15 Great Books to Read in 2025
So I read around 50 to 100 books each year, and books have been the single biggest factor in helping me start my own business and writing books. In this article, we’re going to go over the 15 best books I read this year across a range of genres, so hopefully, you’ll get some recommendations for books that you can read too.
Alrighty, so book number one is The Pathless Path by Paul Millard: Imagining a New Story for Work and Life.
This is great if, for example, you are struggling with trying to figure out what to do with your career. Maybe you’re not sure if the default path of working a corporate job or going into a very traditional field like medicine, law, banking, or consulting is really for you. If you want to explore what life means when you’re somewhat decorrelated from what you do with your career, then this is a super interesting book.
It’s probably the one I’ve most gifted to people this year. I keep about 10 copies on hand so that whenever someone visits me who has a dilemma—like, “Hey, I’m not sure if I enjoy my job,” or “I’m a student and not really sure what to do”—I say, “You know what? Just have a look, have a read of this book.” It’s very quick to read.
The nice thing about it is that it questions the prevalent idea in society that who we are is what we do. It’s like when someone asks, “What do you do?” you tend to respond with your job title. That’s a bit weird, a bit rogue. When did that happen? Is that really how you want to define yourself?
I struggled with this a lot last year when I left medicine. Being attached to the identity of being a doctor was such a core part of me that it was hard to let go, but reading this book genuinely helped me approach a different way of thinking about my career and life.
Second on the list, we have Someday Is Today: 22 Simple, Actionable Ways to Propel Your Creative Life by Matthew Dicks.
This is a great book if, for example, you have dreams of creative projects—like writing a book, starting a podcast, a YouTube channel, or a business—but feel like the timing is never quite right. I love the way Matthew tells stories in the book and how he approaches time management.
It’s technically a productivity book, but Matthew’s writing feels more like storytelling. His other book, Storyworthy (one of my favorite books of 2022), is about how to tell better stories. Both books have fantastic insights for life in general. I’ve even had a few coaching sessions with him, and he’s been incredibly helpful.
At number three on the list, we have Beyond Wealth by Alexander Green: The Road Map to a Rich Life.
This is interesting because Green, having spent a career in investment advice, talks not just about money but happiness beyond money. The book begins with a thought-provoking point: “You can’t wear your stock portfolio, ride on your bank account, or eat gold and silver coins.”
He emphasizes that true wealth involves health, love, close friendships, personal interests, and having something to get you out of bed in the morning. It’s a collection of life lessons from someone who’s observed the ultra-rich and their happiness—or lack thereof.
It made me develop an appreciation for arts, culture, history, and philosophy, and I’d recommend it to anyone questioning society’s obsession with wealth.
Next on the list is The Three Alarms: A Simple System to Transform Your Health, Wealth, and Relationships Forever by Eric Partaker.
This self-help book offers three practical concepts:
- The Three Alarms – Set reminders on your phone for the key identities you want to embody throughout the day.
- The Ideal Week – Map out what your ideal week would look like.
- Weekly Reviews – Reflect on your week to stay intentional.
These ideas have helped me balance health, relationships, and career goals. It’s a practical, intentional approach to life that many will find valuable.
Moving on, we have The Art and Business of Online Writing by Nicholas Cole.
If you want to make a career or income from creating content online, this book is invaluable. Nicholas shares lessons from his journey, including going from being a pro World of Warcraft gamer to making a seven-figure income through online writing.
Even though it’s focused on writing, the principles apply to podcasts, videos, and other forms of content creation.
An absolute classic I read this year is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.
It’s been around for decades and sold over 40 million copies, and for good reason. It’s probably the best self-help book I’ve ever read. Covey’s insights into emotional intelligence, empathetic communication, and success are timeless. If you haven’t read it yet, it’s a must-read.
Next, we have Scorecard Marketing: The Four-Step Playbook for Getting Better Leads and Bigger Profits by Daniel Priestley.
This book is perfect for business owners or anyone wanting to start a business. It delves into lead generation, understanding customer behavior, and effectively solving problems through marketing.
Finally, we have What We Owe the Future by Will MacAskill, which explores long-termism—the idea of caring about future generations as much as we care about ourselves. It’s a thought-provoking book that delves into AI risks, nuclear war, and other long-term challenges humanity might face.
If you’re into philosophy, ethics, or activism, this book is worth exploring.
Global bestseller. All this stuff—it’s just so good. It’s so good! Basically, the key model is that you should be more giving in your approach to stuff and give without an expectation of something in return. A lot of us have a more transactional approach to life, especially in the modern capitalistic society that we live in. It’s good; would recommend The Go-Giver. Very, very nice and an easy read as well.
All right, continuing—we have The Luck Factor by Richard Wiseman. I’m going to make a confession here: like, half of these books are from people who I either know on the internet or have interviewed on my podcast and therefore gotten to know. Usually, when I interview someone, I read their book beforehand or listen to their book on Audible. A lot of the time, if I like someone’s book, we will then reach out to them for the podcast interview.
For this one, The Luck Factor, I first read it when I was about 16 years old. This was when I was first getting into close-up magic and also kind of personal development. I was reading blogs like Lifehacker and came across this book, which is basically about how to get luckier in life. It’s by Richard Wiseman, a psychology professor.
When we were figuring out who we wanted to interview for the podcast, I thought, “Oh, Richard Wiseman! He’s a magician, he’s a psychologist, he’s cool.” So we reached out to him and got an interview with him on the podcast, which is now live. You can check it out on any podcast app or on the YouTube channel, where we talked about this idea of luck.
I remember reading this book and it having a big impact on my life. Basically, what Wiseman argues is that some people consider themselves lucky and others consider themselves unlucky, but the people who think of themselves as lucky generally seem to have better lives, are happier, less stressed, more resilient, more productive, and more creative.
He explores whether luck is just a function of success—like, if you’re really smart or do well, do you start to consider yourself lucky? Or is it more than that? Can we change our approach to things and our mindset to become luckier? He argues yes! He’s done tons of research about this. It’s very evidence-based but also very readable, with some super interesting and nice stories.
It’s about four principles that will change your luck and your life. We are going to do a book club episode about this, which I’m going to film very soon. That will summarize the book for you, but it’s very readable. It’s kind of short. You can get it on Audible. This time around, I read it on Kindle, but when I was 16, I listened to it. It’s great because it gives practical, actionable advice on how to become the sort of person who considers themselves lucky.
If you currently consider yourself unlucky, consider reading the book. If you already consider yourself lucky or neutral, check it out anyway. It has some good actionable tips for increasing the amount of serendipity in your life and just generally spreading good vibes all around.
Watch some insightful videos and stories on my YouTube channel, Kelvin Jasi. Thank you for reading.