{"id":6399,"date":"2025-12-02T17:03:57","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T17:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelifesphere.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/02\/our-favorite-books-of-2025-vishal\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T17:03:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T17:03:58","slug":"our-favorite-books-of-2025-vishal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelifesphere.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/02\/our-favorite-books-of-2025-vishal\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Favorite Books of 2025 &#8211; Vishal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>It&#8217;s that time of year again when the best-of lists make their rounds. As always, we&#8217;ve brainstormed and selected some of our favorite monographs, surveys, and whimsical books published in 2025. Many of these titles were also reader favorites and flew off our shelves as quickly as we could stock them (ahem, <em>only the dog knows<\/em>,<\/p>\n<p>You can find many of the books below \u2013 along with other books we&#8217;re enjoying <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/collections\/books\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">huge shop<\/a>For more favourites, see the list of 2024,<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/collections\/books\/products\/alphabet-in-motion-how-letters-get-their-shape\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/collections\/books\/products\/alphabet-in-motion-how-letters-get-their-shape\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The alphabet in motion: how letters get their shapes<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This ABC pop-up book by Kelly Anderson is the culmination of thousands of hours of research in various design archives. The artist and designer carefully created kinetic and three-dimensional letters to show how type styles have evolved through the ages. The project consists of two combined, detachable books: one is an interactive display with movable paper elements and activities, while the other dives into the history and concept behind each pop-up.<\/p>\n<p>buy in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/collections\/books\/products\/alphabet-in-motion-how-letters-get-their-shape\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">huge shop<\/a>,<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/collections\/books\/products\/pre-order-wonder-women-art-of-the-asian-diaspora\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2401\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wonder-woman-6.jpg\" alt=\"A surreal painting of two figures, one some kind of hybrid creature, standing on either side of a tree with an egg\" class=\"wp-image-455379\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wonder-woman-6.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wonder-woman-6-640x768.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wonder-woman-6-960x1152.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wonder-woman-6-768x922.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wonder-woman-6-1279x1536.jpg 1279w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wonder-woman-6-1706x2048.jpg 1706w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Shyama Golden, &#8220;The Passage&#8221; (2022)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/collections\/books\/products\/pre-order-wonder-women-art-of-the-asian-diaspora\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wonder Woman: Art of the Asian Diaspora<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Companion to an exhibition of the same name, <em>wonder Women<\/em> Emerging from curator and writer Cathy Huang&#8217;s desire to highlight the remarkable spectrum of figurative works produced within the Asian diaspora. This section introduces the practices of 40 artists through their works and personal statements, addressing a wide range of topics from identity and family to colonialism and myth-making.<\/p>\n<p>buy in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/collections\/books\/products\/pre-order-wonder-women-art-of-the-asian-diaspora\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">huge shop<\/a>,<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/collections\/books\/products\/dog-only-knows\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2676\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/friend-8.jpg\" alt=\"A painting by Alison Friend, depicting a dog holding a sketch\" class=\"wp-image-463951\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/friend-8.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/friend-8-640x856.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/friend-8-960x1284.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/friend-8-768x1028.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/friend-8-1148x1536.jpg 1148w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/friend-8-1531x2048.jpg 1531w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<p><em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/collections\/books\/products\/dog-only-knows\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dog Only Nose: The Dog Portraits of Alison Friend<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Alison Friend has attracted the attention of many animal lovers with her quirky dog \u200b\u200bacting. <em>only the dog knows<\/em> They have collected 125 unique illustrations that showcase little puppies with big personalities.<\/p>\n<p>buy in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/collections\/books\/products\/dog-only-knows\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">huge shop<\/a>,<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/96\/9783791393773\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1982\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/shabbaz-11.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph of a man among autumn leaves by Jamil Shabbaz\" class=\"wp-image-463565\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/shabbaz-11.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/shabbaz-11-640x634.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/shabbaz-11-960x951.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/shabbaz-11-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/shabbaz-11-768x761.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/shabbaz-11-1536x1522.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<p><em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/96\/9783791393773\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Prospect Park: Photographs of a Brooklyn Oasis, 1980 to 2025<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Brooklyn&#8217;s Prospect Park is deeply loved by locals, as captured by photographer Jamel Shabazz in his book of the same name. Spanning 45 years, the visual volume celebrates urban enclaves and the people who gather there, documenting how public space provides opportunities for community building, relaxation and joy.<\/p>\n<p>buy at <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/96\/9783791393773\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">book store<\/a>,<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/collections\/books\/products\/the-war-of-art-a-history-of-artists-protest-in-america\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1348\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/war-2.jpg\" alt=\"A woman in a wheat field in front of a city view\" class=\"wp-image-456535\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/war-2.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/war-2-640x431.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/war-2-960x647.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/war-2-768x518.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/war-2-1536x1035.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<p><em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/collections\/books\/products\/the-war-of-art-a-history-of-artists-protest-in-america\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The War of Art: A History of Artists&#8217; Protest in America<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Lauren O&#8217;Neil Butler surveys some of the most impactful artist-led activist projects <em>war of art<\/em>A timely book for a year of mass mobilization and protest, this volume traces the contemporary genealogy of constructivist approaches to resistance, <\/p>\n<p>buy in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/collections\/books\/products\/the-war-of-art-a-history-of-artists-protest-in-america\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">huge shop<\/a>,<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/96\/9783791393308\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"1106\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/freshsets-11-960x1106.jpg\" alt=\"Two hands hold a clam and show a manicure with realistic lobster and lobster claw details.\" class=\"wp-image-454491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/freshsets-11-960x1106.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/freshsets-11-640x737.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/freshsets-11-768x885.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/freshsets-11-1333x1536.jpg 1333w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/freshsets-11-1778x2048.jpg 1778w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/freshsets-11.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Nails and Image \u00a9 Naomi Yasuda<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/96\/9783791393308\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fresh Set: Contemporary Nail Art from Around the World<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve been on the Internet recently, you&#8217;ve probably noticed a growing trend. Nails adorned with rhinestones and polka dots, picnic spreads and even bright red lobster homages are part of the burgeoning style. They are also some of the fascinating designs that Tembe Denton-Hurst includes in her book, <em>fresh set<\/em>,<\/p>\n<p>buy at <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/96\/9783791393308\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">book store<\/a>,<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/products\/weird-buildings-pre-order?_pos=1&amp;_sid=30ac63f56&amp;_ss=r\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1751\" height=\"1171\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/weird-9.jpg\" alt=\"An open book spread with a fairy tale house\" class=\"wp-image-460223\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/weird-9.jpg 1751w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/weird-9-640x428.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/weird-9-960x642.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/weird-9-768x514.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/weird-9-1536x1027.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1751px) 100vw, 1751px\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<p><em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/products\/weird-buildings-pre-order?_pos=1&amp;_sid=30ac63f56&amp;_ss=r\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">strange buildings<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This collection is exactly what its title suggests: a celebration of some of the weird, bizarre, and unique structures around the world. Featuring 100 notable projects, <em>strange buildings<\/em> Explores the whimsical and wild and celebrates designers who expand what architecture can be.<\/p>\n<p>buy in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/products\/weird-buildings-pre-order?_pos=1&amp;_sid=30ac63f56&amp;_ss=r\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">huge shop<\/a>,<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/collections\/books\/products\/the-contemporary-garden-pre-order\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1516\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/285-australian-garden-2.jpg\" alt=\"Aerial view of a contemporary garden with a large, terracotta-colored sculpture platform\" class=\"wp-image-458780\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/285-australian-garden-2.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/285-australian-garden-2-640x485.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/285-australian-garden-2-960x728.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/285-australian-garden-2-768x582.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/285-australian-garden-2-1536x1164.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Taylor Cully Lethlain with Paul Thompson, Australian Gardens, Cranbourne Gardens, Victoria, Australia (2006 and 2012). Photo by John Gollings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/collections\/books\/products\/the-contemporary-garden-pre-order\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contemporary garden<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>From simple backyard plots to the iconic landscape of Versailles, gardens have long been a source of sustenance, beauty, and spiritual communion. <em>contemporary garden<\/em> Gardening travels to 300 green spaces in 40 countries, surveying the enduring connection between nature and aesthetics. We love the breadth of genres covered in this book&#8217;s more than 300 pages, and the mix of both private and public spaces.<\/p>\n<p>buy in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/collections\/books\/products\/the-contemporary-garden-pre-order\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">huge shop<\/a>,<\/p>\n<aside class=\"after-entry\" role=\"complementary\" aria-label=\"After Entry\">\n<section id=\"block-16\" class=\"widget widget_block widget_text\">\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:#88caf0\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><strong>Do these kinds of stories and artists matter to you?<\/strong><\/mark>    Become a VAST member now, and support independent art publishing.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"block-17\" class=\"widget widget_block\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top member-benefits is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>hide ads<\/li>\n<li>Save your favorite articles<\/li>\n<li>Get 15% Off <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/\">huge shop<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Receive members-only newsletters<\/li>\n<li>Give 1% to art supplies in K-12 classrooms<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/aside>\n<nav class=\"navigation post-navigation\" role=\"navigation\"\/>\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s that time of year again when the best-of lists make their rounds. As always, we&#8217;ve brainstormed and selected some of our favorite monographs, surveys, and whimsical books published in 2025. Many of these titles were also reader favorites and flew off our shelves as quickly as we could stock them (ahem, only the dog<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6399","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-creativity"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelifesphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelifesphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelifesphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelifesphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelifesphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6399"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thelifesphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6401,"href":"https:\/\/thelifesphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6399\/revisions\/6401"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelifesphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelifesphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelifesphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelifesphere.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}