We’ve almost done it everyone: Another year is almost in the books. And speaking of books, it was another interesting year in publishing. From sci-fi to non-fiction to graphic novels, there was truly something for everyone.
As we enter the holiday season and the final stretch of 2025, our team here at DraftKings Network wanted to share some of our favorite reads from the past year. So, if you’re looking for the perfect holiday gift for someone on your list, here are the best books of 2025 according to the DraftKings Network staff!
Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Professional Wrestling’s New World Order Changed America
- Author: Marc Raimondi
- Where to Buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million
- Why we picked it: This was one of my favorite books that came out in 2025. The nWo captivated not only the professional wrestling world but also made a lasting impact throughout pop culture and entertainment. Marc Raimondi did a fantastic job in Say Hello to the Bad Guys of incorporating quotes and insights that had never been heard before, including an incredible story about how the iconic nWo logo came to be as well as how quickly everything came together with this legendary group. — Ryan Wohl, DraftKings Freelance Writer
Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum
- Authors: Michael J. Fox and Nelle Fortenberry
- Where to Buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million
- Why we picked it: This is heavy, Doc! Actually, a breezy, easy read, Future Boy tells the somewhat remarkable story of the period in 1985 which ascendant star Fox was on both one of the most popular shows on television (Family Ties) and at the same time jumping aboard the moving train… err… Delorean that was Back To The Future (although the moving train will come into play in Back To The Future III). Much has been written about one of the most famous films of all time, but I found myself unable to put down this fantastic tome. Future Boy paints the whole production and its showcase star in a new light. That is especially true when Fox talks about having to earn the trust of his castmates and crew on BTTF after weeks of shooting with the original Marty McFly, Eric Stoltz, were erased from cinematic history much like Marty’s siblings in that photo he carried with him in 1955 Hill Valley.
Fox paints a vivid picture of what had to be a chaotic period in his life with not just two, but three personalities fighting for space in his psyche — Alex P. Keaton by day, Marty McFly at night and Michael J. Fox fighting not to be lost in the shuffle. Any fan of cinema or Fox, but especially fans of Back To The Future, owe it to themselves to pick up this brilliant, funny mini-memoir about one of cinema’s greatest — if also unconventional — success stories.
Much like the infamous Gray’s Sports Almanac from Back To The Future II, you won’t want to put it down. — Andy Silva, DraftKings Content Specialist
The Power Fantasy
- Author: Kieron Gillen
- Where to Buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million
- Why we picked it: Know someone who was a fan of the original Watchmen comic book or the 2009 movie adaptation? Get them the first volume of The Power Fantasy. This story centers around six superpowers — that is, six individuals who have the “destructive capacity of the nuclear arsenal of the U.S.A.” Earth’s safety is reliant on these individuals getting along. (What could go wrong?) For those curious, you can check out the first chapter free here. — Nick Friar, DraftKings Content Specialist
Trip
- Authors: Amie Barrodale
- Where to Buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million
- Why we picked it: Amie Barrodale has long been one of my favorite American fiction writers of the 21st century—and, up until Trip, which released earlier this autumn, she’s only ever put out a very slender collection of short stories titled You are Having a Good Time (2016). Within that collection are multiple award-winners and a broad array of Barrodale’s best efforts. So many of the themes and premises she plays with there—spirituality, sex, malfeasances of all delicious kinds, desperate characters—are crucially important to the narrative of this debut novel of hers these nine years later. Trip, at its most elementary premise, is in part about a teenage boy, the titular character, who’s been pseudo-kidnapped after running away; it’s also about his mother, Sandra, who is dying halfway across the world at an international conference for her job as a video producer. That, by the way, is not a spoiler, though it may seem like one; it’s on the jacket copy. I’m careful!
The book is not so much about death as it is about dying, and I do mean that quite literally. Almost all of Sandra’s narrative, Barrodale is taking us into the bardo, and we follow Sandra through the procedural dissipation from self into universal consciousness, all while Sandra has become aware that her son’s run away from the juvenile correctional institution where he’s been committed. The bardo/dissipation-of-self bits are all based on Eastern religious practices that Barrodale references in addenda. Her grasp of this subject matter is scholarly at the least, athletic at its best. And it reminds me of HBO’s miniseries The Leftovers—which garnered as vast a cult following as I do hope Trip does with its own audience—in the matter-of-fact way the story expects you to keep up with its myriad abstractions. We exist in liminal spaces, here. What use are questions as equipment on land where the terrain is just particles of light? What use is clarification as a compass in parts unformed.
It’s the bravest novel I’ve read in a long time; it’s a heck of a lot to ask your readers to balance all of the ideas, scholarly literature, disbelief, stomach for the grotesque, etc., that Barrodale tosses at us like plates to spin as we navigate this mother/son story. She flings them at us unabashedly—which, for me, makes the fiction all the more bold. To add to the color for bookish folks everywhere, there are some lovely & scathing & poignant narrative references to The Great Gatsby, lots of a humor about nonlinear recoveries from addiction, and absolutely sparkling prose about seaside landscapes. Even with all that, this book wouldn’t have worked if Barrodale didn’t dock the boat with the deft and soulful hand of one of America’s most underrated fiction writers of our time. It’d been seven years since a book made my favorites shelf; I made a spot for Trip there as soon as I finished it. — Dan Johnson, DraftKings Staff Writer/Editor
No Life Forsaken
- Authors: Steven Erikson
- Where to Buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million
- Why we picked it: Steven Erikson is your favorite fantasy writer’s favorite writer. The prolific author of the Malazan Empire books has come out with another incredible addition to the universe this fall with No Life Forsaken, the second book of the Witness series.
If you’re not familiar with the Malazan books, this series ties back to his original series, the Malazan Books of the Fallen. That 10-book epic rivals all of the greats: Stormlight Archives, The Dark Tower, Game of Thrones. Yes, it even holds up against The Lord of the Rings. If you are not familiar with Erikson’s work, I would recommend reading the first three of the series (Gardens of the Moon, Deadhouse Gates, Memories of Ice) before deciding on whether or not Erikson is for you.
No Life Forsaken continues the journey of arguably the most significant character from the main Malazan series. A warrior of single purpose and uncompromising morals, he is a force that cuts through the confusion of a world filled with clashing cultures, political systems and gods. Not only are the characters full of depth and beyond compelling, but they are also without equal in their creativity.
Erikson’s profound world-building and dialogue crafting brings these characters to life. For the fantasy lover in your life, get them on the Erikson path and immerse them in the Malazan world. They won’t regret it. — Charlie Cummings, DraftKings Freelance Writer
If any of these page-turners end up under someone’s tree (or in their carry-on for holiday travel), we’ll consider that a win. Here’s to great stories, great gifts and a great finish to 2025. Happy holidays and happy reading from the DraftKings Network crew!
