This year felt like it went by in a rush. I’m having a hard time believing it’s Christmas again, and the New Year starts next week. It’s like I blinked and missed it. This wasn’t my best year for reading, but I managed to read a few good books. (Unfortunately, I also managed to read a few not so good books too.)
This list is comprised of books that I read this year. They aren’t necessarily books that were published this year.
Note: None of the links below are affiliate links. I get nothing from linking to these books. I try to link to the author or publisher site when possible, and Amazon as a default.
Favorite Books 2025
- Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World - This book really made me stop and think. It puts a new spin on setting and accomplishing goals through the use of small, incremental experiments. It’s changed how I look at goals and I’m looking to continue using it next year.
- The DevOps Handbook 2nd Edition - I really liked the first edition of this book. I wanted to read the second edition as both a review and to read the new case studies that were added. This is still my favorite first book to read if you want to get into DevOps.
- The Architect Elevator - This is a guide to help architects bridge the gap between IT/engineering and the business. It gives practical advice on how to take technical ideas and work and communicate it effectively with business leadership. It’s a valuable skill to have if you want to become and effective architect and leader.
- Found: God’s Will - John MacArthur’s guide to understanding God’s will for our lives. Many times we try to complicate and confuse what God’s will is for us. This small book provides clear guidance and is a quick and easy read.
- The Future of Hacking: The Rise of Cybercrime and the Fight to Keep Us Safe - This is an interesting book about the current state of hacking, computer security, and how it all intersects with cybercrime, government policy, and society.
- Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency - An interesting hypothesis that trying to plan for total efficiency and filling your work time to 100% capacity actually leads to burnout and lower productivity over time.
- The Soul of a New Machine - This is the story behind the creation of the Data General Eclipse MV/8000 minicomputer. It chronicles the process and the impact it had on the engineers who were responsible for building this new machine. It’s very well written, and even though it talks about a computer from the 1980s, it’s still relevant to engineering today.
I also continued reading some of the science fiction and fantasy series like Dungeon Crawler Carl and Discworld. One of my goals for 2026 is to slow down a bit and spend more time reading and thinking.
