In December I had to read a lot of books (30) in order to successfully hit my goal.
As with November - To save myself (and you) time I'm only going to provide context for books that were relevant or specifically meaningful to me.
I will be following this post up with a second post wrapping up the whole year - hopefully you'll read that one too.
The Fifth Discipline - Peter M. Senge
Why I read this: This one got added to my "To Read" list very early this year, long before I had any development plans or ideas. Then when I did create a plan it reappeared on the curriculum. I figured it was time.
Reflection: I have to confess - I did not actually read The Fifth Discipline. I bought an audiobook that I thought was The Fifth Discipline, but ended up being a heavily abridged version. I will obtain and read the genuine book at some point this year - but I did feel that the abridged version I consumed did a reasonably good job of summarizing the core points. Much of what I've read this year is very clearly a descendant of this book - so I can't say I discovered anything wholly new or insightful from reading it. But hearing the message in its original format was interesting and valuable. When I do obtain a copy of this book I expect it will sit on my desk and be a a constant source of inspiration.
Drive - Daniel H. Pink
Why I read this: Motivating people to do what I want them to do is an important part of my goals. It's also an important part of being a parent - which is a far more relevant domain to me than anything to do with business or work.
Reflection: It was not surprising to me that the carrot/stick is not the universally powerful motivation technique for accomplishing great big things. When I was younger the word 'motivation' got thrown around a lot at me. Being the classic gifted kid archetype (high potential - low achievement) there was always an ongoing conversation as to what it was that would motivate me to be a better student or a more organized/effective human. I'm not sure I can say that this book unlocked some kind of powerful remedy that would have changed the course of my life at 15 - but it was pervasive enough that it has made me rethink some of my interactions with my daughter.
The Silver Chair - C.S. Lewis
The Last Battle - C.S. Lewis
Reflection: Not going to go into detail on this one - but wanted to note that this is a favorite in the Narnia series. The way C.S. Lewis depicts heaven and hell in this book was profound and foundational when I was 12; and at 31 most of my thoughts on the afterlife are still connected with his descriptions.
The Pyramid Principle - John Vallely
Why I read this: This was an accident. I was supposed to read The Pyramid Principle by Barbara Minto, but I didn't realize this wasn't that book when I bought it. I've said previously that I find the lessons of John Wooden to be powerful and foundational - so this was still well worth reading.
Reflection: This is as much an autobiography of John Vallely as it is a book about Wooden or his coaching methods. Vallely's life story offers a relatively strong case study for the power and intensity of Wooden's Pyramid - despite being an accident that I bought this; it was well worth reading.
The Effective Executive - Peter F. Drucker
Why I read this: If business literature were a religion - Peter Drucker would be one of its most well known prophets, and The Effective Executive would be one of its holiest tomes. This book was a part of my curriculum and was added to support my ability to manage people and lead organizations.
Reflection: Like some previous cases I've reflected on - a lot of the literature I've read this year was derivative from this work. Because of that there wasn't much in the way of new information. I don't necessarily agree with Drucker on everything - but I think that a lot of his core messaging was pre-digital and has suffered as a result of the paradigm shift.
Darkness Visible - William Styron
Reflection: Another 'just for me' book I won't go into detail on - but this is one of my all time favorite books and it has become one of my yearly reads. It is not a happy book - but I have found it to be the single greatest depiction of the experience of depression that exists. If you are someone who suffers from depression, anxiety, or a similar ailment - and you have struggled to describe the experience to those who have not - this book is the best bet.
Hamlet - William Shakespeare
An Elegant Puzzle - Will Larson
Why I read this: This was a curriculum piece. More support of project management and systems thinking.
Reflection: This book has a lot of great content but I didn't love the structure and it could have used more data/evidence to support its claims. In Larson's defense - he doesn't claim to have the perfect/right answers - only the answers that he has gained through his own experience/anecdotes. All that aside - his experiences/anecdotes are real enough to justify consideration - and his principles seem utterly sound.
The Prophet - Kahlil Gibran
Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
Remote - David Heinemeier Hansson
Why I read this: When I think about topics that I want to be a thought leader or advocate for - remote work is at the top of the list. I live in rural Pennsylvania and my options for geographically accessible employment are limited.
Reflection: This book was released a little too soon (2013) - you wouldn't think that 13 years would so quickly make a book obsolete, but I'm afraid that's the case here. Comparing an argument for remote work from pre 2020 to an argument today is like comparing a nerf gun to some highly classified Anduril tech that we won't know about for another 20 years. This book lacks sufficient data and I'll admit I was disappointed. I wanted to strengthen my argument for remote work - and this book was simply a bunch of obvious stuff that everyone has already learned. I wish I would have read it in 2013.
Spoon River Anthology - Edgar Lee Masters
The Ravenmaster's Secret - Elvira Woodruff
Reflection: This is a book for kids. In fact - I bought this book at a scholastic book fair in the 6th grade. I know this because I have a distinct memory of getting 'lost' in this book during a short free period in the 6th grade. To this day I could swear to you that my mind/body/soul left this world and was living inside this book - to the point where when the period ended it felt like being pulled out from underwater. 20 odd years later it didn't quite suck me in that much but it was still a nice read.
Good Strategy Bad Strategy - Richard P. Rumelt
Why I read this: The word "strategy" gets thrown around a lot - but I don't feel like I've ever seen an unquestionably good strategy in practice. This book was a part of my curriculum with the intent of supporting my ability to identify, create, and implement good strategies.
Reflection: This book was longer than it needed to be and perhaps a bit too anecdotal at times - but it was still an eye-opening masterclass. Think the most surprising thing I learned was just how simple a good strategy really is - not necessarily easy - but certainly simple. It confirmed for me that much of what I've experienced has been either no strategy or bad strategy - This is another book that will sit on my desk and be a constant reference.
A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle
Milk and Honey - Rupi Kaur
Heart Gifts - Helen Steiner Rice
The Trusted Advisor - David H. Maister
Why I read this: One of the (possible) routes that my development work seems to be taking me is towards a career as some kind of consultant or advisor. I don't know that my destination lies in that field - but I'm preparing for that possibility. This book was a curriculum piece designed to support my ability to succeed in that field.
Reflection: I am already (sort-of) in a consulting role. While my title says "Business Analyst" - my role the past several years has regularly crossed between a variety of responsibilities - one of which is as a sort of de facto advisor/consultant. Because of that I can say with some pride/confidence that I have already been doing a lot of what this book teaches - building productive relationships has been the foundational strength of my entire career.
A Man Without a Country - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Beowulf - Unknown
The Emptied Soul - Adolf Guggenbühl-Craig
Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor E. Frankl
Why I read this: I've read a lot of psychology or psychology adjacent work this year - and Man's Search for Meaning has been referenced in many of those books. I had expected that it would be a deeply profound and meaningful book for me - so I had been saving it to read toward the end of the year.
Reflection: This was - hands down - my favorite book of 2025. If I could only recommend 1 book that I've read this year to you - it would be this one. Frankl's account of surviving Nazi concentration camps is utterly unique from any other accounts I have ever consumed - and as a result of his field of expertise (neurology and psychology) his observations offer a vastly more meaningful and sincere understanding of the human mind under stress than any of his peers could hope to imagine.
Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth - R. Buckminster Fuller
Looking for Alaska - John Green
Who's Afraid of AI? - Thomas Ramge
Get Out of Your Own Way - Mark Goulston
Essentialism - Greg McKeown
Why I read this: One of the key foundations of my thinking is the idea that excellence comes as a result of reduction - not expansion. This book was not a formal part of my curriculum but I think is reasonably included as a meaningful support to it.
Reflection: This is one of those subjects that I read and nod to and agree with - but then find it near impossible to actually execute. I absolutely agree that removing noise and focusing on what is essential is one of the 'secrets' to being more successful in one's personal and professional life - but deciding what is and what is not essential is far more difficult than this book (or any other of its kind) make it out to be. I love the idea of telling a boss or coworker "No I can't do that thing because it's not essential" - but how many people really have the agency to really decide what they will/won't work on? This book is very good - and I aspire to live by it - but I wish I could read a follow up that felt more rooted in reality.
Measure What Matters - John Doerr
Why I read this: As the year came to a close - I started working on some plans/goals for the new year. Having this book to support that effort was a perfectly timed supporting tool. This book is a part of my curriculum - falling under the category of "I need to be able to measure and share my success/failure."
Reflection: I am very much a fan of the OKR structure for goal setting - but like with most business books/concepts I laugh at the absurdity of any company actually implementing this properly. Most of these business books come with some chapter that says something on the lines of "This only really works if your executive team really commits to it and you don't skip the hard parts" - and yet in every company I've ever worked for ideas like OKRs get implemented in some half-assed boilerplate way that makes the practice seem worthless. I have no doubt that done properly you can achieve remarkable things as a result of using OKRs - I hope that someday I work somewhere that commits to using them properly.
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