Tag: Books

  • My Year in Books

    It seems like I forgot to write a “my year in books” for 2024, but according to Goodreads I read 17 books that year — which also is the same amount as this year, 2025 .

    When Goodreads says 17, the true number is 18, because I have that one book I read each year (no, not the Bible) and which I have stopped registering in Goodreads. “The Daily Stoic: 366 Mediations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living” by Ryan Holiday. I keep re-reading it, but I am not sure I get any wiser.

    Come to think of it, I also read a book by a local author which I could not find in Goodreads. So 19 full books then. Along with numerous other books I have yet to finish.

    So, what did I read in 2025?

    Well, I once again visited Midkemia, the world from the riftwar saga by Raymond E. Feist. This time following the adventures of the offspring of the heros from the first books.

    I also finished the Dune series written by Frank Herbert. It is a facinating universe, but it is not an easy read. I have not yet seen the movies, but I suspect they are easier to follow than the books.

    Then I discovered that Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, wrote a book back in 2001 together with David Diamond: “Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary.” It was a fun read.

    Bill Gates, co-founder and long term CEO of Microsoft, came out with his own book this year: “Source Code: My Beginnings”, so I obviously read that as well. There is no big secret that Linus and Bill ended up with two very different philosophies when it comes to computer software.

    Without naming every book I read, I will have to mention two books that stood out this year:

    1. “Patriot” by Alexei Navalny
    2. “Carless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed and Lost Idealism” by Sarah Wynn-Williams.

    Carless People

    For most people I would recommend reading the second book, Carless People, since it (most likely) affect you directly. It is about Facebook, and it does not paint Facebook, its parent company Meta, or the leadership (Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg) in any good light.

    Facebook does not want you to feel good. They are not doing anything for you. They just want to make money. If you click on ads and buy more things if you feel sad, well, they will make you feel sad.

    I also read “No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram” by Sarah Frier, and since Facebook bought Instragram, the book confirms a lot of the story told in Careless People.

    Patriot

    When it comes to Patriot, it is the story of Alexei Navalny. A patroit killed by his own country — or rather the regime of his own contry — Russia.

    The book opens with Alexei waking up from coma in a hospital in Germany after being poisoned in Russia. When he becomes better, he decides to return to Russia. His return flight is redirected, and he is arrested upon entering Russia because he, get this, has not checked in with Russian authority while he was in a coma in Germany.

    There is a part about his upbrining, and how he learned not to fear the crooks and thieves in Putins regieme. The last part of the book is a diary, word for word, written while in prison.

    You already know where this is going. There is no happy ending. But I find some comfort in knowing that Navalny did this for all the right reasons, and he accepted his fate. You have to sacrefice something if you want a better future.

    The book now has its place on the shelf directly above a book about Putin, written by Masha Gessen (also killed by Kremlin), because Alexei is bigger than Putin — both literally and figuratively. Putin is a small man with no moral, while Alexei truly loved his country and its people.

    In closing

    Currently I am reading “A Promised Land” by Barack Obama (I found Michell Obamas book an easier read) and “Nexus” by the always intresting Yuval Noah Harari (Sapiens, Homo Deus).

    I am reading a few more books than those two at the moment. But only 4 or 5. Because, why not.

    I read a lot of non-fiction, which probably is why the amount of books I read each year is so low. Non-fiction just takes a lot more concentration.

    So, there it is. My Year in Books.

  • Reading goals for 2022

    2021 started of well. Very well indeed. Life was good and I was happy. That did not last. None of this had anything to do with Covid-19 or any other illnesses, except for anxiety, I guess. Anyways, now that I have completed the seasonal greetings of the new year, I want to write a bit about my reading.

    Some of the books I read in 2021

    In 2020 I hade a goal of reading 12 books in a year. Since it was my first year setting such a goal, I figured one book per month was as good as any. By the end of the year, I reached 15.

    In 2021 I decided to double that goal, 24 books in 12 months. A hairy target, giving my taste in books (mostly memoirs, biographies, and other non-fiction literature), but goals should be aspirational, but also within reach. At the end I managed 30 books. I really managed to push through at the end of the year. Also, I tend to read more than one book at a time. More about that in a bit.

    Now this year — the year 2022 in case you missed it — the goal is to read 36 books. Combined with slightly faster reading speed, and a solid reading habit each day, I think that should be doable. There, I have said it: 36 books by the end of the year.

    The goal to read 36 books is not just about reading as many books as possible. That would be a waste of time. The goal is to absorb the books. To enjoy them and to learn. Most of the books I read, as said earlier, is memoirs, biographies, and other non-fiction work. This generally takes more time to digest then pure fiction.

    My reading strategy now is to read more than one book at a time. Typically, this means one biography/memoir, one other non-fiction book and one pure fictional book to seek refugee in when my brain needs a time off from all the facts and figures in the other books. Also, to my benefit, I can read both Norwegian and English books, which gives me yet another dimension in my reading. I do not have any issues reading a biography in English and another in Norwegian at the same time.

    Usually, I read a mix of physical books and digital on my Kindle. I love books on paper, but the Kindle is so much more versatile when traveling (not happening much in Covid times) or in bed. I rather swipe on my Kindle than on my phone — the Kindle is so much better for the eyes.

    If you really would like to know what I am reading, I have a Goodreads profile — here is the books I read in 2021 — otherwise I would probably not log my readings at all.