2019 in books
Tags: reading, books, selfimprovement
Published: 2019-12-27 20:15:02

I've always had a book on my nightstand but when I started uni and bought a smartphone I started reading less and less until in early 2017 [I decided to read seriously again](https://medium.com/@anebz/reading-as-a-serious-hobby-ec64bbd13915).

It's been 3 years since I started and I never believed I would read so much and enjoy it as I do. [I set some goals for this year](https://medium.com/@anebz/2018-in-books-890a45866bac) and I'm proud to say I reached almost all of them.

### These were my goals for 2019:

* Read 20k pages
  - After having read 17k in 2018, I thought 20k was my limit and it'd be nice to go all in and try to reach it.
* Read 10 books in Basque
  - It's my mother tongue and unfortunately I've somewhat abandoned Basque literature.
* Read 15 nonfiction books
  - Because if I'm going to get serious about reading and read many books, I might as well learn something in the meantime.
* Read 10 classics
  - I noticed I had barely read any classics so I hoped to fix that.

### And what I actually achieved:

* I read 24k pages
  - This is the official number, but this year I quit some books I just couldn't go through so the real number is closer to 22k.
* I read 4 books in Basque
  - I tried very hard but either the books I chose were all boring or I'm out of habit at reading Basque, but I'm not giving up.
* I read 29 nonfiction books
  - Big success with this one, I read many great books and learnt a lot.
* I read 10 classics
  - I didn't enjoy them very much but I did it.


I got 3/4 of my goals, read many fantastic books and my to-read shelf in Goodreads is longer than ever. I would say it's been a good year!

### These are my top 5 books in 2019, in no particular order:

* [The Physician](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4692.The_Physician), Noah Gordon

I was a big Medieval nerd as a teenager and The Pillars of the Earth and The Physician were all-time favorites, I wanted to read it again and it made it into the top 5 despite it being a re-read. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy the sequel as much.

* [The neuroscientist who lost her mind](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35721138-the-neuroscientist-who-lost-her-mind),  Barbara K. Lipska,
Elaine McArdle

Not a magnificent nonfiction book but it got me interested in neuroscience and mental/brain illnesses. It also freaked me out. I read more books about neuroscience after this and it debunked many myths I had about psychosis, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc. Somehow I thought I knew what they were but turns out I had no clue. I look forward to learning more in 2020.

* [Digital minimalism](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40672036-digital-minimalism), Cal Newport

Each book from Newport has been in my top 5 in previous years, this time it was Digital minimalism. His books are so inspiring, and make so much sense, they make me want to improve so much. I think about his ideas even months after having read the book. I can't recommend his books enough.

* [Into thin air](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1898.Into_Thin_Air), Jon Krakauer and [Endurance](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/139069.Endurance), Alfred Lansing

Small cheating in this one, both books are about endurance, one about a failed Everest expedition and the other about Shackleton's incredible voyage to Antarctica in 1914. These books grab you and don't let you go, I had nightmares with them and I felt the despair they felt in Antarctica and the cold and desperation from the Everest expedition. Extraordinary stories and very well written.

* [Midnight in Chernobyl](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40538681-midnight-in-chernobyl), Adam Higginbotham

After watching the HBO series I felt some shy pride when I understood the very basic concepts of nuclear energy and I decided it was a fantastic opportunity to read about the Chernobyl nuclear plant and the 1986 disaster. It was terrifying, complex terminology sometimes but worthwhile.

### Summary of 2019

I'm proud I read a lot but even prouder that I managed to be regular and read at least 1k pages a month. Sometimes life gets in the way or you get stuck in a book and lose motivation, but if you have a habit of reading, you keep reading and reading until you get out of that block. Picking up a light fiction or young adult novel, or a book whose topic you're interested in are some of the tricks that get me into enjoying reading again.

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### Goals for 2020

2019 was a hardcore year reading wise, I don't think I can read any more intensely without compromising other areas of my life. I definitely want to invest more time and effort into reading in Basque, so my goals for 2020 are as follows:

* Read 20k pages
* Read 5 books in Basque or 2k pages
  - I like the number of pages goal, books can have different lenghts and I just picked up a biography that's at least 800 pages, it seems to involve complex vocabulary and if I manage to read it, I'll consider it a huge success.
* Read 25 nonfiction books

On to the next decade!