Everyone Should Read

To close out 2025, Everyone Should Read co-hosts Kate Watters and Drew Sylva share their best books of 2025 in an extra-long bonus episode. We’re breaking down our top picks across longform fiction, longform nonfiction, shortform fiction, and shortform nonfiction—plus the most surprising reads, our favorite discoveries, and the single best thing we read all year. Expect lively book recommendations, hot takes, and tangents that take us all over the literary map.

Drew's Best of 2025 Book Picks:
Longform Fiction: Home to Harlem by Claude McKay / The Antidote by Karen Russel
Longform NonFiction: The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein
Short-form Fiction: The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
Short-form NonFiction: The Race to Innocence by Mary Louise Fellows and Sherene Razack
Book that Surprised: Yellowface by R.F. Huang
Book to Build a Class Around: Making History by KJ Parker
Best thing Drew Read in 2025: The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez

Kate's Best of 2025 Book Picks:
Longform Fiction: The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
Longform NonFiction: In Open Contempt by Irvin Weathersby Jr
Short-form Fiction: Galatea by Madeline Miller / Carmilla by Sheridan le Fanu
Short-form NonFiction: Superfine by Monica L. Miller
Book that Surprised: I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jannette McCurdy
Book to Build a Class Around: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Best thing Kate Read in 2025: Hand written notes

Step into the shadows one last time this season as we close out Season One of Everyone Should Read with two of the most iconic Gothic masterpieces ever written: Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
In this finale, hosts Drew Sylva and Kate Watters explore the twisted dualities of morality, vanity, and the human soul. We unpack how Wilde and Stevenson use Gothic horror to reveal what happens when beauty, power, and repression collide — and why these stories still feel unsettlingly modern.
From Victorian aesthetics to psychological horror, we trace the origins of the “split self,” the dangers of perfectionism, and how these timeless tales continue to influence pop culture today.
Listen now to the season finale of Everyone Should Read — a deep dive into desire, decay, and the darkness within.
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube to catch upcoming bonus content and updates on Season Two!

Trigger Warning: this episode discusses suicide. If you, or anyone you know are suffering from thoughts of self harm, or suicide, please call the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988 or text the Crisis Text Line at 741741. Text HELP for English or AYUDA for Spanish.

In this episode of Everyone Should Read, hosts Kate Watters and Drew Sylva explore the dark beauty and haunting allure of Mexican Gothic literature through two standout novels — Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas. Join us as we discuss how these works blend Gothic horror, postcolonial themes, and feminist storytelling to challenge traditional narratives of power, race, and identity. From crumbling haciendas to blood-soaked battlefields, we unpack the symbolism, historical context, and modern resurgence of Latin American Gothic fiction.
Perfect for fans of literary horror, cultural criticism, and dark romance, this episode delves into the enduring legacy of the Gothic tradition — reimagined through a distinctly Mexican lens.
🎧 Tune in for insights on:
The cultural and historical roots of Mexican Gothic fiction

How Moreno-Garcia and Cañas use horror to explore colonial trauma and gender

The evolution of the Gothic heroine in contemporary literature

**The artist Drew mentions is Paloma Contreras Lomas**

In this haunting episode of Everyone Should Read, hosts Kate Watters and Drew Sylva dive deep into the unsettling world of Gothic Horror. From Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper to the cosmic terrors of H.P. Lovecraft. They explore how each writer captures the fear of the unknown, psychological confinement, and the boundaries of reality itself.
Through Gilman’s chilling portrayal of postpartum depression and female agency in a patriarchal world, and Lovecraft’s obsession with cosmic dread, Kate and Drew uncover how horror reflects both inner madness and societal control. Tune in for a discussion that blends literary analysis, feminist critique, and the psychology of fear, all wrapped in the eerie atmosphere that defines Gothic storytelling.

Trigger Warning: this episode discusses suicide. If you, or anyone you know are suffering from thoughts of self harm, or suicide, please call the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988 or text the Crisis Text Line at 741741. Text HELP for English or AYUDA for Spanish.

Step into the haunting world of Gothic poetry as Kate Watters and Drew Sylva unravel two of literature’s most iconic works: Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven. In this episode of Everyone Should Read, they explore how these poems capture the essence of the Gothic tradition—mystery, superstition, horror, and the sublime—while also shaping the way we understand fear, guilt, and the supernatural in modern culture.
From the cursed voyage of Coleridge’s mariner to Poe’s hypnotic refrain of “Nevermore,” Kate and Drew break down key themes, historical context, and cultural impact. Whether you’re a fan of Romantic poetry, Gothic literature, or simply want to understand why these chilling verses remain unforgettable, this episode will guide you through the shadows of two masterpieces that defined the genre.