Book of the Month dropped the first-round nominees for the 2025 Lolly (aka Book of the Year) award, and you know I had to sit down and be a little bit feral about it. In this video I walk through the nominations, share my immediate reactions (hits, misses, and the ones that made me go, “wait… really?”), and talk about what kinds of books tend to do well in BoTM voting versus what I personally want to see rewarded. I also get into the books I think should’ve been included, because the nominee list always leaves me with at least a couple “how did this not make it?” moments. Then I show you what I actually voted for and why—because I’m not just picking what’s popular, I’m thinking about overall reading experience, impact, and whether a book feels like it’ll hold up past the hype cycle. If you’re voting too (or you just want to compare notes), this is basically a cozy little strategy session with honest opinions and zero pressure—just reader community chaos, as usual.