Books We Love: NPR staff's top non-fiction picks of the year

By Melissa Gray,

Diaa Hadid, Tinbete Ermyas, Chloe Veltman

Published December 14, 2025 at 8:01 AM EST

NPR staff share recommendations for non-fiction reading from our Books We Love list: "The War of Art," "Shattered Lands," "Toni at Random" and "Patchwork."

Melissa Gray

Melissa Gray is a senior producer for All Things Considered.

See stories by Melissa Gray

Diaa Hadid

Diaa Hadid chiefly covers Pakistan and Afghanistan for NPR News. She is based in NPR's bureau in Islamabad. There, Hadid and her team were awarded a Murrow in 2019 for hard news for their story on why abortion rates in Pakistan are among the highest in the world.

See stories by Diaa Hadid

Tinbete Ermyas

Chloe Veltman

Chloe Veltman is a correspondent on NPR's Culture Desk.

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