My Top Books of 2025 (so far)

Hi everyone, welcome back. As promised,

I am here with a book review. I like

surprisingly read a lot of fiction, which is very uncharacteristic of me.

Let's kick things off with East of Eden by John Steinbeck. This was the first book I recommended in that like 10 books you must read before you die back in 2017. And reading this 7 years later, I

2017. And reading this 7 years later, I still stand behind it. Like the way I gobbled this up was savage. We've got

the Hamiltons and the Tras. Now, the

Hamiltons are already living in the Selenas Valley, and they live on the crustiest, dustiest land. But what they lack in water, there's like an abundance of love. They raised their kids, right?

of love. They raised their kids, right?

Now that I'm like reading this book as a grown ass woman, I kind of developed a small little crush on Samuel Hamilton. I

was like, "Okay, daddy, what can't you do?" Then we've got the Tras, who moved

do?" Then we've got the Tras, who moved to the valley a little later. Adam Tras

has all the bones of a good man, but his kryptonite is that he is so blindly devoted to his wife Kathy, who is like a complete psychopath. Like, yo, she is

complete psychopath. Like, yo, she is the original unhinged villain in literary history. Samuel Hamilton and

literary history. Samuel Hamilton and Adam Tr become friends and hits the fan. I will just leave it at that

fan. I will just leave it at that because I want you to truly enjoy this masterpiece because that's what it is.

And it's like 600 pages. So, this is a thicky, that's for sure. And so expect like really vivid descriptions of like the nature. Tell me about the soil, the

the nature. Tell me about the soil, the sweat on the horses, the flowers carpeting the valley in the spring. Like

it felt like reading a love letter to California. Even though this book takes

California. Even though this book takes place in the late 1800s, early 1900s, Steinbeck still shows us that basic human emotions like those paleolithic feelings have not changed. Like the

people back then still have the same worries that we have now. Like we still yearn for our parents approval. We still

get tempted by love and we still make catastrophically horrible decisions. So,

I picked up Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney because Inner Mezo was sold out at my local bookstore, but honestly, this was the best literary side quest I could ever have taken. So,

the story revolves around two hipsters.

She doesn't like overtly say that they're hipsters, but they are. They

write. They do like spoken word poetry at like little indie bookstores. They

smoke cigarettes. like they probably have a Tumblr. So Francis is our narrator and she's kind of like the more observant quiet introspective a little like emotionally guarded type.

Bobby, on the other hand, is like the opposite. She's just like charming,

opposite. She's just like charming, extroverted, politically outspoken. Like

she just sweeps up every social setting anywhere she goes. They're very used to this dynamic because they also used to date. when you cross that friendship

date. when you cross that friendship like love boundary, there's like gonna be some resentment and like a hum of tension there. The story really kicks

tension there. The story really kicks off when they meet Melissa. She's older

in her mid-30s. She's very successful.

She's a photographer and she takes quite a liking to both those girls and she invites them into her bougie artistic world. And Melissa is married to Nick

world. And Melissa is married to Nick who is this like washed up one hit wonder actor. We always need like an

wonder actor. We always need like an emotionally avoidant male character in any Sally Rooney book. Him and Francis end up having this very secretive

affair. Melissa and Bobby get entangled

affair. Melissa and Bobby get entangled in something. So, it ends up being not a

in something. So, it ends up being not a love triangle, but a love square. So,

it's very interesting to see that dynamic unfold and you're just watching it all in slow motion. And honestly, I was loving every second of it. After I

completed Conversations with Friends, I finally got my hands on Inner Mezo. This

one did not grip me completely. This

wasn't like uh like rip through it in two sittings. This was definitely a slow

two sittings. This was definitely a slow burn. Mhm. So, in this book, we've got a

burn. Mhm. So, in this book, we've got a pair of brothers, Ivan and Peter.

There's quite a big age gap for them, so it's it's hard for them to connect. Both

of the brothers are dealing with grief in their own way. And there are so many times in the book where I'm just like, just talk to each other. But obviously,

family dynamics aren't that simple. And

uh I don't know, but in all seriousness, it showed me that grief doesn't come in one flavor and it affects everyone differently. And survival mode is the

differently. And survival mode is the most important. I feel like if you have

most important. I feel like if you have a chance to inhale pleasure, do it because it may not be there tomorrow. So

my next book is Yellowface by Rebecca F.

Kuang. This is pretty much about race baiting and the publishing industry. So

it follows two friends. I guess they're like frenemies. We've got June who is

like frenemies. We've got June who is white and we've got Athena who is Asian and they both went to the same school and there is like this secret rivalry between them but everything is based

from June's perspective. So I actually don't know what Athena felt in that friendship. Athena becomes wildly

friendship. Athena becomes wildly successful after she graduates and June's career is just crickets. One

night Athena dies in front of June. This

is not a spoiler by the way. Like it

happens pretty soon in the book. Like

Rebecca wastes no time. Before the

police gets there, she steals Athena's secret manuscript, which is supposed to be her greatest piece of work. It's

about Chinese laborers in World War I.

And June feels like it would be a complete shame if it just went unpublished. So she goes in and she

unpublished. So she goes in and she flushes it out and she works on it so much that she deludes herself into thinking like, you know what, I put in so much work in this. Like it's like I

wrote this and then the book ends up being wildly successful but with success comes more speculation. So people are wondering why did you change your name to Juniper song? Definitely recommend if

you want like a fast gripping read. It's

like a thriller kind of. I judged Broken Country by the cover. I was like am I really going to be into this English countryside romance? Turns out yes. I

countryside romance? Turns out yes. I

did really enjoy this. So, this story takes place in Dorset, England in the 50s and 60s, which is like one of my favorite aesthetic time periods. So, our

main girl is Beth, and she's just trying to live her simple life on her farm with her very like simple husband. Like, he's

he's cute. He's like milk bread, you know, like not the star of the show, but very reliable and always tastes good.

Things get spicy when Gabriel Wolf, her first love, comes back into town. He is

hot, freshly divorced. He's successful,

wealthy. He's like a phenomenal writer and he also has his son with him. This

obviously this ignites a lot in Beth.

Like not only is her first love back into town, she's also like still dealing with the grief of losing her own son Bobby. They end up crossing paths and

Bobby. They end up crossing paths and spending a lot of time together. And you

know that's when things get very messy, very dramatic. And to add like the

very dramatic. And to add like the cherry on top to this drama Sunday, there's like a murder in the town. So

there's a lot going on. So Beth is very flawed, but I found myself still liking her because she takes accountability for all of her mistakes. And like the ending

actually had me gagged. I was like, did not see that coming. The next book I want to talk about is The Vegetarian.

This was a book that me and my mom both read together and by the end of it, we were both like, yeah, that was heavy. Probably the most depressing book I've read all year. So,

we've got our girl Yonghi, who is like a very traditional Korean housewife. She's

very quiet, obedient. She's like

severely neglected by her husband who is just so mediocre. Like, he is the worst.

One night, she has this really intense, vivid dream. And when she wakes up,

vivid dream. And when she wakes up, she's like, "I'm not eating meat anymore. I'm going to become a

anymore. I'm going to become a vegetarian." Being vegetarian in Korea

vegetarian." Being vegetarian in Korea used to raise a lot more eyebrows.

People would be like, "What are you going to eat? Like, are you going to just survive on Tulu and Panchchan? So,

this small act of defiance ends up setting off a full-blown family apocalypse, and you just see Yonghi completely unravel. I really wish we got

completely unravel. I really wish we got to get a glimpse of what was going on in Yonghi's head, but maybe that was the point, to show how isolating it can feel when you've gone to the point of no

return. So, I've been dabbling back into

return. So, I've been dabbling back into sci-fi again, and I broke my hiatus with Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Woo! This one

was such an epic read. The best way I can describe Hyperion is if the Lord of the Rings fellowship had a baby with MTV's Real World because it's basically about seven strangers who are on this

intense space pilgrimage to a planet called Hyperion. It's very mysterious

called Hyperion. It's very mysterious and super far away and they're there to confront the Shrike, which is like a deeply evil being. It's like the universe's most terrifying monster.

Since Hyperion is so far, they pass the time by revealing their origin stories.

And every character is so interesting.

It's like Dan Simmons just press shuffle on these characters. You're not

transported to one world, but multiple worlds, each with its own like intricate culture, politics, technology, and of course, drama. Mhm. So, bottom line, if

course, drama. Mhm. So, bottom line, if you are craving a sci-fi that's going to make you really think about the relationship between humanity and technology, read Hyperion. Now, we're

going to cover the non-fiction books I've read. We're going to start off with

I've read. We're going to start off with Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont. Ann Lamont

is my comfort author. Whenever I'm

feeling down in the dumps, life feels hopeless, I read Ann Lamont's words and I am instantly soothed. She's like

drinking soup, like bone broth. Bird by

Bird is technically a book about writing, but it is so much more than that. There is just good life lessons in

that. There is just good life lessons in here. So, the title of Bird by Bird

here. So, the title of Bird by Bird comes from a childhood memory when her little brother did not start on his school project about birds. And so,

their dad basically said, "Well, son, you just have to get started bird by bird." It's just very simple but

bird." It's just very simple but powerful advice that could be applied to any task that you find overwhelming.

Like even this video when I was writing all these reports I was like gez this is so many books but I remembered and Lamont's dad's words just take it bird

by bird. So I wrote each summary at a

by bird. So I wrote each summary at a time and before you knew it I was done.

And now we've got this video. Next up on the roster we've got the anthroposine reviewed by John Green. Our fellow elder millennial YouTuber. Love him. John

millennial YouTuber. Love him. John

Green basically noticed how like absurd it is for humans to have that tendency to rate everything out of five stars. So

he just takes it further and rates a bunch of random things from humanity's collective existence like diet Dr. Pepper, the internet, staff infections,

menitis. So he gives like a brief

menitis. So he gives like a brief history about it, his own reflections, and then he rates it. Going into some of the essays, I was a little skeptical, especially the one about Indianapolis. I

was like, "Come on, John. You for real?

We're really going to be talking about Indianapolis."

Indianapolis." But by the end, now I kind of want to visit Indianapolis. What's funny is one

visit Indianapolis. What's funny is one time I went to a party and that and like a person that I met was from Indianapolis. Guess what? We bonded over

Indianapolis. Guess what? We bonded over Indianapolis. I was like, how cool is it

Indianapolis. I was like, how cool is it that Kurt Vonagget is from there and you guys have the Indianapolis 500 and John Green has the ability to make anything mundane interesting? But I guess that's

mundane interesting? But I guess that's the beauty in life. When you really focus on any object or phenomena or experience and you really break it down, it becomes very fascinating. And I feel

like that's John Green's superpower.

This is Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. This is the one book that had

Sedaris. This is the one book that had me busting out in laughter. like

actually like laughing out loud audibly in my bedroom. He's like your gay uncle who has lived so many lives. I loved his chapter about the time that he was in art school and he got addicted to meth,

but he writes it in a way where doing meth was just so normal. This is a topic that could have been very depressing and dark, but he used his suffering and

turned it into this really comical piece about just like the great lengths we will do to kind of justify a behavior that is objectively terrible like doing

meth. I feel like that captures

meth. I feel like that captures addiction so well that you will convince yourself that it makes you a better writer or it makes you more productive or it makes you more artistic when

really it's just hurting you in the long run. So, we're going to dive into the

run. So, we're going to dive into the self-development section. I'm going to

self-development section. I'm going to start off with The Chimp Paradox by Dr. Steve Peters. I found this book in one

Steve Peters. I found this book in one of those free neighborhood libraries.

And obviously, I took it because I love any book that will explain to me why my brain is the way it is. So, this book explains how our brains have two modes of thinking. First, we've got the chimp

of thinking. First, we've got the chimp brain. This is like our emotional,

brain. This is like our emotional, immature, irrational side of thinking.

Then, there's the human brain. Now this

is the one that runs on logic, reasoning and the truth. This is essentially our prefrontal cortex. The big catch here is

prefrontal cortex. The big catch here is that every experience and piece of information first goes through the chimp first. So this book is essentially just

first. So this book is essentially just explaining what our chimp brain wants and what we can do to make it feel nurtured and gives us tools on how we

can like create more space between the stimulus and the response. Here we have the Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins. I

would recommend this book if you are tired. Tired of overthinking, tired of

tired. Tired of overthinking, tired of overexlaining yourself, tired of trying to change the people around you.

Honestly, I'm still guilty of all the things above, but I feel like I'm doing them significantly less since I've read this book. The core idea of this book is

this book. The core idea of this book is very simple. If someone ghosts you, if

very simple. If someone ghosts you, if someone disappoints you, if someone lets you down, you just let them. You don't

try and fix them. You just let them. The

advice is it's painfully simple, but it's very effective. Adults have the right to live a life however they want.

The only thing you can control is yourself. Mhm. This book teaches you on

yourself. Mhm. This book teaches you on how to be unbothered and to be able to stay in your own lane, you know, but not in a sociopathic way where you're like, I just don't care about anyone, anything, but it's about understanding

like your own boundaries and how far you're willing to go before that encroaches on your own happiness. So, my

last section is all about parenting books. So, this is how to talk so kids

books. So, this is how to talk so kids will listen and listen so kids will talk. My son is three and a half years

talk. My son is three and a half years old and he is a chatty little guy. I

feel like Shrek with my very own little donkey. Being a mom is new to me. Like,

donkey. Being a mom is new to me. Like,

I've only been doing it for three and a half years, so anything helps at this point. Thankfully, this book ended up

point. Thankfully, this book ended up being like a crash course on being able to communicate with my child more effectively without losing my cool. It's

about like building trust in your child, but also yourself, too. Highly recommend

getting the physical copy of this because it's essentially a workbook.

Like the amount of glucose my brain burned while filling this out was very high. The biggest tip I got from this

high. The biggest tip I got from this book was keep your reminders short, like two to three words maximum. This only

works with things that your child already knows they should be doing, like you've already explained to them multiple times. For example, my home is

multiple times. For example, my home is a no shoes on policy. So instead of like going into this long monologue of like this is why you can't have your shoes on, you're going to bring germs and

pathogens, stop. You just say Lennin shoes and then

stop. You just say Lennin shoes and then you give a beat so that your child's like, "Oh, oh yeah, I'm supposed to do this." And they'll take them off. It's

this." And they'll take them off. It's

incredible because everything else just sounds like nagging. So just keep it simple. Keep it short. When you boil

simple. Keep it short. When you boil this book down, it's essentially when kids feel heard and understood, then they end up listening and cooperating more. The next book I have is the

more. The next book I have is the emotionally absent mother. This book

really dives into the experiences of peoples whose moms took care of them and provided all the basic needs like shelter, housing, cleanliness, but maybe

weren't there for their children emotionally. For me, this book became a

emotionally. For me, this book became a guide of what not to do with your kid.

Like, it actually showed me what true emotional neglect looks like. There was

one chapter that really hit me hard where the author described like all the roles a mother should be. Like, I have to like read them out loud because it's it's a long list. We've got a nurturer,

a mirror, cheerleader, protector, modulator, home base, first responder.

The list goes on. And honestly, when I read all these roles, I was like, are you for real? The biggest takeaway was understanding that I don't need to be all these things at once and I don't

need to be perfect at all of them, but I enjoy being aware of the possible roles that I might have to put on. Finally, we

have the co-parenting handbook. Now,

this is a book that I would give any co-parent who's interested in raising a child that's well adjusted across two homes. Something specific that we've

homes. Something specific that we've implemented after reading this book is we have a monthly meeting. Like even

though it sounds formal, it's really necessary because this is like the one time where we can really talk about our son's uh like developmental updates, like going over the residential

schedule, what's happening across both homes. And so that way both parents are

homes. And so that way both parents are aligned and it just reduces misunderstandings.

And uh overall it's making our son's life more predictable and stable. Okay

guys, I am going to end the video here.

Like I didn't even get to cover memoirs.

I feel like this this video is already going to be mad long. So I'm just going to save the memoirs for my next book update video. Anyway, thank you for

update video. Anyway, thank you for watching and I'll see you guys in the next one. Bye.

next one. Bye.

[Music]