What books I read this year

Content

• Intro
• Lessons from Atomic Habits
• A few more strategies
• List of books I read
• Conclusion

Intro

When I was a kid, I loved reading. I heard from my family that I was holding books even when I ate. Yet, I started losing interest in books over time. I had to study, graduate, and make a living. I made excuses. "I don't have enough time to read!". This year, I happened to read a book called "Atomic Habits" written by James Clear. After I finished reading it, I decided to bring my reading habits back to life.

Lessons from Atomic Habits

The author says there are four steps in any habit we do.

• cue
• craving
• response
• reward

Let's think about a typical example. You feel bored while waiting for a bus (cue & craving). Then you open SNS and you feel entertained (response & reward). For any habit, we can either make these four patterns work for reinforcing a good habit or stopping a bad one.

When looking back, I stopped reading not because I didn't have enough time. I stopped as there was more entertaining media - Youtube, Netflix, or SNS. To bring reading to life, I needed to work on two things.

• spend less time in entertaining media
• spend more time in reading

The author gives a few strategies for forming a habit.

• Make it obvious.
• Make it attractive.
• Make it easy.
• Make it satisfying.

These tactics were enough to reduce screen time. First, I removed Youtube, LinkedIn, and other social media from my phone and laptop. Second, I put my phone in different places while I'm working or spending time with family. By making the device boring and inaccessible, I felt I became less attached to it.

A few more strategies

While I'm working on less screen time, I need to make a routine for reading.

Set up reading time

I felt tired when I tried reading after work. Even when I had time after dinner, I didn't have the mental capacity to read through and take it in. So, I tried reading in the morning. It turned out wonderful. The obvious benefit was that my brain was ready for taking in what books offer after 7 hours of sleep. Another one was the tranquility that morning offers. When I woke up around 5 am, the whole world was silent. I didn't have to see the emails or messages. I only focus on what I'm reading. I slowly became addicted to this positive experience. For these reasons, I kept waking up early in the morning and staying in my den for reading.

Paper books are better

I used to read ebooks. You can read books regardless of your location and time. Yet, I noticed the phone is distracting. Alarms and notifications wait for the response. So, I started reading paper books. You have to carry the physical books and it costs more money. Yet, I found a few beautiful points while reading paper books. First, each book uses different textures and fonts. This gives a new experience for each book. Also, I involve more in reading by highlighting lines or scribbling. Lastly, I could remember more than ebooks after reading.

Languages don't matter

I thought I should read in English all the time if I wanted to improve my English skills over time. This led me not to read about novels, essays, or short forms as they include more descriptive and poetic expressions. Once I threw that bias about the languages, I could expand categories and read any forms if I'm interested.

Fight with biases

I did have biases about books. Here are a few you might be familiar with.

• You have to finish it once you start
• You have to read in order
• You have to read different categories

These biases made reading unattractive. So, I decided to take different approaches. Instead of obsessing about reading the entire book, I stopped reading when it starts boring or hard to read. I moved on to other books without feeling guilty. I also stopped obsessing about reading in order. I went to the index page and picked up the chapters that hooked my eyes. Finally, I stopped obsessing about reading in variety based on recommendations. Instead, I started reading that interested me.

I learned that there is no perfect way for reading books.

List of books I read

There might be books I missed. Yet.. here is the best I can remember.

Books written in English

• Atomic Habits
• Deep Work
• So Good They Can't Ignore You
• Essentialism
• Hooked
• Rework
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
• The Miracle Morning
• The Almanack Of Naval Ravikant
• Wabi Sabi
• Ikigai
• Daily Stoic
• Courage Is Calling
• Ego Is Enemy
• Make Time
• How To Win Friends And Influence People
• How To Stop Worrying And Start Living
• The Psychology of Money
• Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less
• The Scout Mindset
• The 4 Hour Work Week
• Ultralearning
• This Is Marketing
• The Power Of Less
• On Writing Well
• The Manager Path
• Pragmatic Programmer
• The Go Programming Language

Books written in Korean

• 무뎌진 감정이 말을 걸어올 때
• 해변의 카프카
• 완전한 행복
• 인생은 소설이다
• 책의 역습
• 사이보그가 되다
• 언어의 온도
• 2인조
• 보통의 존재
• 울분
• 니체의 말
• 기억 1,2
• 죽음 1,2
• 문명 1,2
• 달러구트 꿈 백화점 1,2
• 미드나잇 라이브러리
• 하루의 취향
• 오늘 밤, 세계에서 이 사랑이 사라진다해도
• 오늘은 이만 좀 쉴게요

Conclusion

I didn't expect I could read this much when I started this year. I ended up reading more than 50 books. The numbers look amazing. The most beautiful thing is that books became the default mode. And I enjoy reading time more than screen time. So, if you want to make a habit of reading like me, don't overwhelm yourself with high expectations. Instead, start small. Start reading what you enjoy. And keep it. You can see the wonder over time.