I spent most of 2025 in Europe, I traveled quite a bit so my reading slowed, and only read 15 books this year. Only 2 were nonfiction, and most were European novels. Below I list them in chronological order.
1. Manon Lescaut – abbé Prévost
This is a sad love story, the male protagonist fell crazily in love with Manon and sacrificed so much to be with her. The writing was very engaging and it kept me hooked to see what happened next. Shortly after I finished reading this I got to watch the Opera “Manon” at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, although I was quite disappointed with the set design, or the lack thereof, it did not measure up to the novel itself.
2. Peer Gynt – Henrik Ibsen
Another music inspired read, for many years I enjoyed listening to the musical of Peer Gynt, and was always curious about the story behind it, it was a delight to finally read it. I enjoyed reading about the personal growth of Peer, all the characters and the mythical scenarios described.
3. Dubliners – James Joyce
Short stories about the lives of common people living in Dublin. Somehow I expected more from this book because of how famous it is, as it was a nice read but nothing too exciting or engaging, I will read Ulysses someday and form a more informed opinion on Joyce.
4. The nonexistent knight – Italo Calvino
I’ve heard good things about Calvino so I had high expectations, but unfortunately they were not met. The story was novel enough, but it lacked depth so it felt like a children’s book.
5. Chip war – Chris Miller
The first of the two nonfiction books I read this year, I read it because I was working in the semiconductor industry at the time, and wanted to have a better understanding of how the industry came about. This book was an exciting read and I could barely put it down when I was reading it. It was very cool to learn how the major semi companies came into existence and how the ecosystem was built, excited to see how the future of the industry will continue to grow.
6. Epitaph of a small winner – Machado de Assis
This is a very cute and witty story, I was quite taken by it and read within 3-4 days, the storytelling was very clever and kept me entertained. I wish it was longer, and will explore other books by de Assis.
7. Pedro Páramo – Juan Rulfo
The bookstore owner whom I bought the previous book from recommended me this one after I told him I liked that one a lot. This is quite different, but interesting nonetheless. There was not much of a plot, and the story is of classical magical realism, I still enjoyed it.
8. Promise at dawn – Romain Gary
The other nonfiction, this was recommended to me by multiple people, so I finally picked it up after visiting a friend in Paris. The book is quite inspirational, about an immigrant achieving his dream in a foreign country, his mother was heavily featured as she played an essential role in his life. I was very touched especially at the end of it. There were times when I resonated with his experience too.
9. Tender is the night – F. Scott Fitzgerald
This is a nice novel with quite a few plot twists, the story mostly happens in Europe, France Switzerland, etc, I was also living in and visiting those countries, so it felt very familiar to read those cities names and helped me connect to the story even more. The characters were well developed and the storyline was engaging.
10. Fortress besieged – Qian Zhongshu
I have heard of this book for a long time as it is very famous in China, someone recommended it to me again and I read it in 3 days. The story started out relatable, young Chinese people moving to the US to study, during this time they were also trying to figure out dating and trying to figure out marriage. The description of human psychology and relationships was superb.
11. Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
I have watched the movie sometime ago, the friend I was living with had a copy of the book so I decided to read it. It was quite an uncomfortable read, however, at times it was also comical, and it even elicit pity from the reader about the way Humbert thinks and operates.
12. Memoirs – Pablo Neruda
I have known of Neruda for a few years, I knew he was a poet but it was quite a pleasant surprise to discover he was also an accomplished diplomat and mingled with all the most important literary genuses, artists and politicians of the time. His writing was airy and beautiful, it was such a pleasure to read.
13. The charterhouse of Parma – Stendhal
This is a long novel, follows the life story of the protagonist as he figure out his career, love life, and just life in general. The beginning felt a bit slow but towards the end it got me very emotionally involved.
14. Pickwick papers – Charles Dickens
This is the first Novel of Dickens and the first novel I read of his. I had high expectations but they were unfortunately not met. Sure there were a few witty remarks and stories, but overall there was not much of a plot, and it was way too long.
15. Middlemarch – George Eliot
Also a very long novel, it was ok, not particularly interesting or memorable.
The Logical Offering 