Ever since I could remember, I've always had books close by. Back when libraries didn't have checkout limits, I borrowed 100 books. It was a very long checkout receipt. I had a "reading chair" at home, a plush red gingham armchair. I would spend hours and hours settled in, flying through one book after another. Dad always emphasized "reading is most important" and limitlessly provided resources to read.
Three reasons for publishing this list:
- I want to see what my thinking was at that time, as the books I read in a particular year tell the story
- I've always dreamt of having my own personal library, so why not start with digital?
- Some people might be interested.
Currently, I've read number 325 books in my life. I recently started recording so the list is accurate from 2024 and beyond. I've read far more books before that but cannot recall all of them.
Each book is rated out of 5:
1 - did not like/understand book
2 - understood but confusing
3 - good
4 - very good
5 - One of the best I've read
r - reread
Reflections I had while compiling this:
- I read mostly fiction when I was younger. Today, the majority I read are non-fiction.
- The score I give a book doesn't necessarily reflect the lasting impact the book will have on me.
- My younger self tends to give higher ratings to books, compared to being more discerning as I got older.
- Up to 18 years old I read within my comfort zone a lot, mostly literature true to the hero's journey narrative. Yet it was when I took a risk my world usually opened up and shifted. I wish I took more risks in my reading as a younger person. More history, science fiction, poetry, biographies, and memoirs.
- Unless the book is eye-opening, I rarely reread books.
- When younger I read for fun without a certain agenda but now I read for a particular goal: to build expertise, challenge my perspective, and understand someone's thinking.
- I gain more insight from taking time to reading than the quick ChatGPT summaries.
I love reading today in my 20s just as much I did as a 10 year old.
Today I read in smaller portions. 30 minutes here, 30 minutes there, compared to hours at a time when I was younger.
I like annotating books, adding my own thoughts and questions. Digital reading is convenient yet I like the feeling of reading something physical that doesn't involve a screen. With physical books I use sticky notes, so by the time I'm done it looks like a sandwich that someone got way too excited about at the deli–overflowing with sides you can barely see the sandwich.🥪
I read like my life depends on it, because it does. To this day, a great book book still feels magical. I'm a different person when I finish compared to when I started. It's something I'll do and enjoy until the day I die.
How to use this list of every book I've ever read
To find a book, search by title or author:
On Mac: COMMAND + F
On PC: CONTROL + F
Hopefully you find this list interesting and get inspired on what to read next.
Some tips on how to read these lists:
- Each year's list starts from the first book I read to the last book I read that year.
The best books I've ever read
2025 - 21 years old
2024 - 20 years old
2023 - 19 years old
2022 - 18 years old
2019-2021 - 15-17 years old
2016-2018 - 12-14 years old
Before 2016
The best books I've ever read
Sorted by most recently read.
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World – by Adam Grant
Rating on first read: 5/5
Age when first read: 21
Borrow from your local library or go to Amazon for details.
Empire of AI – by Karen Hao
Rating on first read: 5/5
Age when first read: 21
Once an avid ChatGPT user, this book opened my eyes to the full, realistic truth behind Artificial Intelligence technologies. It had me reflect my careless uses and question how we, as information consumers and producers, can better self govern for reponsible, transparent AI systems.
Borrow from your local library or go to Amazon for details.
The Magic of Thinking Big – by David Schwartz
Rating on first read: 5/5
Age when first read: 21
As a former perfectionist, this book spoke to me in such a direct, crystal clear way—teaching me to expand my thinking, welcome opposing ideas, and channel unwavering self belief into real, measurable action. Fail often, fail fast. Make it -> Make it work -> Make it pretty (if time permits).
Borrow from your local library or go to Amazon for details.
How to Win Friends and Influence People – by Dale Carnegie
Rating on first read: 5/5
Age when first read: 19
Stepping into the world of networking, I realized everything is a give and take. Setting what you want as the end goal, how you craft your approach determines whether it will be warmly received or not. This book changed my take on how I interact with others to build smart, genuine relationships.
Borrow from your local library or go to Amazon for details.
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance – by Angela Duckworth
Rating on first read: 5/5
Age when first read: 18
30-minute morning runs, practicing piano, one goal. This book is a real life application of the "The Tortoise and the Hare" fable. It is not "quick and intense" that wins but slow and steady efforts. Geniusness can only get you so far whereas passion + consistency is truthful in reaping what you sow.
Borrow from your local library or go to Amazon for details.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone – by J.K. Rowling
Rating on first read: 5/5
Age when first read: 10
This was the first book that completly immersed me–I remember my fingers tingling with excitement as I flew through the pages. The characters came alive so vividly in my mind, it was like watching a movie unfold right before my eyes. Their flaws, rebellious and adventurous spirit made them feel real and loveable. The worldbuilding felt both refreshingly original and developed, transporting me to another realm entirely. I will always prefer the book over the movies. With the book, your imagination runs wild; there is no one "Harry Potter".
Borrow from your local library or go to Amazon for details.
The Giving Tree – by Shel Silverstein
Rating on first read: 5/5
Age when first read: 5
Because you love and care, you give. It's easy to provide for people you're fond of, but is it possible for those you don't? This book made me reflect what love means at its core, and why it's foundational to the many things we do. Actions reveal where the heart is. How can I live a life of lasting change, evident even after I go?
Borrow from your local library or go to Amazon for details.
2025 – 21 years old
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World – by Adam Grant – 5/5
Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish – by Virginia Eubanks – 4/5
Weapons of Math Destruction – by Cathy O'Neil – 4/5
Empire of AI – by Karen Hao – 5/5
NIST AI RMF 1.0 Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework
NIST CSF 2.0
Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less – by Sam Carpenter – 3/5
The Magic of Thinking Big – by David Schwartz – 5/5
Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI – by Ethan Mollick – 3/5
50 Big Ideas You Really Need to Know – by Ben Dupré – 3/5
2024 – 20 years old
The Happiest Kids in the World: How Dutch Parents Help Their Kids by Doing Less – by Rina Mae Acosta and Michele Hutchison – 4/5
Designing Experiences – by J. Rossman and Mathew Duerden – 4/5
The year of living Danishly : uncovering the secrets of the world's happiest country – Helen Russell – 3/5
Living with Complexity – by Don Norman – 3/5
Hello World: Where Design Meets Life – by Alice Rawsthorn – 3/5
Universal Principles of UX – by Irene Pereyra – 3/5
You Matter – Christian Robinson – 4/5
2023 – 19 years old
How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie – 5/5
The Design of Everyday Things – by Don Norman – 4/5
2022 – 18 years old
Atomic Habits – by James Clear – 5/5
Sense and Sensibility – by Jane Austen – 3/5
Mansfield Park – by Jane Austen – 4/5
Emma – by Jane Austen – 3/5
Northanger Abbey – by Jane Austen – 3/5
Persuasion – by Jane Austen – 3/5
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance – by Angela Duckworth – 5/5
The Hobbit – by J.R.R. Tolkien – 3/5
2019-2021 – 15-17 years old
Jane Eyre – by Charlotte Brontë – 3/5
Wuthering Heights – by Emily Brontë – 3/5
Things Fall Apart – by Chinua Achebe – 4/5
Lord of the Flies – by William Golding – 2/5
Moby Dick – by Herman Melville – 2/5
Animal Farm – by George Orwell – 3/5
Great Expectations – by Charles Dickens – 3/5
Pride and Prejudice – by Jane Austen – 3/5
Their Eyes Were Watching God – by Zora Neale Hurston – 3/5
The Screwtape Letters – by C. S. Lewis – 2/5
The Light We Carry – by Michelle Obama – 4/5
Me Before You – by Jojo Moyes – 5/5
After You – by Jojo Moyes – 4/5
Macbeth – by William Shakespeare – 2/5
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian – by Sherman Alexie – 3/5
The Great Gatsby – by F. Scott Fitzgerald – 3/5
The Hate You Give – by Angie Thomas – 3/5
Frankenstein – by Mary Shelley – 2/5
Romeo and Juliet – by William Shakespeare – 3/5
Dead Man Walking – by Helen Prejean – 2/5
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – by Maya Angelou – 3/5
The Odyssey – Homer – 2/5
To All the Boys I've Loved Before – by Jenny Han – 4/5
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – by William Shakespeare – 3/5
Hamlet – by William Shakespeare – 3/5
The House on Mango Street – by Sandra Cisneros – 3/5
Slaughterhouse-five – by Kurt Vonnegut – 3/5
The Art of Thinking Clearly – by Rolf Dobelli – 3/5
Data Science For Dummies – by Lillian Pierson – 2/5
2016-2018 – 12-14 years old (middle)
When You Reach Me – by Rebecca Stead – 3/5
The Giver – by Lois Lowry – 4/5
To Kill a Mockingbird – by Harper Lee – 3/5
1984 – by George Orwell – 3/5
The House of the Scorpion – by Nancy Farmer – 4/5
Fahrenheit 451 – by Ray Bradbury – 3/5
The Book Thief – by Markus Zusak – 5/5
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – by C. S. Lewis – 3/5
Twilight Series – by Stephenie Meyer – 5/5
The One and Only Ivan – by Katherine Applegate – 3/5
The Joy Luck Club – by Amy Tan – 3/5
A Wrinkle in Time – by Madeleine L'Engle – 4/5
Aesop's Fables – by Aesop – 4/5
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon – by Grace Lin – 3/5
Out of My Mind – by Sharon M. Draper – 3/5
Brave New World – by Aldous Huxley – 3/5
The Catcher in the Rye – by J.D. Salinger – 3/5
Everything, Everything – by Nicola Yoon – 5/5
The Wednesday Wars – by Gary D. Schmidt – 3/5
Little Women – by Louisa May Alcott – 3/5
Before 2016
Wonder – by R.J. Palacio – 4/5
Matilda – by Roald Dahl – 4/5
The BFG – by Roald Dahl – 5/5
Mr. Popper's Penguins – by Florence Atwater and Richard Atwater – 4/5
Holes – by Louis Sachar – 4/5
Shiloh – by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor – 4/5
Charlotte's Web – by E.B. White – 4/5
Hatchet – by Gary Paulsen – 2/5
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland – by Lewis Carroll – 4/5
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – by L. Frank Baum – 4/5
The Tale of Peter Rabbit – by Beatrix Potter – 4/5
The Jungle Book – by Rudyard Kipling – 4/5
The Secret Garden – by Frances Hodgson Burnett – 5/5
Anne of Green Gables – by L. M. Montgomery – 4/5
Treasure Island – by Robert Louis Stevenson – 4/5
The Little Prince – by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – 3/5
The Lemonade War – by Jacqueline Davies – 3/5
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood – by Howard Pyle – 3/5
Harry Potter Series – by J.K. Rowling – 5/5
The Land of Stories – by Chris Colfer – 5/5
Geronimo Stilton Series – by Elisabetta Dami – 5/5
The School for Good and Evil Series – by Soman Chainani – 5/5
The Magic Tree House Series – by Mary Pope Osborne – 5/5
The Boxcar Children Series – by Gertrude C. Warner – 4/5
Judy Moody Series – by Megan McDonald – 4/5
A to Z Mysteries Series – by Ron Roy – 5/5
James and the Giant Peach – by Roald Dahl – 3/5
Beezus and Ramona Series – by Beverly Cleary – 4/5
Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie – by Julie Sternberg – 4/5
Inside Out & Back Again – by Thanhha Lai – 4/5
Dork Diaries Series – by Rachel Renée Russell – 5/5
Rainbow Magic Series – by Daisy Meadows – 5/5
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series – by Jeff Kinney – 3/5
Flat Stanley Series – by Jeff Brown – 4/5
Big Nate Series – by Lincoln Peirce – 4/5
Origami Yoda Series – by Tom Angleberger – 4/5
The Sign of the Beaver – by Elizabeth George Speare – 3/5
Little House on the Prairie – by Laura Ingalls Wilder – 3/5
Madeline – by Ludwig Bemelmans – 5/5
Stuart Little – by E.B. White – 3/5
Junie B. Jones Series – by Barbara Park – 5/5
Three Times Lucky – by Sheila Turnage – 4/5
Fancy Nancy – by Jane O'Conner – 5/5
Findle – by Andrew Clements – 4/5
Green Eggs and Ham – by Dr. Seuss – 5/5
The Cat in the Hat – by Dr. Seuss – 5/5
How the Grinch Stole Christmas – by Dr. Seuss – 5/5
The Lorax – by Dr. Seuss – 5/5
Oh, the Places You'll Go! – by Dr. Seuss – 4/5
Fox in Socks – by Dr. Seuss – 4/5
Ten apples up on top – by Dr. Seuss – 4/5
Amelia Bedelia – by Peggy Parish – 4/5
The Very Hungry Caterpillar – by Eric Carle – 5/5
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – by Judi Barrett – 5/5
Where the Wild Things Are – by Maurice Sendak – 5/5
I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato – by Lauren Child – 4/5
Winnie-the-Pooh – by A. A. Milne – 5/5
The Velveteen Rabbit – by Margery Williams – 5/5
The Story of Ferdinand – by Munro Leaf – 4/5
Mr. Men and Little Miss Series – by Roger Hargreaves, Adam Hargreaves – 4/5
Are You My Mother? – by P. D. Eastman – 4/5
Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing – by Judi Barrett – 4/5
Curious George – by H.A. Rey – 5/5
A Bad Case of Stripes – by David Shannon – 5/5
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? – by Bill Martin Jr – 5/5
The Snowy Day – by Ezra Jack Keats – 4/5
The Giving Tree – by Shel Silverstein – 5/5
The Poky Little Puppy – by Janette Sebring Lowrey – 3/5
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! – by Mo Willems – 5/5
Corduroy – by Don Freeman – 5/5
Goodnight Moon – by Margaret Wise Brown – 5/5
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie – by Laura Numeroff – 5/5
THE END