My 5 Favorite Books (& Bookstores!) of 2025

If you like what I’ve been writing this year, you'll love what I’ve been reading! Here are my favorite books of 2025.

If you like what I’ve been writing this year, I thought you might also like what I’ve been reading! As for bookstores, I love them so much I got married in one. So, along with my favorite books of 2025, I present my 5 favorite bookstores!

The Immortal King Rao by Vauhini Vara (2022)

A tech genius builds a trillion-dollar company and creates an algorithm to govern society, only to have his daughter question everything he built. In our current moment of AI governance debates and algorithmic decision-making, Vara’s exploration of what happens when we outsource human judgment to algorithms feels unnervingly prescient. This story of class, capitalism, and technology will continue to haunt you long after the one weekend it takes you to read it.

Bookstore: McNally Jackson Books – New York, NY

McNally Jackson has the most incredible selection of international fiction I’ve ever seen. At the downtown store, they have a flowchart of recommended reading that helped me find numerous great next reads.

Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City by Andrea Elliott (2021)

A journalist spent all of the 2010’s following a young girl, Dasani, and her family as they navigate New York City’s shelter system. On any given page, Dasani’s story vacillates from heart-wrenching, inspiring, painful, to hopeful. With honesty, empathy, and nuance, this is a beautifully written exploration of how multigenerational trauma, systemic racism, and policy failures compound in ways that make “bootstrapping” not just difficult but often impossible.

Bookstore: The Strand – New York, NY

The legendary Strand, with its “18 Miles of Books,” remains an essential pilgrimage site for all readers, where the sheer volume and variety means you can still get lost for hours. A special shout out to the young adults section upstairs, where my daughter blew 5 years of allowance in one afternoon.

We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite by Musa al-Gharbi (2024)

Al-Gharbi argues that the professional class uses “wokeness” not to dismantle inequality but to justify their own elite status—symbolic activism as a substitute for material redistribution. As corporate DEI initiatives get dismantled while economic inequality widens, his thesis that progressive rhetoric often obscures rather than addresses class divisions feels increasingly relevant. This book makes for often uncomfortable, but certainly thought-provoking reading.

Bookstore: Mahogany Books – National Harbor, MD

This cozy bookstore offers a diverse collection that centers voices and stories often marginalized in mainstream publishing, from history and sociology to fiction and children’s books.

Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America by Bridget Read (2024)

Reading like a long Atlantic article, Little Bosses exposes the multilevel marketing industry—companies like Amway, Mary Kay, and Herbalife—as a political project with deep ties to right-wing ideologues that has enriched powerful families while eroding the social safety net. In a nuanced, accessible way, Read traces how the multi-level marketing industry has shaped American capitalism itself, convincing millions that their financial struggles stem from insufficient hustle rather than structural inequality.

Bookstore: Princeton University Store – Princeton, NJ

Unlike other college bookstores I’ve visited recently, Princeton still displays course material for anyone who happens to wander by! You can (as I do every time I happen to drive through New Jersey) leave with a semester’s worth of reading on whatever esoteric topic nearest and dearest to your heart.

Who Loves You Best by Marilyn Simon Rothstein (2024)

This fourth novel by Marilyn Simon Rothstein follows three grandmas vying, in often hilarious ways, for their beloved granddaughter’s preference. The book balances humor with emotion, exploring the complexity of mother-daughter relationships, while keeping the story engaging and ultimately hopeful about finding boundaries without losing connection. The book also benefits from an excellent acknowledgements section that’s worth reading in its own right.

Bookstore: Lakeville Books and Stationery – Great Barrington, MA

This bookstore just opened in 2025. What’s more delightful and cozy than a brand new independent bookstore, where you can still smell the fresh paint while browsing for

books? A well-curated selection and great spot for gift buying.

Wishing you and your loved ones a cozy holiday filled with long books and lots of cocoa :)

Ms. Money is written by Marisa Rothstein, JD, CFP(t), AEP, and Lead Financial Advisor at Siena Private Wealth, A Member of Advisory Services Network, LLC.

Nothing contained in this article should be construed as investment, legal or tax advice. Consult your tax or legal advisor regarding your situation. To learn more about Siena Private Wealth, visit: www.sienaprivate.com. All information contained herein is derived from sources deemed to be reliable but cannot be guaranteed. All views/opinions expressed in this newsletter are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views/opinions held by Advisory Services Network, LLC.