In defiance of algorithms and arbitrary time-bound restrictions, we here at The Stranger decided to give the tradition a little twist and compile a list of our personal favorite discoveries of the year, regardless of when they came out. by Stranger Staff It’s the time of year where every publication releases their year-end lists and the most annoying people you know are posting their Spotify Wrapped. In defiance of algorithms and arbitrary time-bound restrictions, we here at The Stranger decided to give the tradition a little twist and compile a list of our personal favorite discoveries of the year, regardless of when they came out. Here are our top finds of 2025, including vintage dolls, a really good smoothie, and not one but two Dolly Parton songs. Julianne Bell, Staff Writer Feast While You Can by by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta I can’t stop screaming about this book written by a married lesbian couple (!) to everyone I know, and my elevator pitch is usually “Call Me By Your Name if it were sapphic and scary.” It’s an enemies-to-lovers horror romance set in '90s Italy and follows Angelina Sicco, a femme who adores her small, sleepy hometown of Cadenze, her big Italian family, and her loyal mutt My Dog. She’s also navigating her confusing feelings for her brother Patrick’s sexy butch ex-girlfriend, the village pariah Jagvi. Amidst all this, a strange monster known as “the thing from the pit,” which has haunted the Sicco family for generations, begins to infiltrate Angelina from the inside out, feeding on her memories and wresting control of her body… and conveniently, Jagvi’s touch might just be the only thing that can protect her. It’s both absolutely terrifying and blisteringly hot. If you fuck with Carmen Maria Machado or Julia Armfield, trust me—you need this in your life. Passionfruit smoothie I got this smoothie recipe from my favorite cookbook author Julia Turshen’s Substack Keep Calm Cook On (which I also highly recommend—it’s so comforting and sane and a blessedly diet-culture-free zone) in a post entitled “my latest latest breakfast.” In short, it’s 2/3 cup frozen passionfruit cubes, 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 cup coconut water, and optional protein powder (I use a scoop of vanilla). I buy my frozen passionfruit from Sprouts, but if you can’t find it, you can also use a third of a cup of passionfruit juice, like the one from the brand Ceres. I got so obsessed with this smoothie that it became my new hyperfixation food, and I drank it multiple times a week for months on end. I also introduced several friends to it, who all loved it and in turn told more friends about it. It’s so bracingly tart and refreshing and tangy, and I catch myself craving it. Give it a try! “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” by Dolly Parton I first heard this luminous song in a yoga class, and I loved it so much that I had to ask the instructor what it was afterwards. She described it as a “non-religious gospel song,” which is spot on, and I haven’t been able to stop listening to it since. Parton has referred to it as her “song of deliverance” and wrote it after parting ways with her longtime musical and business partner Porter Wagoner (whom she also wrote “I Will Always Love You” about). Anyone who’s ever left a toxic situation and rejoiced in a glimmer of hope in knowing that it’s finally over will be able to relate to this song. If it were a photo, it would be that one Nicole Kidman post-divorce meme. That’s Showbiz Baby by Jade I constantly annoy everyone I know by bragging that I was three years early to knowing about Chappell Roan, so I need you to believe me when I say that former Little Mix singer Jade Thirlwall is going to be a main pop girlie within the next couple of years. She’s already big in the UK and steadily gaining popularity stateside. No one else out there is doing it like her—I mean, who drops a fully art-directed visual album for their solo debut?? There are no skips, either. You can hear touches of all the great pop divas, like Gaga, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, and Diana Ross. The opener, “Angel of My Dreams,” about Jade’s ambivalent relationship to fame, is dreamy, celestial pop goodness, reminiscent of “Lucky” by Britney Spears. I also love the track “Before You Break My Heart,” which samples a recording of Jade singing the Supremes' "Stop! In the Name of Love" as a little girl and which she says is written from the POV of her “younger self, begging me not to forget her and how far we’ve come.” (In the video, Jade’s niece Amara, who bears a striking resemblance to her, plays her inner child, and I defy anyone not to be moved by the sight of the two of them dancing together.) Also, you know I love a girl who goes all out for Halloween.  By Hook or By Crook (2001) I saw this 2001 indie film at Three Dollar Bill Cinema's 2025 Queer and Trans Film Festival in July, and it unexpectedly broke my heart wide open like a glow stick. Directors, writers, and actors Silas Howard and Harry Dodge (who is married to writer Maggie Nelson) star as two transmasc drifters who cross paths and embark on a series of petty crimes in order to scrape together cash, forging a deep platonic bond in the process. It’s a beautiful, grungy, messy, tender depiction of queer friendship, joy, heartache, and chosen family that left me with tears streaming down my face as Joan Jett’s cover of “Androgynous” played over the closing credits. (Jett also makes a small cameo in the film.) Unfortunately, it’s hard to track down as the film isn’t streaming anywhere—Scarecrow Video saves the day once again. Audrey Vann, Staff Writer CRT TV A girl can only take so many Ozempic commercials, and this year I reached my breaking point. Now, my Smart TV is tucked away in the deep depths of my basement while I peacefully watch my commercial-free VHS tapes and DVDs on my CRT TV. Some of the best things I’ve watched this year include Babette’s Feast, The Love Goddesses (1965), Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Big Top Pee-wee, and Sex and the City season 3.  Addison by Addison RaeIf I hear one more person label Addison Rae as a “TikTok star,” I will scream. As a teenager, Rae used the social media app to escape her small Louisiana town and inch closer toward pop stardom. Now, we have the fortune of seeing her fully realized vision on her debut album, Addison—a unique take on the Y2K pop of Britney Spears and club-inspired sound of '90s Madonna. Most of the songs on the album were written by Rae as poems and then turned into catchy pop songs by producers Elvira Anderfjärd and Luka Kloser. It is by far my favorite and most-listened-to album of the year.  Books by Jamaica Kincaid This year, I had the pleasure of reading four books by Jamaica Kincaid: two novels, Lucy and Annie John, and two essay collections, My Garden Book and Talk Stories. Although it’s impossible to pick a favorite of the four, I want to highlight that Lucy should be recommended reading for everyone. On the surface, the novel is a simple story about a 19-year-old from the West Indies who moves to the US to work as an au pair for a wealthy white family. But through the titular character’s expressive internal dialogue, Kincaid brings large-scale themes like colonialism, imperialism, racism, and sexism to a deeply personal place. This isn’t the type of found family story with a happy ending, but an exploration of a woman’s rage at feeling confined by family ties. Buying My First Bong I managed to make it through both high school and college without ever smoking out of a bong (which is incredible because I went to the Evergreen State College). And, it turns out, it was extremely difficult to find a bong online that isn’t 6-feet tall or shaped like a phallic food. I ended up buying the Starburst Bong from Shop Burning Love, which is made with gorgeous amber glass and has little stars etched all over it. Smoking out of a bong is probably terrible for my lungs, but I will not be googling it, thank you very much. My Blythe Doll I got a great deal on a Neo Blythe doll on eBay earlier this year, and I’m obsessed with her. Her hair is brown and shoulder-length. Her eyes change color with the pull of a string. Owning a special doll has reignited my childlike sense of wonder, and I can’t wait to start sewing my own clothing for her. Nathalie Graham, Staff Writer Reanimator (1985) A mad scientist finds a way to cheat death and bring dead bodies back to life. Except the reanimated bodies are not quite right. Think naked zombies that keep vomiting bile. There is so much Cronenbergian gore in this. It’s refreshing in a world of flat CGI. The movie is silly and weird and at least one scene did not age well at all. I will never forget it.  The Tainted Cup (2024) At its core, The Tainted Cup is a murder mystery. It’s Sherlock Holmes, except instead of taking place in Late Victorian England, the investigation takes place in a fantasy world where each year big, hulking sea creatures attempt to breach seawalls, make landfall, and wreak havoc. The organic matter from those creatures—leviathans—gives the empire’s populace biologic enhancements. Some people are augmented to be really good with numbers, others to have keener senses of smell or sight, or, like our main character, novice investigator Dinios Kol, to have a perfect memory. The Tainted Cup begins when a tree suddenly sprouts from a man’s chest, killing him. It’s Kol’s first major case. The storytelling is fresh. The world is so specific it feels grounded despite its fantastic nature. And the characters are wonderful. I’ve recommended The Tainted Cup endlessly since I first read it. I enjoyed the sequel, A Drop of Corruption, just as much and am anxiously awaiting more stories in this universe.  A Visit from the Goon Squad (2010) Time is a goon, isn’t it? I’m late to the party on this 2010 mosaic novel of loosely connected vignettes. All of them have one thing in common: time is coming for us all. Youth fades. Memory remains. The life you are living now is one moment. How will it change in five years, ten? The message is profound in an obvious way, though told in one that snuck up on me. Much like all these years that keep going by.  The Dresden Files (2000–present) Chicago’s only wizard detective is the love of my life. Harry Dresden is a scamp who is always fighting his way out of scrapes with the magical underbelly of the Windy City. He’s snarky and sloppy and has a whole lot of pluck. I’ve read about 15 of these books so far, many of them this year. While the writing will never garner author Jim Butcher a Pulitzer, it’s good fun as long as you don’t mind reading about women who are described breasts-first.  “There” by Dolly Parton (1977)I love this song. It’s beautiful. It builds. It’s packed with emotion. I picked it to walk down the aisle. That didn’t work out. Despite providing the DJ with a literal link to the song, he played “There Was Jesus” instead, a different Dolly Parton song with the word “there” in it. I am not religious.  ...read more read less