Reflection on the Books reading¶

| books |

I divide books into three formats: a) paper, b) e-book, and c) audiobook. Each format has different impact on a reader and here I’m going to share my experience and what I decided to change.

Book categories¶

Here are my major books’ categories:

• fun: fiction, biography, history, IT history, cyber crimes
• craft: programming languages, software architecture, frameworks, math and so on.
• self-improvement: communication, management, psychology, time management, etc.

It is important to have them strictly defined, because it lets me stay focused and I can’t read more than one book from one category.

Audiobooks¶

I can’t listen to any technical or complicated books. Typical candidates: fiction, biography, business, self-improvement. Let’s say anything convenient for walking and listening.

I listened many (39 in total) audiobooks from 2020 till 2023. At the beginning it was interesting, I was a “listening machine”. But I forgot everything, my brain “garbage collected” all content. I understood that it was/is a waste of money and time. I can’t listen and remember the stuff. It’s just my “feature”. That’s why I stopped consuming audiobooks while walking, and completely switched to podcasts. Now I can occupy my brain while walking.

E-books¶

E-book was my major format for reading (for years). But I always wanted to have a paper book in my hands. I spent last two years on experimenting with e-books and paper books. And I read fun books only on Kindle. I can read it anywhere anytime. I call this format “Netflix” books, i.e. I’m reading them instead of watching movie.

Paper books¶

Nowadays I tend to read all “tough” craft books in paper format. It must be something fundamental, something what requires long time to comprehend, consume and burn in my brain.

Of course not all craft book I am reading in paper format. Some technical books can be outdated in 1-2 years and I don’t want them to collect a dust on my shelves.

Also, if there are several books from fun and self-improvement category which I like and want to re-read I will buy them in paper format as well.

How much can I read per year¶

I follow several bookworms on Goodreads. Some people read 50, 100, 120 books per year. It is super-natural for me.

Note: I don’t like a speed-reading approach, not my thing. In general I set 12 books per year as my goal. I.e. one book per month is doable. Right? :-) I successfully failed this goal for the past 10 years. Why? Because I didn’t have a reading routine, habit.

This year, 2025, I’ve already read 12 books in 3 months. But there is big BUT - I read 90% fun and 10% self-improvement. No hard stuff, i.e. no craft books.

Reading craft books is a heavy brain work, it’s big investment and dedication. For some books I spend days while reading several pages. That’s why I have three categories, so I can switch context and occupy my brain with something easy.

Now I am confident I can read one fun book per week, i.e. it can be ~45 books or a bit more per year. But definitely not 100 books. It’s impossible without speed-reading technique or be super-natural.

Summary¶

Audiobooks have no more place in my life. I can’t consume information via listening, I am a visual dude.

What’s next¶

I’m now working on adding more craft books into the mix this year—slowly, mindfully. Let’s see how far I’ll get.