12 Books I Read This Year

The Modest Goal of One Book a Month

My 2025 goal: one book a month, twelve for the year. No ambitions of becoming a bookworm. I started by pulling out my e-reader instead of my phone on the subway. One hour round trip, five days a week -- that's 5 hours a week. Twenty hours a month. Enough for most books.

I hit twelve. Here they are, ranked by how memorable they were. Honestly including the ones that disappointed.

Development Books (4)

I finally read "Clean Code." Five years into my career. Way too late. Not every page is gold, but the variable naming chapter alone changed my coding style. I stopped using meaningless names like data, info, temp. 4.5/5.

"The Software Craftsman" shifted how I think about my career. The message "craftsmen invest in their tools and constantly hone their skills" stuck with me. Some parts feel a bit idealistic relative to Korean work culture, though. 4/5.

"Refactoring, 2nd Edition" is great as a reference but tedious cover to cover. I dozed off around page 350. I'd recommend scanning the table of contents and reading the sections you need. 3.5/5.

"Grokking Algorithms" is the best intro to algorithms I've come across. The illustrations make it accessible even for non-CS backgrounds. The fact that Dijkstra's algorithm can be explained this simply is remarkable. 5/5.

Self-Help Books (3)

"Atomic Habits" was the most practical habit book I've read. It's what kicked off my morning routine challenge. "To change a habit, change your identity first" really hit home. 4.5/5.

"Deep Work" -- after reading it, I started carving out distraction-free time. 10 AM to noon, Slack closed, just coding. My "deep work time." 4/5.

"Yeokhaengja" (a popular Korean self-help book) was a letdown. Picked it up because Korean YouTube kept recommending it, but the content felt shallow with too much self-congratulation. What could be said in one sentence gets stretched into an entire chapter. 2.5/5. (This one I genuinely regret. Could've read something else.)

Essays & Fiction (3)

Haruki Murakami's "Novelist as a Vocation" was the best book of the year. He lays out a writer's routine and philosophy with quiet candor. "Even without talent, just write every day" translated in my head to "even without talent, just code every day." 5/5.

"I Decided to Live as Me" (a Korean essay collection on self-acceptance) is comforting when you need it. The messaging gets repetitive toward the back half though, and my focus slipped. 3.5/5.

Kim Young-ha's "The Reason for Travel" is enjoyable even if you don't love traveling. Short enough to finish in a day. Beautiful sentences -- I underlined a lot. 4/5.

Economics (2)

"The Millionaire Fastlane" shifted my thinking. Even earning 100 million won a year for 40 years is only 4 billion -- buy a house, pay taxes, and what's left? Sounds obvious, but the mathematical breakdown is convincing. 4/5.

"The Psychology of Money" is the non-tech book I'd most recommend from this year. It's not about investment techniques -- it's about the relationship between money and psychology. The idea that without a sense of "enough," no amount of earning will ease the anxiety really stuck with me. 4.5/5.

In the End, It Only Matters If Your Behavior Changed

Of the 12, only 3-4 actually prompted behavioral changes. Turning off Slack notifications, the morning routine, variable naming. The rest felt great while reading but faded within a week. Honestly, saying all 12 were great would be a lie. But 3-4 behavioral changes? That's a pretty good year.