Our favorite reads this holiday season
With the holiday season in full swing, we’re delighted to share our roundup of books we loved this year. Whether you’re relaxing at home, traveling, or need a last-minute gift, we hope this list offers something memorable.
As 2025 comes to a close, we hope you find a quiet moment to unwind with one of our favorites. Each selection has been carefully curated by our team to capture our best reads this season.
From all of us, we wish you a joyful holiday season and a wonderful New Year!
– The MERU Team
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The Overstory The Overstory intertwines the lives of characters bound, in different ways, to the power of trees. Through their converging journeys, the novel becomes a profound meditation on the living world we too often overlook.
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Unreasonable Hospitality Unreasonable Hospitality shares Will Guidara’s philosophy that generous and genuine service can transform any business. Drawing on his experience at Eleven Madison Park, Guidara shows how going above and beyond creates memorable moments and lasting loyalty.
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The Predictioneer's Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and Shape the Future The Predictioneer’s Gamedemonstrates how game theory can be used to predict human behavior, revealing how self-interest and incentives make outcomes more predictable – and even influenceable – across politics, business, and diplomacy.
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The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life Brooks shares insights on work and life, arguing that real fulfillment comes not from chasing success or money but from meaningful relationships, purposeful work, and a sense of belonging to something larger than yourself.
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn A timeless coming-of-age novel following Francie Nolan as she navigates poverty, resilience, and hope in early 20th-century Brooklyn. With quiet lyricism, Smith reminds readers that people can bloom in the toughest places.
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1929 A deeply researched account of the Wall Street Crash, bringing to life the personalities and decisions that fueled one of history’s most dramatic market collapses.
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Table for Two Returning to the world of Rules of Civility, Towles offers a set of elegant New York vignettes that follow how lives shift in unexpected and often quietly revealing ways.
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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance follows a father and son on a cross-country ride while exploring the deeper meaning of “quality.” Pirsig blends practical moments with quiet philosophy, encouraging a more patient, curious approach to everyday life.
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When the Going Was Good Graydon Carter recounts his years at Vanity Fair, capturing the glamour, personalities, and intrigue of an era in magazine publishing. Through stories of Anna Wintour, Spy magazine, and Deep Throat, he offers a wistful, nostalgic portrait of New York City.
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Running with Sherman: The Donkey with the Heart of a Hero The true story of a sick and abused donkey and the family who rescues him. Their unlikely journey into Pack Burro racing reveals the transformative power of perseverance, compassion, and the bond between humans and animals.
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Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly Anthony Bourdain’s raw and witty memoir of life in professional kitchens. From his rise in the culinary world to the chaotic, often illicit antics behind the scenes, Bourdain divulges the dark culture that shapes chefs and the food they create.
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Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco A chronicle of the 1988 battle for RJR Nabisco – the largest takeover in Wall Street history – marked by brazen ego and enduring as the ultimate story of greed, glory, and the dealmaking frenzy that reshaped modern finance.
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HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership HBR gathers foundational ideas from leading thinkers, including Peter Drucker’s classic “What Makes an Effective Executive.” The collection distills lessons on vision, decision-making, emotional intelligence, and building teams, offering a compact guide to what great leaders consistently do well. |
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