2025 Bestsellers & Collective Picks
Each December we make a list of the dozen new fiction and nonfiction titles that we were most excited about over the prior year. These are books that struck a chord with our collective and our community and earned a permanent spot on our recommendations roster.
Who knew magic sex was exactly what we needed?? adrienne maree brown did! Interpersonal conflicts shall always arise in their messiness, even in the utopia of our own making. She really provides much introspection that you can't turn away from, and why would you, when there is magic inside us all.
—Junk, Firestorm Collective member
A story about robots starting a worker co-op?! Can our lovable cast overcome capitalist abandonment, climate chaos, and human prejudice to achieve their dreams? Only by working together in this ode to delicious noodles from one of my favorite science/fiction authors.
—Libertie, Firestorm Collective member
Without an understanding of trans/queer insurgent history it’s hard to Imagine beyond the cage of gay pragmatism. As necessary remedy, this collection invites us all to know collective revolt’s past so that we might also make its future.
—Eric A. Stanley, author of Atmospheres of Violence
A brilliant, gut-punch of a book exploring 100+ years of forceful Black resistance! In this genre-blurring history lesson, Ben Passmore is an involuntary time traveler, dragged skeptically through the past by their activist father. Eschewing easy answers, the author demands that we grapple with a lineage of resistance to white supremacy while keeping a critical eye on narratives of progress, leadership, and sacrifice. Black Arms is a dense and exquisitely crafted invitation to study and struggle.
—Libertie, Firestorm Collective member
An incredible compendium on wild plants, this book—filled with the meticulous bicolor illustrations of the author—will be appreciated by plant lovers and healers alike! Alongside recommended preparations and wildcrafting tips, Rebecca brings her signature love of folklore, telling the stories of ninety incredible plants found in North America, including familiar friends like apple, wild strawberry, and even non-natives like ground ivy. A delight to browse and full of accessible information for both the beginner and experienced herbalist!
Alec Karakatsanis exposes our criminal injustice system for what it is: a bureaucracy of punishment, propped up by a biased media machine that feeds mass incarceration. After Copaganda, you’ll never read the news the same way again.
—Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow
An unyielding and unsentimental interrogation of the colonial and supremacist logic at the core of so many feminisms—and mainline feminism itself. Sophie has undertaken the unwelcome work of unearthing "our" monsters and also complicating the legacies of some of our darlings (I found myself frequently wincing). The result is the bitter but necessary medicine feminists need to expel our "bad kin" and infuse our worldmaking with solidaristic possibility.
—Libertie, Firestorm Collective member
We met Chels in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene when they were practically a blur, crisscrossing the region to weave together material aid and solidarity. In From the Holler to the Sea, Chels and collaborators have brought that same energy to an anthology that weaves moving words with photos and illustrations that threaten to break your heart. An inspirational collection that showcases the power of community in both content and composition.
A finale to the fantastic Danielle Cain series, this book packs three intense story-within-a-story-s into a hundred pages. And while heavy themes of aging, lost fights, and lost comrades are a departure from the prior two novellas, The Immortal Choir blends Margaret's signature dark fantasy, wry humor, and earnest reflections on friendship, self-discovery, and trying to change the world.
—Libertie, Firestorm Collective member
Ladies in Hating is the gay gothic rom-com of my dreams, suffused with Vasti's usual, sincere affection: for her characters, and for her readers.
―Alix E. Harrow, author of Starling House
[A] pragmatic, timely book to help us navigate our most intimate relationships with a collective mindset; release romance myths and approach love as a practice; and cultivate discernment and freedom where we are trained towards judgement and ownership. He teaches us with gentle, relatable clarity and questions that allow us to reflect on how we are loving each other in this fucked up gorgeous world, and how to hold on to each other as the changes come.
—adrienne maree brown, author of Emergent Strategy
Ever had a string of bad luck so improbable you start to wonder what otherworldly forces are plotting against you? Lucky Day follow the most compelling duo since Scully and Mulder as they pull at the threads of a grand conspiracy. It's a cosmically good romp that only enhances Tingle's explorations of more sobering concerns such as bisexual erasure and what we lose when 'the ends justify the means.' Also, as someone who reads a lot of great horror, the kills we get in this book are straight up B A N A N A S!
—Esmé, Firestorm Collective member