Nursing Clio Presents Its ELEVENTH Annual Best of List!

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Every December the Nursing Clio editorial collective – an all-volunteer staff – gather our Best Of recommendations for the year past. We don’t need to tell you that 2025 has been a doozy. We won’t recap just how awful it’s been – you’ve been living it too. A lot of our recommendations this year speak to the need to escape for an hour or two from reality, with a good novel, a 🔥🔥🔥 TV series about Canadian hockey enemies-to-lovers, a banger album that’ll make you laugh and cry. But after we take time to escape, we’re back in the fight, doing the work, giving to the folks on the front lines, supporting each other and you. We’re thankful for another year of publishing histories of gender, sexuality, and medicine even as that gets more and more challenging. We’re grateful for all of you who read this meaningful work, and with your love and support, we’re ready for 2026.

Happy New Year, friends.

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Favorite book:

Cornelia: My favorite book (nonfiction) of the year was Where the Wild Things Were: Boyhood and Permissive Parenting in Postwar America by Henry Jenkins. As for fiction, this summer I listened to about 20 of Anthony Trollope’s novels on Libravox, including the Barchester and Palliser series novels. My favorite was the first in the Barchester series, The Warden. [Oops! This is in no way 2025…..pls ignore]

Kristin: Amitav Ghosh’s Ibis Trilogy: Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke, and Flood of Fire. It’s a saga about the Opium Wars (1839-42), largely from colonial India’s perspective. Ghosh is an amazing author, and this trilogy is probably his masterpiece.

Natalie: Sam Klug, The Internal Colony: Race and the American Politics of Global Decolonization

Averill: Dramoine fanfiction became my entire personality in January, and of those that got actual publishing contracts, Brigette Knightley’s The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy and SeLinYu’s Alchemised have been by far the best. But my actual favorite book/series of the year has been Angeline Boulley’s Firekeeper’s Daughter/Warrior Girl Unearthed/Sister’s in the Wind. Beautiful storytelling, heavy topics (MMIW, foster care, NAGPRA), murder mysteries, coming of age… plus she teaches you a little Anishinaabemowen along the way!

Courtney: I do not read serious books because I am not a serious person, especially in a stressful year like this. I did finally read a bunch of Leigh Bardugo’s books, and I loved Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom (the other Grishaverse books are…meh). That led me to The Lies of Locke Lamora, which was great fun, and its sequels, which get pretty dark. I also read a lot of romance novels, both revisiting some old favorites and trying out some new ones. Of these, I particularly enjoyed Olivia Dade’s series starting with Spoiler Alert and everything Sara Raasch has written thus far—you might think the premise of The Nightmare before Kissmass is silly, but the worldbuilding is actually really cool and the characters are great. And sometimes you just need a little fluff, you know?

Minji: I loved Sonja M. Kim’s Imperatives of Care! Also, although it is not my direct field, I really enjoyed On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe by Caroline Dodds. I read it in Korean, and it made me rethink the concept of the gift in anthropology.

Anna DH: I tend to only read nonfiction for work, and since my museum is preparing for the 250th I’ve been reading a lot of historiography on the American Revolution—and one just published and beautifully written favorite has been Zara Anishanslin’s The Painter’s Fire. For fun, I mostly read really light-hearted novels, and Jodi McAlister’s An Academic Affair was fantastic—and definitely relatable for anyone who has experienced the academic job market even though it’s set in Australia!

Sarah: Like Courtney, I do not read serious books! Honestly, I need the mental break from reality. Averill dragged me with her into Dramione fanfiction, which has been so fun. My personal favorite was the trilogy of The Right Thing to Do/All the Wrong Things/The Auction by LovesBitca8. I also became obsessed with a series that I was introduced to by a book club friend: Claudia Gray’s Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney series, which features Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett’s son Jonathan and Heny Tilney and Catherine Moreland’s daughter Juliet solving very British murders within the Jane Austen universe. It’s delightful!

Laura: Perhaps recency bias plays a role in this pick, but Cat Sebastian’s After Hours at Dooryard Books is a beautiful romance. This is the most recent of Sebastian’s gay historical romances set in midcentury New York City, and it was tender, cozy, and the perfect thing to read during my Thanksgiving holiday. For books released earlier in the year, several new books by favorite authors hit the spot, including The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman, Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean.

Cassandra: A shameless but sincere plug: Though I am far from impartial, I really do love The Nursing Clio Reader! And I’m not alone. Historian Johanna Schoen also likes its “diversity of topics and viewpoints,” while historian Jennifer L. Holland says it “fills an enormous need.” Maybe you will like it as much as we all do!

Lizzie: I’ve been reading The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai for a while now because I want it to last forever. I have about 200 pages to go, and I’m waiting for a quiet time to just read and read.

Diana: I took the year to read fiction that tackles queer desire during WWI and WWII. I must highlight Yael van der Wouden’s 2024 debut novel The Safekeep and Mary Renault’s 1953 The Charioteer as both are extraordinary accounts of survival and resistance in times of bleak violence and global crisis.

Favorite album or song:

Cornelia: Rufus Wainwright’s 2007 “Going to a Town” has had inordinate play as of late. His newly released I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Rufus Wainwright Does Kurt Weill was a fun album to play when with family at Thanksgiving.

Averill: I usually spent my listening time with books, but whilst baking or cooking I enjoy the sounds of Chappell Roan, especially “Red Wine Supernova.”

Courtney: Look, I’m not saying The Life of a Showgirl is a perfect album, but it is the one on repeat in my brain right now. (ETA: the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack is my jam.)

Anna DH: I have to agree with Courtney!

Kristin: Rabbitology’s Living Ghost EP and Cosmo Sheldrake’s newest album, Eye to the Ear. Both are kind of acquired tastes but have some real bangers.

Cassandra: I am told that the top song for the year in my household was “You Give Love a Bad Name” by Bon Jovi. I am in no way responsible for any of its airtime, however.

Sarah: I have four daughters and I love that they share their favorite new music with me! So lots of driving this summer meant singing along with Noah Kahan, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Chapell Roan, and Benson Boone. One of my favorite things about this is it gives me the opportunity to think about how different their generation’s music is than mine—I mean, they get to grow up with Sabrina Carpenter singing “Manchild/Why you always coming a-running to me? Fuck my life.” It’s brilliant! For me, though, The Life of a Showgirl has been on repeat, especially “Opalite” and “Honey.”

Laura: I spent lots of time with Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, and Taylor Swift this year. But one lesser known album that I adore is Sunrise City by Sub-Radio. They’re making music today that channels the pop-punk vibes of my teenage years. “Pink Lemonade” and “Nothing’s Broken” end up stuck in my head all the time.

Lizzie: I’m still stuck on Noah Kahan’s, Stick Season!

Diana: Zaho de Sagazan’s music, especially Dit-moi que tu m’aimes. Mitski too (always), Hania Rani’s instrumental pieces, and Daniel Hart’s original soundtrack for AMC’s Interview with a Vampire (2022-) show.

Favorite TV show, movie, or live performance:

Courtney: 2025 was the year of Sinners. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Beautiful and smart and tragic and thought-provoking. For television, I really enjoyed season 2 of The Last of Us and Alien: Earth. And, as always, I live for each and every episode of The Great British Bake-Off.

Kristin: Hamnet was incredibly well done. Also, Death by Lightning, the [mostly accurate] Netflix miniseries about James Garfield’s assassination. As one colleague/friend put it, where did that come from, and when are they going to do more miniseries like it?

Natalie: Purpose.

Averill: The hardest question of all. Echo Sinners, it better sweep the awards. The James Gunn Superman was also on point. For shows, Nobody Wants This and Poker Face have been the comedies that I ration because they’re so good. Before I had to cancel Paramount+ for political reasons, the most recent season of Strange New Worlds was 🔥But, more importantly, are you all watching Heated Rivalry?!? I’ve rewatched every episode too many times. It’s so well done, so hot, and even with all the longing and angst, it is heartfelt and sweet and funny. Please partake.

Courtney again: Superman was indeed pretty great. I’m saving Heated Rivalry for my one-woman girls’ weekend when my husband goes to a conference in January (after I read the book, of course)! ETA: And I loved Wake Up Dead Man! The world needs more whodunits.

Minji: Frankenstein! Netflix shows… I fell in love (again) with UK detective series including Dept. Q.

Anna DH: I mostly watch TV with my kids and they’re on a huge Star Wars kick, so I’ve just started watching The Mandalorian. I know I’m years late, but Baby Yoda is ridiculously cute and a “this is the way” joke still hits. I also made a real effort to see more concerts and plays this year, and still get goosebumps thinking about “John Proctor is the Villain.” LCD Soundsystem has been playing long residencies at a warehouse deep in Queens the last couple years, and they’re super fun live.

Cassandra: I’m not sure which version Minji is referring to, but I saw an amazing production of playwright Emily Burns’s reimagining of Frankenstein at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in DC. It was so thought-provoking and fresh, yet somehow also true to many of the core elements of the original story.

Sarah: The Pitt was honestly astonishing. It had me in a chokehold for days. But really, this is a group of historians and no one mentioned Ken Burns’ The American Revolution? I thought it was great and really enjoyed getting to spend time relaxing in those cozy Ken Burns vibes. (Is that weird?) I don’t get to go to the movies often, but I made a point to see Wicked: For Good, and damn, it didn’t disappoint.

Laura: The Pitt blew my mind, and sent me back to watch ER for the first time. And Dying for Sex is the show that I wish more people had watched this year, so I can talk about how amazing Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate are in it and how powerful I found its depiction of female friendship. And I’ll come back to Heated Rivalry below. 😉

Lizzie: The Pitt by a long shot. I could imagine teaching an entire Medical Ethics class wrapped around this season.

Diana: I am unabashedly enjoying the Canadian streaming show Heated Rivalry and the bafflement of mainstream media when it comes to women’s consumer pleasures! High-fiving everyone on the M/M fan communities and in AO3’s enemies-to-lovers tag!

Favorite podcast:

Cornelia: I’m a religious Straightiolab fan. I also love podcasts in the New Books Network.

Averill: Okay, I know this makes me sound unhinged, but I listened to a podfic adaptation of a Dramoine fanfic that was super good: Draco Malfoy and the Brighton Beach Butcher. (Listen, I know, this makes you question every recommendation I’ve ever made in a Best Of list, but I promise, if you start you will understand.)

Courtney: As with last year, my favorite podcast remains Too Scary; Didn’t Watch, a horror movie podcast for people too scared to watch scary movies. I’ve also been enjoying Curse of America’s Next Top Model, which revisits one of my favorite shows as a teenager and discusses all of the ways that it didn’t age well. Honestly, I listen to/watch a lot more Youtube than podcasts, usually while I’m baking. Some of my favorite video essayists include: Lindsay Ellis, Jacob Geller, LadyKnighttheBrave, The Financial Diet, HBomberguy, Howard Ho, Sarah Zed, Ally Sheehan, Princess Weekes, Thomas Flight, Todd in the Shadows, Contrapoints, and Be Kind Rewind. Every Frame a Painting has also started making videos again as well!

Kristin: After 27 years, Melvyn Bragg retired this fall from hosting BBC 4’s In Our Time! As a result, I’ve been revisiting some of my favorite episodes, including “The Black Death” and “The Great Stink.” They just hired a new presenter – Misha Glenny – but Bragg’s measured voice and sharp wit will be sorely missed.

Cassandra: I am a new devotee of The Moth. One of the best stories I listened to recently – new to me, but maybe a repeat on the show – involved a visit to Anne Sexton’s grave, and an eye-opening encounter with a group of high school boys at the cemetery.

Sarah: I love that Courtney mentioned Youtube video essays, because I’ve also loved watching video essays lately. This year, Lindsay Ellis’s “The Unforgivable Sin of Miss Rachel” broke me open. it’s a genuinely beautiful and important exploration of our current crisis in empathy. I’m also a huge fan of Jessie Gender, Matt Bernstein’s A Bit Fruity, Skip Intro (that series on copaganda!!!), Elephant Graveyard, Taylor Lorenz, and Some More News. I listen to a lot of podcasts that analyze the fringe far-right and its personalities, like Louder Than Crowder and Weird Little Guys. My number one podcast remains the same: Knowledge Fight.

Laura: Listening to Fated Mates makes me a better reader and keeps my TBR list chock-full of romance books. A new-to-me find this year is The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast, where Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, and Meyers have been going through all the SNL Digital Shorts from their time on Saturday Night Live. Whether you start from the beginning or cherry-pick episodes about your favorite shorts, you’ll have a great time.

Lizzie: Laura’s post above reminded me that I love Family Trips with Seth and Josh Meyers. If I feel like laughing (and who doesn’t need that during these times?) I do a walk/run listening to these two and their guests. I especially love it when they invite their parents on the show! And as usual, Esther Perel’s Where Should We Begin? is a weekly favorite as well.

Favorite board, video, or online game:

Kristin: I’ve been revisiting my middle/high school years with Roller Coaster Tycoon 3.

Averill: My legacy game group finished Clank! Acquisitions Incorporated 2, and that was delightful, but my current favorite game to hit the table is probably Galactic Cruise (though I play Hanabi every day, and Ark Nova several times a week).

Courtney: This is going to sound like a joke, but this year my husband and I got really, really into the Ace Attorney series. You know that meme with the anime-style guy pointing and shouting “OBJECTION!” Yeah, it’s that. This is actually a very compelling quasi-game, quasi-visual novel series that has been really fun for us to “play” together (he usually is the one with the controller, I just watch and heckle). After a hiatus, I’ve also started playing Stardew Valley again, starting with a new game after the most recent update.

Cassandra: I just learned how to play Gin Rummy with my eight- and five-year-old children! Somehow, I have not won yet.

Sarah: Does Duolingo count? I have a 300+ day streak learning German, and I’m pretty excited about it!

The unexpected little things that brought you the most joy:

Cornelia: The Greedy Peasant on Instagram/TikTok, or wherever the Saint Snap System ® is sold.

Averill: My Dramoine obsession got worse over the summer when I started writing a (kind of anti-fan? because I hate everything Joanne stands for with the TERFyness and directing her millions from the franchise into anti-trans legislation and statements about how she takes every dollar she makes from the franchise as evidence that people agree with her) fanfic (with Sarah co-writing the first one and planning to go back through and revise the second), and it turned into a trilogy, and two are up on AO3, with the third working itself out in my head. It’s been my way to imagine a world where we beat fascism, and where the original IP could have gone with a more imaginative and less bigoted author at the helm. Also, it’s in the “eventual smut” category which has been very fun.

Minji: I accidentally bought “Laura Chenel Marinated Goat Cheese” from Whole Foods as it was discounted by more than half. It is soooo good although I am not sure whether I can buy it again at the regular price.

Anna DH: The derpy tiger in KPop Demon Hunters.

Kristin: Animals in our backyard, especially spring through early fall! We had a family of American robins nest in one of our trees. A gorgeous bright red male cardinal landed on the telephone wires above our yard every morning and evening, where he sang his little heart out. We also had a family of bunnies who lived in the yard next door but visited us for our vegetation. One late July morning, one of them even napped in the grass not far from where I sat on our patio, pulling apart and rewriting my book proposal. It brought peace to an otherwise anxious process.

Cassandra: I had to sit through Zootopia 2 at the movie theater and it turns out it was LOVELY.

Sarah: I bought a stand to hold my iPad and ring clicker for scrolling while I read and that has been a huge game changer. I can lay on the couch, wrapped up in a cozy blanket and without moving, scroll through my smutty little book? Amazing.

Laura: Heated Rivalry is perhaps my favorite romance novel (a big declaration, when I have read many hundreds of them). So witnessing both a really excellent TV adaptation come out AND a massive explosion of online interest in this lovely story has been a surprise and a massive joy. And I can’t wait to watch the final two episodes over the next two weeks!!

Lizzie: This isn’t “unexpected” at all, but it still brings me great joy: FaceTiming with my two grandsons, ages 6 and 4. Usually our son calls when these two are taking a “brothers’ bath” and it’s so cute to watch them splash around, telling stories about their days at school or something that happened at dinner.

Diana: Embroidery! I took it up casually as I moved back to Paris and it brought me so much joy to keep my hands busy in a park while watching everyday life unspool. Also Paris-related: public gardens, plants, and historical fashion exhibitions really rescued me from a share of glum days.

The charity or philanthropic organization you’re supporting this year:

Cornelia: Going hyperlocal for the coming year with monthly donations to a volunteer-run organization in my (rural) county that aims to feed the hungry and heal the sick.

Averill: Usual ACLU and Planned Parenthood monthlies, plus giving to various funds for resisting ICE detainments and help families impacted by the war on Gaza. It’s also proving to be a very cold winter already, so planning to donate stay warm kits to Avivo, a local org that serves our unhoused neighbors in the Twin Cities.

Minji: Planned Parenthood and several GoFundMe.

Anna DH: With the threats and uncertainties around SNAP benefits, my community has really been stepping it up with food drives this year.

Kristin: Echoing Anna’s point about food drives and food banks. I’ve been donating both food and money; the latter especially helps local food banks buy bulk stock and keep their shelves supplied as continuously as possible.

Cassandra: The above, plus local public schools and public radio.

Sarah: ACLU and Planned Parenthood monthly, like Averill, and lot of creators through Patreon, but also Buffalo Toronto Public Media and the Feed More WNY food bank. This year, I’ve also come to realize how big of a role Girl Scouts of USA has made in my and my daughters’ lives, so I’ve been supporting them financially, too. (It’s almost cookie season – buy those Thin Mints, people! The Girl Scouts really rely on that money!)

Lizzie: I volunteer helping LGBTQ asylum seekers fill out their paperwork, which as you can imagine has gotten more and more difficult. They need all the support they can get! And then to help people from being deported, there’s an organization called Defending Our Neighbors Fund, which is a collaboration by the nonprofits United We Dream, ACLU, and Abundant Futures Fund to raise money for legal representation for migrants targeted for deportation.

Laura: Like Cassandra above in the books section, a shameless but sincere plug for donating to Nursing Clio through our Patreon. You’ll support an article prize and writers-in-residence program, the blog’s tech needs, and other expenses that keep this project running.