Last year has been an exceptionally good year for me when it comes to reading. I have never really been a good reader – I am quite slow and get distracted quite easily. Probably for the same reasons I like podcasts a lot which is an activity you can do next to another one.
However, I like the activity of reading. And there had to be a way to become better at reading. I own a good quantity of physical books but they offered too many potential excuses:
- Not having the right book with me (when traveling)
- Not being able to read when the lights are off (e.g. in bed)
- Books are heavy to carry around
- Everyone can see what book I am reading (people might judge me based on it)
- And probably many more…
Especially, the first two points on that list became quite a game-changer for me, once I found the right medium.
In January 2021, a friend of mine (thanks Tim!) borrowed me his Kindle device to read The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz which I liked a lot. Not only the book but the entire experience of this device dragged me into eBooks. For two weeks, I brought this device everywhere as it fits into my jacket’s pocket and read on every occasion instead of doom-scrolling or similar activities.
One thing was clear, I didn’t want an Amazon device as it will lock me into their (probably comfortable) ecosystem with no way out. And Amazon is generally not a business I necessarily want to support if better alternatives exist.
Luckily, tolino (an alliance of various bookshops) launched its new tolino vision 6 later that year with updated specs that could compete with the latest kindle devices.
The result: From reading just a handful of books per year, I finished the second half of 2021 with 17 and 2022 with 35 read books on my virtual shelf (some were still physical books).
Books I enjoyed most in 2022 & 2021
Generally, you can follow my readings on my Goodreads profile.
Note to myself: At some point, I might want to replace the Goodreads profile with The StoryGraph.
I read quite some books over the last two years and the following ones I enjoyed most:
- Ich denk, ich denk zu viel by Nina Kunz
- Alles muss raus by Thilo Mischke
- What They Forgot To Teach You At School: Essential emotional lessons needed to thrive by The School of Life
- Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad
- Das Ende: Von der heiteren Hoffnungslosigkeit im Angesicht der ökologischen Katastrophe by Gregory Fuller
- Weltuntergang fällt aus!: Warum die Wende der Klimakrise viel einfacher ist, als die meisten denken, und was jetzt zu tun ist by Jan Hegenberg
- Panikherz by Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre
- Das Café am Rande der Welt by John P. Strelecky
- A Practical Way to Get Rich . . . and Die Trying: A Cautionary Tale by John Roa
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
- GRM: Brainfuck by Sibylle Berg
- How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan
- Drug Use for Grown-Ups: Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear by Carl L. Hart