2025 Reading List

This years reading list is designed as a living document, one that grows and evolves each month as new books are added, old favorites are revisited, and themes begin to emerge from the year’s choices. With this approach I am trying to reflect both discipline and flexibility. Discipline in maintaining the habit of reading widely and carefully, and flexibility in allowing new interests to shape the direction of study. By updating monthly, I hope the list will capture not just what is being read but also the rhythm and progression of a year in books.

The first part of the year has been anchored by a series of re-reads. These are works that shaped my thinking in past years and continue renewed attention. From the moral vision of Thomas Paine and Martin Luther King Jr. to Alasdair MacIntyre’s critique of modern ethics, and to the practical wisdom of Ray Dalio and Charlie Munger, these months highlight the value of returning to foundational texts while engaging them through questions and critiques in writing. Alongside these, I revisited investment and strategy classics such as The Intelligent Investor and Chip War. Their lessons take on new meaning when read in light of current social and political realities. I plan to make this cycle of re-reading a deliberate annual practice at the start of each year.

At the same time new discoveries and focused studies have continue to enrich the year’s reading. February was shaped almost entirely by the philosophy of Leibniz, which deepened my engagement with questions of knowledge, metaphysics, and the origins of thought. Spring and summer brought explorations into history that included civilizational collapse, espionage, America’s founding generation, and the long legacy of slavery in early colonial and pre-colonial America. This mix of re-reads and new works in philosophy, history, and biography illustrates the balance I seek. I want to stay grounded in familiar texts, continue to build a foundation of knowledge while continuing to press outward into new thoughtful terrain.

January

  1. The Name of God is Mercy by Pope Francis (re-read)

  2. Rights of Man by Thomas Paine (re-read)

  3. The Measure of a Man by Martin Luther King, Jr. (re-read)

  4. After Virtue by Alasdair MacIntyre (re-read)

  5. Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order by Ray Dalio (re-read)

  6. Charlie’s Almanac by Charles Munger (re-read)

  7. The New Wine Rules by Jon Bonne

February

  1. Thoughts on Knowledge, Truth and Ideas by Gottried W. Leibniz

  2. Discourse on Metaphysics by Gottried W. Leibniz

  3. A New System by Gottried W. Leibniz

  4. Reflections on Locke’s Essay on Human Understanding by Gottried W. Leibniz

  5. On the Ultimate Origin of Things by Gottried W. Leibniz

  6. On Nature in Itself, or the Force Residing in Created Things by Gottried W. Leibniz

  7. The Monadology by Gottried W. Leibniz

  8. Epistemological Problems of Economics by Ludwig Von Mises

  9. What Would Frida Do? By Arianna Davis

  10. Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling by Ross King

  11. Idealism by Hector Davis

  12. My Inventions by Nicolas Tesla

  13. Three dialogues between Hylas and Philonous by George Berkeley

March

  1. 1177 B.C. The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric Cline

  2. A Concise History of Turkey by Charles Editors

  3. Irreligion by John Paulos

  4. The Situation Room, by George Stephanopoulos

  5. After 1177 B.C. The Survival of Civilization by Eric Cline

  6. The Spy by Suzanne Kamata

  7. The Reluctant Spy by John Kiriakou

April

  1. The Life of a Spy by Rod Barton

  2. The Firm by John Grisham

  3. Chip War by Chris Miller (re-read)

  4. The Intelligent Investor Benjamin Graham (re-read)

  5. Battle for the American Mind by Pete Hegseth

6. For Love of Country by Tulsi Gabbard

May

  1. To Sail a Serious Ocean by John Kretschmer (re-read)

  2. Money by Jacob Goldstein

  3. George Washington at “Headquarter, Dobbs Ferry” by Mary Donovan

  4. George Washington: A Selection of Letters by George Washington

  5. George Washington’s Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior by George Washington

  6. George Washington’s Farewell Address by George Washington

  7. Flowers, Guns, and Money by Lindsay Schakenbach

  8. Patriotism and Profit by Susan Nagel

June

  1. Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

  2. First Family by Joseph J. Ellis

  3. John Adams Under Fire by Dan Abrams

  4. Washington by Ron Chernow

July

  1. Rise and Kill First Ronen Bergman (re-read)

  2. Mark Twain by Ron Chernow

  3. Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (re-read)

  4. American Sphinx by Joesph J. Ellis

  5. Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt

  6. The Hundred Years War of Palestine by Rashid Khalidi

August

  1. Master of the Mountian, Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves by Henry Wiencek

  2. Trumps Triumph by Newt Gingrich

  3. Melting Point by Rachel Cockerell

  4. Master of the Mountian, Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves by Henry Wiencek (re-read)

  5. The Servile Wars: The History and Legacy of the Slave Uprisings against Rome by Simon Webb

  6. The Forgotten Slave Trade: The White European Slaves of Islam by Simon Webb

  7. American slavery, American freedom By Edmund Morgan

  8. The Haitian Revolution: The History and Legacy of the Slave Uprising that Led to Haiti's Independence by Charles Editors

  9. The Slave Ship: A Human History by Marcus Rediker

  10. To be a Slave Julius Lester

September

  1. Not My Type by E. Jean Carroll

  2. New England Bound: Slavery and colonization in Early America by Wendy Warren

  3. White Over Black by Jordan Winthrop

  4. Original Sin by Jake Trapper & Alex Thompson

  5. Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings by Annette Gordon-Reed

  6. The Hemings of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed

  7. A Colored Man’s Reminiscences of James Madison by Paul Jennings, 1865

  8. Dolley and James Madison by Rodney Smith

  9. Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston

  10. The Constitution of the United States of America by James Madison, Gouverneur Morris, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin

  11. The Bill of Rights by James Madison

  12. The War of 1812 by Henry Coles

October

  1. Born in Slavery: Narratives from the WA Slave Narrative Collection by William Miss

  2. 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northrop

  3. Patriot Games by Tom Clancy

  4. Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo

  5. The Data Detective by Tim Harford

  6. Data Mining and Analytics by Alex Campbell

  7. Grant by Ron Chernow

  8. Data Analysis for Beginners by Brian Murray

  9. Data as a Product by Alex Campbell

November

  1. Who is Government by Michael Lewis

  2. James by Percival Everett

  3. Data Science From Scratch by Steven Cooper

  4. Mastering Research Papers by Arvind Chopra

December

  1. James Monroe by Brook Poston

  2. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness by Peter Moore

  3. On Democracy and Death Cults by Douglas Murray

  4. Data Analytics for Business by Ira Haimowitz

  5. Data Governance by Chuck Sherman

  6. Under Siege by Eric Trump

Favorite Books of 2025

  1. Master of the Mountian, Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves, by Henry Wiencek

  2. The Situation Room, by George Stephanopoulos

  3. The Life of a Spy, by Rod Barton

  4. The Firm, by John Grisham

  5. Antifragile, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

  6. Washington, by Ron Chernow

  7. Mark Twain, by Ron Chernow

  8. Grant by Ron Chernow

  9. Epistemological Problems of Economics, by Ludwig Von Mises

  10. Not My Type, by E. Jean Carroll

  11. Original Sin, by Jake Trapper & Alex Thompson

  12. The Hemings of Monticello: An American Family, by Annette Gordon-Reed

  13. A Colored Man’s Reminiscences of James Madison, by Paul Jennings, 1865

  14. Born in Slavery: Narratives from the WA Slave Narrative Collection by William Miss

  15. On Democracy and Death Cults by Douglas Murray