Daily Archives: January 22, 2025

12 New Non-Fiction Books You Need to Read in 2025

Put these new releases on your 2025 reading this. Courtesy the publishers
If reading more was your New Year’s resolution, but you haven’t cracked open a single book, look no further than our must-read non-fiction picks for 2025. These are some of the best new releases—a list that includes a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer’s reimagining of contemporary criticism and a kaleidoscopic retelling of Princess Diana’s real life and enduring legacy.

We promise these non-fiction titles are anything but boring and will have you roused (as with the damning tell-all on the machinations of Spotify) and engrossed (as with the encyclopedic work traversing wild doomsday theories). Whether you escape into the golden age of magazines or get inspired by past feminist political movements, your reading time will be an edifying and restorative experience.
Just FYI, some of these books aren’t out yet, so it’s up to you whether to pre-order now—just get your bookmarks ready.
When the Going Was Good by Graydon Carter
When the Going Was Good by Graydon Carter. Penguin Press
There was a time when magazines gave writers handsome stipends to chase leads and promised readers enticingly glossy tell-alls. Famed Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter waxes lyrical in When the Going Was Good, recounting highlights from his illustrious career—working at the satirical monthly Spy and, yes, right here at Observer—and sharing what it was like to collect a stable of lauded writers and photographers under one roof. The dishy book promises revealing tales from a formerly decadent media era, in particular shaping Vanity Fair into the epicenter of Hollywood, power and celebrity it is today.
Wages for Housework by Emily Callaci
Wages for Housework by Emily Callaci. Seal Press
Some may not know, or even have heard, the story of “Wages for Housework,” a bold political campaign that first advanced during second-wave feminism. It was a global movement in which women demanded that homemaking and childcare be paid like production in industry. In the perceptive Wages for Housework, historian Emily Callaci digs into this seemingly far-reaching crusade, presenting new archival material and extensive interviews that show passionate everyday women arguing for equity and access under a capitalist system that only ever compensates one kind of labor.
Authority: Essays by Andrea Long Chu
Authority: Essays by Andrea Long Chu. Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Andrea Long Chu is a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and an astute public intellectual, and Authority: Essays sees the formidable thinker share her long-form essays exploring the history of criticism and its current “crisis” of authority: pieces that offer a new playbook for understanding how our judgments can sometimes—and sometimes not—be correct. Paired alongside these title essays are infamous “takedowns,” including critical works on the likes of fellow writers Maggie Nelson and Zadie Smith that have galvanized Chu as a critic of rigor and erudition.
Everything Must Go by Dorian Lynskey
Everything Must Go by Dorian Lynskey. Pantheon
Every few years, even decades, a media frenzy emerges about the imminent end of the world. In Everything Must Go, journalist and podcaster Dorian Lynskey deftly catalogs the many panicked—and nowadays, sometimes real—Armageddon fantasies we hear about: Y2k, plagues, nuclear war, climate change. Interspersed are analyses of the movies, novels and TV shows that relish depicting humanity’s demise, which Lynskey argues have been used throughout history to understand worldwide tragedies and assuage our increasingly daily existential angst.
Mood Machine by Liz Pelly
Mood Machine by Liz Pelly. Atria/One Signal Publishers
Now that the afterglow of Spotify Wrapped has ended, it’s time to get serious about the corrosive and consequential music platform. That’s according to Liz Pelly, author of Mood Machine, a new riveting cultural exposé that argues Spotify rips off musicians and discourages the development of new music and artists. The book proves a rousing indictment of the Swedish streaming service, which Pelly reveals as selling users’ data and numbing listeners into the same sounds via algorithms behind their curated playlists.

SEE ALSO: 11 Short Books to Help You Jumpstart Your 2025 Reading Resolutions

Warhol’s Muses by Laurence Leamer
Warhol’s Muses by Laurence Leamer. G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Andy Warhol was so obsessed with celebrity that he not only telegraphed it in his art but also decided to create his own coterie of bespoke stars. In Warhol’s Muses, biographer Laurence Leamer tells the engrossing tale of the ten women known as the “Superstars” who Warhol sought to turn into major celebrities. With a rampant supply of drugs, casual sex and physical suffering, Warhol ultimately made them famous. Against the turbulent 1960s, the book contrasts Warhol’s exploitation of these naïve hangers-on against a time when women started imagining emancipation for themselves.
Lorne by Susan Morrison
Lorne by Susan Morrison. Random House
Saturday Night Live has been on TV for almost 50 years, and one man has largely lorded over the program: Lorne Michaels. New Yorker editor Susan Morrison gives a lively and spirited account of Michaels’ reign in Lorne—an incumbency that first started with a pitch in 1974 for a show that would satirize popular culture for a new generation. With Morrison following Lorne around for present-day SNL tapings, the comic mastermind is revealed—through his résumé and his hustle—as one enterprising and magnetizing leader.
How to be Avant-Garde by Morgan Falconer
How to be Avant-Garde by Morgan Falconer. Norton
In How to be Avant-Garde, art historian Morgan Falconer reexamines the story of the 20th-century art movements—dadaism, surrealism, futurism—grouped together under the banner “avant-garde.” Each may have had a different aesthetic approach, but all were dedicated to defying institutional artistic gatekeeping and challenging conservative societal views. Falconer delivers a forceful account of recalcitrant artists, inspired by anger and fueled by disillusion, remaking art outside a “mechanized world.”
On Air by Steve Oney
On Air by Steve Oney. Simon and Schuster
National Public Radio (NPR) might get plenty of loyalty and love but not much money. On Air sees journalist Steve Oney give a detailed history of the beloved but beleaguered public radio station, an institution that has had a liberal roster of hosts and journalists but a checked relationship with its sometimes conservative overlord, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Offering insights into not-for-profit media and the inner workings of the lauded outlet, On Air has been in the works for a decade, so prepare for some fearless and revealing reporting.
Y2k by Colette Shade
Y2K by Colette Shade. Dey Street Books
Y2K is a humorous look back at the turn of the last century, an era when technology was fun, and the economy was abundant. Retracing the period from 1997 to 2008, culture journalist Colette Shade provides an arch examination of the era beyond fashion trends and flip phones. Here, Shade covers everything from tabloid-fueled mistreatment of female celebrities to the 2008 housing crash, making daring and elevated connections (like between neoliberal economics and our past obsession with thinness in beauty standards).
Fail Better by Hal Foster
Fail Better by Hal Foster. MIT Press
Hal Foster, a prolific art critic and commentator, retraces the history of art criticism from the 1960s to the present in the punchy Fail Better. In this selection of essays, Foster pairs reflections on artists like Jasper Johns and Gerhard Richter with larger “reckonings” on the tensions between art criticism and politics over the last sixty years. With wit and scholarship, Foster advances new ways to transform our thinking and approach to contemporary art in this provocative essay collection.
Dianaworld by Edward White
Dianaworld by Edward White. W. W. Norton & Company
Almost thirty years after her death, Diana Princess of Wales continues to fascinate new generations of people and fuel our popular culture. In Dianaworld, writer Edward White explores how so many continue to project their politics and beliefs onto the dearly departed royal—from the Brexit movement to #MeToo. The book’s kaleidoscopic approach takes stories from Diana’s private world (via interviews with former confidantes) and pairs them with confessions offered up by present-day fans, from drag queens to Gen Z TikTokers, who continue worshiping the icon.

More than 16K books later, Kohler high schooler holds last book drive

KOHLER – More than two dozen boxes of books lined a Kohler High School hallway Jan. 17 as junior Riley Holzrichter and her mom Molly consolidated the collection, in preparation for a drive to Milwaukee.  The books were donated from Kohler Elementary School classrooms through Riley’s sixth biennial book drive to benefit Books for Kids, aimed at increasing access to books and improving literacy. It’s part of Next Door Foundation, a Milwaukee-based early childhood education and family services organization.“I know they’re so grateful for all of our donations,” Riley said. “I really care about literacy and children’s literacy. I love English and writing.”  Riley started the book drive with her sister McKenna, now a sophomore at St. Mary’s College in Indiana, when she was 8 years old. It started when Molly asked them to sort out books they no longer wanted before Christmas. She suggested they donate them to Books for Kids because she did a book drive for the program while working at Brady Corporation.Literacy was an important focus in Molly’s household. In addition to teaching for four years at Milwaukee Public Schools, where said she bought many books through the Scholastic book program, she also built up a large collection before her children were born. She said she had about five to six bins’ worth.  “I just wanted to surround them with literacy,” Molly said. “I wanted to pass on that love for reading.” Riley and McKenna were inspired to start the “Out with the Old, in with the New” book drive. It has donated more than 16,000 books over the years. “It’s made such a great positive impact to the program,” said Missy Hodzinski, volunteer and community relations specialist at Next Door.Next Door hosts several community drives throughout the year to provide additional resources to community members in need: an ongoing personal care drive, a school supply drive in the fall, winter gear drive in the winter, holiday gift giving drive in December and a rotating spring drive depending on needs, this year collecting diapers and wipes. Hodzinski said the majority of community book drives take place in the Greater Milwaukee area and outlying suburbs, but said the Holzrichter family’s ability to bring “a whole community at Kohler together to support this drive says something really amazing about them as a whole.” Books for Kids gives away 70,000 books a year, distributed through nonprofit and school partnerships, a mobile library, a community library, and onsite language and literacy programming. Hodzinski said it aims to “support the whole community and to build the at-home libraries of individuals all throughout the Greater Milwaukee community, to give access to that vital tool.”  

Jamshedpur schools face backlash over profiteering from book and uniform sales

Mail News ServiceJamshedpur, Jan 22: As the new school session approaches, private schools in the city are once again raking in huge profits through the sale of books and uniforms. While some smaller schools earn between Rs 5 to Rs 7 lakh from these sales, bigger, well-known schools pocket commissions ranging from Rs 15 to Rs 20 lakh annually from publishers.
The method of commission has shifted recently, with publishers now offering schools a cut in exchange for selling old books. This change has further intensified the business model, making it a lucrative revenue stream for private institutions. It is reported that schools are earning between Rs 10-12 crore annually through commissions on books alone.

While schools deny directly profiting from the book sales, the system remains in place. Schools that do not sell books directly provide parents with a list of designated shops. Parents then have to buy books from these stores, often for higher prices. Shopkeepers even provide schools with lists of which children have purchased their books.
In addition to books, the sale of shoes and uniforms also contributes to the financial windfall. However, no one has the courage to intervene in this thriving business. From administrative bodies to education department officials, everyone seems to turn a blind eye. Parents, especially those from economically weaker backgrounds, find themselves helpless, unable to challenge the system.

“The issue has been raised multiple times, but no one has been able to provide a written complaint,” said Dr. Umesh, President of the Jamshedpur Abhibhavak Sangh (Parents Association). “Schools force parents to buy books at 20% higher rates and they keep taking advantage of this loophole.”
The situation is becoming more burdensome with changes in curriculum under the new National Education Policy. Many books for classes 3, 5, 7 and 8 have been altered, further pushing the financial strain on parents.

Anchal Sharma, a local resident, commented, “Private schools are increasing fees and imposing unnecessary costs, exploiting parents’ helplessness during admissions. They act without any oversight, making it impossible for parents to keep up.”
With growing concerns over the financial impact, parents like Tullika, who earns Rs 40,000 per month and has two children, find themselves struggling to set aside Rs 5,000 every month for their children’s education.
As the new academic year kicks off, parents continue to bear the brunt of escalating education costs, with private schools growing richer from the very system meant to provide quality education.