Books

I like to read. I think books are fantastic. More people should read more books. I should read more books. Here are the books I've read this year, along with some commentary and scores, ranked by how highly I recommend them.

By the way, you don’t see any terrible scores because I stop reading any book I can’t get into. Life’s too short for bad books.

2025

22 books, not great but also not terrible. I'll shoot for 26 in 26. All the 10s are must-reads in my opinion. Can't go wrong with the 9s either.

Man's Search for Meaning (10/10) — It took me a long time and a lot of courage to read this book. One of the best books I've ever read.
Greenlights (10/10) — Matthew McConaughey's book, which is fantastic and should be listened to as an audiobook. Great for a road trip.
Cabin (10/10) — Guy in advertising buys a small cabin, renovates it himself, and changes his life along the way.
Tunnel 29 (10/10) — Guy escapes from East to West Germany and then spends the next few decades digging tunnels to help others. Unbelievable read.
Eigentlich bin Ich ein super Typ (10/10) — Mario Basler was one of the most interesting German soccer players ever.
Der Schlauste Mann der Welt (10/10) — A modern fable by Andreas Eschbach about wealth, life, and having ten days left to reflect.
From Strength to Strength (9/10) — Arthur Brooks explores how our careers and lives could evolve as we age.
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (9/10) — One of the most significant historical figures in human history. Fun, easy read.
Ich bin dann mal weg (9/10) — Hape Kerkeling’s Camino de Santiago journey. A bucket list item for me.
The Art of Spending Money (9/10) — A great read for savers and investors. As solid as every Morgan Housel book.
The Widow (9/10) — I love everything John Grisham writes. Great, though not his very best.
Peak Performance (8/10) — A strong revisit on work/life balance and performance.
1929 (8/10) — A look at the 1929 stock market crash that made me ponder today’s economy.
Revenge of the Tipping Point (8/10) — Good follow-up, though less relevant for marketers.
Never Enough (8/10) — Enjoyed learning more about the author’s entrepreneurial journey.
Character Limit (8/10) — Sold my Twitter shares to Elon. Glad I did.
Meditations for Mortals (8/10) — A one-month sprint toward mindfulness. Great bedside read.
Abundance (8/10) — A call to get back to building our way to a better society.
Who Knew (8/10) — Barry Diller’s biography. One of the great media entrepreneurs.
Careless People (7/10) — A revealing look at dysfunction inside Facebook.
Kochland (7/10) — How the Koch brothers built one of America’s largest private companies.
Covered Calls for Beginners (6/10) — Basic, but it did the trick.