Check out the most popular books in Indy this year, according to the Indianapolis Public Library

According to the library’s data, you couldn’t get enough of these books last year. See which titles you missed, plus staff picks.

December 20, 2025 • 
Staff
INDYtoday: INDY_North Woods book_DEC25

Editor Shea’s last read of 2025 was Daniel Mason’s heartbreakingly beautiful “North Woods” — shout out to her sister for loaning it to her.

Photo by INDYtoday team

Calling all bookworms. Indianapolis Public Library just dropped a list of its most-checked-out books of 2025. If you’re building your TBR (to be read) pile for 2026, consider these trending titles:

Adult Fiction

  1. The Women, by Kristin Hannah
  2. The God of the Woods: A Novel, by Liz Moore
  3. All the Colors of the Dark: A Novel, by Chris Whitaker
  4. The Housemaid Is Watching, by Freida McFadden
  5. The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah

Adult Nonfiction

  1. A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them, by Timothy Egan
  2. The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can’t Stop Talking About, by Mel Robbins
  3. Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection, by John Green
  4. The New Menopause: Navigating Your Path Through Hormonal Change With Purpose, Power, and Facts, by Mary Claire Haver
  5. Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health, by Casey Means

Adult Biographies

  1. Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, by Sarah Wynn-Williams
  2. Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir, by Ina Garten
  3. I’m Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy
  4. Cher: The Memoir. Part One, by Cher
  5. An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s, by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Teen Fiction

  1. Sunrise on the Reaping, by Suzanne Collins
  2. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, by Suzanne Collins
  3. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
  4. Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins
  5. Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins

Children’s Picture Books

  1. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, by Mo Willems
  2. The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster!, by Mo Willems
  3. The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!, by Mo Willems
  4. The Pigeon Needs a Bath!, by Mo Willems
  5. The Pigeon Has to Go to School!, by Mo Willems

Children’s Fiction

  1. Dog Man 13: Big Jim Begins, by Dav Pilkey
  2. Hot Mess, by Jeff Kinney
  3. Dog Man: Unleashed, by Dav Pilkey
  4. Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder, by Dav Pilkey
  5. Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea, by Dav Pilkey

e-Books and Audiobooks

  1. Onyx Storm, by Rebecca Yarros
  2. Funny Story, by Emily Henry
  3. The Women, by Kristin Hannah
  4. The Wedding People: A Novel, by Alison Espach
  5. The God of the Woods: A Novel, by Liz Moore

Searching for the next up-and-coming bestseller, a forgotten old classic that still holds up, or a hidden gem to pass around to all your friends? Library employees have put together a list of their staff picks for all ages and genre preferences.

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