2025 has been an abysmal year of reading. Although I read more books than the previous year, still it isn’t enough to satiate my hunger for reading. But I read a few solid favorite books, a couple of disappointing ones, and a shitload of average books.
Here are my favorite books in no order:
1. Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman: I loved his previous work, Four Thousand Weeks. I went in with high hopes; I closed it with full satisfaction. I have to say that the author is a liberal self-help writer. All self-help books push conservative core ideas, but it is interesting to see a different perspective that you don’t need to carry the shitty baggage in your head and can live your life according to your own terms.
One lesson that struck me the most is “You learn to live life as you go.” There is no manual, guideline, or blueprint that says this is the optimal way to live. And you don’t have to care about everything; don’t burden yourself by pulling unnecessary loads. Be selective with your worries and work you want to do. You can do whatever you like, but not everything. Choose the stuff that you can carry.
Overall, it is a refreshing read. You will feel relieved at the end of the book. Culture, society, and people push unimaginable and inhuman expectations onto us; it feels lightweight that you don’t have to punish yourself. I highly recommend this book. By the way, I met this author in Toronto. Such a cool guy.
2. Visual Thinking by Temple Grandin: I first read about her in Robert Greene’s book Mastery. I was surprised to know that there is someone who made it big despite their difficulties. Reading her story is truly inspiring.
Temple starts off by saying that to acknowledge that different ways of thinking exist, we have to acknowledge that there are different types of thinking. There is a visual thinker, and there is a verbal thinker. Verbal thinking dominates; we see it everywhere. But visual thinking offers different solutions to difficult problems, only if we are ready to see. She advocates for reframing disorders as conditions or variations, as “disorder” tends to give the impression that it needs to be treated rather than appreciated. There is no ‘universal’ normal. Everybody is normal in their own way.
I like this book. It made me see things in a different light. It also boosted my confidence that I don’t have to change for anyone to fit into a ‘group’; I can be fully myself. I recommend this one.
3. Calling Bullshit by Carl T. Bergstrom and Jevin D. West: I saw many reviews of this book, but for some reason I didn’t pick it up. When I read it, I felt I should have read it earlier. This book totally aligns with my post-grad course. I deal with a lot of data, and it is easy to bullshit people with stats and visualizations. Calling Bullshit is about exactly that.
The authors educated the reader about how to know something is misinformation or disinformation and how to view data, stats, graphics, and info-visuals and know what is wrong with them. They provide us the tools and techniques to peel off the layer of bullshit and see what is underneath.
More than ever, it is important to think critically. We live in the era of the internet; there is so much misinformation out there. If we don’t question and see it for what it really is, it is so easy to manipulate and take advantage of us. We shouldn’t be swept by waves; we have to go against the tide. I recommend this book for everyone.
4. The Problem with Being a Person by Talia Pollock: This isn’t a regular self-help book. It points out problematic beliefs that accept today as normal. The book contents align with my personal philosophy that there is no inherent purpose or meaning; we have to make one for ourselves. And the universe doesn’t give a fuck about me or you. It’s that simple.
Somehow, in these modern times, we have come to believe that all negative emotions or negative aspects of human life should be eliminated at any cost. For example, take anxiety. It’s normal to feel anxious because we humans are pushed into a giant washing machine now. There is so much uncertainty. As the author says, to be alive is to be anxious.
The author debunks manifestation trends, forced appreciation, wishful thinking, and modern obsessions with everything except facing the reality and truth. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I highly recommend it.
5. Antifragile by Nassim Taleb: He is one of my favorite authors. I read 4 works, including this. More than the content, I read his books for how he structures them. There is something unique about his writing style, layering the context, unfolding more layers as the book progresses. I absolutely love it.
Taleb says that randomness has the ultimate say, no matter how many sophisticated and complex systems we build to predict or forecast future events. Humans have this urge to intervene in things and control them. Rather than letting nature weed out what is no longer relevant, we intervene and stop the innovation.
It is a bit hard to review his books. But the overall idea is this: nature loves randomness; let it weed out things. You are fragile if you are tied to a narrow path. To be antifragile, you need options. It is precisely the optionality that makes you stand against fragility. And you update yourself as you go. I loved this too. I cannot recommend it enough.
Disappointing reads:
1. How to Change by Kate Milkman: This is a repackaged version of Atomic Habits. Nothing new. If you haven’t read the former, you might like it. But if you read the former, you can totally skip this book. Going in, I thought it would explore concepts deeper, but it didn’t. It ended up as a regular self-help book.
2. The Go-Giver by Bob and John: If you are new to reading and looking for recommendations, this book surely pops up in the popular self-help category. Is it worthy of reading? Absolutely not. A lot of made-up stories to back up ideas presented by the authors. They appear plausible, but there is no data to support the teachings. If you are talking about business, you don’t go with made-up stories but with real ones.
This is the end to an average year of reading. I am hopeful that I will read more solid books next year.
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