I set out with a simple goal for 2025 - to read 12 books to stop the endless doom-scrolling and being constantly stuck in the YouTube shorts algorithm. I somehow failed that goal in the best way possible - I managed to accidentally read 26. That’s an enormous return on my investment, which frankly, makes this the most successful project I managed all year.

Looking back at the stack, my reading personality was all over the place. If my bookshelf were a person, it would be a tech bro who is trying to escape to space while simultaneously processing deep-seated childhood trauma.

Here is the breakdown of my year in pages:

Escapist:

I spent a huge chunk of the year off-planet or in alternate dimensions (Project Hail Mary, Neuromancer, The Dark Tower). It was a necessary detox from the “real world” news cycle. If I saw another Trump news dominated cycle I was going to go crazy.

Optimizer:

I didn’t completely abandon the grind. Between Rocket Fuel, The Mom Test, and reading about the potential Epstein file Bill Gates, I kept one foot in the business world - but I focused on how to build things rather than just reading hot takes about them. Rocket Fuel was not a great read - probably best to avoid that one. Leaders Eat Last was like reading my own personal thoughts from a page (scary). What they don’t teach you at Harvard Business School - an oldie but a goodie; deep in ancient times of sports deals but certainly a few things stuck with me about dealing with people.

Survivor:

I clearly had a thing for resilience this year. From Can’t Hurt Me to Educated and The Boys in the Boat, I spent a lot of time reading about people who refused to break. Perhaps I saw myself mirrored in these pages.

Lines That Stuck With Me

Out of the thousands of pages I turned, these are the quotes that are still ringing in my head:

"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."

Neuromancer, William Gibson (Still the coolest opening line in science fiction history.)

"You can love someone and still choose to say goodbye to them. You can miss a person every day, and still be glad that they are no longer in your life."

Educated, Tara Westover

"So it goes."

Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut - and so it goes and goes and goes for obvious reasons.

"THERE’S NO JUSTICE. THERE’S JUST ME."

Mort, Terry Pratchett (Nobody writes Death quite like Pratchett - always has been my favourite character.)

"The most difficult conversation is the one you have to have with yourself."

Can’t Hurt Me, David Goggins - hard conversations were certainly had about my physical and mental health this year, I really hope to address this further in 2026.

"Power rarely announces itself as cruelty; it arrives disguised as efficiency."

Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams. We have a responsibility to do better than those who came before us and to hold those who abuse our trust accountable.

I promised myself I’d push harder this year, and looking at this list, perhaps I finally did. I’ll do better again in 2026. Check out my wishlist