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Well, friends, we are almost five months into 2025, and I have made a commitment to read more this year. I try to do this every year, although at some point, some year, I will naturally have to fail at this.

Anyways; here’s a short list of all the books I’ve stated or completed this year so far;

Down and Out in Paris and London – George Orwell

Elephants on Acid –  Alex Boese

All Marketers are Liars Storytellers – Seth Godin

The Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad

Kissinger’s Shadow –  Greg Grandin
This is the first book this year to make me think, ‘Man, I’d like to beat up a dead guy.’

Ways of Escape – Graham Greene

The Quiet American – Graham Greene

How to Live or A Life of Montaigne, in one question and twenty attempts at an answer – Sarah Bakewell (still reading)

The Painted Veil – Maugham

The Worst Hard Time – Timothy Egan – A Great book about surviving the dust bowl and depression. Stories of perseverance, struggle, thriving, and despair as ordinary people tell their true stories of surviving the dust bowl. Fortunes are made and lost in these stories, some living in dirt clod homes that make it up to mansions, only to have them taken by the bank during the depression.

Active Measures the Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare – Thomas Rid – I cannot find a more important book on this list. If you must read any of the books from my list here, I hope it’s this one. This details in gripping interest and fantastic (real) stories of how disinformation has been used in the past, the first case being against the NYPD from a country very well known for disinformation… in the 1800’s!

Wicked Women of New Mexico – Great real crime stories from women on the Wild West, these ones just take place in New Mexico.

The Year of Living Dangerously – Christopher J Koch (still reading) – Interesting read, right up my alley. Follows an Australian reporter in 1960’s Indonesia during the rule of a dictator. There is a romance aspect, and a spy aspect to it.

Wild Maps for Curious Minds

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind -Yuval Noah Harari – Pretty wordy, but I couldn’t put this down. Once I would get into a topic or chapter I couldn’t stop. The books takes us through our ancestry from Neanderthals and homo sapiens living together briefly, to the advent of farming, warfare, property, society, famine, etc. A great understanding of our species.

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics – Carlo Rovelli – An amazing very short read (I believe it’s 100 small pages or less). It covers fascinating concepts in a way that is not wordy or mathematically impossible for the layman. This book rekindled my interest in physics, aerospace, and mathematics.

Hopefully, I have more time soon (or prioritize reading) so I can bring more ideas and reach my goal of 30 books this year!