What were your favorite books, music, and movies this year? Here are mine.
Favorite Books
Of the 40 books I read this year, here are the ones I most enjoyed, divided between 2025-released new books and books that came out in other years (but which I read in 2025):
10 FAVORITE BOOKS RELEASED IN 2025
Bobby Jamieson, Everything Is Never Enough
Seth Lewis, The Language of Rivers and Stars
Brad Edwards, The Reason for Church: Why the Body of Christ Still Matters in an Age of Anxiety, Division, and Radical Individualism
Matt Smethurst, Tim Keller on the Christian Life
Ben Palpant, An Axe for the Frozen Sea: Conversations with Poets about What Matters Most
Kyle Worley, Home With God
Alex Duke, From Eden to Egypt
Tim Challies and Tim Keesee, From the Rising of the Sun: A Journey of Worship Around the World
Katie Polski, Beyond the Back Row: Rediscovering the Beauty of the Local Church for Your Family
Werner Herzog, The Future of Truth
10 FAVORITE BOOKS I READ (BUT WERE NOT RELEASED) IN 2025
John Bleasdale, The Magic Hours: The Films and Hidden Life of Terrence Malick
Garrett M. Graff, When the Sea Came Alive: An Oral History of D-Day
Amy Baik Lee, This Homeward Ache
Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary
Cara Wall, The Dearly Beloved
Annie Jacobsen, Nuclear War: A Scenario
Peter Kreeft, The Sea Within: Waves and the Meaning of All Things
Thornton Wilder, The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Byung-Chul Han, Saving Beauty
Denis Johnson, Train Dreams
15 Favorite Albums
For TGC I have a fuller recap of the year’s best Christian music, but below is a list of my favorite albums overall—as well as my five favorite EPs—released in 2025. You can also listen to a playlist of some of my favorite songs of 2025.
Jon Guerra, Jesus
John Van Deusen, As Long as I Am in the Tent of This Body I Will Make a Joyful Noise Pt. 1
Jon Bellion, Father Figure
Bon Iver, SABLE, fABLE
Natalie Bergman, My Home Is Not In This World
Justin Bieber, Swag
Tenielle Neda, The Way of Love
Nick Mulvey, Dark Harvest, Pt. 2
Forrest Frank, Child of God II
Strings & Heart, Plastic Wine
Jon Keith, Grow Wings
The Gray Havens, This Is Not the End
Sondae, Northstar
Mumford & Sons, RUSHMERE
Young Oceans, Love like Raindrops Made of Light
5 Favorite EPs
Andy Squyres, Miracle Service
Dell Mac and gio., Jericho
Jon Keith, Butterflies
Kings Kaleidoscope, Asaph’s Arrows II
Ethan Nathaniel, Heavenly Places
20 Favorite Movies
I saw 55 new-release movies in 2025, a year that (once again) didn’t really produce a “masterpiece” movie. Still, there were a good number off really excellent ones. Here are my favorites (for descriptions on many of these, read my “best movies” article at The Gospel Coalition).
Train Dreams
Roofman
The Ballad of Wallis Island
Souleymane’s Story
Sentimental Value
David
The Mastermind
It Was Just an Accident
Warfare
Rebuilding
Eephus
Hamnet
Frankenstein
The Lost Bus
Paddington in Peru
Friendship
A House of Dynamite
Blue Moon
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
Superman
Read my “best movies” article at The Gospel Coalition. As always, use discernment in what you choose to watch and listen to. Some movies and albums listed above contain objectionable content.