My 2025 Reading List: Key Insights

As the year ends, 2025 was a year of profound learning. This year’s reading list provided a profound exploration of human behavior, societal structures, and personal effectiveness. The collective insights challenged me to rethink my own motivations (Drive, Flow) and irrationalities (Predictably Irrational), while exposing the hidden systems of power that shape our world (Caste, The World is Flat, Apple in China). A recurring theme in all my reads this year is the power of strategic focus and questioning assumptions, whether in personal growth (The Achievement Habit), innovation (Blitzscaling, Decorating the Fish), or simply in what we choose to care about (The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck). From the vastness of space (Starry Messenger) to the intimacy of a mother’s love (Shyamchi Aai) and the resilience of the human spirit (The Martian, I Who Have Never Known Men), these books collectively serve as a guide to navigating my complex inner and outer worlds with more wisdom, purpose, and clarity.

Row 1

Never Be Sick Again (Raymond Francis)

1. The “One Disease” concept: Argues that all disease is ultimately cell malfunction, which stems from only two causes: deficiency (lacking necessary nutrients) or toxicity (exposure to harmful substances).
2. The Six Pathways: Proposes that health is a choice managed by controlling six key pathways: Nutrition, Toxins, Psychological (stress), Physical (activity), Genetic (modifiable expression), and Medical (avoiding iatrogenic, or medically-caused, harm).

The World of Decorating the Fish (Kristen Cox & Yishai Ashlag)

1. The “Decorating the Fish” Metaphor: The book’s central concept is that organizations (and people) often waste time on “decorating the fish”—actions that look and feel like progress but do absolutely nothing to solve the root problem.
2. The “Seductive Seven” Traps: It identifies common traps that lead to this behavior, such as a fixation on getting more data, adding more resources, or adopting a new tool, all of which are distractions from the hard work of first defining the actual problem.

Drive (Daniel H. Pink)

1. Motivation 3.0: Challenges the traditional “carrot-and-stick” (Motivation 2.0) model, arguing it’s ineffective for creative, complex tasks. The future relies on “Motivation 3.0,” which is intrinsically driven.
2. The Three Intrinsic Elements: True motivation for 21st-century work is built on three pillars: Autonomy (the desire to direct our own lives), Mastery (the urge to get better at something that matters), and Purpose (the yearning to do what we do in service of something larger than ourselves).

Wise Animals (Tom Chatfield)

1. Co-evolution with Technology: Rejects the idea that technology is a separate, external force acting upon us. Instead, it argues that humans have always co-evolved with their tools—from fire and language to AI—and these tools fundamentally shape what it means to be human.
2. Technology as a Humanist Project: Instead of viewing technology as a threat (a “master”) or a simple tool (a “servant”), the book reframes it as a deeply humanist endeavor that reflects our own values, flaws, and potential.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches (Sangu Mandanna)

1. Found Family over Isolation: The central theme is the healing power of a “found family.” It contrasts the protagonist’s life of forced isolation (a rule for witches) with the chaotic, loving, and accepting environment of the Nowhere House, arguing that belonging is essential for magic and life.
2. Redefining Rules and Tradition: The book questions rigid rules that are in place “for an good reason” but that no longer serve the people they are meant to protect. It’s a story about challenging old dogma to make way for a more compassionate and inclusive community.

The Change Maker’s Playbook (Amy J. Radin)

1. The “Seek, Seed, Scale” Framework: Provides a practical, three-part framework for innovation within large organizations. It argues against “innovation theater” and focuses on a tangible process: Seek (find the right customer-centric idea), Seed (validate it with small, data-driven tests), and Scale (integrate the proven idea into the core business).
2. Innovation is a Leadership Task: The book stresses that successful innovation isn’t just a bottom-up process; it requires active, visible leadership to navigate internal obstacles, secure resources, and protect fledgling ideas from bureaucracy.

Row 2

Dust (Hugh Howey)

1. The Truth of the Lie: The story finally resolves the central mystery of the series. The outside world is not toxic; the poison is manufactured inside the silos and pumped out with the “cleaners” to maintain the grand, multi-generational lie.
2. The Unification and Exodus: The climax of the trilogy sees the breaking of the ultimate taboo—communication and connection between the silos. It’s a story about ending the forced isolation and leading a united humanity out of the “dust” of the old world to build a new one.

Death of the Author (Roland Barthes)

1. Separating Text from Creator: This seminal essay argues that a text’s meaning should not be defined by the author’s identity, biography, or intentions. Once the work is published, the author effectively “dies,” giving way to the reader.
2. The Birth of the Reader: By “killing” the author as the ultimate source of meaning, the power of interpretation is transferred to the reader. The text becomes a “multi-dimensional space” where meaning is generated by the reader’s engagement, not by deciphering a single, “correct” message from the creator.

Predictably Irrational (Dan Ariely)

1. Systematic Irrationality: Challenges the core assumption of classical economics (that people are rational actors). Ariely demonstrates through experiments that we are not just irrational, but predictably irrational—we make the same “mistakes” repeatedly.
2. The Power of Anchoring and Decoys: We rarely make decisions in a vacuum. Our choices are heavily influenced by the context presented, such as the first price we see (anchoring) or the presence of a “decoy” option designed to make another option look more attractive.

Flow (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)

1. The Optimal Experience: “Flow” is the psychological state of being completely absorbed in an activity, where you lose your sense of time and self. This is the “optimal experience” and the true source of happiness, rather than external rewards or passive leisure.
2. The Challenge/Skill Balance: Flow is achieved in the narrow channel where the difficulty of a task is perfectly balanced with your skill level. If the task is too hard, you feel anxiety; if it’s too easy, you feel boredom. Growth requires continually increasing the challenge as your skill improves.

Games People Play (Eric Berne)

1. Transactional Analysis: Introduces the idea that all human interactions are “transactions” between three ego-states: the Parent (learned, external rules), the Adult (rational, objective), and the Child (emotional, internal feelings).
2. Psychological “Games”: We unconsciously play “games” with hidden motives and payoffs. These are patterns of transactions that seem plausible on the surface but are actually designed to achieve a hidden psychological gain (e.g., to prove “I’m always right” or “Why does this always happen to me?”).

Caste (Isabel Wilkerson)

1. Caste vs. Race: The book’s central thesis is that American racism is an insufficient label for its systemic inequality. The more accurate framework is a caste system—an artificial, rigid hierarchy that defines one’s value, power, and access—which uses race as the visible marker to enforce its rules.
2. The Eight Pillars: Wilkerson compares the American system to those in India and Nazi Germany, identifying eight “pillars” that all caste systems share, including divine will (using religion to justify the hierarchy), endogamy (preventing mixing of castes), and dehumanization (treating the lower caste as sub-human).

Row 3

Blitzscaling (Reid Hoffman)

1. Speed Over Efficiency: Blitzscaling is a specific strategy for winning a “winner-take-all” or “winner-take-most” market. It involves intentionally prioritizing speed to grow at a breakneck pace, even if it means sacrificing efficiency, burning capital, and “letting fires burn.”
2. Offensive vs. Defensive Scaling: Unlike normal startup growth (which is about finding product-market fit) or scale-up growth (which is about efficiently growing a proven model), blitzscaling is an offensive strategy. You accept uncertainty and risk to achieve a “first-scaler advantage,” building a dominant position before competitors can react.

Tiny Experiments (Anne-Laure Le Cunff)

1. Mindful Productivity: This book promotes a sustainable approach to growth by replacing rigid, long-term goals with small, iterative “experiments.” This mindset shifts the focus from a pass/fail outcome to a continuous process of learning and adapting.
2. P-A-R-I Framework: The book offers a framework for this growth: Pact (commit to curiosity), Act (practice mindful productivity), React (collaborate with uncertainty and view disruptions as data), and Impact (grow with the world by sharing your work).

The Achievement Habit (Bernard Roth)

1. Design Thinking for Your Life: Applies the principles of design thinking (used at Stanford’s d.school) to personal problems. This involves reframing problems, challenging your own “reasons” (which are often just excuses), and adopting a bias toward doing rather than just thinking.
2. “Reasons are B.S.”: A core insight is that the reasons we give for not achieving something (“I don’t have time,” “I’m not good enough”) are almost always excuses we’ve rationalized. By disregarding them and taking a small, concrete action, you break the pattern of inaction.

The Practicing Mind (Thomas M. Sterner)

1. Focus on the Process, Not the Goal: Argues that our modern obsession with “the goal” is the primary source of frustration, impatience, and failure. The key to mastery and peace is to shift your entire focus to the process of practicing the task at hand, finding joy in the simple, present-moment act of doing.
2. The “Do, Observe, Correct” Loop: When you lose focus or get frustrated, use this simple technique: 1. Do the task. 2. Observe your performance and your thoughts non-judgmentally (as a third-party witness). 3. Correct your action slightly. This loop keeps you engaged in the present rather than worrying about the past or future.

I’m Just Saying (Milan Kordestani)

1. The Necessity of Civil Discourse: In a deeply polarized world, the book argues that the ability to engage in respectful, productive conversations with people who hold different views (civil discourse) is not just a “nice to have,” but essential for personal growth and a functioning society.
2. Self-Reflection as a Prerequisite: To have effective discourse, you must first engage in self-reflection. This involves identifying your own biases, understanding why you believe what you believe, and approaching conversations with the humility and openness to change your mind.

The Martian (Andy Weir)

1. The Power of Incremental Problem-Solving: The novel is a testament to the human spirit, but its engine is the scientific method. Mark Watney survives not through one grand gesture, but by breaking down impossible problems (“I’m going to die”) into a series of smaller, solvable ones (“I need to make water,” “I need to grow food”).
2. Ingenuity and Global Cooperation: The story operates on two levels: Watney’s individual ingenuity (famously “sciencing the s–t out of” his problems) and the massive, collaborative effort back on Earth. It shows that while one person’s resourcefulness is powerful, humanity’s greatest achievements require us to cooperate across national and organizational lines.

Row 4

The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine (Rashid I. Khalidi)

1. A “War on” not a “War Between”: The book’s central argument is that the conflict is not, as often portrayed, a “war between two equal sides.” Rather, it is a colonial war waged on the indigenous Palestinian population, supported first by Great Britain and later by the United States.
2. Settler Colonialism Framework: It reframes the conflict through the lens of settler colonialism, arguing that the Zionist project was, from its inception, about replacing the native population with a new society, which inevitably led to the “nakba” (catastrophe) and a continuous, century-long struggle for displacement and resistance.

The Last Queen (Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni)

1. Giving Voice to a Forgotten Historical Figure: The novel is a historical fiction account that brings to life the story of Maharani Jind Kaur, the last wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and a figure largely erased from history. It gives her agency, showing her transformation from a commoner to a powerful, defiant regent.
2. Resilience Against Colonialism: The book is a powerful story of resistance. It details Jind Kaur’s fierce struggle against the British East India Company’s annexation of the Sikh Empire, her imprisonment, and her daring escape, highlighting her relentless spirit and dedication to her people and her son.

Butter (Asako Yuzuki)

1. Food as Autonomy and Desire: The novel uses food (especially rich, decadent butter) as a metaphor for female desire, pleasure, and autonomy. The journalist Rika’s journey from eating instant noodles to obsessively cooking is a story of her own self-awakening.
2. A Critique of Misogyny: The book is a sharp critique of how society, and the media, polices women’s bodies and appetites. The public’s fascination with the convict, Manako Kajii, stems less from her alleged crimes and more from the fact that she is “not thin” and lives a life of unashamed, hedonistic pleasure, which transgresses all societal expectations.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (Mark Manson)

1. The Feedback Loop from Hell: The book argues that modern culture’s obsession with positive thinking creates a toxic “feedback loop”—feeling bad about feeling bad. The solution is to accept negative feelings as a normal part of life.
2. Choose Your F*cks Wisely: The “subtle art” is not about being indifferent; it’s about being selectively indifferent.. It means consciously choosing what you care about (your values) and “not giving a f*ck” about the adversity, failure, and superficial metrics that are unavoidable in life.

Useful, Not True (Derek Sivers)

1. Beliefs as Tools: This book presents a profound mental model: your beliefs are not facts about the world; they are tools. The most important question to ask about a belief is not “Is this true?” but “Is this useful?”
2. Reframing for Action: If a belief causes you to act in a way that is beneficial, it’s a useful tool. If it holds you back (“I’m not a good public speaker”), it’s a useless tool, even if it feels true. You can, and should, consciously discard useless beliefs and “try on” new ones to see if they produce better results.

I Who Have Never Known Men (Jacqueline Harpman)

1. Humanity in a Void: This is a deeply philosophical and absurdist novel. Its core insight is an exploration of what it means to be human when all context—family, history, culture, and even the other half of the species—is stripped away.
2. Curiosity as a Reason for Being: The book contrasts the profound apathy of the older women, who have faint memories of a lost world, with the narrator’s fierce, consuming curiosity. It suggests that the urge to learn, count, and document, even in a meaningless void, is the fundamental essence of being human.

Row 5

श्यामची आई (Shyamchi Aai) (Sane Guruji)

1. Motherhood as Moral Foundation: This classic of Marathi literature is a collection of 42 stories told by the protagonist, Shyam, to his friends. The central theme is the profound, selfless love of his mother (“Aai”) and the moral values (honesty, empathy, selflessness) she instills in him, often through hardship.
2. The Power of Sanskar: The book is a guide to “Sanskar” (a concept of moral and cultural upbringing). It demonstrates that a person’s character is not innate but is molded by the values, sacrifices, and teachings of their family, particularly their mother, even in the face of poverty and rural challenges.

The Intelligent Investor (Benjamin Graham)

1. Mr. Market: Introduces the allegory of “Mr. Market,” an irrational, manic-depressive business partner who offers you a different price for your stocks every day. Sometimes he’s wildly optimistic (high price), sometimes he’s despondent (low price). The intelligent investor doesn’t take cues from his mood; they use his volatility to their advantage—buying when he’s depressed and selling when he’s euphoric.
2. Margin of Safety: This is the book’s central concept. The intelligent investor never speculates. They buy an asset only when its market price is significantly below its calculated intrinsic value. This “margin of safety” protects you from bad luck, errors in judgment, and the irrationality of Mr. Market.

Kashmir: The Case for Freedom (Various Authors)

1. A Counter-Narrative: This book is a collection of essays that directly challenges the dominant state-sponsored narratives of India and Pakistan. It argues that the conflict is not a simple territorial dispute but a popular, indigenous freedom movement by the Kashmiri people for self-determination.
2. Critique of Occupation: The essays document the human cost of what they describe as the Indian “occupation,” including human rights abuses, militarization, and the suppression of political dissent, arguing that a just resolution is impossible without acknowledging Kashmir’s right to choose its own future.

Lord of Light (Roger Zelazny)

1. Technology as Magic: A classic example of Arthur C. Clarke’s law (“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”). The “gods” in the book are not divine; they are the original crew of a colony ship who use advanced technology (mind-transfer, “Aspects”) to grant themselves god-like powers and immortality, enforcing a rigid caste system on the planet’s descendants.
2. Religion as a Tool of Control: The novel is a deep exploration of the conflict between two ideologies: the “gods” (using Hinduism as a tool of control and reincarnation-as-technology to maintain power) and the protagonist, Sam/Buddha (introducing Buddhism as a philosophy of liberation to break their stranglehold).

A Minute to Think (Juliet Funt)

1. The “Thieves of Time”: The book argues that we aren’t just busy; we’re compressing our time with low-value tasks. These “Thieves of Time” are often good traits taken to an extreme: Drive becomes Overdrive, Excellence becomes Perfectionism, Information becomes Overload, and Activity becomes Frenzy.
2. “White Space” as a Strategic Pause: The solution is to reclaim “white space”—small, intentional pauses inserted into the day. This is not a break to check social media, but a strategic pause to think. This “minute to think” allows you to separate the signal from the noise, regain strategic clarity, and make better decisions.

The Art of Laziness (Library Mindset)

1. Redefining Laziness: The book’s title is provocative, but its core message is about the difference between unproductive laziness (procrastination, avoidance) and strategic laziness (efficiency, doing only what matters). It’s an argument against “hustle culture” and “busyness” for its own sake.
2. Urgency through Mortality: To overcome unproductive laziness, the book advocates for using mortality as a motivator (e.g., the “Death Calendar” concept). By confronting the finite nature of your time, you create the urgency needed to stop procrastinating, take responsibility for your life, and focus on the few things that truly matter.

Row 6

Apple in China (Wei-Ting Yen)

1. A Symbiotic but Vulnerable Relationship: The book details the deep, symbiotic relationship between Apple and China. Apple gained access to an unparalleled manufacturing ecosystem and a massive market, while China used Apple to build its own technological capabilities and create millions of jobs.
2. The “Bait and Switch”: A key argument is that this relationship has become a vulnerability for Apple. China has “used” Apple’s investment to build up its own homegrown competitors (like Huawei) and now holds immense leverage, potentially able to “kill” Apple’s production overnight, leaving the company inextricably bound to an authoritarian state.

Change is the Only Constant (Ben Orlin)

1. Calculus as a Language for Life: The book’s main idea is that calculus is not just a dry set of rules but a powerful “language” for describing the human experience. It’s a way of thinking about love, risk, and time.
2. “Moments” and “Eternities”: Orlin makes calculus accessible by relating its two core ideas to life. The derivative (“Moments”) is the study of instantaneous change (how you feel right now), while the integral (“Eternities”) is the summing up of all those moments to see the big picture of your life.

Decisions Over Decimals (Christopher Frank, et al.)

1. The Problem vs. The Data: Argues that in the age of big data, we have become obsessed with “decimals” (data) rather than “decisions” (the problem we are trying to solve). We often start by gathering data instead of first asking, “What decision are we trying to make, and why?”
2. Intuition as a Data Point: The book advocates for balancing data with human intuition and experience. It argues that leaders should “interrogate” their data, check it against their common sense, and not be afraid to make a good decision with imperfect data rather than wait for a “perfect” answer that never comes.

Starry Messenger (Neil deGrasse Tyson)

1. The Cosmic Perspective: The book’s central theme is that a “cosmic perspective” is a necessary antidote to tribalism and division. By contemplating the vastness of the universe, our earthly conflicts and differences appear insignificant, fostering a greater sense of shared humanity.
2. Scientific Literacy as a Unifier: Tyson argues that the process of scientific inquiry—which is based on empirical data, verifiable truth, and a willingness to be wrong—is a powerful framework for resolving conflict and building consensus. He posits that a scientifically literate public is essential for a functional democracy.

The World Is Flat (Thomas L. Friedman)

1. The Ten “Flatteners”: The book’s thesis is that a combination of technological and political forces (the “10 flatteners,” such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, the rise of the internet, outsourcing, and supply chaining) have “flattened” the global playing field.
2. Globalization 3.0: This “flattening” has created “Globalization 3.0,” a new era where the key agent of change is no longer countries (1.0) or corporations (2.0), but individuals. Anyone, anywhere, can now collaborate and compete globally, which fundamentally changes economics, politics, and society.

The 9/11 Commission Report (National Commission on Terrorist Attacks)

1. A Failure of Imagination: The report’s most famous and damning conclusion was that the primary failure was not one of intelligence collection, but of imagination. U.S. agencies had the “dots” (the data) but failed to connect them, unable to imagine that Al-Qaeda would or could mount an attack of such scale on U.S. soil.
2. Systemic Institutional Failure: The report revealed deep, systemic failures in communication and coordination between government agencies, particularly the CIA and FBI. This finding led directly to the largest restructuring of the U.S. intelligence community in 50 years, including the creation of the Director of National Intelligence.

My ongoing Goodread list

though the year coming to end, the reading will continue, you can join me on Goodreads, to share your reading list as well as inspire me for more wisdom seeking reads.

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/36302373-sumit