Hello, I'm Julia.

Here's a quick rundown of all the books I read in 2025. Books I particularly enjoyed and would recommend are in bold. Total books read: 37. Non-fiction: 8. Fiction 29.

• Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes, #1) by Travis Baldree
  Who knew that cosy fantasy was a thing! This book was a lovely, heart-warming way to start the new year. I loved the description of the coffee shop, and more specifically, the cinnamon rolls.

• Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1) by Amie Kaufman
  The story is told through a dossier of documents and I found myself enjoying piecing the story together through the different viewpoints and media formats. The actual plot of the story was also pretty good, and I was quite engrossed, wanting to know how it all ends.

• The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot, #4) by Agatha Christie
  I've never read an Agatha Christie, and this seems to be listed as one of her best so I gave it a shot. I didn't expect much but did enjoy it. Very much a classic mystery - reminded me a lot of the boardgame Cluedo.

• Tintin au Congo (Tintin #2) by Hergé
  This hasn’t aged well at all.

• Million Dollar Weekend: The Surprisingly Simple Way to Launch a 7-Figure Business in 48 Hours by Noah Kagan
  A quick and practical read for anyone wanting to get into entrepreneurship. Can literally be read in a weekend, including working through the tasks. Highly recommended if you're looking for a kick start.

• The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI by Fei-Fei Li
  This is superb. Simultaneously an uplifting memoir and a technology book on a brief history of AI. I'd been following a bit of Dr. Li's work here and there, but having now learnt more about her background and all the things she's overcome, it's fair to say I'm now a massive fan. Hugely inspiring.

• Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari
  An excellent book, arguing the case for why we need to think about how to manage and regulate AI now, while we still can. History shows us that while we can unite as one, more often than not, we choose to try to gain power over one another. We will need to be united in our approach towards managing AI, if we don't want to descend into a dystopian future.

• Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You by Ali Abdaal
  The underlying premise of the book is a good one. The author also writes in a light and accessible way, making this a quick and easy read. There wasn’t anything new that I learnt in this book, but it does pull together a bunch of different ideas into a single book.

• Us Against You (Beartown, #2) by Fredrik Backman
  It’s nice following up on such memorable characters from the first book. I normally forget about characters fairly quickly but it’s a testament to the poignant and emotive writing of Backman’s that I could just pick this book up months after reading book 1 and feel like no time has passed.

• Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
  This was another really good Backman read. On the face of it, it’s a quirky read with a bunch of funny characters. Dig a little deeper though and you’ll find a story that’s a hard-hitting commentary on today’s big-city-living society. Some of the themes it touches on are family, no-context judgments on others and communication in spousal relationships.

• Orbital by Samantha Harvey
  Truthfully, I found this book a little dull. Nothing really happens and characters are not particularly memorable (apart from one). What kept me reading was my minor obsession with all things space, picturing myself as one of the astronauts, and what it might be like to view earth from the ISS based on the vivid descriptions provided.There were some beautiful observations made in parts, but all in all, I’m rating this 3/5 stars as I felt there was a lot of repetitive nothingness going on for a lot of the book.

• We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1) by Richard Osman
  Similar in tone and levity to the Thursday Murder Club series, which I love. Whilst I didn't think the mystery behind the story was as good, I preferred the main characters in this book and am looking forward to the next one.

• The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
  Just reading the synopsis, I knew this book would be right up my alley. This is a sci-fi ‘lite’ rom-com book with some really lovable characters. I didn’t worry too much about the logic behind how time travel works in this world, and just sat back and enjoyed the writing style, characters and the humour that underpins the entire book. My one criticism would be the pacing of the book, which I felt was really tail-end heavy. The ending was good though, and left me wanting just a little bit more, and also feeling a little melancholy and reflective.

• Butter by Asako Yuzuki
  I was a bit hesitant to pick this up, especially after seeing some of the lukewarm reviews on Goodreads—but I ended up really enjoying it. Asako Yuzuki uses food not just as a backdrop, but as a lens to explore deeper themes like loneliness, societal judgment, and the impossible expectations placed on women. The culinary writing was a highlight for me — all that talk of high-quality butter and carbs (with soy sauce?) made me genuinely want to try those combinations myself. While some parts of the story felt a little “out there,” I was drawn in by the characters’ journeys and appreciated the broader message the author was trying to convey.

• Learn French with Paul Noble - Part 3 by Paul Noble
  Very good for getting used to colloquial French.

• The Software Engineer's Guidebook: Navigating senior, tech lead, and staff engineer positions at tech companies and startups by Gergely Orosz
  A good reference book to have on hand for things to keep in mind as a software engineer progresses through their career.

• The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack
  The book takes the reader through 5 ways in which the universe might end, based on current knowledge, in a fun and engaging way. Along the way, the reader is introduced to core principles in physics and cosmology, what evidence there is and how we (humanity) have gotten to this current state of knowledge.

• The MANIAC by Benjamín Labatut
  I love this genre, whatever it is. I'm not entirely sure where the line is drawn between fact and fiction, but I loved the progression going from science of the past, leading on to the future of AI.

• Consider Phlebas (Culture, #1) by Iain M. Banks
  I’d rate this 3.5. I really enjoyed the start but thought the ending dragged on a bit. I quite liked the different races and just how epic and rich the universe is. I’ll be reading the second book next, though I’m not sure how related it actually is.

• The Player of Games (Culture #2) by Iain M. Banks
  Enjoyed this a lot more than the first book of the Culture series. This is sci-fi like I’ve never read before - wholly imaginative, completely different and yet not overly far fetched. This sucked me in from the first chapter.

• The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks
  Entertaining but not that inventive in its plot twists. Perhaps I've been reading too many books in this genre. 😅

• Dawn (Xenogenesis, #1) by Octavia E. Butler
  Picked this up on a whim and loved it. I found it to be a really smooth read, with some interesting ideas portrayed through the story (some of which made me feel quite uncomfortable). Looking forward to reading the next book in the series to see how some of these themes develop.

• In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad #1) by Tana French
  Dragged on in the first part of the book but glad I ultimately pushed through to the end. Looking for a new crime series to get into so will give the next book in the series a go.

• Adulthood Rites (Lilith's Brood, #2) by Octavia E. Butler
  I loved the first book and liked this one. I did enjoy reading what I felt to be a realistic portrayal of human behaviour, depressing as it was.

• Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less (Revised and Updated) by Jim Vandehei
  Good tips but a very long drawn out book. Ironically.

• Tintin au Tibet by Hergé
  Read this to help improve my French. Didn’t particularly love it but happy I understood it for the most part.

• The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1) by Becky Chambers
  This was such a nice change in pace for a sci-fi book. It was really cozy and thoughtful, filled with a mismatch bunch of characters, all dealing with their own thing. I also loved the different species in this universe, and AI as a sentient being.

• Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
  Touched on some interesting themes like what one would do for money, single parenthood, sex work and erroneous first impressions.

• The Likeness (Dublin Murder Squad #2) by Tana French
  I enjoyed this more than the first book in the series. The mystery kept going right to the end, and I found the main character to be really well thought out. Excited to carry on with the next in the series.

• The Hallmarked Man (Cormoran Strike, #8) by Robert Galbraith
  Loved it! Never fails to entertain.

• The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon, #6) by Dan Brown
  Interesting premise, poor storyline. Found this slightly bland and had to laugh at times, at how predictable some of the characters were.

• Awareness by Anthony DeMello
  Light-hearted and easy to read. A good reminder on Vipassana principles and how to cultivate a deeper awareness.

• Parable of the Sower (Earthseed, #1) by Octavia E. Butler
  Another really enjoyable read from Octavia E. Butler. A highly relevant book for our times.

• Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #1) by Louise Penny
  Very cozy murder mystery. Not wholly my sort of thing, but still quite enjoyable.

• Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
  I didn't know what to expect from this, as I'd never read anything by the author before and hadn't read the synopsis. It started a little bit slow but once I got into the rhythm of it, began to really enjoy just the nothingness of it all. Nothing "big" ever happens, but interesting enough things are happening in the day-to-day, where if observed by a curious mind, is enough.

• Faithful Place (Dublin Murder Squad #3) by Tana French
  Enjoyed it but found it took a while to get going. Pacing got a lot better once the mystery started clicking into place so worth the wait. I think this is where I’ll stop with the series though.

• Malice (The Detective Kaga Series) by Keigo Higashino
  I wanted a good Japanese crime mystery to get stuck into whilst on holiday, and knew that Keigo Higashino wouldn't disappoint (I love his Galileo series). This was quite different, and reminded me a little of Death Note, in the back and forth plays of the 2 main characters. Really enjoyed it and glad I have a new series to get into.

• Objectif Lune (Tintin, #16) by Hergé
  The best Tintin adventure I've read in French so far. Looking forward to the continuation of the adventure.