Oprah's Book Club 2025 Picks Ranked By Reviews

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

It's hard to deny that 2025 was an impressive year for Oprah's Book Club. The seminal literary group celebrated its 29th year of existence, an accomplishment best underscored by its whopping 2 million member total at the time of writing. Still, while the number of readers has changed, Oprah Winfrey's recommendations have remained consistent. Per usual, in 2025, she promoted a variety of reads that challenged our egos, questioned the responsibilities within a marriage, and pushed the morality issues surrounding AI to the forefront. Additionally, Winfrey shined the spotlight on newbie and high-profile authors in fiction and non-fiction, and she did something she'd never done before — she recommended a book for the second time!

Still, some picks from Winfrey's bookshelf were more popular than others, and user reviews have revealed which titles truly resonated. To determine which 2025 recommendations were most "Beloved" by bookworms, we combined each book's overall star rating on both Goodreads and Amazon for a total sum out of 10. We then ranked the titles in order based on this number to definitively crown the best Oprah's Book Club pick of 2025. 

Editor Note: This article may contain spoilers.

"Dream State" by Eric Puchner came out last when ranking Oprah's Book Club recommendations for 2025. Though it narrowly misses out on being one of the least popular Oprah's Book Club picks ever, the story still maintains an average score of 3.59 out of 5.0 on Goodreads and a further 3.9 out of 5.0 on Amazon at the time of writing. That creates an overall rating of 7.49 out of 10. The non-fiction story is centered around betrothed couple Cece and Charlie as they plan their dream wedding. The two ask Charlie's best friend Garrett to be their officiant, but their life plans are thrown into jeopardy when things turn sour between the trio. The friction that emerges could have serious repercussions for years. "I promise you, it's the kind of book you won't want to put down," Winfrey said in an Instagram video as she heaped praise on Puchner's writing skills. 

But not everyone agreed quite so enthusiastically about February's pick. "I usually can count on Oprah's pick to be stellar but sadly this was just mediocre for me ... The writing had moments of brilliance and then it would be overdone," one reader wrote on Goodreads. Another review stated, "Characters were not likeable, it jumped all over the place, the climate change woven through was a bit much for me." However, more positive reviews acknowleged the way the author made mundane life events more interesting and appreciated the way Puchner shone a light on how one decision can have lifelong consequences.

In November, Oprah Winfrey urged her book club members to read "Some Bright Nowhere" by Ann Packer. The domestic drama has an average score of 7.7 at the time of writing, which we pulled from its  3.7 average on Goodreads and 4.0-star overall rating on Amazon. The fictional novel follows Claire and Eliot, two parents have been married for decades. However, their world is torn apart when Claire gets a devastating terminal health diagnosis. Knowing she doesn't have long to live, she asks her husband to grant her dying wish — to allow her friends to care for her in her final days, not him.

"This beautifully written story is going to get you thinking about some things that really matter," Winfrey claimed in a video shared to Instagram. "Their story is going to leave you questioning, I think, the obligations of marriage and the differences between male and female friendships," she continued. It's understandable why the media mogul found the novel so intriguing, as her very close friendship with Gayle King potentially hindering her private time with long-time partner Stedman Graham is one of the red flags we noticed in Winfrey's relationship. 

Some reviewers found the book's concept too dark though, while others claimed the characters and their situation was difficult to relate to. "I can't fault Packer's writing, but I really, really disliked the selfish, childish women in this book," one Goodreads review stated. However, others found more positives in the novel, as a 3-star review read, "It's still beautifully written, and I can see it resonating with readers who enjoy quiet, introspective family dramas about marriage and grief."

Just besting "Some Bright Nowhere" by Ann Packer is Megha Majumdar's "A Guardian and a Thief," which, at the time of writing, has an average of 3.88 on Goodreads and a 4.0-star average on Amazon for an overall rating of 7.88 by our scoring system. The non-fiction recommendation is set in India and details protagonist Ma's nightmare as she prepares to move to the United States with her family for a new life. Though all seems to be going according to plan, on the morning she's set to leave, Ma discovers her immigration documents have been stolen, throwing her entire life into jeopardy. The creative novel also offers the thief's perspective on the situation, making for a compelling and unique story about how geography and class shape our choices.

A 5-star review on Amazon (where most reviews of the October pick were 5-star) stated, "The author did a such a good job of transporting the reader to the streets of Kalkota, and the plight of her people. Though some book lovers felt unsettled by the story's sad ending, another reader wrote, "Powerful. Unsettling. One of those rare books I know I won't forget." Speaking about "Some Bright Nowhere" on Instagram, Winfrey gushed over Majumdar, sharing, "This was one great read because Megha Majumdar is wise beyond her years."

Taking the eighth highest slot on our ranking of Oprah's Book Club's 2025 picks is May's selection, "The Emperor of Gladness" by Ocean Vuong. The touching book centers on teenager Hai, who is unexpectedly saved from taking his own life by a stranger named Grazina, who convinces him to give living a second chance. Hai eventually learns that Grazina has dementia and decides to spend the life she saved caring for her. The two soon form an unexpected bond, despite being very different people. "Reading 'The Emperor of Gladness' was an emotional experience for me," Winfrey said in an Instagram video. And it appears she's not the only one. The book has an average score of 7.92 out of 10 and the time of writing, thanks to its 3.92 average rating on Goodreads and 4.0 average on Amazon.

The book has predominantly 4-star reviews on Goodreads, where one reader wrote, "I'm endlessly astounded by the way Ocean Vuong is able to put the aching, joyousness and mundanity of being human in a way that feels as melancholic and raw as it does beautiful, and this was absolutely no different." Others though were put off by what they claimed were awkward conversations between the two main characters, while another reader felt Hai wasn't fully developed as a main character. "[The] plot is full of contrivances and logic leaps," they added.

Marking the first of Oprah Winfrey's 2025 book selections to have an average combined star rating of 8.0 or higher, "Bridge of Sighs" by Richard Russo lands seventh position on our list. This August pick is follows protagonist Lucy (short for Louis), who heads to Italy with his wife to visit a long-time friend named Noonan, who moved there to escape his fast-paced American life for a far more solitary existence. However,  it turns out Lucy is looking for more than a quick catchup in the sun. Rather, he's determined to quiz Noonan about their shared history and potentially uncover some harsh truths.

Multiple reviews were complementary of Russo's writing, with Winfrey stating on Instagram, "He is a master at capturing the ordinary moments that reveal some of the deepest truths, especially in small town novels." Another reader wrote on Amazon (where the majority of ratings are five-star), "The characters in this book are so alive and the thinking of the author as he brings them together in their search for values is fascinating." Others compared the structure to another of Russo's novels, the Pulitzer Price winner "Empire Falls," while a Goodreads reviewer lamented, "Ultimately, this is a novel of redemption and great sadness, of happiness in the small details that make up a life — the search for greatness within the smallness of ourselves." The novel boasts a Goodreads score of 3.82 with an Amazon score of 4.3 at the time of writing, giving it a 8.12 average out of 10.

With an average score of 8.19 at the time of writing (3.79 on Goodreads and 4.4 on Amazon), "All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberty" by Elizabeth Gilbert takes the sixth spot on our list. "I've got an extraordinary memoir," Winfrey said on Instagram when announcing the September choice. "[Gilbert] has written the memoir of all memoirs," she added. Winfrey's pick details what happened when the "Eat Pray Love" and "Big Magic" author divorced her husband after falling in love with her best friend and the struggle she endured when she found herself in the dark throws of addiction.

On Goodreads, multiple readers resonated with Gilbert's honest, candid take on her dark life story. "This book needs to be read through the eyes of an addict," one reviewer pointed out, encouraging readers give Gilbert grace when reading about her behavior. "She is telling the truth of her life, owning it and surrendering to it," another stated in a 4-star review. Still, despite most reviews giving the book a 5-star rating on Goodreads, not everyone was so enthralled by Gilbert's candid work. "This book is not a river — it's a whirlpool. A slow, spiraling descent into the kind of spiritual navel-gazing that confuses self-revelation with self-justification," a 1-star review claimed.

Sliding inside the top five is another memoir, Amy Griffin's "The Tell." The book details Griffin's experience coming to terms with her past after MDMA therapy uncovers some childhood trauma that her brain had previously blocked out. After learning about her history, Griffin becomes determined to process the pain of her past and forge a better future for herself. "It's an extraordinary memoir by an author who ran, literally, from the dirt roads where she grew up in Texas to the streets of New York City in search of perfection as a wife, as a mother, as a highly successful businesswoman," Winfrey said on Instagram when making her March rec. At the time of writing, the book has amassed an average of 3.97 on Goodreads and 4.3 on Amazon, bringing its total to 8.27 out of 10.

Multiple reviewers commented on Griffin's bravery for telling her harrowing story and shared their belief the non-fiction book had the potential to help people in similar situations. In other reviews, readers shared how they related to her story. "Emotional. Raw. Honest. Heartbreaking. Eye-opening. Informative. Inspiring," one poignant Goodreads review stated.

"Culpability" by Bruce Holsinger narrowly missed out on a spot inside the top three. At the time of writing, the novel has a total average score of 8.45 out of 10 (made up of 4.05 on Goodreads and 4.4 on Amazon). Holsinger's story details the perils of the Cassidy-Shaw family after they become involved in a driverless car accident. As the group attempts to recover and come to terms with what happened, each one discovers secrets that have the potential to change everything. On top of this fascinating premise, the book interrogates the morality of AI in a world that has become increasingly dependent on it.

In Oprah Winfrey's Instagram announcement video, she noted how timely the July choice is amid AI's rising prominence in mainstream culture. Plenty of her fellow readers agreed. "Bruce Holsinger's 'Culpability' may be one of the first contemporary novels to address the ethical consequences of AI as it's now understood in our current world," one Goodreads user review pointed out. On Amazon, where more than half of the reviews were 5-star, one reader complimented Hollinger's strong writing skills, while another touched upon its thought-provoking nature.

The first book inside the top three of Oprah's Book Club 2025 ranking is Wally Lamb's "The River is Waiting." The June rec has an impressive 8.83 average score at the time of writing, including 4.33 on Goodreads and 4.5 on Amazon. Lamb's third book to be chosen by Oprah's Book Club centers around protagonist Corby Ledbetter as his life comes crashing down when he caused a horrific tragedy. Corby, a husband and dad to young twins, is given a life sentence and finds his new life behind bars hard to swallow. However, he takes a philosophical approach to his new normal, forging a close connection with one of his teenage fellow inmates while hoping his nearest and dearest will one day find it in their hearts to forgive him. "This bestselling author Wally Lamb takes us on an incredibly and transformative journey from the depths of despair to the healing power of being able to face the truth," Oprah Winfrey said on Instagram.

Over 50% of Goodreads reviews gave the book a 5-star rating, with one writing, "Lamb paints a realistic picture of prison life being bleak. Friendships earned through trust and honesty. Doing the right thing can come at a cost. A character who is authentic in his flaws and in his suffering." Another noted that although the novel may not be an easy, breezy read due to its darker themes, the emotion Lamb evokes through his writing makes it a must read.

Oprah Winfrey made a surprising move at the beginning of 2025 when she chose Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" for the second time. "... This book transformed the way I see my life. It made a huge difference to the way I moved through the world," Winfrey said in an Instagram video. "I already had a life's purpose in 2008, but it enhanced the purpose that I was living here on earth, and I know it can do it for everyone who reads it," she added, referring to the first time it made Oprah's Book Club list 17 years earlier. It's clear from reviews that the former talk show host isn't the only one who can't stop raving about Tolle's classic self-help book, which focuses on how our egos can impact our everyday lives. At the time of writing, January's re-pick has an average of 4.17 stars on Goodreads and 4.7 stars on Amazon, putting it at a remarkable 8.87 out of 10 on our list.

Multiple reviews praised Tolle for the way he made complicated philosophical concepts easy to understand, while other's enjoyed how the poignant book entwined religious ideologies in a modern way. One Goodreads review wrote, "Tolle's 'A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose' is a fantastic book for anyone who is looking for some illumination on life. Many of us want to change, yearn to better ourselves or grow to our fullest potential, yet we have no idea HOW to do this."

Taking the coveted number one spot as Oprah's Book Club's highest ranked pick of 2025 is Tina Knowles' memoir "Matriarch." In this bestseller, the proud Texas native recalls her experience growing up in the Lone Star State long before becoming mom to future pop stars Beyonce and Solange. "You will be totally riveted by the twist and turns of this deeply personal and compelling story," Oprah Winfrey said on Instagram. If the reviews are anything to go on, she wasn't wrong. "Matriarch" (a memoir that made a perfect 2025 holiday gift) boasts an average score of 9.27 out of 10 at the time of writing made up of 4.47 on Goodreads and 4.8 on Amazon, which is more than the highest-ranking book from both Reese's Book Club's Best Picks of 2025 and Read With Jenna's 2025 recs.

On Goodreads, almost 60% of reviewers gave the non-fiction book a 5-star rating, with many sharing how much they related to and appreciated Knowles' honest reflections on motherhood. "'Matriarch' is a story of learning self-love, self-worth, and self-advocacy as a woman who was once a daughter and sister then became a wife and mother until she got to the stage where she could finally just...be her," one reader wrote. Another claimed the book helped them see another side to the businesswoman and her famous daughters, while a third review stated, "Tina Knowles is the epicentre for all things feminism and this beautiful recount kept me rooting for her time and time again."

In the interest of keeping this list as objective as possible, we formed our ranking using our own numerical scoring system. We did this by combining each book's overall average star rating on both Good Reads and Amazon together into one sum out of 10 for its overall average. We then ordered them by numerical value rounded to the nearest hundredth. We also analyzed multiple positive and negative reviews on both Goodreads and Amazon to find out what readers liked and didn't like about each pick to create a comprehensive overview of reader opinions. Because Oprah Winfrey skipped a December pick for 2025, our list only features 11 titles.