Reading Notes

I read (sometimes reread) across economics, history, politics, science, and fiction (and everything else that interests me). This page collects brief notes on books (or other forms such as PhD thesis) I have found illuminating, enjoyable, or worth revisiting (for complete list every year, see my old website).

2025

In Defense of Public Debt — Barry Eichengreen et al. (2021)

Non-fiction | economic history | macroeconomics

A clear and historically grounded argument against simplistic alarmism over public debt. The book is persuasive not because it dismisses risks, but because it shows that the consequences of debt depend on institutions, credibility, and context.

Why We Fight — Christopher Blattman (2022)

Non-fiction | political economy | conflict

Blattman combines the instincts of a political scientist with the discipline of an economist. A very useful framework for thinking about conflict not as an inevitable eruption of hatred, but as a problem of incentives, bargaining, and miscalculation.

Economical Writing — Deirdre McCloskey (2019)

Non-fiction | writing | economics

A book I return to from time to time. McCloskey writes with clarity, wit, and a strong sense that good economics also depends on good prose.

The Story of China — Michael Wood (2020)

Non-fiction | history

An ambitious and richly detailed survey of Chinese civilization. Dense in places, but rewarding for readers who want a long historical view rather than a narrow contemporary one.

Apple in China — Patrick McGee (2025)

Non-fiction | business | China

A vivid account of the deep interdependence between Apple and China. Beyond the company story, it is also a useful book about production networks, technological capability, and geopolitical constraint.

Our Dollar, Your Problem — Kenneth Rogoff (2025)

Non-fiction | international political economy | finance

Part analysis of dollar dominance, part intellectual memoir. Rogoff manages to make a large geopolitical and monetary question feel both analytically sharp and personally observed.

The People in the Trees — Hanya Yanagihara (2013)

Fiction

A disturbing and compelling novel built around discovery, power, and moral corruption. Less sprawling than some of Yanagihara’s later work, but no less unsettling.

Pengakuan Pariyem — Linus Suryadi AG (1978)

Fiction | Indonesia

A lyrical work that reads almost like an extended poem. Its treatment of gender, class, and Javanese social hierarchy remains striking.

Senyum Karyamin — Ahmad Tohari (1989)

Fiction | Indonesia | short stories

Tohari’s stories are simple only on the surface. Their rural settings and quiet tone make the social tensions underneath feel even stronger.

The Art of Travel — Alain de Botton (2004)

Non-fiction | essays

A reflective and very readable meditation on why we travel, and what we expect travel to do for us. One of de Botton’s more graceful books.

Other books read in 2025

The following titles were also part of my 2025 reading. Brief comments on each can be found here

Sri Mulyani Indrawati — Metta Dharmasaputra (2024); Merlin’s Tour of the Universe — Neil deGrasse Tyson (2004); The Selfish Gene — Richard Dawkins (1976); Pengantin-pengantin Loki Tua — Yusi A Pareanom (2023); A Concise Guide to Macroeconomics — David A Moss (2007); Obrolan Sukab — Seno G Ajidarma (2023); Memories of Muhammad — Omid Safi (2009); Ny Talis — Budi Darma (1996); The Geography of Genius — Eric Weiner (2016); The Greek Lesson — Han Kang (2024); Is Southeast Asia a Solution for Manufacturers Relocating out of China? — Lai Chun Chieh (2025, UC PhD Thesis); Perdagangan dan Industri dalam Pembangunan — Sumitro Djojohadikusumo (1985); Teori Ekonomi dan Kebijaksanaan Pembangunan — Hendra Esmara (ed) (1987); Science, Resources and Development — Sumitro Djojohadikusumo (1977); Dasar Teori Ekonomi Pertumbuhan dan Ekonomi Pembangunan — Sumitro Djojohadikusumo (1994); Memorial Days — Geraldine Brooks (2025); House of Huawei — Eva Dou (2025); The Nvidia Way — Tae Kim (2025); Why Politicians Lie about Trade — Dmitry Grozoubinzki (2025); Practice Beyond the Posture — Abdulvahid Coskun (2025); How to Lie with Statistics — Darrell Huff (1954); Fever Dream — Samantha Schweblin (2017); Breakneck — Dan Wang (2025); Abundance — D Thomson & E Klein (2025); Breaking Through — Katalin Kariko (2023); Charaiveti — Pranab Bardhan (2024); A Culture of Growth — Joel Mokyr (2018); Replaceable You — Mary Roach (2025); The Art and Science of Judo — J Watanabe & L Avakian (2022); 84 Yoga Asanas — Buddha Bose (2015); Southeast Asia’s Development Towards Liberal Individualism and Inclusive Governance — Bryan Cheang (ed) (2025); Stepchildren of the Progress — Kathryn Robinson (1983, ANU PhD Thesis); Shared Prosperity in Fractured World — Dani Rodrik (2025); Revolusi — David van Reybrouck (2020); No One is Too Small to Make a Difference — Greta Thunberg (2019); Violent Saviours — William Easterly (2025); Hope for Autoimmune Diseases — A Chrapkiewicz & J Lane (2020); Exile Economics — Ben Chu (2025); Breakfast at Tiffany’s — Truman Capote (1950); The Rise of China’s Industrial Policy — Barry Naughton (2021).