Blog on chrispederick.com Reading Posts

My reading has dramatically slowed since I started working from home in 2020. Now that I no longer have a commute, I’m still trying to work out a good time in my day when I read. Therefore, unfortunately, I only read seven books across 2021 & 2022 combined:

• The Cat Owner’s Manual by David Brunner ★★★★☆
• The Adventure Zone: Crystal Kingdom by Clint McElroy ★★★★★
• Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport ★★★★☆
• Winnie-The-Pooh by A.A. Milne ★★★★★
• Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport ★★★☆☆
• Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes by William Bridges ★☆☆☆☆
• Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp ★★★★☆

From this brief list, these were my highlights:

• Favorite fiction book: Winnie-The-Pooh by A.A. Milne
• Favorite non-fiction book: Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp
• Least favorite book: Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes by William Bridges

If you want to see what (little) I’m reading throughout the year then you can follow me on Goodreads.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

After reading 37 books in 2019, I set myself what I thought was a comfortable goal of reading 24 books in 2020. Unfortunately, I didn’t reach my goal as I usually read during my commute, and I’ve been working from home since March. I ended up reading 13 books, which is not bad considering what a year it has been:

• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie ★★★★☆
• Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? by Caitlin Doughty ★★★☆☆
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates ★★★★★
• Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang ★★★★☆
• The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler ★★★☆☆
• The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells ★★★☆☆
• The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton ★★★☆☆
• All Systems Red by Martha Wells ★★★★☆
• The Adventure Zone: Petals to the Metal by Clint McElroy ★★★★★
• Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World by Mark Miodownik ★★★★☆
• Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke ★★★★☆
• I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi ★★★☆☆
• What If? by Randall Munroe ★★★★☆

These were my highlights:

• Favorite fiction book: The Adventure Zone: Petals to the Metal by Clint McElroy
• Favorite non-fiction book: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Most thought-provoking book: Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke
• Least favorite book: Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? by Caitlin Doughty

If you want to see what I’m reading throughout the year then you can follow me on Goodreads.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

At the beginning of last year, I decided to listen to fewer podcasts and to use that time for audiobooks instead. I ended up “reading” 37 books in 2019:

• Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman ★★★★☆
• Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear ★★★★☆
• The Martian by Andy Weir ★★★★★
• Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman ★★★★☆
• The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin ★★★★☆
• Red Dragon by Thomas Harris ★★★★★
• The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris ★★★★★
• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll ★★★★★
• Artemis by Andy Weir ★★☆☆☆
• Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll ★★★★★
• Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham ★★★★★
• Dune by Frank Herbert ★★★★☆
• A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle ★★★★☆
• The Simple Path to Wealth by J.L. Collins ★★★★★
• Hannibal by Thomas Harris ★★★☆☆
• The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday ★★★☆☆
• The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman ★★★★☆
• Financial Freedom by Grant Sabatier ★★★★☆
• The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman ★★★★☆
• The Other End of the Leash by Patricia B. McConnell ★★★★☆
• The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu ★★★★☆
• The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman ★★★☆☆
• Work Optional by Tanja Hester ★★★★★
• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo ★★★☆☆
• The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited by Clint McElroy ★★★★★
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick ★★★★☆
• Beekeeping by Andrew Forrest ★★★☆☆
• The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing by Taylor Larimore ★★★★★
• The Four Pillars of Investing by William J. Bernstein ★★★☆☆
• The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy ★★★★☆
• Quit Like a Millionaire by Kristy Shen ★★★★☆
• Red Rising by Pierce Brown ★★★☆☆
• Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey ★★★★☆
• Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin ★★★☆☆
• Different Seasons by Stephen King ★★★★☆
• Choose FI by Chris Mamula ★★★★☆
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens ★★★★☆

These were my highlights:

• Favorite fiction book: The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
• Favorite non-fiction book: The Simple Path to Wealth by J.L. Collins
• Most thought-provoking book: The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
• Least favorite book: Artemis by Andy Weir

I wasn’t sure if I would stick to this plan so I posted what I had read each month to keep myself honest and maintain momentum. However, I liked the sense of accomplishment and did not miss the repetitive tech podcasts at all. In fact, I unsubscribed from a few more podcasts throughout the year.

Going forward I don’t plan on doing the monthly posts and instead will just write an end of the year wrap up. If you want to see what I’m reading throughout the year then you can follow me on Goodreads.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

I read two books in December:

• Choose FI by Chris Mamula ★★★★☆
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens ★★★★☆

You can also follow what I’m reading on Goodreads.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

I read just one book in November:

• Different Seasons by Stephen King ★★★★☆

You can also follow what I’m reading on Goodreads.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Having not finished any audiobooks in September I am trying to get back on track and read three books in October:

• Red Rising by Pierce Brown ★★★☆☆
• Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey ★★★★☆
• Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin ★★★☆☆

You can also follow what I’m reading on Goodreads.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

I read two books in August:

• The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy ★★★★☆
• Quit Like a Millionaire by Kristy Shen ★★★★☆

You can also follow what I’m reading on Goodreads.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

I read six books in July:

• The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo ★★★☆☆
• The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited by Clint McElroy ★★★★★
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick ★★★★☆
• Beekeeping by Andrew Forrest ★★★☆☆
• The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing by Taylor Larimore ★★★★★
• The Four Pillars of Investing by William J. Bernstein ★★★☆☆

You can also follow what I’m reading on Goodreads.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

I read seven books in June:

• The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman ★★★★☆
• Financial Freedom by Grant Sabatier ★★★★☆
• The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman ★★★★☆
• The Other End of the Leash by Patricia B. McConnell ★★★★☆
• The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu ★★★★☆
• The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman ★★★☆☆
• Work Optional by Tanja Hester ★★★★★

You can also follow what I’m reading on Goodreads.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

I read four books in May:

• A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle ★★★★☆
• The Simple Path to Wealth by J.L. Collins ★★★★★
• Hannibal by Thomas Harris ★★★☆☆
• The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday ★★★☆☆

You can also follow what I’m reading on Goodreads.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

I read two books in April:

• Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham ★★★★★
• Dune by Frank Herbert ★★★★☆

You can also follow what I’m reading on Goodreads.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

I read three books in March:

• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll ★★★★★
• Artemis by Andy Weir ★★☆☆☆
• Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll ★★★★★

You can also follow what I’m reading on Goodreads.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

A little late on posting this as I was on vacation, but I read four books in February:

• Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman ★★★★☆
• The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin ★★★★☆
• Red Dragon by Thomas Harris ★★★★★
• The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris ★★★★★

You can also follow what I’m reading on Goodreads.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Earlier this month I decided to listen to fewer podcasts and to use that time for audiobooks instead. One month in and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. I’m not missing the repetitive tech podcasts at all. I’m “reading” more books again and it’s giving me a genuine sense of accomplishment.

This month I read three books:

• Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman ★★★★☆
• Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear ★★★★☆
• The Martian by Andy Weir ★★★★★

You can also follow what I’m reading on Goodreads.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.