2025 in Noteworthy Books

This year I decided I'd start keeping a log or journal of my book-reading, and I actually managed to stick with it! I already had a Goodreads account (from the before times), so I just used that. It's not a great platform, and it is owned by Amazon, so I think next year I'll be looking for something else.

In any case, I managed to read 52 full books last year, which feels like a lot! But it also felt good. I've developed a habit of listening to audiobooks while doing chores, crafting, or exercising.

Rather than reiterate the full list here, I'll just record some highlights:

Fiction

Two new-to-me series that I "caught up on" this year and heartily recommend are Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries (cyberpunk-adjacent sci-fi from the point of view of a neurodivergent, neurotic security android; very funny and very poignant by turns) and Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club (classic British-style whodunnits but with a main cast of pensioners living in an upscale retirement comnmunity; also very funny and very poignant by turns). Both are easy to recommend.

The other three standouts for me this year are Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus, S.A. Chakraborty's The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, and Alix Harrow's Starling House. None of these came out this year, but all are positively brimming with beautifully worked prose, wonderful ideas, and thrilling sequences.

Non-Fiction

This was another really strong year for my nonfiction reading. I am continuing to dig into political and economic reform movements—as I believe that if we are going to emerge from this fascistic moment, we're going to need a new set of institutions and policy packages. Ones drawn from and informed by our traditions, but not bound by the current rhetoric.

I enjoyed T. Harry Williams' biography of Huey Long, Brian Merchant's Blood in the Machine (a history of the Luddites—the first labor/anti-monopoly movement), Sohrab Amari's Tyranny, Inc. (a look at the tyranny of private power in the 21st century), William Dalrymple's The Anarchy (a history of the British East India Company's private military takeover of the various kingdoms of India), David Halberstam's The Coldest Winter (a history of the Korean War), Peter Sarris' magisterial reappraisal of Justinian, and Johnathan Katz's Gangsters of Capitalism (a history of the "making and breaking" of America's overseas empire).

I read but can't recommend Tom Holland's Dominion, Mike Bird's The Land Trap, Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's Abundance, and Max Hastings' Catastrophe 1914, though all provided food for thought.

I also reacquainted myself with the Chinese philosophers Mozi and Xunzi this winter—sort of completing the set of major Chinese philosophical schools. I remain a taoist at heart, but both Mohism and Xunzi's brand of Confucianism provide interesting and valuable concepts as well.

TTRPGs

For me, the standout TTRPG design this year is Triangle Agency, which has a truly inspiring and novel approach to its subject matter. The "playwall" in particular has me more enthusiastic about physical TTRPG design than ever. This was also the year the post-OGL fiasco D&D-killers poured forth from their massively successful kickstarters. For my money, Daggerheart is the most interesting of the lot—there are "Forged in the Dark" and "Powered by the Apocalypse" fingerprints all over this cinematic, 4th-ed D&D inspired core framework.

Naturally, I failed to get any of my own TTRPG projects over the finish line. Next year!