*Note*
My ranking system is personal.
5’s usually mean that it got me to see the world in a new way, it entertained me in an unexpected way, or it offered what I needed to hear at this point in my life.
I’ve found that when you read books – meaning the timing and circumstances of your life – impacts your feelings about that book.
So, if I rate a book lower than you would, can we still be friends?
2025 List
| Number | Date | Title | Author | Rating (1-5) |
| 1 | 1/7 | 61 Hours | Lee Child | 3 |
| 2 | 1/21 | Worth Dying For | Lee Child | 3 |
| 3 | 1/25 | The Affair | Lee Child | 3 |
| 4 | 2/10 | The Pardon | Rodney Powell | 4 |
| 5 | 2/24 | The Black Swan | Nassim Nicholas Taleb | 5 |
| 6 | 4/15 | Onyx Storm | Rebecca Yarros | 3 |
| 7 | 4/29 | A Wanted Man | Lee Child | 3 |
| 8 | 5/10 | I Must Betray You | Ruta Sepetys | 4 |
| 9 | 5/21 | Never Go Back | Lee Child | 3 |
| 10 | 5/25 | Rework | Jason Fried | 4 |
| 11 | 5/26 | Revenge of the Tipping Point | Malcolm Gladwell | 5 |
| 12 | 5/30 | Personal | Lee Child | 3 |
| 13 | 6/19 | The Next Conversation | Jefferson Fisher | 5 |
| 14 | 7/1 | One Million Followers | Brendan Kane | 3 |
| 15 | 7/18 | Make Me | Lee Child | 3 |
| 16 | 7/22 | Hidden Potential | Adam Grant | 4 |
| 17 | 7/27 | Wired for Story | Lisa Cron | 3 |
| 18 | 8/10 | Night School | Lee Child | 3 |
| 19 | 8/18 | The Small and the Mighty | Sharon McMahon | 5 |
| 20 | 9/18 | The Splendid and the Vile | Erik Larson | 4 |
| 21 | 10/21 | Think Faster, Talk Smarter | Matt Abrahams | 3 |
| 22 | 11/13 | Talk Like TED | Carmine Gallo | 3 |
| 23 | 12/1 | Slaughterhouse-Five | Kurt Vonnegut | 4 |
| 24 | 12/24 | The Culture Code | Daniel Coyle | 5 |
What books need to go on my 2026 list?
Want even more book recommendations?
Check out my 2024 list
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Erik Soderborg 