2025: The year's top books
"Sunday Morning" checks out the bestselling fiction and non-fiction of the past year.
Books
The Book Report: Ron Charles' picks from 2025
The Washington Post book reviewer offers "Sunday Morning" viewers his picks for fiction and non-fiction titles to add to their New Year's reading lists.
The Book Report: Ron Charles' books of the year for 2025
The Washington Post book reviewer offers "Sunday Morning" viewers his picks for fiction and non-fiction titles to add to their New Year's reading lists.
Book excerpt: "Guilty by Definition" by Susie Dent
This debut novel is a mystery in which a dictionary editor at Oxford turns to word-sleuthing in order to unravel a family member's long-ago disappearance.
Book excerpt: "Black Moses" by Caleb Gayle
The award-winning journalist's latest book recounts the rise of Edward McCabe, an activist who, during Reconstruction, lobbied for a Black-governed state in the Oklahoma Territory.
Jane Austen at 250: Celebrating a writer who still inspires new chapters
Enduring romances such as "Pride and Prejudice," "Sense and Sensibility," and "Emma" made the British writer one of the brightest names in literature – and the beloved subject of a yearlong celebration marking the 250th anniversary of her birth.
Jane Austen at 250
Her enduring romances, including "Pride and Prejudice," "Sense and Sensibility," and "Emma," made British writer Jane Austen one of the brightest names in literature – and the beloved subject of a yearlong celebration marking the 250th anniversary of her birth. Seth Doane visits Bath, England, the setting for two of the Regency Era author's six novels, and talks with Devoney Looser, author of "Wild for Austen." Doane also visits the set of a forthcoming miniseries inspired by Austen's characters, "The Other Bennet Sister."
Book excerpt: "The Colonel and the King" by Peter Guralnick
Elvis Presley biographer Peter Guralnick's latest book traces the relationship between the King and Colonel Tom Parker, a manager whose marketing savvy helped launch a rock 'n' roll revolution.
Author Jan Karon on returning to Mitford: "I know that we don't have forever anymore"
The bestselling author had said she would no longer write novels set in the make-believe mountain village of Mitford. After the death of her daughter, she wrote through her grief – which led to her 15th Mitford book, "My Beloved."
Author Jan Karon on returning to Mitford
Novelist Jan Karon has written 25 bestsellers, including 15 about a make-believe mountain village, Mitford – stories in which the humanity of her characters is evoked in what she calls "a place of refuge." Karon talks with Faith Salie about discovering her voice as a writer at a very young age; the comforting qualities of her stories; and how the death of her daughter, Candace, led to her latest Mitford book, "My Beloved."
Elvis and the Colonel
Elvis Presley biographer Peter Guralnick's latest book, "The Colonel and the King," is the story of a partnership that rocked popular culture, and how Colonel Parker's marketing savvy and enduring loyalty helped the King get his crown.
Elvis and the Colonel
Elvis Presley biographer Peter Guralnick's latest book, "The Colonel and the King," is the story of a partnership that rocked popular culture. Anthony Mason talks with Guralnick at Graceland about how Colonel Parker's marketing savvy and enduring loyalty helped the King get his crown. Mason also talks with Parker's friend, actor George Hamilton, who witnessed Parker's gambling addiction that threatened his partnership with Presley.
"Family of Spies": Christine Kuehn discovers her grandfather's Nazi past
In 1994 Christine Kuehn received a letter that revealed a family history from which her father had tried to shield her: Christine's grandfather, Otto, was a Nazi spy who was the only person tried and convicted for the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Book excerpt: "My Beloved" by Jan Karon
The New York Times bestselling author returns to the village of Mitford in her 15th novel featuring Father Tim Kavanagh.
Book excerpt: "Family of Spies" by Christine Kuehn
Christine Kuehn uncovered a devastating family secret long hidden by her father: her grandfather, Otto, was a Nazi spy who passed military information on to the Axis powers in the run-up to the attack on Pearl Harbor.
"To Die For": Beloved recipes etched in stone
When Rosie Grant launched a TikTok channel, GhostlyArchive, as a testament to gravestones, she discovered a niche form of memorial: cemetery markers that bear beloved recipes of the dearly departed. Her new cookbook collects headstone recipes that are "To Die For."
Book excerpt: "Defying Gravity," a biography of "Wicked" composer Stephen Schwartz
Biographer Carol de Giere explores the creative career of the Grammy- and Oscar-winning composer of such treasured Broadway and movie hits as "Godspell," "Pippin" and "Wicked."
Book excerpt: "There Is No Place For Us" by Brian Goldstone
For his new book, the journalist examines why so many people who work full-time jobs with low wages are homeless in America.
Oprah Winfrey reveals "Some Bright Nowhere" as November book club pick
Oprah Winfrey on Tuesday announced her latest book club selection "Some Bright Nowhere" by Ann Packer on "CBS Mornings."
Book excerpt: "The Day After Yesterday: Resilience in the Face of Dementia"
Photographer Joe Wallace has chronicled the stories of families who have lived with Alzheimer's.
Book excerpt: "The Wounded Generation" by David Nasaw
The historian examines how service members returning home from World War II were changed in ways undiagnosed and untreated, to a nation that had also changed following years of war.
Salman Rushdie on "The Eleventh Hour" and free speech
The author talks about his first fiction published since the 2022 attack that nearly killed him; his own immigrant experience in the U.S.; and what happens when freedom of speech dies.
Extended interview: Salman Rushdie
In this web exclusive, author Salman Rushdie talks with Martha Teichner about his new book, "The Eleventh Hour," a collection of short stories and a novella, and the first fiction Rushdie has published since the 2022 attack that nearly killed him.
Salman Rushdie on "The Eleventh Hour"
"The Eleventh Hour," a collection of short stories and a novella, is the first fiction Salman Rushdie has published since the 2022 attack that nearly killed him. He talks with Martha Teichner about his new book; the fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989, claiming passages in Rushdie's novel, "The Satanic Verses," insulted Islam; his own immigrant experience in the U.S.; and what happens when freedom of speech dies.
The Book Report: Ron Charles' latest picks (Nov. 2)
The Washington Post book reviewer offers highlights from fall's fiction and non-fiction releases.
Entertainment
Entertainment
MetroCard art: Swiping beauty from the mundane
On December 31, New York City will officially retire the transit system's MetroCard, that ubiquitous piece of plastic used to gain entrance onto subways and buses. But there is beauty in using MetroCards as the raw materials for art, as Thomas McKean has found in his collages and miniature sculptures depicting portraits of city life. Serena Altschul reports.
2025: The year's top books
"Sunday Morning" checks out the bestselling fiction and non-fiction of the past year.
2025: The year's top movies
"Sunday Morning" checks out the highest-grossing films of the past year.
2025: The year's top music
"Sunday Morning" checks out Spotify's top streaming hits of the past year.
The Book Report: Ron Charles' picks from 2025
The Washington Post book reviewer offers "Sunday Morning" viewers his picks for fiction and non-fiction titles to add to their New Year's reading lists.
The Book Report: Ron Charles' books of the year for 2025
The Washington Post book reviewer offers "Sunday Morning" viewers his picks for fiction and non-fiction titles to add to their New Year's reading lists.
Book excerpt: "Guilty by Definition" by Susie Dent
This debut novel is a mystery in which a dictionary editor at Oxford turns to word-sleuthing in order to unravel a family member's long-ago disappearance.
How one photographer takes refuge in Paris
Peter Turnley, an American and French photographer known for documenting the human condition, finds comfort in Paris. His new book "PARIS Je t'aime" showcases 50 years of photographs from his favorite city.
Samara Joy performs "Now And Then (In Remembrance Of...)"
Samara Joy burst onto the jazz scene in 2021, earning major praise as a "classic jazz singer from a new generation," and gaining popularity on TikTok. The young artist has already won five Grammy Awards, and her album "Portrait" is now up for Best Jazz Vocal Album of the Year. Here's Samara Joy performing "Now And Then (In Remembrance Of...)."
Samara Joy performs "Three Little Words"
Samara Joy burst onto the jazz scene in 2021, earning major praise as a "classic jazz singer from a new generation," and gaining popularity on TikTok. The young artist has already won five Grammy Awards, and her album "Portrait" is now up for Best Jazz Vocal Album of the Year. Here's Samara Joy performing "Three Little Words."
Second actor accuses Tyler Perry of sexual assault in new lawsuit
It marks the second lawsuit in recent months accusing the filmmaker and studio mogul of leveraging his power in Hollywood to make sexual advances.
Perry Bamonte, guitarist for The Cure, dies after "short illness" at 65
The band announced Perry Bamonte's death on their official website on Friday.
Broadway actress Imani Smith stabbed to death in New Jersey, police say
Smith previously played young Nala in "The Lion King" on Broadway.
Former "Big Brother" houseguest Mickey Lee died on Christmas, family says
Mickey Lee, a former "Big Brother" houseguest known for her vibrant personality and bold gameplay, has died, her family announced in a social media post shared Friday.
Kimmel skewers Trump, tells U.K. viewers that "tyranny is booming" in U.S.
The message, aired on Channel 4 on Christmas Day, reflected on the impact of President Trump's second term in office thus far.