What a year! The Girlfriend Book Club — a closed Facebook group with nearly 120,000 members — has enjoyed a fabulous 2025 jam-packed with great literature. We've given away thousands of books. We've heard from many prominent authors, everyone from Wally Lamb to Fiona Davis. We've discussed many incredible reads. And, perhaps most importantly, we've made connections with others who love books.
And now I'm so pleased to announce the winners of the 6th Annual Girlfriend Book Club Choice Awards, the major book awards decided by members of The Girlfriend Book Club. Here are your picks of the year, in 11 different categories. Congrats to all the winners, and here's to another fabulous year of reading in 2026!
Your Most-Anticipated Books Coming Out In 2026:
Winner: "Whistler" by Ann Patchett
Runner-up: "Daughter of Egypt" by Marie Benedict
Best Books Read By The Girlfriend Book Club In 2025 — (basically, we loved them all!):
Winner: "The River Is Waiting" by Wally Lamb
Winner: "My Friends" by Fredrik Backman
Winner: "The Correspondent" by Virginia Evans
Winner: "Broken Country" by Clare Leslie Hall
Best Girlfriend Author Interviews Of 2025:
Winner: Wally Lamb
Runner-up: Fredrik Backman
Best Authors Of 2025:
Winner: Wally Lamb
Runner-up: Fredrik Backman
Runner-up: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Best Fiction Books Of 2025:
Winner: "My Friends" by Fredrik Backman
Runner-up: "The Correspondent" by Virginia Evans
Runner-up: "The Stolen Queen" by Fiona Davis
Runner-up: "Atmosphere" by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Best Book Covers Of 2025:
Winner: "My Friends" by Fredrik Backman
Runner-up: "The Correspondent" by Virginia Evans
Best Celebrity Memoirs Of 2025:
Winner: "My Next Breath" by Jeremy Renner
Runner-up: "Cher" by Cher
Best Nonfiction Books Of 2025:
Winner: "Everything Is Tuberculosis" by John Green
Runner-up: "Nobody's Girl" by Virginia Roberts Giuffre
The Books That Made The Biggest Impact On Our Lives In 2025:
Winner: "The River Is Waiting" by Wally Lamb
Runner-up: "The Correspondent" by Virginia Evans
Best Audiobooks Of 2025:
Winner: "Atmosphere" by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Runner-up: "The Correspondent" by Virginia Evans
Best Cookbooks Of 2025:
Winner: To Die For: A Cookbook of Gravestone Recipes by Rosie Grant
Runner-up: "Everything's Good" by Toni Chapman
Thanks to all of you who voted, and thanks for your continued support and contributions. Please invite your female family members and friends to join this special club.
I'm eternally grateful for this group of wonderful women.
Shelley
Shelley Emling
Moderator of The Girlfriend Book Club and Executive Editor of The Girlfriend newsletter
What was YOUR favorite book of 2025? Let us know in the comments below.
AARP
