New Year means new books to read. I know I literally just published a bookish post right before New Year’s, but that’s in the past. Now let’s take a look at what 2025 will hold—or at least the first few weeks of it. Towards the end of last year—as you must also be familiar with—there were a lot of sales going on and I managed to snag several interesting books. While most of these are (obviously) new, one of these is used and another one is borrowed. Genre-wise, they are also pretty dominated by nonfiction, especially environmental books—but there are also fiction and science fiction. Without further ado, let me tell you about them!
New Year means new books to read. I know I literally just published a bookish post right before New Year’s, but that’s in the past. Now let’s take a look at what 2025 will hold—or at least the first few weeks of it. Towards the end of last year—as you must also be familiar with—there were a lot of sales going on and I managed to snag several interesting books. While most of these are (obviously) new, one of these is used and another one is borrowed. Genre-wise, they are also pretty dominated by nonfiction, especially environmental books—but there are also fiction and science fiction. Without further ado, let me tell you about them!
Nature Is a Human Right
Edited by Ellen Miles
Having read less riveting nonfictions last year, I was on the lookout for a good environmental book when I stumbled upon this title at a local bookstore. Without knowing virtually anything about the book itself, I decided to grab it based on the title and subtitle alone.
The book turns out to be a collection of writings by “world leading ‘green’ voices” that captures how contact with nature is essential for our mental, social and physical well-being. It seeks to advocate for equal access to nature for all as a basic human right. It seems like a good topic follow-up to The Intersectional Environmentalist that I read just last year. Super excited to start!
Nature Is a Human Right
Edited by Ellen Miles
Having read less riveting nonfictions last year, I was on the lookout for a good environmental book when I stumbled upon this title at a local bookstore. Without knowing virtually anything about the book itself, I decided to grab it based on the title and subtitle alone.
The book turns out to be a collection of writings by “world leading ‘green’ voices” that captures how contact with nature is essential for our mental, social and physical well-being. It seeks to advocate for equal access to nature for all as a basic human right. It seems like a good topic follow-up to The Intersectional Environmentalist that I read just last year. Super excited to start!
In the Name of Identity
by Amin Maalouf
"I want to try and understand why so many people commit crimes in the name of identity."
If I’m being honest, this was kind of the compensation book. It was purchased from Fat Chicken Books—one of my favourite Instagram used bookstores. They had an end-of-year sale where I had to purchase at least two books to get one of them for free—it’s not a BOGO situation, but too trivial to explain.
Obviously, I know next to nothing about this book—as per yoozh. Apparently, this book explores the notion of identity throughout history and how it drives people to go to extremes.
In the Name of Identity
by Amin Maalouf
"I want to try and understand why so many people commit crimes in the name of identity."
If I’m being honest, this was kind of the compensation book. It was purchased from Fat Chicken Books—one of my favourite Instagram used bookstores. They had an end-of-year sale where I had to purchase at least two books to get one of them for free—it’s not a BOGO situation, but too trivial to explain.
Obviously, I know next to nothing about this book—as per yoozh. Apparently, this book explores the notion of identity throughout history and how it drives people to go to extremes.
Heretics of Dune
Chapterhouse: Dune
by Frank Herbert
The last two books in the Dune series are finally in my possession! Oh my God! If you’ve been here a while, you might remember that I read the first volume in the series around 4 years ago. Since then, I have read the following 3 books—some of them were excruciating to flip through, not going to lie, but overall I’m pretty happy to be one of the few who know the (almost) complete Dune lore as Denis Villeneuve keeps making the films.
Much like its prequel, The Heretics of Dune is set in a time jump from the previous book—1,500 years later, to be precise. Chapterhouse: Dune will probably be set a thousand years after that. It seems everything has descended into chaos since the abomination that is Leto. I try not to read the synopsis or review on the internet before reading it, though, as it may reveal more than I’m prepared to know. The fun of the Dune series is in diving in blindly, after all.
Heretics of Dune
Chapterhouse: Dune
by Frank Herbert
The last two books in the Dune series are finally in my possession! Oh my God! If you’ve been here a while, you might remember that I read the first volume in the series around 4 years ago. Since then, I have read the following 3 books—some of them were excruciating to flip through, not going to lie, but overall I’m pretty happy to be one of the few who know the (almost) complete Dune lore as Denis Villeneuve keeps making the films.
Much like its prequel, The Heretics of Dune is set in a time jump from the previous book—1,500 years later, to be precise. Chapterhouse: Dune will probably be set a thousand years after that. It seems everything has descended into chaos since the abomination that is Leto. I try not to read the synopsis or review on the internet before reading it, though, as it may reveal more than I’m prepared to know. The fun of the Dune series is in diving in blindly, after all.
Possible: Ways to Net Zero
by Chris Goodall
Not going to lie, part of the reason I bought this book is because of the off chance that Chris Goodall might be related to Jane—spoiler alert: he is not. However, they do share the same love for the environment. Apparently, he is an expert researcher on decarbonisation who has spoken about and published numerous books on the climate crisis and clean energy.
This is his latest book, which was actually published just last year. The book tackles 16 challenges that must be overcome in making a just transition to carbon neutrality. According to Goodall, removing fossil fuel from our energy system is not only possible, but also highly feasible with today’s technology.
Possible: Ways to Net Zero
by Chris Goodall
Not going to lie, part of the reason I bought this book is because of the off chance that Chris Goodall might be related to Jane—spoiler alert: he is not. However, they do share the same love for the environment. Apparently, he is an expert researcher on decarbonisation who has spoken about and published numerous books on the climate crisis and clean energy.
This is his latest book, which was actually published just last year. The book tackles 16 challenges that must be overcome in making a just transition to carbon neutrality. According to Goodall, removing fossil fuel from our energy system is not only possible, but also highly feasible with today’s technology.
Currently Reading
Intermezzo
by Sally Rooney
Like most people, after reading Normal People back in 2020, I became obsessed with Sally Rooney. Her amazing ability in capturing the human emotions, while also exploring our social construct is simply without contest. Thankfully, I share this obsession with a lot of people—one of whom is my work friend Sade, who lent me this beautiful book I’ve been flipping through non-stop.
The book follows two very different brothers with a 10-year age gap. Both wanting simply to be loved, both misunderstood by the other. Rooney is truly brilliant in encompassing that joy and ache of having a sibling, as well as the complicated inner workings of loving someone.
Intermezzo
by Sally Rooney
Like most people, after reading Normal People back in 2020, I became obsessed with Sally Rooney. Her amazing ability in capturing the human emotions, while also exploring our social construct is simply without contest. Thankfully, I share this obsession with a lot of people—one of whom is my work friend Sade, who lent me this beautiful book I’ve been flipping through non-stop.
The book follows two very different brothers with a 10-year age gap. Both wanting simply to be loved, both misunderstood by the other. Rooney is truly brilliant in encompassing that joy and ache of having a sibling, as well as the complicated inner workings of loving someone.
I feel like for the first time in a long time, I finally have a pile of books hanging out on the shelf, waiting to be read. The last documented instance of this was back in 2022. I suppose, since then I had grown so busy or preoccupied with other things that I either no longer accumulated books at home or simply had no time to document them on this lil’ blog. Well, I hope this signifies a peace of mind that I haven’t had in a while—2022 being the best years in recent times is a good sign too. Here’s to more inspiring reads in the next 365 days—and, hopefully, a more optimistic new year.
What are you looking forward to read in 2025?
I feel like for the first time in a long time, I finally have a pile of books hanging out on the shelf, waiting to be read. The last documented instance of this was back in 2022. I suppose, since then I had grown so busy or preoccupied with other things that I either no longer accumulated books at home or simply had no time to document them on this lil’ blog. Well, I hope this signifies a peace of mind that I haven’t had in a while—2022 being the best years in recent times is a good sign too. Here’s to more inspiring reads in the next 365 days—and, hopefully, a more optimistic new year.
What are you looking forward to read in 2025?