If you asked someone who knows me well to describe me, chances are that somewhere in the first paragraph there’d be a reference to my love of reading. I credit my mum for inculcating this love in me—when I was younger, even before I could really understand words, she would read me stories and make up her own.
I’m not sure whether this led to, or fed, my insatiable curiosity, but
by a young age I was hooked. The librarian at school was surprised when my mum
once asked her to stop lending me books (so that I could, you know, do
homework). She mentioned that she usually had the opposite complaint from
parents—that their children read too little.
The more you read, the faster you get. As a 10- or 11-year-old, I
finished The Lord of the Rings in three days. These days? I average
around 150 books a year (from 2020 to date). Not because I’m spending hours and
hours reading every day (don’t tempt me…), but because I’ve built my speed to
the point where I can.
Out of the 169 books I finished in 2025, I wanted to share 12 nonfiction
reads that really stood out, in no particular order. Let me know if you end up
picking any of these up.
1. Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men, Caroline
Criado Perez
How is this not a book everyone’s talking about? It had me—borrowing some Gen
Z—shook. So much of how the world is designed hinges on a male default,
and we rarely question it, even when the implications for women’s health,
safety, happiness, and opportunity are enormous. READ. THIS. BOOK.
2. The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt
Screen time and social media are bad for children. How bad? This rigorously
researched book lays it out clearly. Haidt argues for minimal screen time, no
social media until at least 16 (ideally longer), phone-free schools, and a
return to more risky, independent play for kids.
3. Hope Dies Last, Alan Weisman
Climate change is terrifying. The speed and scale of ecological breakdown is
terrifying. I tapped into that fear viscerally last year, and this book left me
both unsettled and—surprisingly—hopeful. Weisman’s core argument is that while
individual actions feel good (recycle those bottles!), we need much bigger bets
to save ourselves, and many communities are already paying the price. He
introduces us to people who are making those big bets. For all our sakes, I
hope they succeed. This is probably the book I recommend most these days.
4. Between Two Kingdoms, Suleika Jaouad
Jaouad’s memoir traces her diagnosis with cancer, her treatment, and the long,
disorienting aftermath. Her writing is raw and intimate; she doesn’t shy away
from truth-telling, even when it reflects uncomfortably on herself.
5. If Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart
of the Quran, Carla Power
I picked this up via a daily Kindle deals newsletter I subscribe to. Power, a
secular American raised by Christian and Jewish parents, forms a friendship
with Sheikh Mohammad Akram Nadwi. Together, they read and debate the Quran. I
found this book a beautiful case study in genuinely engaging with
difference—and in challenging one’s own assumptions and biases.
6. Notes on a Nervous Planet, Matt Haig
At this point, if Matt Haig publishes something, I’m in. This book is a
collection of observations on the modern world, written in his trademark
charming, vulnerable, deeply relatable voice.
7. Hidden Potential, Adam Grant
Another author whose work I’ll always read. I describe my own purpose as
unblocking, unlocking, and accelerating potential, so a book on exactly that—by
one of my favourite thinkers on work and organisations—was a no-brainer. I took
notes, including ideas like asking for advice instead of feedback (to turn
critics into coaches), and helping students become proactive, prosocial,
disciplined, and determined.
8. Cleverlands, Lucy Crehan
If I had to choose one intervention that could have a massive positive impact
on humanity, it would be education. Crehan explores education systems in
Finland, Canada, Japan, China, and Singapore, immersing herself in classrooms
and living with teachers. A must-read for anyone interested in how learning
systems are designed—and how they could be better.
9. Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, Elena Favilli and Francesca
Cavallo
I wish I’d had this book growing up. I plan to read the subsequent volumes
soon. I’d recommend gifting this to anyone—regardless of age or gender—as a
counterbalance to the overwhelmingly male-centric narratives many of us are
raised on.
10. Manifesto for a Moral Revolution, Jacqueline Novogratz
I’d read The Blue Sweater years ago and had this sitting on my Kindle
for a while before finally diving in. I’m glad I did. I love stories about
people trying—earnestly and imperfectly—to make the world better, and Novogratz
draws on many such stories to offer a much-needed moral and practical
perspective.
11. 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think, Brianna Wiest
Was I sceptical because of the title? Absolutely. Did some of the essays make
me think very deeply? Also yes. Maybe not life-changing across the board, but
thoughtful, timely reflections that landed when I was ready for them.
12. Glucose Revolution, Jessie Inchauspé
Recommended by a friend, and genuinely instrumental in helping me reverse
prediabetes last year (!!). Enough said, I think.
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