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Bookstore Owners Reveal 2025's Hottest Genres
11 Dec, 2025
Summary
- Bookstore owners predict mystery and horror genres will be popular in 2025.
- Experts attribute genre popularity to processing a difficult world indirectly.
- Holiday book recommendations were shared on a recent podcast episode.
Two prominent New York City independent bookstore owners recently shared their insights on upcoming literary trends during a podcast appearance. Emma Straub of Books are Magic in Brooklyn and Lucy Yu of Yu & Me Books in Manhattan discussed their expectations for 2025, noting a projected surge in popularity for mystery and horror genres.
Yu posited that this growing interest in darker themes might be a societal coping mechanism. She suggested that readers are turning to mystery and horror as indirect ways to process the complexities and challenges of the current world. This outlook was shared during the latest installment of the Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club podcast.
The discussion also touched upon holiday gift-giving, with the bookstore owners providing recommendations in response to listener requests. This segment offered timely advice for those seeking to purchase books as presents during the festive season, highlighting a range of titles across different genres.
