of this “anthology” of essays Jia Tolentino. She is a staff writer at the communist magazine The New Yorker.
Boy, I know it’s hard, but it’s even worse than the first introduction: its mainly about Gaza. I repeat: Gaza is the what an introduction of an anthology of essays spends most of its words on. That, and Greta Thunberg’s unbelievable courage.
Tolentino writes: “2024 did something to break my faith in representative democracy, and certainly in the party I’ve always voted for, which in the presidential election made it clear they would continue to support the GENOCIDE but differentiate themselves from the Republicans by performing sadness about it”.
She then explains why she decided to include 2 or 3 essays from Gazan writers in this anthology.
Honestly, I’m not here to explain why her political opinions are wrong, superficial and dumb, and I’m not even interested in bringing up the incalculable human value of all the people ignored by the left like — for example — the Sudanese, who went through a hell comparable and perhaps even worse than the Palestinians, at the same time, while the Western left didn’t give a flying hoot about them.
My point here is a simpler one: why do you all feel like injecting your politics in the arts and culture is a legitimate thing to do? At the very least, it’s childish and unwise. But it’s actually worse: it’s a cultural dictatorship, nothing less.
So, when the back cover of this book refers to “these times of authoritarianism”, ironically it is outlining the real problem while not being aware of it, because the only authoritarianism in 2026’s USA is the left’s unshakable grip on education, art and culture.
In the first introduction, a “Kim Dana Kupperman” doesn’t quote a religious leader, a political specialist or an economist: instead, she quotes JANE FONDA and she builds her whole point around what Fonda had to say in her latest untethered-from-reality delusional speech at the Screen Actors Guild.
No surprise, the speech was all about us living in “dark times” and a need to be socially rebellious — the intro actually ends with the words “in these dark times”, which it’s a clear red alert for a juvenile privileged leftie for whom politics has an existential dimension, in times when people’s levels of safety, health, freedom, financial security, comfort and entertainment are at their undisputed historic peak.
So — that’s the quality of the first introduction.
Then we get the second introduction, by the curator of this “anthology” of essays Jia Tolentino. She is a staff writer at the communist magazine The New Yorker.
Boy, I know it’s hard, but it’s even worse than the first introduction: its mainly about Gaza. I repeat: Gaza is the what an introduction of an anthology of essays spends most of its words on. That, and Greta Thunberg’s unbelievable courage.
Tolentino writes: “2024 did something to break my faith in representative democracy, and certainly in the party I’ve always voted for, which in the presidential election made it clear they would continue to support the GENOCIDE but differentiate themselves from the Republicans by performing sadness about it”.
She then explains why she decided to include 2 or 3 essays from Gazan writers in this anthology.
Honestly, I’m not here to explain why her political opinions are wrong, superficial and dumb, and I’m not even interested in bringing up the incalculable human value of all the people ignored by the left like — for example — the Sudanese, who went through a hell comparable and perhaps even worse than the Palestinians, at the same time, while the Western left didn’t give a flying hoot about them.
My point here is a simpler one: why do you all feel like injecting your politics in the arts and culture is a legitimate thing to do? At the very least, it’s childish and unwise. But it’s actually worse: it’s a cultural dictatorship, nothing less.
So, when the back cover of this book refers to “these times of authoritarianism”, ironically it is outlining the real problem while not being aware of it, because the only authoritarianism in 2026’s USA is the left’s unshakable grip on education, art and culture.
November 7, 2025
It feels like the essay is a dying art. Not that people aren't writing fantastic essays. This collection is proof they are. But as a reader, it has become familiar and comfortable to consume information and opinions in small, bite sized pieces. The essay gives writers space to craft something beautiful and thought-provoking. It provides room for nuance. I might not always agree with the author, but I can see how they got from here to there. The essay allows the reader to spend time with a concept, not scroll to the next thing but sit in any discomfort. Or wonder. I might not have enjoyed every essay but, like eating my veggies, I suspect they were all good for me. I appreciate the work which went into collecting and editing this year's volume. The narrators were carefully chosen for each piece. Thank you to everyone involved in crafting this fascinating collection of essays and NetGalley for the audioARC.
Every time I read one of these installments, I am reminded of how very much I enjoy them. I have been processing so many ideas with friends & family while reading, they probably feel like they read it too. Not only did I discover new writers, I also found new publications to explore. This was a lovely experience. It forced me to concentrate for an extended period of time. It introduced me to ideas and situations outside of my echo chamber. I was entertained in a meaningful way, like the difference between a deep conversation and small talk. I enjoy both but it seems easier to engage in small talk and skip the harder but ultimately more meaningful dialogues.
Every time I read one of these installments, I am reminded of how very much I enjoy them. I have been processing so many ideas with friends & family while reading, they probably feel like they read it too. Not only did I discover new writers, I also found new publications to explore. This was a lovely experience. It forced me to concentrate for an extended period of time. It introduced me to ideas and situations outside of my echo chamber. I was entertained in a meaningful way, like the difference between a deep conversation and small talk. I enjoy both but it seems easier to engage in small talk and skip the harder but ultimately more meaningful dialogues.
February 14, 2026
I love essays so much. They’re the perfect form. There are so so many good ones in here they compelled me to subscribe to three magazines. Gosh I love essays.
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February 26, 2026Not a fan of the essay they chose to close off this collection, but enjoyed the majority of them! A wide variety of timely subjects
October 24, 2025
Jia Tolentino deserves accolades for choosing such a diverse selection of essays that explore what the essay can be. From nonfiction short stories to pure think pieces and musings on current events (thankfully not too many), it's all here. Most of all the editors deserve praise for selecting some pieces that were either difficult or not easily likable. There was only one piece I disliked (Im not telling) but I was very pleased to read selections that I know others will dislike. I enjoyed this as much as any of the "Best American" series I have read.
November 2, 2025
Though a few of the essays were quite good, most were very focused on some current issue, dealing with Gaza, Palistinean issues, or other atrocities. Not much enjoyable reading.
November 22, 2025
Jia Tolentino remains one of the sharpest cultural critics we have, and she brings that same frightening lucidness to her role as editor here. I will literally read anything JT has her fingerprints on!
In past years, the “Best American” series can feel a bit like a grab bag. The selections are often technically proficient writing that doesn't always hang together. But Tolentino has curated this with a very specific, cohesive architectural logic. It feels less like a "greatest hits" of 2025 and more like a diagnostic manual for how to think clearly in an age of epistemic collapse.
The introduction alone is worth the price of the book. It’s a brilliant defense of the essay not as "content," but as a necessary space for hesitation and complexity. As for the selections, Jia avoids the trap of picking "hot takes" and instead favors pieces that have a lasting, textured interiority.
If you've felt like your brain has been flattened by the internet, social media, and doomscrolling this year, this collection is the antidote. Essential.
In past years, the “Best American” series can feel a bit like a grab bag. The selections are often technically proficient writing that doesn't always hang together. But Tolentino has curated this with a very specific, cohesive architectural logic. It feels less like a "greatest hits" of 2025 and more like a diagnostic manual for how to think clearly in an age of epistemic collapse.
The introduction alone is worth the price of the book. It’s a brilliant defense of the essay not as "content," but as a necessary space for hesitation and complexity. As for the selections, Jia avoids the trap of picking "hot takes" and instead favors pieces that have a lasting, textured interiority.
If you've felt like your brain has been flattened by the internet, social media, and doomscrolling this year, this collection is the antidote. Essential.
October 29, 2025
This collection has an appropriate sense of urgency and intention compared to last year's which was offensive at worst, uncompelling at best. Toletino has done a great job centering voices from Palestine and managing to include some voices that are quite radical. This year's collection also contains a trans essayist and does not have any radical feminist concern trolling. Reader's who dislike collections that weigh entirely towards personal essays will also be happy to hear the collection has a good chunk of purely academic essays. Sadly, the collection does feel sharply divided in terms of quality. The latter half has a much more out of touch, neoliberal feeling to it. Maybe it's Tolentino trying to include a diversity of thought, or Kupperman's influence, or some other factor, but I found some of the closing essays so vapid and irritating that it soured my feelings on the collection overall.
The Work of the Witness, Gone for a Spell, The Pain of Travelling While Palestinian, and An Age of Hyperabundance were all favorites of mine. Within the Pretense of No Pretense and Respect, the Missing Relation were both so bad that I was shocked they were presented alongside the rest of the collection. "Pretense" fails to pin down what is irritating about anti-intellectualism and instead posits some grand past which was more honest (read: meaner) that we only have to return to. "Respect" is a centrist rant straight out of 2016, where the author is happy to share his own open critiques of leftist academics while disparaging them for not tolerating all opposition silently with a big smile on their faces. The essay presents the old cliche of tolerating nazis as part of our democracy, but it falls even flatter when the nazis are in office, demonstrating what they do when offered tolerance. The essay contains every "enlightened centrist" cliche in its most irritating form. These two essays share an eccentricity with the similarly messy Literature Without Literature (an essay that presents valid critiques of a specific academic, but stretches those critiques as if they apply to all materialist analysis of publishing and the myth of the auteur as a concept) which is that they all seem distrustful of fields like psychology and sociology and attribute some negative social influence to them. None of them cite a source for the ways in which therapy supposedly turns us into eternal children or annoying SJWs. In fact, all three essays make grand claims about social trends that I would definitely like to hear a source for! Ending the collection on an essay that claims Californians are not as willing to help others as the supposed pure and kind country folk, who will help you no matter what (as a southerner, yeah right) and takes it as not just a fact, but a fact I'm supposed to care about in the face of genocide and looming authoritarianism highlighted by other essays seems insane to me. Surely there was a better essay defending opposing viewpoint? I mean, I already know there were, some of them are included in the collection!
Still, the collection isn't bad overall. I can at least suggest the first half of it. But the bad mixed in reminds me that Best American Essays is always going to advocate a very American form of individualism.
The Work of the Witness, Gone for a Spell, The Pain of Travelling While Palestinian, and An Age of Hyperabundance were all favorites of mine. Within the Pretense of No Pretense and Respect, the Missing Relation were both so bad that I was shocked they were presented alongside the rest of the collection. "Pretense" fails to pin down what is irritating about anti-intellectualism and instead posits some grand past which was more honest (read: meaner) that we only have to return to. "Respect" is a centrist rant straight out of 2016, where the author is happy to share his own open critiques of leftist academics while disparaging them for not tolerating all opposition silently with a big smile on their faces. The essay presents the old cliche of tolerating nazis as part of our democracy, but it falls even flatter when the nazis are in office, demonstrating what they do when offered tolerance. The essay contains every "enlightened centrist" cliche in its most irritating form. These two essays share an eccentricity with the similarly messy Literature Without Literature (an essay that presents valid critiques of a specific academic, but stretches those critiques as if they apply to all materialist analysis of publishing and the myth of the auteur as a concept) which is that they all seem distrustful of fields like psychology and sociology and attribute some negative social influence to them. None of them cite a source for the ways in which therapy supposedly turns us into eternal children or annoying SJWs. In fact, all three essays make grand claims about social trends that I would definitely like to hear a source for! Ending the collection on an essay that claims Californians are not as willing to help others as the supposed pure and kind country folk, who will help you no matter what (as a southerner, yeah right) and takes it as not just a fact, but a fact I'm supposed to care about in the face of genocide and looming authoritarianism highlighted by other essays seems insane to me. Surely there was a better essay defending opposing viewpoint? I mean, I already know there were, some of them are included in the collection!
Still, the collection isn't bad overall. I can at least suggest the first half of it. But the bad mixed in reminds me that Best American Essays is always going to advocate a very American form of individualism.
February 14, 2026
I love essays. I have a shelf full of these Best American essay collections dating all the way back to its inaugural volume from 1986. I’ve dipped in and out of these over the years, picking and choosing what looked interesting to me.
I’m taking a different approach with the latest volumes (I read the 2024 collection last year). I’m reading all the essays straight through, cover to cover. This means I’m reading essays I probably would have skipped after the first two or three paragraphs, thinking the topic or voice wasn’t for me.
This new diligence has been both frustrating and rewarding. Frustrating because, out of 21 essays in this volume, four did absolutely nothing for me. I should have skipped these and been better off for it. But rewarding because there were a few essays I wouldn’t have read that surprised me. I either learned something fascinating or developed an appreciation for a different style of essay writing.
My four favorites from this year’s collection:
Gone for a Spell by Angie Romines is a mixture of Appalachian history, the bizarre ancient confusion of midwifery and witchcraft, and a soulful meditation on faith.
Man Crossing an Ice Field by Laura Glen Louis tells how her marriage disintegrated from her husband’s early onset of Alzheimer’s Disease. She captures the despair and shame of this awful disease. Alzheimer’s never ends well, and I wondered how she would bring the essay to a close. The ending here is perfect. I loved it.
A Little Slice of the Moon by Summer Hammond is a mini-memoir about a teenage girl growing up in a highly religious and highly dysfunctional family in rural Iowa. The scene with the girl’s mother near the end of the essay haunts me still.
The Olive Branch of Oblivion by Linda Kinstler discusses the importance of intentionally forgetting the wrongs and painful losses we’ve experienced. She cites the Pacts of Oblivion between warring groups in Ancient Greece as the only way to move forward after horrible acts of war.
"A dose of forgetfulness allows us to put aside, if only temporarily, the sheer volume of all that we must mourn, to break the cycle of vengeance, to see through the fog of fury in moments of the most profound loss . — Linda Kinstler"
In today’s world where everything is digitally captured and saved forever, it’s harder to let go of painful events or wrongs. Kinstler’s essay forced me to think about my own packrat nature of keeping and reviewing my old notes and journals. Is this helping or hurting me? A piece of writing that makes you challenge a deeply held belief is the very definition of a great essay.
February 23, 2026
Admittedly over the past several years of following this anthology series, I've definitely leaned more toward the fictional through Short Stories and Sci-fi and Fantasy (and back when they still included it, Nonrequired reading). One big part of that is that it felt like the nonfiction had started to largely coalesce into a few topics that you could probably guess: politics but in particular identity politics and our increasing slide into fascism, climate change and the devastating and myriad small and large effects of this (particularly in the Science and Nature writing collection) and technological advancement and its affect on modern life, with a handful of other topics sprinkled in. Interestingly, while this collection hit some topics I anticipated (the genocide in Gaza being a very obvious flashpoint) there were a lot of essays on topics that really tickled my brain and made me note down the authors and essays for further reading. A Little Slice of the Moon was maybe my favorite essay and is part of what feels like an increasingly rare (again, at least among these collections) genre of autobiography, and comes right at the halfway point of the book. There are some amazing philosophical essays including Navel-Gazing (which not only explores the modern meaning of the term but also the historical and cultural significance of the navel, going back to the Greek artifact Omphalos) and The Olive Branch of Oblivion (which discusses not only the idea of embracing oblivion as in death but as in truly forgetting, extending not only to personal and political conflicts but to the ability to actually have your data permanently erased online which is nearly unthinkable in our modern system). Others I enjoyed included Gone for a Spell (which explores the entangled history of midwifery and accusations of witchcraft) and An Age of Hyperabundance (the obligatory anti-AI essay but interestingly focusing on the author's role as closing speaker at an AI convention, which is portrayed as both a way for the AI pushers to claim that they "are listening to critics" but also as a sort've clownish sideshow like "check out this luddite soon to be left in the dustbin of history by our advancements!"). Ironically and weirdly, this collection closes out with an essay I absolutely hated and noted down for the opposite reason as the ones above, but otherwise I enjoyed the variety and intelligence on display here.
March 5, 2026
Some notes, half-remembered:
"Work Of The Witness" - Sarah Aziza. This was good on Gaza. What does all this viewing lead to?
"Sharing The Darkness" - Carolyn Forche. Ukraine/Gaza/
"Sea Grape Consciousness"- Alexis Pauline Gumbs. - Water
"Shapes of Grief" - Christina Sharpe. One thing I find kind of annoying about her essays is that she is constantly peppering them with other writers. That makes them fragmentary and resists any deeper plunges because she's always coming back up to the surface. Excessive quotes doesn't equal excessive thought, perhaps the opposite.
"Gone For A Spell" - Angie Romines
"Man Crossing An Ice Field" - Laura Glen Louis. This was perhaps my favorite essay in this collection. Having a family member with Alzheimer's this strongly hit home.
"Homeland Fictions" - Hannah Keziah Agustin.
" Love and Murder In South Africa"- Eula Biss. This was good. Stephen Biko was featured in much of it.
"Pain of Travelling While Palestinian" - Mosab Abu Toha. This was good too. Enlightening.
"Zeppole (aka Awama)" - Khalid Abusharekh. I enjoyed this as it was a somewhat lighter piece about Gaza.
"Little Slice Of The Moon" - Summer Hammond. Weird family.
"Corona" - John Jeremiah Sullivan. A covid tale.
"Navel-Gazing" - Namwali Serpell. Criticism.
"Olive Branch of Oblivion" - Linda Kinstler. Making the case for the right to be forgotten.
"Nesting" - Jarek Steele.
"On Boredom" - Nuar Alsadir. This one was OK.
"Within The Pretense of No Pretense' - Greg Jackson. This one was really good. The uses of a critic. I related to it.
"Age of Hyperabundance" - Laura Preston. This was a good piece that was originally in N+1 about digital culture.
"Literature Without Literature" - Christian Lorentzen. A takedown of Dan Sinykin. I liked this too. The last batch of essays in this collection is fairly strong.
"How to Love Animals" - Matthew Denton-Edmundson. A good story about a man's changing relationship with animals.
"Respect, or the Missing Relation" - William Deresiewicz. A minor piece featuring fairly conventional takes on resisting cancel culture.
"Work Of The Witness" - Sarah Aziza. This was good on Gaza. What does all this viewing lead to?
"Sharing The Darkness" - Carolyn Forche. Ukraine/Gaza/
"Sea Grape Consciousness"- Alexis Pauline Gumbs. - Water
"Shapes of Grief" - Christina Sharpe. One thing I find kind of annoying about her essays is that she is constantly peppering them with other writers. That makes them fragmentary and resists any deeper plunges because she's always coming back up to the surface. Excessive quotes doesn't equal excessive thought, perhaps the opposite.
"Gone For A Spell" - Angie Romines
"Man Crossing An Ice Field" - Laura Glen Louis. This was perhaps my favorite essay in this collection. Having a family member with Alzheimer's this strongly hit home.
"Homeland Fictions" - Hannah Keziah Agustin.
" Love and Murder In South Africa"- Eula Biss. This was good. Stephen Biko was featured in much of it.
"Pain of Travelling While Palestinian" - Mosab Abu Toha. This was good too. Enlightening.
"Zeppole (aka Awama)" - Khalid Abusharekh. I enjoyed this as it was a somewhat lighter piece about Gaza.
"Little Slice Of The Moon" - Summer Hammond. Weird family.
"Corona" - John Jeremiah Sullivan. A covid tale.
"Navel-Gazing" - Namwali Serpell. Criticism.
"Olive Branch of Oblivion" - Linda Kinstler. Making the case for the right to be forgotten.
"Nesting" - Jarek Steele.
"On Boredom" - Nuar Alsadir. This one was OK.
"Within The Pretense of No Pretense' - Greg Jackson. This one was really good. The uses of a critic. I related to it.
"Age of Hyperabundance" - Laura Preston. This was a good piece that was originally in N+1 about digital culture.
"Literature Without Literature" - Christian Lorentzen. A takedown of Dan Sinykin. I liked this too. The last batch of essays in this collection is fairly strong.
"How to Love Animals" - Matthew Denton-Edmundson. A good story about a man's changing relationship with animals.
"Respect, or the Missing Relation" - William Deresiewicz. A minor piece featuring fairly conventional takes on resisting cancel culture.
November 27, 2025
I love the essays in this book. The essays that touched me the most are the ones with themes about awareness and compassion. My favorite essay is "An Age of Hyperabundance". This essay raises my awareness to the different innovations in artificial intelligence. There is a voice program that detect a person's depression by using a 40 second clip of their voice. There is also an avatar that can keep me company and remind me when to take my medication. These are two innovations that I will probably use in the future. "Sharing The Darkness" is my other favorite. This essay raises my awareness of the war in the Ukraine, and how and the war affects other people. There is a beautiful poem in this essay entitled "If There Is Ink". This is a beautiful poem about the power of the written word can bring about peace in a country ruined by war.
"Man Crossing An Ice Field" is an essay that raises my compassion for people suffering from Alzheimer disease. Alzheimer disease takes such an emotional toll on every member of this man's family. Man Crossing An Ice Field reminds me that Alzheimer disease can strike young men too. "A Little Slice of The Moon" raises my compassion for people who suffer from seizures. "A Little Slice of The Moon" is an essay about a young woman who is striving to hold down a job and have a social life. I work with people who suffer from seizures every day, so I can relate the feelings and frustrations expressed in this essay. "How To Love Animals" raises my compassion for animals. A greater understanding of animal suffering leads to more humane behavior by people is the thesis of this essay, and I think that is an excellent message. I love all the essays in this book.
"Man Crossing An Ice Field" is an essay that raises my compassion for people suffering from Alzheimer disease. Alzheimer disease takes such an emotional toll on every member of this man's family. Man Crossing An Ice Field reminds me that Alzheimer disease can strike young men too. "A Little Slice of The Moon" raises my compassion for people who suffer from seizures. "A Little Slice of The Moon" is an essay about a young woman who is striving to hold down a job and have a social life. I work with people who suffer from seizures every day, so I can relate the feelings and frustrations expressed in this essay. "How To Love Animals" raises my compassion for animals. A greater understanding of animal suffering leads to more humane behavior by people is the thesis of this essay, and I think that is an excellent message. I love all the essays in this book.
October 23, 2025
As can often be the case with collections, The Best American Essays 2025 varies a bit in the impact of each, though the quality of the writing itself is consistently high across the board. Given that high level of writing craft, the book is an easy recommendation. How much you respond to the essays on a different level will be much more subjective.
For me, barring some exceptions, the essays were generally more straightforward, more directly and lineally structured, and more “here’s what happened” or journalistic than I personally prefer in the essay form. I tend to prefer essays that are more introspective, that meander and digress, that aim at more lyricism and those were too few and far between here even as I admired the writing craft and found many of the essays interesting and just a few so straightforward as to be a bit dull. There are a number of political essays in here and while they didn’t do much for me stylistically, they were strong in content. A few of my favorites in the collection:
“Within the Pretense of No Pretense”: a bit over-long but one of the few essays that played with structure and rhythm
“An Age of Hyperabundance” This one is journalistic as it relates the author’s attendance as a “contrarian” speaker at a conference on AI communication, but it’s self-aware narration and wider context leaves you thoughtful at its closed
“How to Love Animals” a good mix of outside references and personal experience and thought on our relationship with the creatures we share the world and our homes with
For me, barring some exceptions, the essays were generally more straightforward, more directly and lineally structured, and more “here’s what happened” or journalistic than I personally prefer in the essay form. I tend to prefer essays that are more introspective, that meander and digress, that aim at more lyricism and those were too few and far between here even as I admired the writing craft and found many of the essays interesting and just a few so straightforward as to be a bit dull. There are a number of political essays in here and while they didn’t do much for me stylistically, they were strong in content. A few of my favorites in the collection:
“Within the Pretense of No Pretense”: a bit over-long but one of the few essays that played with structure and rhythm
“An Age of Hyperabundance” This one is journalistic as it relates the author’s attendance as a “contrarian” speaker at a conference on AI communication, but it’s self-aware narration and wider context leaves you thoughtful at its closed
“How to Love Animals” a good mix of outside references and personal experience and thought on our relationship with the creatures we share the world and our homes with
November 17, 2025
My two favorites this year:
Gone for a Spell by Angie Romines, about the Frontier Nursing Service in Kentucky
The Age of Hyperabundance by Laura Preston, about being the contrarian speaker at an AI conference (I am very excited about her forthcoming book on AI that is promised in the credits!)
Also:
The Pain of Travelling While Palestinian by Mosab Abu Toha - I had read this before but I really admire the matter-of-fact tone juxtaposed with the enraging content
Man Crossing an Ice Field by Laura Glen Louis - I actually didn't love the writing style here but I am very interested in Alzheimer's and its effect on families
Corona by John Jeremiah Sullivan - I was just happy because I hadn't read anything by him in a while
The Olive Branch of Oblivion by Linda Kinstler - this was timely and had an argument that I'd never encountered before
Nesting by Jarek Steele - the details in this personal essay were amazing
Gone for a Spell by Angie Romines, about the Frontier Nursing Service in Kentucky
The Age of Hyperabundance by Laura Preston, about being the contrarian speaker at an AI conference (I am very excited about her forthcoming book on AI that is promised in the credits!)
Also:
The Pain of Travelling While Palestinian by Mosab Abu Toha - I had read this before but I really admire the matter-of-fact tone juxtaposed with the enraging content
Man Crossing an Ice Field by Laura Glen Louis - I actually didn't love the writing style here but I am very interested in Alzheimer's and its effect on families
Corona by John Jeremiah Sullivan - I was just happy because I hadn't read anything by him in a while
The Olive Branch of Oblivion by Linda Kinstler - this was timely and had an argument that I'd never encountered before
Nesting by Jarek Steele - the details in this personal essay were amazing
January 14, 2026
This was an interesting and timely collection of essays. At first, I thought that it lacked some range in topics discussed, as many of the first essays focused on similar ideas/issues. However, as I progressed through the collection, I grew to instead think that it was quite well-organized, with many essays connecting in some way to the prior one. These links were less obvious later in the collection but felt thoughtful throughout. I also thought there was a good variety of essays that were very specific to the current moment and global issues as well as ones that tackled broader and more universal topics.
My major qualms with the collection were that I felt it leant too heavily towards less digestible/approachable essays (not all or even most! but a decent number) and that some of the essays have lacked longevity for me.
Overall, I'm glad to have read this collection and feel that it did an excellent job of capturing the times we are living in. It also included a diversity of voices/perspectives while still having a clear focus/message.
Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My major qualms with the collection were that I felt it leant too heavily towards less digestible/approachable essays (not all or even most! but a decent number) and that some of the essays have lacked longevity for me.
Overall, I'm glad to have read this collection and feel that it did an excellent job of capturing the times we are living in. It also included a diversity of voices/perspectives while still having a clear focus/message.
Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 12, 2025
This collection is what it advertises: the best essays published in a given year (I trust the editors on that, since I don't follow all the publications and I'm all the more grateful for this collection existing within one book!). They're diverse, with a range of themes and unique authors' voices: some of them personal, some of them concerning worlds' events. After one year, the latter ones read as if contemporary times got historicized in front of our eyes, with raw emotion. My favorite essay was Laura Glen Louis' "A Man Walking an Ice Field", a raw and moving essay about the authors' family struggle with the impact of Alzheimer's disease on both her husband and her & her son.
I thank Netgalley and Mariner Books for an opportunity to read this book and its ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.
I thank Netgalley and Mariner Books for an opportunity to read this book and its ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.
August 11, 2025
** Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review **
This year’s collection is a rich tapestry of personal reflection, cultural criticism, and sharp observation. The chapters move seamlessly from deeply personal memoir to wide-angle social commentary. I appreciated the editors’ choice to include essays that challenge as well as comfort, prompting me to think about familiar topics in new ways. The pacing of the anthology is thoughtful—lighter pieces give you a breather between heavier ones. Several essays stayed with me long after I finished, their language and ideas echoing in my mind. This is a volume worth savoring slowly.
This year’s collection is a rich tapestry of personal reflection, cultural criticism, and sharp observation. The chapters move seamlessly from deeply personal memoir to wide-angle social commentary. I appreciated the editors’ choice to include essays that challenge as well as comfort, prompting me to think about familiar topics in new ways. The pacing of the anthology is thoughtful—lighter pieces give you a breather between heavier ones. Several essays stayed with me long after I finished, their language and ideas echoing in my mind. This is a volume worth savoring slowly.
January 1, 2026
what a lovely way to end the reading year! i really enjoyed the concept of reading a collection of essays that serve as a reflection of the important topics and themes across multiple realms in 2025. i also really enjoyed reading jia tolentino's foreword and how she went about curating the essays for this collection. my favorite essays were: gone for a spell by angie romines, man crossing an ice field by laura glen louis, and an age of hyperabudance by laura preston.
January 6, 2026
Waffled between a 2 and 3 here, but ultimately I landed on a 3 despite the inconsistency of some of the essays.
I think the editors of the book may have just been looking for something different than I was, but some of the essays felt so slow and almost too technical and academically written to hold my interest (Within the Pretense of No Pretense, Navel-Gazing, Literature Without Literature). Still, there were some really compelling pieces as well, my favorites being The Pain of Travelling While Palestinian, A Little Slice of the Moon, Nesting, An Age of Hyperabundance, and How to Love Animals.
I think the editors of the book may have just been looking for something different than I was, but some of the essays felt so slow and almost too technical and academically written to hold my interest (Within the Pretense of No Pretense, Navel-Gazing, Literature Without Literature). Still, there were some really compelling pieces as well, my favorites being The Pain of Travelling While Palestinian, A Little Slice of the Moon, Nesting, An Age of Hyperabundance, and How to Love Animals.
Read
February 19, 2026either a particularly strong showing this time around, or Jia Tolentino and I just have similar taste (more likely). I especially enjoyed:
"Gone for a Spell" by Angie Romines
"Love and Murder in South Africa" by Eula Biss
"The Pain of Travelling While Palestinian" by Mosab Abu Toha
"A Little Slice of the Moon" by Summer Hammond
"Navel Gazing" by Namwali Serpell
"On Boredom" by Nuar Alsadir
"An Age of Hyperabundance" by Laura Preston
"Gone for a Spell" by Angie Romines
"Love and Murder in South Africa" by Eula Biss
"The Pain of Travelling While Palestinian" by Mosab Abu Toha
"A Little Slice of the Moon" by Summer Hammond
"Navel Gazing" by Namwali Serpell
"On Boredom" by Nuar Alsadir
"An Age of Hyperabundance" by Laura Preston
February 27, 2026
The book brings together powerful essays that reflect the complexity of contemporary life. The collection explores identity, technology, politics, grief, and climate through a blend of memoir and cultural criticism. The essays show how personal stories intersect with larger social realities, revealing a world in transition that we are all living in. Some of the essays I particularly enjoyed were “Boredom,” “Within the Pretense of No Pretense,” and “An Age of Hyperabundance.”
November 6, 2025
This was an emotional and powerful collection of essays. Work and reflections like these are so important for the times that we are living in. Viscerally human, I laughed and cried while listening. It left you feeling more connected to those from other walks of life in the best and hardest ways. I’m recommending reading or listening to this to everyone I know.
November 28, 2025
3.5 - Overall I thought this was really good! Some of the essays I loved and others I ended up almost skimming because I wasn't vibing with at all, but such is often the case with an anthology. I thought the breadth of essays were good, though the few about writing/reading seemed a bit off (and whiny).
January 5, 2026
picked this one up because of jia tolentino and sarah aziza! i appreciated that she included a few essays by Palestinian authors. some of the essay selections got dense and boring towards the end so I skimmed over them. mostly lovely and thought-provoking though, especially the n+1 essay on conversational AI by Laura Preston!
January 12, 2026
Favorite was “Within the Pretense of No Pretense.” I also really enjoyed “The Work of the Witness,” “Sea Grape Consciousness,” “Man Crossing an Ice Field,” “The Pain of Traveling While Palestinian,” “A Little Slice of the Moon,” “On Boredom,” and “Respect, or the Missing Relation.”
February 8, 2026
This essay collection is everything you’d hope from such a thing. Relevant for this moment, thoughtful in arrangement, so that the essays seem to be in conversation with each other, and an introduction to some really great writers I’d not heard of. I’d give it six stars if I could.
November 9, 2025
Honestly I read this because I will read anything with Jia Tolentino’s name on it but these essays are largely meh.
November 18, 2025
Amazing selection of essays!
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