Oh 2025, the year in which nothing made sense. I did more but got less in returns. Added more values but felt less appreciated. The year every book I read felt true in theory but just didn’t apply in a toxic world.

At least the books were great.

Fictions/Bio

Misuteri to Iu Nakare (Don’t Call It Mystery) by Yumi Tamura

This manga series is most likely the most fun read for me this year. Kind of true to the title, the mystery isn’t too deep. But I enjoyed the subtle horror, the slice-of-life touch, and the likable characters. I also empathized well with the main character, which added a lot to the enjoyment. A strong candidate for my forever green list.

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee

This was one hell of a weird read with loads of dejavu and a bunch of flashback. It felt a bit like back in 2021 watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and saw myself everywhere.

Things we lost to the water by Eric Nguyen

Recommended by my senior at work. I haven’t finished reading it yet since it felt special and I should save it for a special occasion. But the idea that a book could be special it should be reserved for a special occasion? Kind of mind-blowing, isn’t it?

Trip to the past

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali

I picked these 4 this year to continue my journey of rereading my younger days’ favorites to see how it goes now that I am a spiteful bitter human being (relatively). In brief:

A Clockwork Orange is as good as ever but depressing as fuck.
The Idiot is and always will be the definite best novel of Dostoevsky.
The Sorrows of Young Werther is best for getting really really drunk.
Madonna in a Fur Coat is still one hell of a wonderful book, yet I never came across anyone who have read the book. So I am cursed never to be able to discuss it with anyone.

Non-Fictions

Theory of Games and Economic Behavior by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern

When the book first arrived, I looked at it, read a few pages, and wondered if I would ever finish it. Not because it was a bad book. It was just a scary one. Scary, big, bold, and beautiful. Scary because the first few pages made it feel like the type of book that reveals the truth of the world and changes you forever. You don’t just read it. You read it knowing you might come out of reading it a different person.

Best read in 2025 definitely.

The Imaginary by Jean-Paul Sartre (plus On Camus)

Another new to me. I am a big fan of Albert Camus, but didn’t read much on Sartre. In all honesty, I started this simply because of coming across On Camus.

Well, On Camus is my 2nd most fun read after Don’t call it a mystery this year. And The Imaginary is almost as fun.

Books on product designs

The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Civilization in the Aftermath of a Cataclysm
Engineering in Plain Sight: An Illustrated Field Guide to the Constructed Environment by Grady Hillhouse
The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design by Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt

I am thankful for coming across these three books. They reminded me a little bit of The Design of Everyday Things, but a bit less on principles and a bit more on practical applications. It feels wonderful to again slow down, appreciate, or even amaze at the marvelous designs from the simplest items in my life, whether the chairs I sit on or the tablets I take daily. It also feels reassuring that amidst the chaos of life, so much around us are intentional, deliberated, and thoughtful. That it isn’t all just randomness.

Books on human-centric designs

The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web by Jesse James Garrett
Designing with the Mind in Mind: Simple Guide to Understanding User Interface Design Guidelines by Jeff Johnson PhD
Bottlenecks: Aligning UX Design with User Psychology by David C. Evans
User Friendly: How the Hidden Rules of Design Are Changing the Way We Live, Work, and Play by Cliff Kuang and Robert Fabricant

When I start on books like Theory of Games and Economic Behavior, I know it is about new knowledge, about getting to know what I know I don’t know yet or even what I don’t know that I don’t know. Therefore, reading Theory of Games and Economic Behavior is eye-opening.

The four books above covered a subject I am a lot more familiar with. So reading through them helped me realize how much I embarrassingly didn’t see with my eyes fully opened. They humbled me. A lot.

Books on innovations and transformations

Rocket Surgery Made Easy by Steve Krug
Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice by Clayton M. Christensen, Karen Dillon, Taddy Hall, and David S. Duncan
The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen

Another sets of books on the same topic. Supposedly for work, until one day when it wasn’t for work anymore. There were excitements here and there, and at some points, it was a sad tale of lost opportunities. I don’t regret reading the books. But I regret reading them this year, almost to the extend of hating myself for continue reading.

Human is self-destructive. At least I am.

Finite and Infinite Games by James Carse

I still struggle to see if I like or hate this book. I am both enticed to read it again and hating myself for even thinking about enduring the book one more time. For one part I really enjoyed there would be another part right after where I couldn’t fathom. It felt coherent but at the same time it also felt like two books existing in one, one original and thought-provoking, another cliche, boring, and preachy.

Design Is a Job by Mike Monteiro

This was a fun read up to a point where it was too true to life, it become a horror story anthology. Who doesn’t love a good old horror story, well, at least until the horror starts knocking on your door?

On the other hand, who doesn’t love a good old horror story despite the horror knocking on your door?

The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin

I expected a lot more, but I wasn’t disappointed with what I got. Overall a good book that might require a bit more time to slowly digest and see its full values.

The books I read in 2025 are all reaffirming and comforting. I didn’t go out of my zone and mostly read those I know in advance I would enjoy.

Looking forward

For 2026, I am heading to the same direction. I probably won’t read as many books. I read too much in 2024 and 2025 so I will probably spend a big chunk of 2026 on digesting and revisiting those books. 2026 is already confirmed to by a year full of uncertainty where I am planning to take a leap of faith.

The books, for now, might just be as well the only reassuring part of the upcoming year.