Barnes & Noble has crowned Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser as its 2025 Book of the Year, capping off what has already been a huge year for the novel at the retailer.
Barnes & Noble
“Mona’s Eyes is a novel that has snuck up on us, catching the eye of booksellers and customers alike in the best tradition of word-of-mouth bestsellers,” said James Daunt, CEO of Barnes & Noble. “This is a novel for everyone, a gentle, moving tale about family, beauty, and the fleeting moments that make lasting memories. Mona’s Eyes sits firmly in the tradition of Barnes & Noble Book of the Year choices, a book of lasting appeal that our booksellers will greatly enjoy recommending through this wonderful time of festive bookselling.”
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If you’ve been following Barnes & Noble’s year-end celebration of books, Mona’s Eyes will look familiar. It already appeared on the retailer’s Best Fiction Books of 2025 list, where it was spotlighted as a vivid, heartfelt exploration of art and beauty through a young girl’s museum adventures with her beloved grandfather. Now it takes the top spot as the book B&N booksellers are most proud to put into readers’ hands.
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“I’m incredibly happy about this wonderful honor,” said Thomas Schlesser, author of Mona’s Eyes. “You know, Mona’s Eyes is, in a way, a kind of pilgrimage through museums — the guiding idea being that art exists in the service of life. But, in truth, the book’s real pilgrimage is happening right now, at Barnes & Noble bookstores all across the U.S.! Let me be clear on one thing: being named the author of B&N’s Book of the Year, for a French author, this is absolutely amazing — I want to believe it’s a sign of deep friendship across the Atlantic. Oh, and I almost forgot: Mona is very, very proud too!”
This latest honor also dovetails nicely with the rest of the retailer’s year-long programming that we’ve been tracking — from the Discover Prize win for Maggie; Or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar, to the October Book Club pick Heart the Lover, and Book of the Month selection The Mad Wife: A Novel. Barnes & Noble has been quietly curating a through-line of emotional, conversation-starting reads all year long.
Gift Book of the Year: ‘Good Things’ by Samin Nosrat
Barnes & Noble
Alongside the main Book of the Year pick, Barnes & Noble also announced its Gift Book of the Year for 2025: Good Things by Samin Nosrat, the follow-up to her runaway bestseller Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.
“Of all the wonderful and beautiful books we have seen this year, Good Things feels like the finest celebration of togetherness, a celebration paired with flavorful and delicious food.” said Shannon DeVito, Senior Director of Books, Barnes & Noble. “Samin highlights the superb recipes she loves most, peppered throughout with her signature warmth. Good Things is a cookbook with an open heart, easy-to-follow and conversational recipes, and feels like an invitation for friends and family to gather. The food, thoughtful and delectable, is the centerpiece to being invited to Samin’s kitchen — a place I’d love to be.”
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Nosrat echoed that sense of warmth and community, writing, “I’m over the moon that Barnes & Noble has chosen Good Things as Gift Book of the Year,” said Samin Nosrat, author of Good Things. “I wrote this book to celebrate the simple joys of cooking and gathering — the ways we care for one another through food, laughter, and time spent together. Thanks to Barnes & Noble for honoring that spirit.”
Between Mona’s Eyes and Good Things, the 2025 picks underline exactly what Barnes & Noble has been leaning into across its programs: books that feel deeply shareable, whether that means passing a novel to a friend or cooking a meal from a gifted cookbook.
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