Books I've read in 2025
This year I'm trying something a little different - writing a few notes for each book I finish, in an effort to try and remember things better.
In progress
The Making of a Manager (2019), Julie Zhuo
A Closed and Common Orbit, Becky Chambers
Completed
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Becky Chambers
A human woman joins a long-haul space mission with a multi-species crew. After reading the last book in this series, The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, this first book makes a lot more sense - the main character, Rosemary, lived a sheltered life on the almost completely human populated Mars, and learns about the different species she's working with alongside the reader. There's some interesting exploration of gender, sexuality, family structures and acceptance as human norms don't make sense when applied to, for example, a scaled species that can change sex as needed. It’s thought-provoking and I love it.
How to Take Smart Notes (2017), Sönke Ahrens
A reread of this book that got me started actually taking notes on things that I consume, almost 3 years ago. The high-level how to start a personal knowledge management system is outlined in the first chapter, and the rest of the book gets into the details and the why. I don't follow it exactly as I'm not a writer, student or academic, but my hacky version has enough value for me.
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within, Becky Chambers
A sweet sci-fi story centering on a group of aliens unexpectedly stranded in transit. I kept waiting for a humanoid character to appear, but all of the main characters are completely alien and creatively imagined. Not a whole lot happens but the developing characters and relationships are worth the read. Everyone is so nice, which feels unrealistic, but also the kind of galaxy I'd like to live in. I only realised after this is the last in a 4 part series, which I'm going to have to read the start of.
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, V.E. Schwab
A book club pick. My favourite so far! A young woman makes a deal with the darkness, who twists her wish so that she is always forgotten, unable to leave a mark. Some unexpected turns and interesting characters.
Meditations for Mortals (2024), Oliver Burkeman
I’ve been a fan of Oliver Burkeman’s Imperfectionist newsletter for some time, and there were a lot of familiar ideas here about time and the futility of trying to control it or optimise it. It’s a lot more digestible and practical than Four Thousand Weeks, written in short chapters intended to be read one a day over 12 weeks.
Animal Farm, George Orwell
Revisiting a classic "fairy story" that lives on my shelf. It's a lot more brutal than I remembered. Something that stood out to me this time was the inspiring power of rituals and song.
Designing Your Life (2016), Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
The authors, both from Stanford, apply design thinking techniques to planning your own life and career. Prototyping and iteration play a big part in this process, as it does when applying design thinking to any problem. Useful frameworks for living an intentional life.
my book notes
This is How You Lose the Time War, Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Two combatants on opposite sides in a war amongst time travellers slowly build up a relationship over cleverly hidden letters they leave for each other. Incredibly poetic, I felt like rather than trying to make sense of every sentence I should just let it wash over me. I’ve never read prose anything like it before. Thank you for lending it to me Sandy!
Spider-Man: Animals Assemble! and Spider-Man: Quantum Quest!, Mike Maihack
I don't usually put the books I read to my kids in here, but this made-for-kids graphic novel series is actually really good! The stories are silly and fun, and the art style is cute but still has its recognisable Western comic roots. It's clear a lot of thought was put into how to make it easy for an adult to read to a child, not an easy thing with a graphic novel. I'll always appreciate the way Spider-Man's mask eyes make expressions as if they were actual eyes, a comic effect that just doesn't make sense in a live action movie. More comics for me this year I think!
The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah (book club)
This historical fiction story follows a pair of estranged sisters living in occupied France during World War II. I don't often read books about war, but when I do it's usually stories about the people left behind rather than the ones on the frontlines. There's some romance threads in this one but they're outshined by the beautifully complicated family relationships. I think all the characters started out unlikeable but grow over the course of the book. Starts slow but the second half escalates quickly!
The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss
This epic fantasy novel started out strong for me with its premise of the main character, Kvothe, telling the story of his start in learning magic and music to a collector of stories. The magic system is unique and there are some intriguing characters, but towards the end it dragged on and did not make me feel up to tackling the next book in the series anytime soon.
Orwell's Roses (2021), Rebecca Solnit
For some reason I was expecting fiction rather than a collection of meandering essays following George Orwell's interest in gardening and how it relates to his writing, his politics, and the state of the world then and now. Beautifully written with each chapter weaving in from the previous ones. Makes me want to revisit Orwell's novels and pay some more attention to my poor garden.
See Books I've read in 2022, Books I've read in 2023 and Books I've read in 2024.