Let me start with the statistics - I read 22 books in 2024, 27 books in 2023 and 22 books in 2022, so this year I read much more than these years - which was intentional, I wanted this year to be the year of reading.

I don't think 52 books in a year is crazy or even that impressive, I could have read 60 this year with no issues, I had 2 weeks I hardly read anything this year since my mom had passed away this year, otherwise I could have read even more.

I read on all platforms - I read physical books, I read e-books on my e-reader devices (I bought this year a Boox Palma and 2 Kindles). I also listened to books via Audible. I had an Audible subscription for 1 book a month but if I would do it again - I would take the 2 books a month option, since no audiobook took me more than 2 weeks to finish.

I don't feel I have any trouble paying attention while reading or while listening to a book, if something happens that needs my attention - I will pause the audio book at once and listen to a podcast instead, I'm very mindful when I listen and I’m not into it and I don't like to not remember the details afterwards and having to go back.

I read a lot during my commute, I took a Kindle with me everyday to work, I also took my Palma in my pocket to read when I have a minute during work hours or when I'm out with my kids, I didn't read a lot that way but at the end of the year I read 52 books so it was worth it.

While I was reading a lot this year, I watched less movies and TV shows and I played less games than the previous year, spare time is scarce and it's up to us to decide what we do with it. This year it was mostly reading.

All I learned is about myself and how I read books, your brain might be wired differently from mine so everything in this article is just a reflection on myself and myself alone.

I did learn that reading for me has two modes, the first, which always comes first, is when I'm reading the words in the book and go over it line by line laboriously until the page is done and I flip to the next page.

Mode two is when I really get into it and it only happens after I read in the first mode for more than 10-15 minutes or so, and in this mode I almost think the words instead of reading them, the story unfolds in my imagination and the actual words and the lines disappear.

This mode is much more fun to read in but harder to get into at will, I also read much faster in the second mode compared to the first one, since I don't need to push myself to do it, it just comes naturally.

I guess this is what some people refer to as "flow state" and it is addictive when it does happen to me.

Also, reading is reading is reading - no matter if it's a physical book, an e-book, an audiobook, a graphic novel, manga or whatever, reading is reading and everyone has his or her own preference, the only books I didn't include in my 52 books are children books since I read about 2-6 of those everyday, I have 2 kids and they also enjoy reading books very much.

I will say that the majority of what I read this year were audiobooks and e-books, since I had many devices that can sync them, it was always just easier to whip out my iPhone, iPad, Kindle or Palma than to remember in advance to bring a book with me everywhere I went.

Having said that, I did become very dependent on Amazon through both the Kindle app (and actual Kindle devices) and the Audible platform (for audiobooks), it's not inherently bad, I just don't like Amazon as a company personally so that's another thing I had to get passed.

This year I did learn the importance of writing myself, I did start journaling privately around my mother's passing (using Everlog on my iPhone), and I also returned to writing publicly by starting this blog.

Writing for me is like the famous Steve Jobs quote about computers being "a bicycle for the mind", when I write through my experience I feel like I better understand it and am better equipped to handle similar situations in the future.

Having said that I did also learn some things about book writing.

Every book on the list below was an excellent read, I'm also adding some "honorable mentions" in there for people who did read those books and crave something similar, if you really like my list and you want to add a recommendation of your own, please add them in the comments below.

I read this one at the start of the year and it was a real eye-opener, it talks about the rise of AI in historical terms, about thinking machines of the past and about other types of emerging networks, biological or not.

If you loved this, also see:

This might be the book I connected with the most, this one is a lighthearted tale about a woman trying to commit suicide in a hotel full of people coming for a weekend wedding. I think it was a very fun read, obviously if weddings or suicides are triggering to you - skip this one.

If you loved this, also see:

As I said earlier, this was the year that my mother passed away. As a result I read a few books about death, about the afterlife and about preparing for death of a loved one. This book is mostly about the afterlife and it was a real eye opener for me, if you are more interested in life and death (and not life AFTER death) then see the 2 other recommendations below.

If you loved this, also see:

A book of short stories by Murakami, you really can't go wrong here and unlike his other books there's no violence or anything to watch out for, just a very casual reading experience.

If you loved this, also see:

A great book about a woman getting back to her collage for a reunion, a collage where she didn't exactly enjoy herself. Little by little we get her collage experience and how it messed her up to present day.

If you loved this, also see:

This is hands-down the best book I ever read about a technology company, this book is about how careless Facebook (Meta) is as a company and how every executive there (including Mark and Sheryl) put the employees’ lives on the line to succeed, above all this book is just very well written.

If you loved this, also see:

A satirical book about a white American author who steals a book from her friend - a Chinese American woman. She publishes the book under her own name even though the book is about ancient Chinese culture.

If you loved this, also see:

A book about Apple's creative process, at first it's about making the Safari Browser for the Mac and than about making keyboards for the touchscreen iPhone and iPad, the developer who wrote this book is very good at explaining what he did in non-technical terms and it was a fun read.

If you loved this, also see:

This is the first book of a 2-part series (part 3 might come in the future) and it's a very good book about status quo and how people get mad when it's broken without warning. The book is about aliens so it might be triggering to some people.

If you loved this, also see:

It's just a great book, everything I'll say will spoil it, just go read it and than read the other books in this section's recommendations, John Green is the only author I recommend twice in this list (other than Murakami)

If you loved this, also see:

Reading a lot isn’t easy at first but it does pay off as you feel good about yourself and your mind is filled with knowledge and adventures from the comfort of your own home.

Once you make it a habit and you read in every spare moment you have, it becomes hard to stop doing that, reading becomes the thing you do - it even becomes your identity.

As a result you will watch less movies, play less games or go out to eat less - whatever you usually do with your free time - you’ll do less of it, so don't get into it thinking you can cram it all in, you can't.

Next year I hope to read a bit less but to write a bit more, that’s why I started this blog after all.

Let’s see if I could make writing into a habit in 2026.

If you read any of these books or if you liked my recommendations please let me know either in the comments or on Threads - a link to my Threads account.