📚 Books read in 2025
May
The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt
As someone who is already aware of--and wholeheartedly despises--social media's ill effects and the dark patterns used by these apps, a lot of this book was not new to me. Could it have been condensed to a few long blog posts rather than a full book? The gist of the book is to increase play-time outside and restrict phone/social-media usage for kids. I much prefer Haidt's earlier books, The Righteous Mind and The Happiness Hypothesis.
The Hunting Party, by Lucy Foley
A thriller to change the pace a bit. A bunch of snobbish rich couples spend the New Year in a remote, snowy retreat and things start to fall apart as one of the guests is killed. Each chapter is told from the view-point of one of the characters and gives a nice insight into the masks they wear and how they actually feel about each other on the inside.
Mind Master, by Vishwanathan Anand
The book starts a bit simple and does not involve any deep chess lessons. There are some simple lessons the ghost-writer tries to tie back as advice to others. Later in the book things get more interesting as we get to see some interesting background on the preparation and travel and stress that happens behind the scenes.
❤️Leech, by Hiron Ennes
This was recommended by the excellent Peter Watts in this interview. It has been a while since I've read a science fiction book this good! A parasitic hive-mind that inhabits a bunch of people meets a competitor in an atmospheric post-apocalyptic world. Finished this in a single long sitting.
The Chess Revolution, by Peter Doggers
A survey of chess from its earliest days to the AI stage and the current surge post-covid. I felt this was a bit bland, considering the rich history and characters involved. Here is a quote I liked from it, and I wish there were more like this:
"The passion for playing chess is one of the most unaccountable in the world. It slaps the theory of natural selection in the face. It is the most absorbing of occupations. The least satisfying of desires. A nameless excrescence upon life. It annihilates a man. You have, let us say, a promising politician, a rising artist that you wish to destroy. Dagger or bomb are archaic and unreliable -- but teach him, inoculate him with chess."
-- H.G. Wells
April
Engima, by Robert Harris
Another excellent book from the master of historical fiction. This one is set in Bletchley Park during World War II. The protagonist is a code- breaker. What I liked most is how the story itself unfolds like an engima that the protagonist has to crack.
How to Read Literature Like a Professor, by Thomas Foster
I had some questions in this area before I started this book, chiefly, "Am I reading too much into the symbolism of so-and-so text, and did the author really have all this in mind?" In this book, the author anticipates this question and his answer is, almost certainly yes, the author did indeed plant that suggestion/phrase/analogy intentionally.
The book covers many other themes that help a reader go beneath the surface of a book. Many were things I was familiar to but I appreciated the examples throughout. Particularly, one of the last chapters is a fantastic analysis of a Mansfield short story, from the eyes of a beginner, an expert and finally the author. There is also a good reading list in the appending.
Bewildered, by Richard Powers
The life of an astrobiologist and his son in a world blind to the impact of climate change. Very well written but quite bleak. There are thin allusions to famous characters in the real world.
World War II - A very short introduction, by Gerhard L. Weinberg
These short intros from Oxford are a great way to dip into an interesting topic. Having a read a much larger book recently, this one was a concise summary of the whole war.
March
Second Sleep, by Robert Harris
My third consecutive book by this author. This one is purely fictional, and it is better to go in blind with this one. A priest goes to a remote town after his predecessor passes away, and has to solve the mystery of his death.
Dictator, by Robert Harris
A gloomy conclusion to the trilogy as Cicero chased out of Rome, and returns, but to unpredictable allies. No decision seems straightforward here and Rome's decline to dictatorship seems inevitable.
❤️Lustrum, by Robert Harris
It turns out this is book two of a trilogy. It covers the life of Cicero when he joins the Roman Senate and watches the rise of Caesar and his triumverate. As my first literary exposure to this period of history, it was fascinating to see the story from the 'other' side, i.e. not Caesar's.
Highly recommended and I have already started the sequel, Dictator.
History of the Second World War, by Liddell Hart
A massive, dense, monumental summary of World War II, from a purely military perspective. I have a new-found appreciation for military history after reading this book. The author dispassionately (?) assesses each side's manoeuvres through each phase of the war, and has frank assessments of the mistakes, lucky breaks, and decisiveness (or lack thereof) that shaped the outcome of each of those battles.
January
❤️The Lord of the Rings, by J R R Tolkien
This is my - I don't know - fourth or fifth read of this treasure? This time I paid special attention to the geography and timelines of the whole journey: one of the few things that does not translate over well in the movies.
Verissimus, by Donald Robertson
This is a graphic novel that covers Marcus Aurelius's life. Those who know it will know he went through several wars with neighbouring regions, a civil war in his own, health issues and so on, but strived to accept what he could not control and act on what he could. I wonder if his constant indifference to slander was the right choice though.
Classics: A Very Short Introduction, by Mary Beard
I thought this would be a history and overview of Classic Literature like Dickens. It turned out to be a lot more interesting. Taking the excavation of a Greek Temple to Apollo in the remote town of Bassae in Greece, the authors elegantly explain how it touches each generation's perspectives on ancient Greek and Roman cultures, philosophy and art.
For instance, it traces the origin of the phrase "Et in Arcadia ego" from a story in Virgil about two shepherds in Bassae, to a Pope interpreting it in his own way, to a Victorian-era painter interpreting it in his own, and so on.
Very enjoyable!
I, Claudius, by Robert Graves
A sprawling history of several Roman emperors from Augustus to Tiberius and Caligula, ending with the author himself: a stuttering, limping Claudius who preferred to be a historian and watched from the sidelines as one generation after another schemed and killed their way to succession. I believe this are many fictional liberties taken but this is a fun read nevertheless.
The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
A dark, fascinating novel about a group of elite students obsessed with ancient Greek language, philosophy and ritual. The narrator, like Gatsby's Nick Carraway, serves as the outsider's view into the lives of these secretive wealthy students and their brooding leader.