Books I read in 2025
This year has got me thinking about formats.
Between writing posts for my employers (sorry if you see my constant LinkedIn-posting), and my newer topic-based blog Digital Seams, I've probably written more this year than any other (including when I was in school).
I also did stuff in other formats, like stepping out of my comfort zone to make a terrible short-form video (how's that for "The medium is the message", Mr. Kim)? Some of my most effective communication was in the form of video demos, live streaming (of text), or good old-fashioned talking to people.
But I keep coming back to writing first; and ultimately I think that's because I love reading. Yesterday, I saw that the median American reads only two books per year (David H. Montgomery for YouGov). That's insane to me, and a bit saddening. I feel some stories are better told through writing, and people are missing out by not reading.
In 2025, I read 25 books (finally, a slight increase from the previous year).
In the list below, books marked with an exclamation mark (!) are the ones I enjoyed especially.
- I Love Dick - Chris Kraus
- I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom - Jason Pargin
- Be Slightly Evil - Venkatesh G. Rao
- Playground - Richard Powers
- On The Rooftop - Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
- Traversing the Traction Gap - Bruce Cleveland
- 50 Writing Tools - Roy Peter Clark
- Demonstrating to WIN! - Robert Riefstahl
(!)Blindsight - Peter Watts- Eruption - Michael Crichton and James Patterson
- On The Calculation of Volume - Solvej Balle
- The Lola Quartet - Emily St. John Mandel
- Open Throat - Henry Hoke
- The Banana Wars - Alan Grostephan
- Listen for the Lie - Amy Tintera
(!)In Memoriam - Alice Winn- Mr. Peanut - Adam Ross
(!)Where'd You Go, Bernadette - Maria Semple- Job Moves - Ethan Bernstein, Michael B. Horn, and Bob Moesta
- Bowling Alone - Robert D. Putnam
- Isn't It Obvious? - Eliyahu M. Goldratt
- My Man Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse
- The Love Hypothesis - Ali Hazelwood
- Will There Ever Be Another You - Patricia Lockwood
- Foundation - Isaac Asimov
A big thanks to everyone who gave me recommendations, including Yee Aun, Dwayne, Steve, the Stytch book club (especially 100%ers Jenn and Mia), the Commoncog member forum, the SF Public Library, and various handwritten bookstore employee review notes.
If you ever read a book and love it, please let me know so I can read it too!