Goal

My goal this year was to read more books. One a month. To be honest, the planning was very fuzzy so I can hardly remember what I set out to do. The brainstorming featured piano, personal projects, drawing, and reading. By the time I remembered in November, the most reasonable seemed to be reading a book a month, making me 10 books behind.

Reasoning

So why reading? My past goals have been related to improvement, usually with some aspect of work. I’ve obtained a consistent exercise routine, optimized my productivity, improved my planning & design skills, and documentation. At this point, I feel like I produce pretty good artifacts but I have the one shame, I don’t read good.

There is some documentation that I read religiously ¹, but for the most part, I hack and slash to get what I want. This is my primary approach. I don’t have any plans to change it, but I think there’s headroom to improve what I take away from technical documentation.

So, why not set a goal on reading documentation and technical material? For one, I’ve liked the idea of adding some fiction reading to my routine. I haven’t voluntarily read a work of fiction in … at least 15 years. And for two, why can’t I read a goddamn book! I can scroll through heaps of Hacker News, YouTube, Reddit, audiobooks but only manage to read about one or two non fiction books per year.

Progress

By the time I remembered my reading goal in November, I had read 0.1 books. It is now mid December and I have finished 5 books. This puts me at a 41% with a trajectory of finishing at 50% with a moderate possibility of 100% depending on how I spend my weekend.

So, based on the numbers, I did not do well this year. On the other hand, I did also read some papers sometime in the middle of the year and the reading of fiction has improved my ability to focus.

Findings

Reading Speed

I can now read pretty fast sometimes.

Earlier this year, I tried to slog through “The Metamorphosis & Other Stories” by Franz Kafka. The style and ideas from the short stories were psychedelic and delightful. However, I managed to read only 10% after a few days and struggled to keep my mind focused. My second attempt in November was easier but it still required plenty of discipline. However, as the book went on, it became easier for me to keep focus. I finished the book in roughly 1.5 weeks (I think). Give my effort, this was frustratingly slow. Reading long stretches without zoning out was exhausting.

The most recent read, “Hollow Kingdom” by Kira Jane Buxton, took me 6 sittings across 2 days. This was a nice improvement over the 1.5 weeks reading Kafka’s short stories which were roughly half as long. Anecdotally, I found it easier to focus and was able to read longer without needing a break. Will this translate to work-related readings? Probably, I think, I’ll see once I get back from my short vacation.

School and Time Sucked the Fun out of Fiction

This is perhaps the first time I have voluntarily completed a fiction novel since middle school. The first novel I read was “Tuck Everlasting” in 4th grade. Although I didn’t like the timelines (who does), I enjoyed the experience. Over the years, I would get assigned books and even read more related books. However, sometime in high school, I dropped reading for fun due to time constraints and the focus of reading books. Books were read to hunt for themes and symbols in order to churn out generic essays highlighting the correct answer ².

With the latest readings, I didn’t need to be on the lookout for the right answers to an upcoming test. In 1984, I didn’t have to care at all about what the “Glass Paperweight” represented, and frankly it wasn’t that good of a symbol anyways.

Spoilers When Winston wondered why the party operated, my cynical mind said, “it doesn’t matter, they just do it to do it you romantic idiot”. I never expected the book to try to answer the question so clearly. I was surprised when my stupid take was validated by the villain, as “The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake”.

It’s much more fun when there’s no pressure of an upcoming test or assignment. Without the weight, I feel like I’m diving just as deep, possibly deeper, than I used to. I managed to have fun reading all the books on my list ³.

El Enemigo Returns

This wasn’t really a learning. I’ve known this for a while. As I’m trying to read and need a break, the first thing that I reach for is… my phone. More insidious, I look up a word and then find myself on Wikipedia and then somehow on YouTube?! When YCombinator expound the beauty of startups providing huge value and name the iPhone, I can’t help but to throw up. The dopamine device has stolen way too much attention.

Conclusion

So how did I do? I did pretty well in the past 2 months. Although I should’ve put more effort at the start of the year, I did read a lot and it was enjoyable. Next year I will focus on my Piano skills, but will probably continue to read⁴ and combat the urge to burn time on form content.

Footnotes