1925 was a big year. The Chicago World's Fair opened, The New Yorker published their first issue, Mussolini proclaimed himself dictator, and several books we now consider classics hit the shelves.
While books may seem standard now, the process by
which they were created in the 1920s was much more time consuming, and made books just a little bit more rare and special.
If you're thinking of adding to your 2025 reading list and want to turn back to the classics, here are 10 books turning 100 this year:
Arguably one of the most read novels of the 20th century, F. Scott Fitzgerald's story of a mysterious millionaire and the love that got away has captured the minds of audiences for a century.
Although it was not a best-seller at the time (having sold less than 25,000 copies when Fitzgerald was alive), it has gone on to sell over 25 million copies worldwide. This may largely be thanks to the fact that 150,000 copies were shipped to American soldiers during WWII.
Virginia Woolf's fourth novel, Mrs. Dalloway, has often been compared to James Joyce's Ulysses. Known for its stream-of-consciousness style of writing, it initially left readers bewildered, but charmed critics.
Today, Mrs. Dalloway is praised for its subject matter, and even though the novel only takes place over a few short hours, themes like existentialism, homosexuality, feminism, and mental illness are explored.
While Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is most widely known as a film starring Marilyn Monroe, Anita Loos' 1925 book is worth a read.
Beginning as a series of stories that Loos had written for Harper's Bizarre, the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes series boosted circulation and was so popular that it was turned into a novelization!
A more lighthearted look at the Jazz Age, the antics of Lorelei Lee still resonate and entertain today.
We can't discuss 1920s literature and not include a Hemingway release. Hemingway's first collection of short stories was released in the US in 1925 (a French version was released the year prior).
These vignettes are not traditionally structured, and unlike other Hemingway pieces, they are often the subject of debate among Hemingway scholars. They are more rhythmic and lyrical than Hemingway's traditional writing style and were likely influenced by Hemingway's work with Ezra Pound.
If you are a fan of true crime, Theodore Dreiser's novel is for you. Based on the 1906 murder of Grace Brown, Dreiser's novelization is an early example of novels being derived from real cases.
The Trial by Franz Kafka was written between 1914 and 1915, but published posthumously by Max Brod in 1925. This unfinished novel tells the story of Josef K., who has been arrested by a remote, inaccessible authority.
Often thought of as the inspiration for the term Kafkaesque, it was heavily influenced by Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov.
Although Kafka's final vision of The Trial is unknown, it has still been listed as one of the best books of the 20th century.
Although Sinclair Lewis is most remembered for his novel
Main Street, his novel
Arrowsmith deserves an honorable mention. After its release in 1925,
Arrowsmith won the Pulitzer Prize in 1926 (which Lewis declined).
The story focuses on Martin Arrowsmith as he navigates the world of science and medicine in the 1920s. Known for its social commentary on the state of medicine and science, Arrowsmith would go on to be an inspirational novel for generations of pre-med and medical students.
Like many of the other books on this list, Carry On, Jeeves began as a collection of stories in the Saturday Evening Post.
Following the antics of Jeeves and his "master" Wooster, the stories in Carry On, Jeeves are lighthearted, full of funny antics, and fun to read.
Although The Painted Veil was initially serialized in magazines in both the US and UK a year earlier, 2025 marks the hundred-year anniversary of this W. Somerset Maugham classic.
The story of toxic relationships set against the backdrop of the Cholera epidemic in Hong Kong, The Painted Veil had its share of controversy upon its release. After the publishers lost a libel lawsuit, thousands of books had to be recalled and the characters last names changed from Lane to Fane.
It has been adapted as a theatrical play, and made into a movie three times— in 1934, 1957, and 2006.
The most infamous book on this list, Mein Kampf is Adolf Hitler's 1925 autobiographical manifesto. Volume 1 was released in 1925, with volume 2 following in 1926.
Written while Hitler was in prison, Mein Kampf outlines Hitler's political beliefs, ideologies, and future plans for Germany. Between its release in 1925 and Hitler becoming Chancellor to Germany in 1933, 230,000 copies had been sold. After Hitler came to power, sales skyrocketed, and by 1939 5.2 million copies had been sold in 11 languages.
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