Learnings from 2023 goal-setting.
My goal was to read 12 books in 12 months. According to my Reading List and GoodReads, I read 18 books in 12 months. That’s 6 more books than I set out to read.
What went well?
The How
Most of my books are consumed in audiobook format. As I’ve emphasized in Reading is pretty cool, listening to audiobooks while I run errands and cook has been a game-changer, 4x’ing the volume of books I can consume.
For books I wanted to pay special attention to (e.g. The Gene) because I am especially interested in the subject matter and/or books that have many charts and graphs, I opted to read them in their physical form.
The What
Biotech
I wanted to learn more about the biotech sector, so I read Genentech, Bad Blood, For Blood and Money. I found this blog post by Celine Halioua, CEO of a biotech startup, on the difference between tech and biotech informative.
Leaving my old lab (wet lab, basic research) and joining the Wilson lab (still wet lab, but more translational research) has made me realize I find research with clinical applications a lot cooler and more fulfilling. Work that involves moving scientific discoveries from the lab into the market/to patients’ bedsides to create more impact sounds awesome, and I’d love to be a part of it.
Self-help 🥴
After consuming self-help content for many years, I’ve found that most self-help books can be condensed into long-form blog posts and offer “common sense” advice. I still find value in listening to widely-repeated but rarely-implemented advice. Great revelations are rare, anyway. What you do with the information from these self-help books is most important. Plus, I find listening to them motivational, and sprinkling in light, self-help type books in between denser, longer, more serious books like Empire of Pain and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks keeps reading fun and interesting.
What could be improved?
The downside of listening to an audiobook is the material doesn’t stick in my head as strongly as if I were to read a book in its physical form.
My solution to this problem is simply to re-listen to the book at a later time if I’d like a refresher, look for summaries after having finished an audiobook to reinforce what I just listened to, or take my own notes on my phone as I listen to an audiobook.
Pros and cons of reading vs. listening to a book
| Actually reading a book | Listening to an audiobook |
|---|---|
| - Requires you to set aside time and your undivided attention to a book - Activates visual processing - Longer, less frequent periods of more focused time - I usually skip prologues and epilogues etc. | - Allows you to multitask - Activates auditory information processing (*bonus: fun narrators, like listening to Arnold Schwarzenegger read Be Useful) - Shorter, more frequent bursts of listening time (e.g. listening while taking a 10-minute walk to the grocery store) interspersed with longer listening sessions (e.g. cooking, working out) - I’m more inclined to listen to the book in its entirety, including prologues, epilogues, etc. |
At this time, this system (mostly listening to audiobooks, reading select books in their physical form) is working for me. So, if it ain’t broke, I’m not gonna fix it. Listening to an audiobook on a subject is enough to give me a good enough idea of the discussion surrounding the subject.
Going forward
I enjoy reading. I’m going to keep reading what I’m interested in, but I’m not going to set any specific goals for how many books I want to read. The number of books was never really the point, anyway. It was more of an incentive to get me to get back into the habit of reading again.
I hope reading will remain a lifelong habit of mine.
If you have book recommendations and/or thoughts and comments on this post, feel free to reach out! You can find a link to a contact form (best way to reach me) under the title of every post.