10 Books That Made Me Happier and Smarter in 2025
A quick review of the best books I’ve read over the last 12 months
In 2025, I read close to 50 books, and most of them were amazing! These 10 books stood out, though!
They made me happier, more optimistic and knowledgeable. Oh! and curious.
I’m sure you’re wondering how these books managed to do this.
It varies per book, of course, but typically a book makes me happy when I finish, feeling like I learned useful information, was entertained, or it sparked new ideas!
We are all in search of great books, and this list will direct you in the right direction! Whether you want to learn something new or induce pleasant feelings, keep scrolling! :)
1. Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It by Kamal Ravikant
This was the second time I read this book. The first time was great, but this time, it had even more value.
I read it after accepting that my relationship of 2 and a half years was over. My goal was to reconnect with myself, and this book helped immensely.
The best part was when Kamal shared how to forgive yourself.
While doing this exercise, I didn’t realize how much I held against myself. It led to many tears, and I felt great after.
It will generate: Happiness & self-awareness.
Rating: 9.5/10
You can read this book here.
2. Poor Charlie’s Almanack by Charlie Munger
Charlie Munger is known as one of the wisest people you can learn from. He is Warren Buffett’s business partner.
While Warren is far wealthier, Charlie had timeless advice. Warren often credits Charlie’s wisdom for his immense wealth.
In this book, you’ll find advice that can be applied to your business and personal life.
It’s timeless.
It will generate: Wisdom & ideas.
Rating: 9.5/10
You can read this book here.
3. Awareness by Anthony De Mello
This is one of those books that just puts a smile on your face the entire time you read it.
It was highly recommended by Tim Ferriss, so I had to give it a read.
Anthony talks about waking up, coming alive, and building awareness. The way he talks about how to build awareness and how to know if you are, shows he has a deep understanding of it.
This book is a mandatory read.
It will generate: Happiness & self-awareness.
Rating: 9/10
You can read this book here.
4. Does It Matter by Alan Watts
A compilation of great essays by Alan Watts. Alan is one of my favourite philosophers, and I’m sure you’ll love his work if you haven’t heard it before.
My favourite essay in this book is one about clothing.
He goes off about the clothes we wear and how they make no sense. He also argues men should be wearing Japanese Kimonos (I’m a fan of this idea).
An intriguing book at the least.
It will generate: Ideas & relief.
Rating: 9.5/10
You can read this book here.
5. The 5 Types of Wealth by Sahil Bloom
Sahil is known, mainly on X and LinkedIn, as a self-improvement guy. He has been posting actively since COVID and gained a lot of followers.
In this book, he talks about the 5 different types of wealth:
Time wealth
Social wealth
Physical wealth
Mental wealth
Financial wealth
By focusing on excelling in each of these areas, you’re bound to live a great life!
It will generate: Ideas, wisdom & happiness.
Rating: 9/10
You can read this book here.
6. The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison by Mike Wilson
Larry Ellison is a super interesting person. He was the richest person in the world this year at one point.
He’s quite eccentric, works differently, and is someone you should pay attention to.
This biography of Larry is a great way to learn from him.
It will generate: Ideas & motivation.
Rating: 9/10
You can read this book here.
7. How Countries Go Broke by Ray Dalio
This is Ray Dalio’s latest book. Ray is a billionaire who thinks very deeply about the cycles empires go through.
He’s had multiple great books, which you could read before this one, but I do recommend making your way to this one.
It will help you understand the state of the United States and how these cycles work.
It will generate: Wisdom
Rating: 9/10
You can read this book here.
8. Hail Mary by Andy Weir
I had to include at least one fictional book on this list. This one was great, especially if you like sci-fi.
It had quite a few intriguing ideas about how humans and aliens would interact with each other.
Honestly, the story was pretty heart-warming.
Essentially, the world is ending, and a teacher ends up being the one to venture out into space to find a way to save it.
That’s all I will say to avoid spoiling it :).
It will generate: Happiness
Rating: 9/10
You can read this book here.
9. Mastery by Robert Greene
Being a master of your craft is a very intriguing concept. In this book, that’s what Robert teaches you to do.
He lays out step by step how to attain mastery most effectively. He does this by using several examples and diving deep.
This is the ultimate self-improvement book.
It will generate: Ideas & direction.
Rating: 9.5/10
You can read this book here.
10. Breakneck by Dan Wang
If you’re interested in learning more about the tensions between the US and China, this is a great book.
It was written recently and dives into an interesting observation. The US is a lawyer state, and China is an engineering state.
It dives into how this fact benefits or holds back either society.
An incredibly relevant book.
It will generate: Intelligence
Rating: 9.5/10
You can read this book here.
To wrap it up
Unless you’re diving deep into a specific topic, it’s best to get a variety of genres in your reading.
You want to develop yourself into a well-rounded individual.
In 2025, I found I was pulled to learning about countries and how they operate, biographies, spirituality, and self-improvement the most.
The mix is up to you! What kind of books do you like consuming the most!?
Thanks for reading!