Although we’re already into the second half of the year, here are a few recommendations for your reading list. These are the best books I read in 2025. They are split into five different categories – general recommendations that cover my favorite fictional reads, technology and personal development, fun reads, shorts that you can consume in one sitting, and daily readers.

General Recommendations

1. How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
   This was the book that stood above the rest for me this past year. How to Stop Time is a classic tale of a group of people who age slowly and live hundreds of years longer than mere mortals. While the plot rhymes with Haig’s The Midnight Library and The Invisible Life of Addie Larue (V.E. Schwab), it stands apart. The book has a little bit of everything – action, adventure, humor, and even cameos by historical figures from the 1500’s to the present. Most of all, Haig emphasizes the importance of connection in our lives, why relationships matter, and how those relationships keep us going. It gave me a lot to think about, which is one of the things I like in my entertaining reads.

Technology, Business, and Personal Development

1. Good Energy by Casey Means
   Good Energy is a foundational book for improving one’s health and well-being. If there is one health related book you are going to read in the next year, put this one at the top of your list. Means explains that the key to achieving good health is providing conditions that allow our cells to collectively function well, which requires providing the right environment. She shows all the ways our current environment disrupts our cells and then shows how we can create good energy for our cells through better dietary, fitness, and sleep habits. Last but not least, she discusses the methods and tools that allow you to establish a baseline and measure your progress as you make changes.
2. Weapons of math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy by Cathy O’Neil
   Algorithms, machine learning, and artificial intelligent tools are becoming an integral part of our daily lives. The more pervasive they become, the impact to society and ability to increase inequality is rapidly growing. O’Neil illustrates her point through for profit colleges, obtaining credit, auto insurance, the judicial system, and other areas of our society that disproportionally affect the poor and misinformed. Since technology is not going away anytime soon and will continue to grow, it’s important to understand how the algorithms work and their impact on us and the world we live in.
3. Reality Is Not What It Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity by Carlo Rovelli
   This book is a heavy read but worth the effort. Rovelli takes the reader on a journey from the ancient Greeks to present day looking at how the field of physics has evolved over time, particularly the field of quantum mechanics. He shows how prior theories laid the foundation for modern day discoveries such as quantum gravity, and why understanding quantum gravity improves our knowledge of the universe, and possibly its origins. Somehow, Rovelli keeps this complex topic accessible to the casual reader. I was fascinated by the material. It stimulated my imagination, stretched my mind, and, in some instances, totally blew it.
4. The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson
   Bryson is a master storyteller. He has a way of taking complex topics and breaking them down into entertaining stories. In The Body, he uses his talents to describe how our bodies work and how far we’ve come in understanding this vessel we inhabit, and how much we still have to learn about it. It’s a fun, educational read if you’re interested in understanding how our bodies work, which may give you some ideas and/or inspire you to take better care of yourself.
5. Business made Simple by Donald Miller
   For anyone who works as a business leader, whether you are starting or running your own business or part of a corporate team, this is the book for you. Miller covers all aspects of operating business – leadership, marketing, sales, management, and execution. It’s a book I plan to revisit on a regular basis.

The Fun Reads

• Eversion by Alastair Reynolds
  The first half of the book had me wondering where Reynolds was taking me, then he hooked me with the plot twist. The second half of the book is an entertaining read that keeps you guessing and flipping pages.
• Quantum Radio by A.G. Riddle
  I’m a fan of Riddle’s books, and Quantum Radio did not disappoint. I like the way he drops you into the storyline, develops the characters along the way, and keeps you guessing throughout. The story here is another take on the many worlds, multiverse concept when a message contained in data from the Large Hadron Collider leads to the creation of device that enables ‘hopping’ between worlds.
• Calypso by David Sedaris
  Well outside my normal reading genres, Calypso is a memoir where Sedaris recounts the events that have happened in his life and around his family. For anyone who has been a part of a large family with multiple children, aging parents, and siblings with spouses and kids, this entertaining read will be sure to pull a few out loud laughs from you.

Shorts

• Heir Apparent by Daniel Suarez
  In the not too distant future, an AI trained robot working in a convalescent home befriends the elderly to help them enjoy and get the most of their remaining time. As Suarez does so well, all is not what it seems.
• Eleven Numbers by Lee Child
  A young mathematics professor is enlisted by the US government to break an important password based on a mathematical algorithm. As in any good short story, there are subtle plot twists and a cliffhanger that leaves the ending to one’s imagination.
• 3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years by John Scalzi
  Another book about a time machine? Well, the catch is that when you go back in time, you get to choose if you want to come back to the present in 3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years, if at all. Another fun read that has all the classic elements of a good short story.

Daily Reads

• The Daily Dad by Ryan Holiday
  It may say Dad in the title, but this is a book for parents. Each day contains a short passage about parenting that inspires reflection and introspection. A great book for new parents, experienced parents, as well as those who are expecting.
• The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge by Tony Dungy
  I got a lot out of this devotional and liked the way Dungy matched verses from The Bible to life lessons, whether they were from his personal life or professional life as both a successful player and coach in the NFL. It’s a great way to improve one’s character, to explore The Bible, and to develop and strenghten one’s relationship with God.