Books I Read in 2025

Happy New Year. Looking back at 2025, I feel I could and should have read more. However, I’m definitely thankful for the books I read last year. Here is my 2025 reading list.

The Coming Wave by Mustafa Suleman:
This book gave me a great perspective on A, its history, its trajectory, and what lies ahead. I enjoyed the sections on railroads and how their adoption spread across the UK and beyond. 

Super Intelligence, by Nick Bostrom:
I’ll be honest—this wasn’t an easy read. It took me considerable time to work through, but the exploration of the Turing test and the various paths to superintelligence gave me a different perspective on things- though I may not agree with it.

The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick:
A refreshingly simple and practical read about finding product-market fit by asking the right questions. It reinforced learning: the quality of your answers depends entirely on the quality of your questions.

The Ikigai Journey by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia:
The authors offer practical advice: put your phone away during meals, block time for specific tasks (yes, even YouTube), journal your daily wins, and reflect on what could have gone better. Visualize your future self.

One detail that stuck with me: the Ise Grand Shrine, dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu, is rebuilt every twenty years. The 62nd rebuild was completed in 2013. This 1,500-year-old tradition embodies renewal, impermanence, and continuity in the most beautiful way. The cheat-sheet at the end of the book is a great reference.

Periyannan – Untold History
A few months of 2025 were consumed by a deeply personal project—writing my own book on my grandfather, Periyannan – Untold History. I read and re-read countless times to ensure accuracy. It was demanding but rewarding. We also compiled the Ponni (1947–1955) Anthology during this time.

 Scaling Up – Verne Harnish
“It’s easier to find what you’re looking for if it comes looking for you.” That line stayed with me. Harnish also presents a painful but necessary exercise for every team: ask yourself, “Knowing what I know now, would I rehire this person?” It’s uncomfortable, but essential.

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande:
Gawande’s vulnerability in sharing his own mistakes made this book powerful. He demonstrates the critical importance of checklists in hospitals and airplanes, and how we can apply the same discipline to our daily lives. Simple systems prevent complex failures.

Nexus By Yuval Harari:
I’ve read other books by Harari, and I’m grateful to have read Nexus as well. What I love about his work is how he weaves together technology, data, and everyday life. He traces how information has evolved from ancient times to the present, reminding us that understanding the future requires understanding the past. Reading Nexus felt like traveling through time while simultaneously preparing for what’s ahead.

The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday
How do you convert every obstacle into an advantage and opportunity? Holiday’s Stoic wisdom offers a framework for doing exactly that.

Beyond Books

I also spent quality time with podcasts. Here were some of my recent ones from the last quarter of 2025. The Acquired episodes by Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal were exceptional—the deep dives into Rolex, Coca-Cola, and the IPL were all fascinating. After reading about ImageNet in Nexus, I listened to the episode with Dr. Fei-Fei Li on the Tim Ferris Show which beautifully complemented what I’d learned.

Thank you for reading.