What’s Oaktree Reading? 2025 Year-End Book Recommendations

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

Priya Prasad-Bowe

Head of Strategic Development, Multi-Strategy Private Credit

This science fiction novel follows a young girl growing up in Philadelphia who discovers she’s an alien sent to figure out if Earth is a livable alternative to her home planet. Yet the heart of the story unfolds in her everyday interactions and the little details she observes that make the world around her feel so alive and vivid. It’s surreal, observant, and unexpectedly moving, but ultimately hopeful.

For Blood and Money: Billionaires, Biotech, and the Quest for a Blockbuster Drug by Nathan Vardi

Alex Chan

Vice President, Life Sciences Lending

For Blood and Money chronicles a group of scientists, financiers, and dealmakers chasing a groundbreaking blood cancer therapy and the enormous profits that followed. Vardi skilfully captures the dynamic personalities behind the science and the capital markets that fuel it. It’s both a vivid portrait of how value is created in the biotech ecosystem and a cautionary tale, especially for those involved in life-sciences finance!

The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina

Kaitlyn Thayer

Associate, Global Convertibles

The Phone Booth at The Edge of the World follows Yui, a woman who loses her mother and daughter in the 2011 tsunami that hit Japan. Though fictional, the novel is inspired by the real “Wind Phone” in Otsuchi, which is thought to allow people to communicate with loved ones they’ve lost. As Yui navigates the ups and downs of life after unimaginable loss, the story gently captures how grief is intensely personal, while still leaving room for hope, connection, and healing.

Mark Twain by Ron Chernow

Jared Parker

Co-Head of North America, Global Opportunities

Perhaps no American has been as prodigious a writer nor coined as many memorable one-liners as Sam Clemons, better known as Mark Twain. This biography illuminates the inspiration behind Twain’s writing and details his lifelong fascination with, and failure to achieve, success in business and investing. If you’ve got the patience, Chernow’s 1,200 pages offer a detailed portrait of one of the quintessential Gilded Age Americans. As Twain said, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.”

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

Phil Joubert

Head of Insurance Solutions, APAC

Our Wives Under the Sea is a beautiful, elegiac meditation on loss and grief, as well as the horrors which lurk in the unexplored depths of the ocean. Alternating chapters follow Leah, a marine biologist on a deep-sea submarine expedition, and Miri, her wife, who must look after her when she returns months later and slowly turns into something non-human, something of the sea. Armfield’s debut novel is one for fans of contemplative, “elevated” horror.

The Five Types of Wealth by Sahil Bloom

Katie Boivin

Vice President, Fund Accounting & Operations

The Five Types of Wealth offers a thoughtful framework for redefining success beyond just financial metrics. Bloom breaks wealth into five dimensions – financial, social, time, physical, and mental – encouraging a more holistic view of what it means to live a balanced and purposeful life. This book is a quick, insightful read that sparks meaningful reflection and conversation, and importantly, reminds us to invest intentionally not just in our portfolios, but in our lives.

Slanting Towards the Sea by Lidija Hilje

Suzana Perić

Co-Head of Sourcing & Origination

This is a beautifully written novel about ordinary people searching for purpose while navigating life’s ups and downs. While the plot may seem simple, it carries a deeper emotional weight: regret, grief, disappointment, and longing sit alongside hope, optimism, and untapped potential. Set on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast – a landscape tied to my Croatian heritage – Hilje captures the wild beauty and warmth of her country while also showing the social and political pressures that shape her characters’ lives.

North to the Future: An Offline Adventure Through the Changing Wilds of Alaska by Ben Weissenbach

Todd Molz

Chief Operating Officer

At the age of twenty-one and armed with limited wilderness experience, the Los Angeles-born writer ventures into the wilds of Alaska alongside a group of bold scientists. Along the way he abandons the glow of screens for nights spent in -49 °F permafrost cabins and miles-long treks across the Brooks Range. Weissenbach ultimately offers a beautifully rendered adventure memoir that doubles as a meditation on technology, nature, and what it means to reconnect with the real world.

Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present by Fareed Zakaria

Devon Presutti

Associate, Marketing & Communications

In Age of Revolutions, Fareed Zakaria examines how simultaneous political, cultural, economic, and technological shifts are fundamentally reshaping the global landscape. To understand why we may be living in the most revolutionary period in modern history, Zakaria carefully evaluates three past revolutions to illuminate the forces redefining the 21^st century. At a time of such uncertainty, this book offers a historically grounded lens for interpreting unprecedented disruption.

Who Knew by Barry Diller

Han Hu

Senior Vice President, U.S. High Yield Bonds

Barry Diller’s memoir details his incredible journey from talent-agency mailroom to building his own media empire. As someone that loves the world of media and content, I was captivated by the stories of the many influential figures he came across that are still shaping how we consume entertainment today. What surprised me most was Diller’s candor, writing about his personal life and struggles with a refreshing level of detail that I’ve rarely seen in a business titan’s memoir.