Is Reading Books Still Worth It in 2025?

The Big Question

My friend just “read” 10 books on his commute this week.

How? 15-minute AI-generated summaries at 2x speed.

It got me thinking, and let’s be honest: in 2025, why would anyone bother reading a full book?

We’re drowning in content. We have AI that can summarize War and Peace into five bullet points. We have YouTube videos, podcasts, and masterclasses that promise to teach us everything faster.

So, is sitting down with a 300-page book just an inefficient, outdated ritual?

The Trap We All Fell Into

Here’s the problem: We started treating reading like a competition. It became another metric for our “productivity.” and sometimes even false promises.

Reading for some people, became about consumption and completion, not understanding or transformation.

And that’s precisely why we’re burned out on it. We’re confusing “finishing” a book with “learning” from it.

The Great Divide: Information vs. Transformation

I’ve realized there are really only two kinds of reading. And we’re using the wrong strategy for both.

1. Books for INFORMATION (The “What”)

These are the “how-to” books. The 800-page technical manuals. The business books that repeat one single idea for 250 pages.

• 101 Digital Marketing Hacks
• The Complete Guide to React 19
• That new business book about “synergy”

In my honest opinion, for these books, the new tools are probably better.

That 800-page tech book? It’s already outdated. The official docs and a few targeted YouTube tutorials are 100x more efficient. That business book? A service like Blinkist or an AI summary will give you the one core idea.

For these IT, Digital Marketing books, maybe reading a summary is the best approach.

2. Books for TRANSFORMATION (The “Why”)

Then, there are the other books. The ones that don’t just give you facts; they rewire your brain.

They’re the ones that challenge your worldview. They make you argue with the author in your head. They sit with you for weeks.

• Man’s Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck - Mark Manson (One of my favorites when I was younger)
• Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
• Sapiens - Yuval Noah Harari
• The Courage to Be Disliked - Ichiro Kishimi

You cannot get the “key insights” from these. The “insight” is the entire experience of reading it.

You can’t summarize a perspective shift. You can’t get empathy from a bullet list. You have to sit with the ideas. Let them marinate.

These are the books that are still worth your time. All of it.

So, What’s the Real Value in 2025?

If summaries are good for information, why bother with the transformational books?

1. It Rebuilds Your Attention Span: Let’s be real. Our brains are being rewired by 1-minute videos full of jump-cuts and non-stop notifications. Our attention span is “cooked”. Reading is the antidote. Sitting with a single, non-blinking task for an hour isn’t just a superpower; it’s active mental repair. It’s mental crossfit for your focus.

2. It Teaches You How to Think: A summary gives you the final answer. A good book shows you the process the messy, winding path of an argument. You learn how to build your own arguments, not just repeat someone else’s.

3. It Develops Empathy: Reading fiction or a good biography is the closest thing we have to telepathy. It forces you to live inside someone else’s head. You can’t get that from a “Top 10 Takeaways” video.

My “Reading” Manifesto for 2025

So, is reading books worth it?

Yes. But I’m ruthless about what I read.

What’s Worth Your Full Attention:

• Wisdom & Spiritual Texts: If you wake up and like to read the Bible, or any text that centers you, DO IT. That process will make you better long before any “productivity hack” book will.

• Philosophy & Perspectives: Books that change how you see the world. Read them slowly.

• Classic Literature: Stories that explore why humans are the way they are.

• Fantasy books that transport you to another world. Just like movies, video games, or TV shows, they give your brain a break from reality while still engaging your imagination.

• Dense Biographies: See how other people navigated their own chaos.

• Challenging Essays: Anything that makes you feel a little uncomfortable.

• Books that Make You Argue: If a book makes you want to argue with the author, it’s worth it. Engage with it.

What’s Not (Just get the summary):

• Most “Productivity” Books: You know this stuff. Wake up early, make a list.
• Pop-Science/Business Books: The ones that could have been a 20-page article.
• Technical Manuals: Use Project Gutenberg for classics, but use official docs for code.

Final Thought

We’re drowning in information but starving for wisdom.

Maybe the solution isn’t to read more, faster. Maybe it’s to read less, but better.

The goal isn’t to consume more content. It’s to find the few ideas that are worth sitting with. A book also can be a sanctuary in a noisy world.

That 600-page tech manual? Maybe, as a programmer for example, do you really need to read Clean Code to know how to write better code?

But that 150-page philosophy book that makes my head hurt? Yes. That’s the one. I’m reading that.

That’s why books are still worth it.