My 2019 Booklist (and How I Read)

In 2019, I learned one great way to read more is to find a book that I can't put down. When I find such a book, such as Loonshots, His Dark Material, Dune, and Bad Blood, I use every opportunity to read it. Waiting for the bus, commuting, eating alone.

While that might sound simple, the hard part is to keep putting down books that don't interest me. Since young, I was taught to finish books from cover to cover. I'm sure you learned that, too. So starting a book and moving on to another book before finishing the first book felt wrong. And when I don't enjoy the book, I stop enjoying the process of reading. I scroll through social media in my free time instead.

To get over this, I tell myself there are so many great books that I wouldn't be able to finish all of them even if I read only the great ones. Spending my time on anything subpar means less time on the better ones. I also learned there's a timing for reading books. Some books are better when I read them during certain periods of my life. Maybe the book I'm reading is a great book but if now isn't the best time to read it, I put it down. For example, I know The Intelligent Investor is a high-quality book. But I'm not prioritizing investing now. So I stopped.

Social media apps have an interesting effect on how much I read. Because most social media content is bite-sized, it is tempting to scroll through the feeds when I have "only" five to 10 minutes to spare. But five minutes here, ten minutes there add up to a lot of reading time. I realized this when I deleted the social media apps from my phone. The amount of time I spent reading shot up.

Most of the books I read in 2019 were hardcopy books. While I prefer the convenience of reading on my Kindle, I discovered more interesting books by going to the bookstores. And I found joy in holding physical books, too. I'll probably still read on my Kindle because it's challenging to reading a physical book while trying to eat. (I read during most lunches.)

Reading in 2020 is already off to a good start. I have completed three books that I couldn't put down (The Secret Commonwealth: The Book of Dust Volume Two, Zero to One, and Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage). I also have a pile of books on my living room table that I can't wait to get to (Super Pumped, Becoming, The Ride of A Lifetime, and The Paleo Diet for Athletes).

If you have read a book that you can't put down, please let me know!

My 2019 booklist

Completed (⭐: will recommend)

Didn't finish (👀: want to pick it up again someday)

Bought but not read