My favorite books and comics of 2025 – and who you should gift them to
A wrap-up disguised as a gift guide
Christmas is coming, and so gift shopping is upon us! I thought i’d do a reading wrap-up a bit earlier to give you some ideas. Before we start, a reminder that Amazon is the devil, and to please use this time to support your local bookshops! I’ll link to bookshop.org if you need to order online1 (not affiliate, but maybe one day 🤞).
I’ll start with comics (bande dessinée) which might be easier to gift to people who don’t read much, and then novels + non fiction (but i didn’t have a great year in those last categories so it’ll be quick).
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Comics and bandes dessinées
“Bande dessinée” (shortened BD) just means comics in French, but to us comics is strongly linked to American superhero stories, so I don’t like to use it as a general term.
Drome by Jesse Lonergan. My favorite scifi BD of the year, and it happens to be wordless so everyone can enjoy it! This isn’t hard scifi, there is no spaceship or technobabble of any kind. Instead, it’s more of a creation myth, with an excellent narrative arc, and convention-breaking artwork. It has romance and hubris and contemplations of violence… and it’s absolutely gorgeous from start to finish. It’s also 300 pages long, so it’ll occupy you for a while, and it’s a one-shot so you won’t have to wait for the rest of the story!
For: Your mom who thinks comics are a lower art form, but who loves prestige TV about gods punching each other.
40 days dans le désert B by Moebius. Moebius, a famous French scifi comics artist since the 60s, decides to give up pot and draw his journey. He goes into the “desert B”, ie “désherber”/”weeding out”, and meets amazing creatures. There’s a tiny bit of text opposite each drawing, but it’s nothing Apple Intelligence™ can’t take care of.
For: your pothead cousin or your old rocker uncle
Here are also 2 titles in French only, in case you’re trying to learn the language or don’t mind google translating some bits here and there.
Soli Deo Gloria by Jean-Christophe Deveney. Hans and Helma were destined to a life of labor and poverty, but their gift for music and their love gave way to wonders. Sounds cliché, kinda is, but it’s also told beautifully and with amazing art. 100% recommend, even to people who don’t like comics. This is the critics’ favorite of the year, no matter which outlet — and for a good reason!
For: Grandma who loves classical music, and lovely stories of family, religion and love.
Silent Jenny by Matthieu Bablet. It’s after world collapse, and Jenny is hunting for bee DNA so they can be cloned and the world be fertile again. She doesn’t speak much, but she’ll come out in English this summer if you want to wait. Rich world-building, detailed art, slow-burn tension – this isn’t an action story, it’s more of an ecological fable, but not moralizing, and full of hope!
For: a fan of Mad Max x Nausicaä. There’s also a matching vinyl album if that helps!
Science-fiction and fantasy
Private Rites by Julia Armfield. I liked it less than Our Wives Under the Sea, but it was still quite good. The prose is wonderful, and the melancholic tones were lovely. Not sure about the ending (and please don’t read the back cover before going in, it’s very spoilery).
Gift to: a poet!
Non fiction
Against Platforms: Surviving Digital Utopia by Mike Pepi. My favorite nonfiction book of the year! Extremely well-researched, the first part is debunking some of the tech scene founding myths (like digital tools are neutral, tech will save us, …) and the second is about trying to find solutions from there. Digital platforms have eaten away at institutions, but we can get them back! It’s a hopeful book, not the depressing kind.
For: your hopepunk cousin who wants to see institutions reborn and fight against cyber-capitalism.
The giftable disappointments
I didn’t have a good reading year, to be honest: my most anticipated reads ended up disappointing me, and then i was in a slump and turned to comics instead. BUT i’m keenly aware that the disappointments come from my personal tastes and my stupidly high standards for hyped books, so they’re still perfectly enjoyable and readable for others.
The Strength of the Few by James Islington. I was excited because i really enjoyed The Will of the Many last year, but i didn’t find the same magic in the sequel. While the first book had many flaws (Mary Sue protagonist, weaker middle pacing, some random shit to save the day here and there), it still succeeded at being very entertaining and a page-turner. The worldbuilding was great and i was invested.
Book 2 however splits the POVs in 3, and i can’t say the braiding was done well. I was mostly bored with the characters playing catch up in between scenes, and not as interested in the story. I might still read the next one if the reviews are good (we all know the tragedy of second book syndrome).
Do gift to: your friend who loves Roman-inspired YA, but with more violence (and doesn’t see pacing problem)
A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett. Another sequel which didn’t live up to its original. The Tainted Cup was an amazing exploration of what it takes to keep an empire alive, corruption, bureaucracy, … with a detective story as the excuse to travel all around and talk to everyone. Sadly, book 2 mostly keeps the investigation side of things, and doesn’t go much deeper into the political analysis. I’ll have to write a full essay about how it does the opposite actually: authoritarianism and dictature look so much better than whatever it was Ana and Din were trying to do!
Do gift to: your aunt who loves detective stories (i don’t) (and also to the Roman empire fan)
Sun Eater by Christopher Ruocchio. This is an older scifi series that i never got to – but i love hard scifi so here goes! I only read the first 2 and i’m not going to continue. The worldbuilding is quite nice, and i like the ideas and themes, but the writing is way too purple for me. The pacing is all over the place, and the author repeats himself too much. I ended up being bored for long periods of time in between short bursts of very interesting material. Sadly can’t get over it to know the ending. I’d totally watch a tv show about it though! The Expanse replacement when?
Do gift to: your Roman-loving friend is getting spoiled this year! Idk what it is with the times or the water, but Romans are making a comeback.
Murderbot by Martha Wells. After the disappointment with Sun Eater, i needed a pick-me-up! The first 2 novellas were excellent, i adored the character, identified with Murderbot so much and had no notes! However, the sequels turned repetitive really fast. No one really has any character arc, and similar situations keep appearing, with similar results. I wish we had some evolution and new situations here and there! Don’t talk to me about the TV show though, it was horrendous :/
Do gift to: your autistic niece in need of a small-bite entertainment (not sure someone who loves the TV show would like the books though)
So that was my little wrap up of the year! Let me end on my favorite page of my culture journal: for all i have to say about Murderbot, i did well on the decorations <3
What about you? What did you read that was good, or bad? Did i give you good gift ideas? Are you getting one of those pretty books for yourself? Tell me in the comments!
and fnac.com for the French stuff, but shop around because shipping is awful outside of the country!
Love the french BD reccos. I just picked up tintin tbh 😆