Summer Reading List 2025

Nonfiction

Antifragility by Nassim Taleb

I'm hoping this book will give me some food for thought when dealing with the unknown. I was already able to gain a lot of insight into statistics and probabilities from “Fooled by Randomness”. This knowledge, projected onto the current, uncertain times, promises many aha moments.

Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

I have the English edition of this book. It certainly depends on the subtleties of the language, which won't be so easy for me in English. However, I already experienced last year that I have more peace on holiday, read more slowly, and thus even complex issues are accessible to me in English. I'm excited to see what I can take away from this book.

Rapt – Attention and the Focused Life by Winifred Gallagher

I became aware of this book through the book “Make Time”. According to Gallagher, the key to a high-quality life lies in our attention and how we choose to focus it. That sounds too good and simple. I'll follow up.

Spark – How exercise will improve the performance of your brain by John Ratey and Eric Hagermann

The book has a rather sensationalist premise. Using brain exercises – comparable to going to the gym – I'm supposed to tune my brain for peak performance. If it works, great; if not, then I've tried it, during the holiday season, I'll have the peace of mind to get involved. I'll report back with a review – as “The Brain” I became.

The Notebook – A History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Allen

This book is a philosophical commentary on the influence a blank page of paper has had on art and science in the past and will have in the future. As someone who keeps a handwritten diary and has felt the magic of such a blank page of paper since childhood, I'm curious to see what Roland will come up with.

Fantasy Series

The Way of the Ranger

I deliberately saved these wonderful books for the summer. They've been on my shelf since the beginning of the year, and I'm eagerly awaiting to continue to read the story of the Panthers. It's going to be a feast – volumes 16 to 18 will definitely be devoured!

The Dungeon Hunter

Looking at the top-rated Amazon fantasy novels has opened my eyes to several new book series. Among them is The Dungeon Hunter. I suspect that after reading one book, I'll be curious to see what happens next, which is why I've packed the next two. Even though there's a risk that I'll be annoyed that I didn't pack more, the risk of getting fed up with the series after two volumes is too great for me.

Dead Dungeon

It's a similar story with this new series. Since the volumes are shorter and the plot captivated me so much, I picked up the next three. It's wonderful to follow the Dungeon Master as he lures ever-new heroes into his lair to torture them.

Shadow Elves

This series was my “Ways of the Ranger” replacement. I had to take my time getting used to the characters, but the plot twists and hero's journeys are entertaining. That's why I picked up the last two volumes to conclude the series.

Conclusion

Choosing some books was easy for me, but others were much more difficult than expected. In any case, I know that I'll be annoyed (at least briefly) that I didn't pack one or two books more. But all the alternatives are promising, and I won't be able to do them all. This way, I'll have many stunning moments with my books. And I also want to play board games, swim, run, throw Frisbee, and take in some scenery. With that in mind, have a wonderful summer.