This excludes – two exceptions below – the reading I do professionally.
And it’s a shorter list than the 2024 (14 books) list, to a great extent because much of three months time was spent on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) routine – every few years – examination. (I am registered directly as an investment advisor with the SEC). Besides their on site visit and meeting, I had to supply enormous amounts of data to them over the course of the three months. It all went well but sucked up lots of time & was not fun!
Build the Life You Want by Arthur Brooks. He has built a career on writing, speaking and teaching (Harvard) on happiness and sself-help. The book is OK with some insights. Brooks is Catholic and speaks at Catholic and secular conferences. He is a member of Opus Dei.
The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking by Saifedean Ammous. The author is a Jordanian economist who is now a worldwide figure. Book was written in 2018 and slightly revised a few years ago but with no major changes. It is absolutely the best book on what bitcoin is and why most everybody should own some.
Here’s an excerpt of what Amazon says about the book. To read the whole Amazon intro hit the link above or here.
A comprehensive and authoritative exploration of Bitcoin and its place in monetary history
When a pseudonymous programmer introduced “a new electronic cash system that’s fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party” to a small online mailing list in 2008, very few people paid attention. Ten years later, and against all odds, this upstart autonomous decentralized software offers an unstoppable and globally accessible hard money alternative to modern central banks. The Bitcoin Standard analyzes the historical context to the rise of Bitcoin, the economic properties that have allowed it to grow quickly, and its likely economic, political, and social implications.
Alex Karp is the CEO of the technology company Palantir. Interestingly he does not have a technology degree. Besides a law degree from Stanford – he has a philosophy/social theory PhD. from Goethe University in Frankfurt.
I Read it on my kindle. Not a great book but it is very good. While certainly Karp is not a Trumpster, he is a reformed progressive. He bemoans the fact that so many talented technology geeks working for major firms piddle away their talents on trivialities – like the best spot on the computer screen to place an ad.
This is from the Amazon description.
AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • “A cri de coeur that takes aim at the tech industry for abandoning its history of helping America and its allies.”—The Wall Street Journal
From the Palantir co-founder, one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2025, and his deputy, a critically-acclaimed and sweeping indictment of the West’s culture of complacency, arguing that timid leadership, intellectual fragility, and an unambitious view of technology’s potential in Silicon Valley have made the U.S. vulnerable in an era of mounting global threat
A Marginal Jew Volume Four: Law and Love; the epic series by the late Fr. John Meier. I’ve done one volume a year for the last four years and volume five is on the agenda for this year. That will be the last one since Meier died two years ago before finishing volume six.
The books are wonderful but as I’ve warned each year don’t even start unless you are prepared to seriously address the books, and that means spending time on them. I vary rarely read the footnotes which are mostly addressed to scholars.
From Amazon:
John Meier’s previous volumes in the acclaimed series A Marginal Jew are founded upon the notion that while solid historical information about Jesus is quite limited, people of different faiths can nevertheless arrive at a consensus on fundamental historical facts of his life. In this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the series, Meier approaches a fresh topic—the teachings of the historical Jesus concerning Mosaic Law and morality—with the same rigor, thoroughness, accuracy, and insightfulness on display in his earlier works.
After correcting misconceptions about Mosaic Law in Jesus’ time, this volume addresses the teachings of Jesus on major legal topics … What emerges from Meier’s research is a profile of a complicated first-century Palestinian Jew who, far from seeking to abolish the Law, was deeply engaged in debates about its observance. Only by embracing this portrait of the historical Jesus grappling with questions of the Torah do we avoid the common mistake of constructing Christian moral theology under the guise of studying “Jesus and the Law,” the author concludes.
The Four Pillars of Investing OK so this is very closely related to my business. But still a full book worth mentioning. The author is a physician. The first edition was written over 20 years ago and he updated it about four years ago. Not necessarily a book for neophytes and I don’t agree with everything he writes, but still some very good advice on asset allocation, minimizing risk in part of you portfolio ( treasuries, MMF’s, CD’s), using ETF’s (similar to mutual funds but better; his view as well as mine) for a good chunk of your money.
Amazon –
This updated edition of the investing classic provides the foundational knowledge you need to avoid the most common pitfalls and build a portfolio in today’s roller-coaster world of investing.
Retired neurologist and master investor William J. Bernstein has seen it all throughout his career. Buying investments with borrowed money. Chasing past performance. Overestimating one’s own risk tolerance. Listening to cable news. These are just a few of the many mistakes he has witnessed smart, serious investors make, to the peril of their portfolios. Add to these behavioral errors such economic factors as deflation, sudden stock declines, soaring inflation, and the like―and investing can seem like something to be avoided at all costs. But with the right discipline and knowledge, you can build and manage an impressive portfolio.
1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin who is one of the three early morning hosts on the CNBC program Squawk Box. And also an occasional NY Times writer. The book is deservedly a bestseller and I certainly enjoyed reading it. It’s clear Sorkin had done an immense amount of research. Not so much about the nuts and bolts of the crash and it’s aftermath; more about the men (very few women) who were involved. A good yarn! Sorkin is a graduate of Scarsdale HS.
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Mother of the Faithful People of God. This is a “Doctrinal Note” published by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. It used to be called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which Cardinal Ratzinger – later Pope Benedict XVI – was the head of for many years.
Perhaps not technically a book but it is book length – it took me three weeks to read. It is all about devotion to Mary, the Mother of God and I enjoyed it. The mini controversy that came from it was that you have to be careful using the title of “Co-Redemptrix” or “Mediatrix of all Graces” referring to Mary. It can be confusing to some Catholics and many non-Catholics. There is only one Redeemer…
A nice volume by NT Wright a noted scripture scholar and Anglican Bishop. A call to action – he should convert to Catholicism.
Excerpt from Amazon description –
Wright outlines the present confusion about a Christian’s future hope and shows how it is deeply intertwined with how we live today. Wright asserts that Christianity’s most distinctive idea is bodily resurrection, and provides a magisterial defense for a literal resurrection of Jesus. This cornerstone of Christian eschatology sets the stage as Wright then explores our expectation of “new heavens and a new earth,” revealing what happens to the dead until then and what will happen with the “second coming” of Jesus. For many, including many Christians, it will come as a great surprise to learn that heaven comes to earth instead of us going to heaven.
Sub-title is “Critical Lessons For Our World From the First Three Chapters of Genesis. Monica Migliorino Miller is the author (bias alert; we know Monica); she is a theology professor and Catholic activist. The book is excellent. I reviewed it and gave 5 stars.
This from the Amazon description –
Those first three chapters of Genesis aren’t a literal play-by-play of how the universe came to be; neither are they mere mythical poetry or a purely symbolic re-imagining of scientific events beyond the comprehension of “primitive” peoples. Rather, as Miller shows, they are the revelation of cosmic truths that obliterate the prevailing pagan mindset. From the first ray of light to the aftermath of the Fall, God is telling the world that things will be different now. This radical new mindset that God announces in Genesis shows us a fresh and optimistic way of thinking about nature, the body, the spirit, sex and procreation, death, and what comes after death.
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So that’s it for me in 2025. With a bit more time – SEC review behind me- I expect to get through more reading this year. I’m writing this February 3rd and am about to finish my second book – it’s on Quantum Physics (for non physics scholars but interested people like myself).
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