- The Reading Life
- Posts
- The 30 Best Books of 2025 So Far (And Why You Should Read Them)
The 30 Best Books of 2025 So Far (And Why You Should Read Them)
Matt Karamazov
September 10, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 27 minutes
YOUTUBE đź“š CREATOR LAUNCH ACADEMY đź“š PATREON
I’m on pace to read at least 100 books again this year, a somewhat-meaningless vanity metric that I’ve been able to hit every single year since 2015.
As I keep repeating, the number of books you read doesn’t matter. Whatsoever!
That being said, I do find it useful and motivating to keep track, and it makes things easy when I want to look back and pick out a few of the best ones to share with you. I can just look at my list, select a few bangers, and then pass them along.
So without keeping you waiting, I’ll list the 30 best books I’ve read so far this year (out of 58, in the order in which I read them), and then share my absolute favorite book of last year below. Let’s dive right in:
The Uncommon Reader, by Alan Bennett: This is a short, fast read - a novella about the Queen of England, where she develops a reading addiction that results in a few “unintended consequences.” You can read this one in just a few hours, but the memory of it stayed with me for much longer than that.
From 6 to 7 Figures, by Austin Netzley: What got you to six figures won’t get you to seven figures, and that’s why you need this book. I’ve also made it September’s Book of the Month inside Creator Launch Academy, where we’re doing a deep dive on it.
It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be, by Paul Arden: This is another short book by legendary ad man Paul Arden about how to succeed in the world through boldness, creativity, and self-belief. The ideas-per-page on this one was pretty incredible, and it’s applicable to sooo many areas of life.
A High-Performing Mind, by Andrew D. Thompson: A great book about the habits, mindsets, and characteristics of high-performers. The advice is practical and wise, and if you put it into action, you’ll be able to out-perform your prior self, even on your worst day. This is one you’ll want to keep on your shelf.
Meditations for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman: One of the best “anti-time management” books out there, this one will help you embrace the philosophy of imperfectionism and make time for what truly matters. I also highly, highly, highly recommend his previous book, Four Thousand Weeks.
The Mamba Mentality, by Kobe Bryant: Speaking of legends, here’s basketball superstar Kobe Bryant, in his own words, giving you the unfiltered truth about what it takes to become the best of the best (and stay there).
The Quantum Leap Strategy, by Dr. Price Pritchett, Ph.D.: Very short, very underrated book about making big things happen, in less time than it takes for most people to kinda, maybe, sorta think about taking action. Again, the ideas-per-page here is just wild. Worth reading over and over, and it won’t even take you that long to do it.
Mastery, by George Leonard: This is an absolutely incredible book about pursuing lifelong mastery in whatever you choose to do (for Leonard, it was martial arts), and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this one ever since I read it.
The Dark Side of Discipline, by Craig Ballantyne: This book gave me an entirely new definition of self-discipline, which Craig defines as devoting Level 10 Effort towards solving your Level 10 Problem. Highly recommend.
The 5 Types of Wealth, by Sahil Bloom: Easily one of my Top 3 favorite books of 2025 so far, this one’s about maximizing/optimizing your Time Wealth, Social Wealth, Mental Wealth, Physical Wealth, and Financial Wealth throughout your lifespan. I’m still processing my notes on this one, and finding tons of ways to implement it in my life.
Unreasonable Success and How to Achieve It, by Richard Koch: Fantastic, narrative-driven book about the nine characteristics of people who changed the world. This right here is the roadmap. Follow it.
Purpose & Profit, by Dan Koe: I have so many notes from this book it’s insane. Dan combines business and philosophy to help guide people to freedom through solopreneurship. The Art of Focus, his previous book (below), was my absolute favorite book of 2024, and at this point I’ll read basically anything he puts out.
Time Anxiety, by Chris Guillebeau: This book will be tremendously valuable to anyone who constantly feels like they’re running out of time - still me, if I’m being honest! But I loved this one, can highly recommend it to anyone, and I’m still incorporating its lessons.
The Inner Game of Tennis, by W. Timothy Gallwey: Similar to Mastery (above), this is a book about high-performance, mastery, and self-cultivation through the pursuit of excellence. I don’t even play tennis, and this book changed the way I live.
Tales of Power, by Carlos Castaneda: I know this book won’t be for everybody, but I’m reading everything Castaneda’s ever written, because it’s been nothing less than transformative for me. It’s a fictionalized narrative of the author’s quest for enlightenment in the desert of Central Mexico, and man…unreal.
The Art of Living an Absurd Existence, by Robert Pantano: I wasn’t sure whether I liked this book for the first 50 pages or so, because it had something like a “Philosophy 101” feel to it, and there wasn’t a whole lot that was new to me. I’m glad that I kept reading though, because damn. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while.
Be What You Wish, by Neville Goddard: Okay, so this book’s really not for everybody, but if you’re ready to get a little bit metaphysical and you want to read about the creative powers of the human imagination, Neville’s your guy. One of my new favorite authors for sure.
The Sweaty Startup, by Nick Huber: You don’t need to launch the next unicorn app or get funded by Silicon Valley VCs if you want to end up rich. Your odds are ridiculously low of ever making it happen that way. Go for it if you want, but if you want a much more sure-fire way of accumulating wealth, start (or buy) a boring business.
Awakened Imagination, by Neville Goddard: Like I said, Neville Goddard’s one of my new favorite authors, and I’ve been ripping through his books this year. His fundamental thesis is that the human imagination is literally God, and that we are all capable of far more than we know.
Start Thinking Rich, by Dr. Brad Klontz and Adrian Brambila: This one might be too “basic” for people who are a little further ahead in their journey to financial independence, but even I found tons of great stuff in here. Something about the no-nonsense writing style really appealed to me as well.
Dying to Do Letterman, by Steve Mazan: Oh man, this book is amazing. It’s the true story of professional comedian Steve Mazan’s terminal cancer diagnosis in his mid-thirties, which led him to revive his childhood dream of performing comedy on The Late Show with David Letterman and give it everything he’s got to make it happen. Honestly can’t recommend this one highly enough. What are you dying to do?
Tiny Experiments, by Anne-Laure le Cunff: I’m big on goal-setting, and I believe in having them, but Anne-Laure’s approach is instead to design tiny experiments. These are mini-projects that allow you to test out ideas, expand your luck surface area, and move you closer to what you’re really meant to do. Tons of great ideas in this one.
Goals!, by Brian Tracy: I’ve been reading Brian Tracy’s books for more than a decade, and I credit him with a huge portion of my current success. Exactly as the title would imply, this one’s about goal-setting, and I’d recommend it to virtually everyone.
The Undiscovered Self, by Carl Jung: This book is a little more than 100 pages, but it could keep you intellectually occupied for days. It’ll be years before I’ve worked through all the implications of Jung’s ideas as laid out here. In a sentence, it’s about becoming (and remaining) your own person, against the crushing cultural gravity that’s constantly trying to get you to conform to the mass.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain: This is a classic book about a boy growing up in small-town Missouri during the mid 19th century, and all the ridiculousness they get up to. It’s one of those books that just…takes you there. Incredible.
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck: Another favorite of mine, this one’s a classic novella set in California during the Great Depression. Two immigrant workers traveling together, dreaming of one day owning their own farm end up on the run when one of them accidentally kills the boss’s daughter-in-law.
The Wealth Ladder, by Nick Maggiulli: This book breaks down the six different wealth levels, the dangers and opportunities you’ll face on each one, and concrete strategies for climbing the wealth ladder - as far as you want to go, and no further. You’ll understand when you read the book!
Cosmic Habit Force, by Mitch Horowitz: The author of this book convinced me to finally read Neville Goddard, and I’ve been binging Mitch’s books too. This one’s about how to align yourself with the natural forces of life to produce the results you want, in terms of fulfillment, success, and peace of mind. One of the most down-to-earth books on metaphysical principles and ideas I’ve ever read.
Good Money Revolution, by Derrick Kinney: This is a great personal finance book about how to make more money to do more good. It’ll help you find your Generosity Purpose and motivate you to earn, save, and invest more money so that you can then turn around and use it to do more good in the world.
The Laws of Power, by Brian Tracy: Similar to Mitch’s book above, this book breaks down the mostly-invisible laws that operate within the areas of success, achievement, business, money, relationships, and self-fulfillment. Seriously, align yourself with these extremely powerful laws, and you’ll surprise yourself with the forward progress you start making in your life. I’m living proof of that.
“I looked around upon the world, and saw that it was shadowed by sorrow and scorched by the fires of suffering. And I looked for the cause.
I looked around, but could not find it; I looked in books, but could not find it; I looked within, and found there both the cause and the self-made nature of that cause. I looked again, and deeper, and found the remedy.
I found one Law, the Law of Love; one Life, the Life of adjustment to that Law; one Truth, the Truth of a conquered mind and a quiet and obedient heart.
And I dreamed of writing a book which should help men and women, whether rich or poor, learned or unlearned, worldly or unworldly, to find within themselves the source of all success, all happiness, all accomplishment, all truth.
And the dream remained with me, and at last became substantial; and now I send it forth into the world on its mission of healing and blessedness, knowing that it cannot fail to reach the homes and hearts of those who are waiting and ready to receive it.”
“The major differentiator between six figures and multiple millions is how you value, protect, and spend your time.”
Inside my private business mastermind, Creator Launch Academy, we’re tackling one nonfiction book per month and implementing its lessons inside our businesses.
This month’s book is From 6 to 7 Figures, by Austin Netzley, a great book about how to operationalize, systemize, and scale your business faster than ever. Click here to claim your free trial, and join our business book club for educational content creators!
After achieving my (somewhat meaningless) goal of reading 1,000 books before I turned 30, I set a new (also meaningless but cool) goal of reading 10,000 books. As of today, I’ve read exactly 1,410 books, including 58 books so far this year, and if you’re interested, here’s my full Reading List.
“Look around. We are on the brink of a catastrophe. A dystopia of excessive pleasure, comfort, and a false sense of security as to how successful you will be is no longer just a relatable movie scene.
Since birth, you were spoon-fed ideas, beliefs, and routines that program you into the same default path as everyone else. This leads to the same quality of life as everyone else. It’s no wonder why most people feel anxious, overwhelmed, and have a cloud of meaninglessness hovering over their heads at all times.
Focus is the cure. But not the narrow focus we associate with deep work and study. Focus is what separates action from distraction, meaning from meaninglessness, and success from failure.
Focus is how you conduct your own adventure to stop hurtling toward the dead end that was assigned to you by society for their benefit.
This will be a painful journey to find meaning, reinvent yourself, and create your ideal future. The only thing more painful than seeing what you are capable of is not seeing what you are capable of, and I can’t think of anything more worthwhile to dedicate your life to.”
This book is the definition of “not for everybody,” but for the right person, it could be absolutely revelatory. Life-changing. A complete “Before and After” separating your old self, your old way of life, and the way you’ll live forever after.
No less than 18% of the text ended up directly in my notes, and on virtually every single page there was something fascinating that either got me thinking or got me moving.
The Art of Focus is a philosophy book, disguised as a personal development book, disguised as a business book.
It’s directed more or less at creators who are looking for a way to monetize their minds and earn a full-time living producing meaningful work and distributing it online.
But virtually everyone could find something life-changing inside, and it contains layers and layers of meaning that each speak directly to where people currently are on their journey from mental slavery to conscious freedom.
If I’m being a bit vague here, allow me to set the scene a little more. Look around you, and you’ll see that most people (at least many people) are desperately unhappy, desire to make radical changes in their lives, and yet are unsure precisely how to do that.
Dan Koe argues that we’re living in a dystopia of excessive pleasure, comfort, and a false sense of security when it comes to what lies ahead, both individually and collectively.
Every single day, there are literally thousands of marketing messages being launched straight into your prefrontal cortex, each of them demanding your attention. In other words, demanding a little piece of your LIFE.
Eventually, what happens to most people is that they don’t know who they are anymore, or what they really want. They’re told what they want, and they believe it. Personal agency is a distant memory, and the default path is all that’s left. Wage slavery, mental slavery, and debt slavery, if not actual slavery.
The way out of this meaningless hellscape (oddly comfortable and “safe” though it may appear to be), lies in taking the path of the Creator, as opposed to the Consumer.
We all consume sometimes, of course, but if your entire life revolves around consumption, and you only watch, read, and talk about what everyone else watches, reads, and talks about, you’ll only be able to think what everyone else is thinking.
Your individuality - the very essence of who you are - will be stripped away, and you’ll barely even realize that it’s gone.
If you don’t want the same quality of life as everyone else (and I’d argue that you don’t!), then focus is the cure. Yes, “focus” in the sense of being able to pay attention to something longer than a beer commercial, but also in the sense of being able to separate action from distraction, meaning from meaninglessness, and success from failure.
If all this “evolution of consciousness” stuff still sounds a little “in the clouds,” I’ll bring it down to earth by telling you briefly how The Art of Focus shifted my behavior and my worldview.
For a long time now, I’ve rejected the future that was just “assigned” to me by society on the date of my birth: get good grades, go to college, work for forty years, collect gold watch, die. I already knew there was more to life before I read this book. But it gave me a sense of urgency, and personal power that was…electric.
Here was Dan, living free and uncommitted - except to his purpose. Living consciously and intensely, following his own curiosity, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars per month doing so.
I was already a full-time creator myself, having struggled for years to “make it,” and now I just had this renewed sense that even more was possible, and that my future was wide open.
Decades and decades of my life opened up right in front of me, and I knew that I’d never go back to my old life for as long as I lived. The Art of Focus was my point of departure into my most exciting future.
“If you do not have the awareness of the possibility of a better life, it is impossible for such a future to actualize.”
“Controlling the information that you hold in your focus is the key to overcoming the anxiety, boredom, stress, and overwhelm that plague today’s society.”
“Your focus is the only thing you have control over. It influences your thoughts, emotions, actions, and the positive or negative direction of them all.
If you do not focus on one thing that brings awareness to the next, you may not create the chain reaction that allows for certain thoughts, emotions, and actions. Your long-term and short-term options are created by when, where, on what, how, and why you focus your attention.”
“Clarity is your saviour, and we must prioritize programming, maintaining, and evolving the systems our mind runs on. This is done through self-generated goals, creating a path to achieve them, and focusing on solving the problems that arise without being consumed by distractions.”
“No idea is too sacred to question, and the more sacred it seems, the more it should be questioned. Question the things that people make you think you are crazy for questioning. This is the beginning of many inspiring origin stories.”
“Your focus will be limited to the aspects of reality that your perspective allows.
Unless you create goals that launch you into the unknown, a problem that you consider a normal part of life won’t reveal itself as a problem. Because of that, you will have nothing to learn, discover, or act on in any meaningful fashion.
This is how you train your focus. By setting and pursuing interest-based goals that allow your mind to become aware of new information that leads to the evolution of who you are.
This stresses the importance of radical open-mindedness. If you are in a constant state of closed-mindedness, stress, and narrow focus, an opportunity to change your life may pass you by.”
“If you don’t choose where to place your focus, it will be chosen for you.”
“In a world where so few people set, and even fewer achieve, their own goals, one can piece together an argument that a new version of slavery has emerged after the Industrial Revolution. Not physical, but mental.
If you don’t know what you want, you will be told what you want, and you will believe it. If you don’t create a purpose, you will be assigned one. If you don’t create a career, you will be assigned one.
If you don’t create a hierarchy of goals to invest your mental energy in, you will be assigned one, like climbing a corporate, religious, or status ladder just to realize you’ve wasted 80% of your life.”
“The only option is to forge your own path. You must set a conscious goal, create clarity through self-education and experimentation, and abide by the principle of progressive overload: to increase the challenge, practice until your skill is up to par, and repeat the process as life lessons compound into a personal philosophy that can be shared to advance the collective mind.”
“The quality of your human experience is most influenced by the structure of the information you process. When you create a meaningful hierarchy of goals, acquire the skill necessary to achieve those goals, and act from the perspective of your highest self, life becomes enjoyable. This is in your control but is not immediate.”
“It’s easier to know what you don’t want - from experience - than it is to know what you want - from imagination. But realize that imagination holds a lot of power. You need experience to fuel imagination. And when the two are combined, you create a frame that is impossible to distract your focus.”
“To reiterate the entirety of this path, there are a few things to keep in mind.
First, seek to understand and experience the patterns of the Universe; they can teach you more than any words, form, or interpretation. Notice how it ebbs and flows. Across all planes of reality, there is creation, destruction, give, take, birth, and death with an invisible glue holding it all together that we call spirit.
Second, and as you experience the full range of the human experience, align your decisions with the perspective of your ideal self. This is done through creating an actualization hierarchy of goals, moving forward, moving back, learning, and solving problems that reflect on a Universal level. You are the Universe, but there are many limitations you have accepted that prevent you from realizing who you are. You burst through these limitations by making progress and doing the inner work necessary to avoid getting lost in the game.
Third, and from an elevated state of consciousness, harness the creative ability of your mind to build holistic projects that contribute to humanity, even if on a small scale. Hunt for ideas and build with your own two hands. Make the immaterial material. Turn dirt into gold. Become a massive value creator in a world that is desperate for depth.
At the root of it all, leave your dent on the world through the art of focus.”
Forward this to a friend you think would love this book!
If you were sent this newsletter, click here to subscribe.
To read past editions of The Reading Life, click here.
​Click here to recommend The Reading Life on Twitter (X).
OK, that’s it for now…
I’ve got plenty more excellent book recommendations coming your way soon though!
There’s also my YouTube channel, where I publish book reviews, reading updates, and more each week.
And if you want to learn how I’ve built an audience of 160,000+ followers across social media, became a full-time creator, and how I’m rapidly growing my audience and my profits in 2025, join us inside Creator Launch Academy and that’s exactly what I’ll teach you — we’d love to have you in the community!
With that said, I hope you enjoyed this edition of The Reading Life, and enjoy the rest of your day!
Until next time…happy reading!
All the best,
Matt Karamazov
P.S. Whenever you're ready, here are two more ways I can help you:
Creators: Book a 1-1 strategy call with me and I’ll show you how to reach $5K/month in revenue by following a custom plan that we’ll build together.
Join Creator Launch Academy, my private business mastermind for educational content creators who want to stand out in their niche, build multiple revenue streams, and go full-time with their creative passions.
Reply