Finally, after postponing this post for so long, I forced myself to sit down in front of my PC and carefully select the best books out of the 48 I read in 2025. 

2025 is the first year I didn’t hit my reading target since I got back into reading four years ago. I learned that as much as I wanted to achieve my reading goal this year, it had started to become counterproductive. Reading slowly turned into a numbers game. I could have sprinted through December and finished the two books I brought along during my long flight hours. But I stopped and asked myself, what’s the point of hitting the goal if I didn’t get to read them deliciously? 

So for 2026, I’m reducing my reading target. I want to read slowly, intentionally, and without the pressure of chasing numbers. 

2025 might also be the year I followed BookTok trends less. I bought fewer books and focused on finishing what’s already in my TBR cart. Watching my unread pile grow gave me a headache. I felt irresponsible owning so many books without reading them, and even more irresponsible for continuously adding to them for no real reason. 

I couldn’t narrow it down to just five for my top 10 percent, so I ended up adding two more. So here are the seven books I carefully curated from the 48 books I read last year.  

THE SIMPLE SEERAH

This book has been on my wishlist for a long time. Sometimes you just feel the need to revisit the sirah of Prophet Muhammad and his companions. Every time I return to these stories, there is always a new detail to learn, even if I have heard them a thousand times before. 

The storytelling is engaging and easy to digest. That is why I love it. It is easy to follow, and each chapter ends with lessons and iktibar that can be applied to daily life. 

I find myself reaching for this book when life feels heavy. In difficult moments, there is a strong urge to return to the seerah and reflect on how Prophet Muhammad handled hardships, then reflect on my own life. Isn’t that the ultimate purpose of Allah choosing a prophet among humankind, so that we may learn, reflect, and apply those lessons in our daily lives? 

I truly, truly love this book for how it provokes self-reflection at the end of chapter. I am planning to continue with the next series and am currently looking for the rest of the trilogy. 

IMPERIALISME INTELEKTUAL

Another powerful work by Syed Hussein Alatas. I’m glad the salesman at Bibliobooth recommended this book to me during KLAB last year, because it did not catch my eye at first. 

Although it is thin, it is intellectually heavy and not something you can finish in one sitting. It requires time to read, sit with, and properly digest his arguments. 

Through this book, Syed Hussein Alatas exposes the impact of colonization in Malaysia. Western powers did not only colonize our resources, but also shaped our intellectual framework. As a result, we were conditioned to look up to Western civilization as superior. 

As a teaser, he defines imperialism through several characteristics: 
  1. Exploitation and control by the conquering power over the people. 
  2. The people are treated as subjects under a guidance system designed by the colonizer, organized according to the colonizer’s objectives. 
  3. The people are expected to conform to the colonizer’s lifestyle, organization, and rules. 
  4. The people play secondary roles within the structure of power. 
  5. Imperialism is rationalized under the pretext of modernization and the “civilizing mission.” 
  6. The country ends up being governed by individuals of limited capability. 
Can you see how this extends into the intellectual sphere as well? Intrigued? I highly encourage you to read it yourself. 

It is truly worth reading for every Malaysian citizen. Another powerful work by him is Intellectuals in Developing Societies. It is equally empowering and essential. I would recommend both to every Malaysian. 

THERE IS A RIVER IN THE SKY

If you follow my Instagram, you’ll know how many times I’ve talked about this book. Elif Shafak has always been one of my favorite writers, but this novel brought her to another level for me. It has become my favorite among all her works. 

There Is a River in the Sky follows four characters, all connected by a single drop of water. Each has a story of their own. There is King Ashurbanipal of Mesopotamia, a powerful and ruthless ruler; Arthur, a boy born in the sewer who rises beyond his circumstances with remarkable intelligence; and Narin, a Yazidi girl who becomes a victim of terrorism during a time of conflict. Eventually, the narrative reaches a woman in 2025 whose life is falling apart, leading her to impulsively move into a houseboat in an attempt to pause and escape as everything around her crumbles. 

The story made me reflect on how small we are as human beings, yet how deeply interconnected we are without even realizing it. Shafak’s writing has always resonated with me in the way she weaves history, emotion, and philosophy together. Once again, she did not disappoint. 



Well, the world is changing faster than minds can grasp. It's picking up speed like a steam engine. All these smartly turned-out people with their polished boots and affected airs, you look at them and you think they must know everything, educated and cultured as they are, but I'll let you in on a secret: when times are confusing, everybody is a little lost. No one is as inwardly confident as they present themselves to be. Hence the reason we must read, my boy.

NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR 

Nineteen Eighty-Four is a dystopian novel written in 1949, yet it feels unsettlingly relevant to the world we live in today. It portrays how those in power manipulate, control, and gaslight citizens for their own advantage. It is disturbing, but at the same time, uncomfortably relatable in our current era. 

The story follows Winston Smith as he quietly attempts to free himself from the government’s oppressive control. Along the way, he begins a forbidden relationship with Julia. I won’t give any spoilers, but the plot completely blew my mind, and its central message still lingers with me to this day. 

Definitely worth reading. 

LAUT BERCERITA 

Laut Bercerita is an Indonesian novel published in 2017 that has gained renewed attention due to recent political issues in Indonesia. 

For context, in 2025, protests erupted over reports that some members of parliament were receiving salaries of not less than 100 million rupiah (around 23k MYR) per month, while many citizens lived on far lower wages. One protest incident even involved an online taxi driver being run over by the police, highlighting the bold and unaccountable actions of authorities. 

The novel is set during the Suharto regime and portrays the fear and enforced silence of citizens under authoritarian rule. I was recommended this book by my Indonesian friend. At first, the pace felt slow, but the patience is rewarded by a powerful message at the end. It shows how citizens’ voices were silenced and highlights the importance of intellectuals in raising awareness and advocating for people’s rights. The novel also captures the emotional weight carried by families and victims during the kidnapping tragedy of 1998. The story lingers long after you finish reading. 

A film adaptation is expected to be released this year, and I’m looking forward to watching it. 

MY BRILLIANT FRIEND 

A coming-of-age story about Elena Greco and her best friend Lila Cerullo, growing up in a small neighborhood in Naples, Italy. Both struggle to escape poverty while navigating friendship, family, womanhood, love, and intellectual ambition. The story feels raw and realistic. Though the many family names can be confusing at first, the dynamics of the neighborhood become fascinating once you settle into the rhythm of the narrative. Elena is sometimes criticized as a flawed friend for constantly comparing herself to Lila, but you can’t fully hate her because you understand her insecurities and her point of view. I definitely need to continue the rest of the series.

I guess that’s all from me. I hope one or two titles from this list piqued your interest. If you’re on Goodreads, let’s connect and share our thoughts on books here. See you in my next post!