I had a big change in my reading habits this year — audiobooks.
I started listening to books on Audible a few months ago and I’m never going back. I’ll still read fiction on my Kindle but non-fiction audiobooks are a game-changer.
Can you still say you’ve read a book after listening to it? To be determined…
These were the best books I read in 2025:
Non-Fiction
Breakneck by Dan Wang
Wong does an excellent job at objectively looking at the pros and cons of the Chinese and American societies. The engineering state versus lawyerly society as a way to explain each nation is brilliant.
Why do we have so many politicians who went to law school at Harvard or Yale? Why is China so much better at building infrastructure than America? Why does Wong think America will “win” in the end?
I felt smarter after reading this book.
1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin
The reverberations from the Great Depression are still being felt 100 years later so I loved learning more about the characters involved in that fateful time.
This book had a ton of good stories and anecdotes about that timeframe I had never heard before.
It’s worth it for all of the Jesse Livermore content alone.
A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
This one was perfect for an audiobook.
It’s the beat-by-beat story of what happened the night the Titanic sank.
This one felt like listening to a movie. Really well done.
Unscripted by James Stewart and Rachel Abrams
Succession is one of the best shows of all time. It’s in my top 5.
But none of the characters are redeeming.
When watching a show like that you think: People with that much wealth and power in media can’t be that bad…right?
The real story is even worse than the show.
Reading about billionaire media moguls does not offer much confidence about the ethics of people in positions of power.
I finished this one in a hurry but it felt like listening to a car crash.
The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey
I love books like this with a simple message using sports as an analogy for other aspects of life.
This is by far my favorite message:
The secret to winning any game lies in not trying too hard.
Amen.
The Breaks of the Game by David Halberstam
I’ve heard numerous sportswriters call Halberstam’s chronicle of the Portland Trailblazers’ 1979-80 season the best sports books ever written.
It lived up to the billing.
A book about a basketball team that also contains lessons about ego, leadership, business, money, labor and team chemistry.
Best Movie Year Ever by Brian Raftery
Movies were better in the 1990s and it’s not even debatable (TV is better today).
Raftery makes a compelling case that 1999 was the best movie year ever.
A taste of the movies profiles in this book: Fight Club, The Matrix, American Pie, Office Space, The Blair Witch Project, Varsity Blues, Rushmore, 10 Things I Hate About You, American Beauty, Being John Malkovich, The Sixth Sense, The Mummy and Magnolia.
I was a senior in high school when all of these movies were released so this book was a wonderful nostalgia trip.
I loved it.
Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live by Susan Morrison
Come for the stories about one of the msot storied franshises in entertainment history. Stay for the business and leadership lessons from Lorne Michaels.
Some gems:
The producer’s role, he was learning, is helping people feel that their contributions are valued, while making them understand that no one will ever get it all their own way.
We don’t go on because we’re ready, we go on because it’s eleven-thirty.
Since the seventies, long before anyone counted their steps, he has made sure to schedule time for a substantial walk every day, usually in Gucci loafers. Walking reflects his medium-cool temperament; breaking a sweat would be out of the question. “It’s how I think,” he said.
Clever is overrated. It’s better to be good than clever.
It’s hard to believe SNL has been on the air for 50 years. Michaels created an institution.
The Four Things That Matter Most by Ira Byock
Someone recommended this book after my brother passed away. I didn’t want to read a bunch of books about grief, but this one struck a chord. I wish I had read it before he died.
The book does a nice job of reminding you about what’s important in life.
Fiction
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Somehow this was my first Stephen King novel.
There was time travel, JFK conspiracy theories, Lee Harvey Oswald, a love story and more.
This is the definition of a page-turner.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
I finished the TV series earlier this year. It was probably 2-3 seasons too many.
When I started the show I had no idea it that it was based on a book (probably because it came out in 1986 when I was 5).
I liked the book a lot more than the show but watching the show helped me appreciate the book more.
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
I love this movie (and the TV show) but had never read the book.
I would have probably liked the book more than the movie if I had read it first but I’m still partial to the movie version. The first time watching it I was so blown away by the Jack Black song reveal at the end.
However, the book gave the main character far more depth than the movie.
There are so many great lines too:
Did I listen to music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to music?
Sentimental music has this great way of taking you back somewhere at the same time that it takes you forward, so you feel nostalgic and hopeful all at the same time.
I can see everything once it’s already happened–I’m very good at the past. It’s the present I can’t understand.
Dick and Barry and I agreed that what really matters is what you like, not what you are like.
This was my first Hornby book but it won’t be my last.
Sideways: New Zealand by Rex Pickett
Here’s another movie character based on a book. Guess I’m a sucker for this stuff.
Sideways is one of my all-time favorite movies and I finally got sucked into the book series last year. The characters all feel so real.
I’ve read all four books in the series now and the latest one set in New Zealand was great.
It was fun to spend more time with Miles, Jack and Maya.
Good Material by Dolly Alderton
A simple story about a struggling stand-up comedian going through a difficult break-up. A funny, sweet book. I enjoyed it.
For some reason, these kinds of books are better when set in London. The Brits really know how to write this stuff.
Berlin Game by Len Deighton
As a middle-aged guy I guess I’m supposed to read spy books about the Berlin Wall because this feels like something my dad or uncles would read.
I’m game for more of these.
Further Reading:
The Best Books I Read in 2024