The December Edit

Six new releases to close out 2025

Hi book lovelies,

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, no matter how you spent it. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I get to share an epic meal with some of my favorite people in the world without the stress of holiday shopping that comes with Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, today marks the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season. A few weeks ago, I shared A Bookish Gift Guide with my paid subscribers, listing some great gifts for the bookish person on your list. Check it out if you need some ideas.

December is right around the corner. It’s literally waiting for us on the other side of this weekend. And with a new month comes a whole new batch of new releases. December always feels like a weird time to publish something, but even so, some intriguing books are coming out this month. Here are the ones that are catching my eye:

Fiction

• Before I Forget by Tory Henwood Hoen, December 2

  Cricket is 26, stuck in a quarter-life haze, and now faced with her father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. When she returns home to care for him, she discovers that while his memory is fading, he might also be predicting the future. This novel blends grief, magical realism, and emotional clarity in a story about healing, identity, and the ways we circle back to who we used to be.

Science Fiction

• The Definitions by Matt Greene, December 2
  At a seaside rehabilitation center, students arrive nameless and memoryless, tasked with relearning how to live. As flickers of their past begin to return, they start questioning the identities assigned to them and what makes a person who they are. This is a dystopian novel about language, power, and the human instinct to define ourselves on our own terms.

Romance

• The Bodyguard Affair by Amy Lea, December 2
  Romance author by night, prime minister’s assistant by day. Andi Zeigler’s double life gets messy when her steamy fictional story turns into a full-blown PR scandal. Cue the fake-dating setup with her one-night-stand-turned-bodyguard. This is a fun, trope-filled rom-com with a bit of steam, a bit of heart, and a Canadian twist.

Non Fiction

• Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books by Hwang Bo-Reum, December 2
  From the author of Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop comes a gentle, reflective book of essays on the joy, purpose, and rhythm of reading. It’s less about what to read and more about why we read, and how the act of reading can shape a life. Thoughtful, tender, and filled with bookish wisdom, this is a perfect cozy companion for winter.
  

• Why Do I Keep Doing This? Unlearn the Habits Keeping You Stuck and Unhappy by Kati Morton, December 9
  In this compassionate and practical guide, therapist Kati Morton explores how early emotional conditioning, anxiety, and the need for control shape our behavior in relationships and in ourselves. It’s part personal story, part therapist insight, and part tough love with warmth. For anyone who finds themselves stuck in the same cycles, this book offers clarity and hope.
  

• Ain’t Nobody’s Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton by Martha Ackmann, December 30
  This deeply reported biography looks beyond the rhinestones and into the complexities that shaped Dolly Parton’s iconic life. From early rejection to international superstardom, and from mental health struggles to world-changing philanthropy, Dolly’s story is one of grit, heart, and staying power. A must-read for fans of music, memoir, and women who never apologize for taking up space.

Are you adding any of these to your stack? Are there any new December releases that you’re excited about that I missed? Let me know in the comments!

I hope you enjoy the long weekend and get a chance to sneak in some reading.

Your smitten bookworm,

Emily

p.s. Share this post with someone you spent Thanksgiving with 💗