What Are You Reading?
Two standout reads from 2025 that I'd recommend
I was a voracious reader when I was young, in part because I grew up without a television. Books were my entertainment—and my escape.
These days, I mostly read short content: articles in the NY Times or the Atlantic, Substack blogs, LinkedIn posts (more on this below). The usual stuff.
I still love books, but my eyes are often bigger than my stomach when it comes to them. (Metaphorically speaking, of course.) Case in point: I have a large and ever-growing stack of books I’ve amassed over the past year (or few … cough, cough) that I want to read.
Despite that, my wife and I will undoubtedly find ourselves in one of Seattle’s lovely independent bookstores within the next month, buying a few more.
And yet I want to know …
What have you read recently that you loved? What books should I add to my list for 2026?
My reading preferences tend toward social justice-related nonfiction and autobiographies. I’m listening to more books (64% in 2025) than I’m physically reading these days, but I’m hoping to turn that around this year.
Unlike my 2024 books-in-review post—where I hated on Atomic Habits—most of the books I read in 2025 were good in their own way. Two were real standouts, however:
Some People Need Killing, by Patrica Evangelista. The god-awful title kept me from picking up this book for a long time, but I eventually broke down and listened to it. It. Was. Amazing. Also horrifying, but wow—Evangelista is quite a storyteller. I learned so much that I didn’t know about the Philippines and the extrajudicial killings sanctioned by President Rodrigo Duterte. There are some similarities to the U.S. today (sigh) but also some reason for hope.
Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions, by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey. I technically finished this book in early January, but close enough. Any shred of faith I had in our criminal justice system was completely shattered by this book. Grisham and McCloskey provide detailed accounts of 10 wrongful conviction cases that will absolutely blow your mind. In each case it’s unfathomable how any one of these individuals could have been charged—much less convicted.
My 2025 reads
In total I read one more book in 2025 than in 2024, but not nearly as many as I had hoped coming into the year. Here’s a complete list of books I listened to or read, in alphabetic order:
Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor, Virginia Eubanks (audio)
Creep, Myriam Gurba
Crook Manifesto, Colson Whitehead
Crying in H Mart, Michelle Zauner (audio)
I Hope This Finds You Well, Natalie Sue (audio)
Invisible Women, Caroline Criado-Perez (audio)
Moral Ambition, Rutger Bregman
Presumed Guilty, Scott Turow
Reset: How To Change What’s Not Working, Dan Heath (audio)
Revenge of the Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (audio)
Some People Need Killing, Patricia Evangelista (audio)
The #1 Lawyer, James Patterson (audio)
The Many Lives of Mama Love, Lara Love Hardin (audio)
The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward, Melinda French Gates
What did you read in 2025, and what’s on your reading list for 2026? Inquiring minds want to know!
More on LinkedIn posts
Call it an occupational hazard, but I spend a lot of time on LinkedIn these days.
So it’s surprising that I missed this much-hyped post from Matt Shumer about the imminent disruption coming with AI. I just finished reading it this morning, alongside a thoughtful response from Ann Handley.
And I have So. Many. Thoughts. From my experiences in start-ups—both in the late 1990s and today. From my time as a CIO helping universities navigate technology change. From my experience using AI every day. And from the perspective of what this means for us—and requires from us—as leaders.
But I just read the post and don’t have time to meaningfully reflect on it and capture my thoughts for you. So expect to see more from me on this topic in the near future, hopefully as soon as next week.
It’s an important conversation we need to be having—as humans, as educators and education administrators, and as leaders—and I’m eager to engage with you in it.
If you enjoy Some Guy Named Rae, please share it with a colleague or friend! I’d love to continue to grow a community of like-minded leaders who can learn from each other.