Summary:

As per usual, I am aiming to read two books per month, with the caveat the life is busy!

End of Year Review Perhaps unsurprisingly with the busyness of life (two jobs and a house to renovate!), I fell well short of my target of 24 books, managing just 14 in 2025. Though it is worth saying that I did not log accurately between May and Dec so am relying on memory. For me, Chocolate Wars and Shadowplay were the highlights.

Around the World in 80 Games, Marcus Du Sautoy

Jan 2025
Easy to dip in and out of, covering a few games each times. Generally covered by region / culture. Marcus explains the earliest games starting from Knuckle-bone dice all the way through to recent hits like Settlers of Catan.

The Race to the Future: 8000 Miles To Paris, Kassia St Clair

Jan 2025
This book tells the story of an automobile race from Peking (Beijing) to Paris in the early 1900s. A variety of ‘cars’ and a curious group of mostly wealthy entrants battle through China, Russia and Europe to demonstrate the capability of the automobile. I enjoyed the excerpts on the technology development of the time.

The Longest Climb, Dominic Faulkner

Mar 2025
Dominic and a group of intrepid explorers travel from the Red Sea to the Summit of Everest. The combination of long distance bike touring through Iran and Pakistan, immediately followed by high altitude mountaineering was challenging but ultimately very successful with many of the team summitting.

Close to Death, Anthony Horowitz

Mar 2025
The next in the series of Hawthorn investigations. I enjoyed it.

The Everest Files, Matt Dickinson

Apr 2025
Weird fictional book about Sherpa’s and American politians, but a fairly easy read to tick off.

Diffusion of Innovation, Everett Rogers

Apr 2025
Rereadng in light of FLYCARB efforts.

Business for Punks, James Watt

Jun 2025
Learning about the approach Brewdog took to rapid growth of a consumer brand. Useful lessons for FLYCARB.

Crickonomics, Stefan Szymanski, Tim Wigmore

Jun 2025
Good fun learning about cricket stats and history.

Expecting Better, Emily Oster

Sep 2025
Figured I may as well educate myself on the stats behind baby development.

A History of the World in 47 Borders, John Ellidge

Sep 2025
Enjoyed this history of how maps have been drawn on lines. The commentary on the earliest borders, and future space borders, was relatively dull. But the geopolitics of borders from say Romans through to now was great.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold , John Le Carre

Oct 2025
I don’t read much fiction, but, once it got going, I did enjoy this Le Carre about Cold War espionage.

Shadowplay, Tim Marshall

Nov 2025
From the writer of Prisoners of Geography! It turns out he was on the ground in 1998 in Serbia, reporting on the war. Quite a fascinating overview, and good to read while I was in Bosnia.

The Chocolate Wars, Deborah Cadbury

Dec 2025
The history of cadbury, from its quaker roots, through to the Kraft acquisition.

An Ugly Truth: Inside Facebook’s Battle for Domination, Sheera Frankel

Dec 2025
Telling stories of how Facebook provided a platform for Russian meddling and fake news, putting growth and profit first. A public company is always likely to do this, so shows the importance of strong regulation.