How I Became a Reader at 27 (And My 2023 Book Review)
About half way through 2023, I started avidly reading for the first time since… Since reading ‘The Warriors’ fictional cat book series when I was a kid. Of course I’ve read the odd book here and there since then, but I’d say I was averaging easily less than 1 book a year.
This changed because of 2 people in my life, along with a dramatic realization one night at a bar with some friends, and it stuck for the rest of the year (and onward into this year, but we’ll get to that some other time).
So in this article I want to briefly explain how I found myself reading again, so that if you find yourself in a similar predicament to where I was, you might be inspired. Then, I’ll reflect on what I read - and I hope to make this a regular thing, maybe quarterly, but we’ll see!
What Who* Got Me Reading
I’ve been dating my partner Vivian for almost 3 years now. She loves reading, and has read hundreds of books. She often tells me about how during her parent-enforced strict piano practice when she was younger, that because she loved reading so much, she had learned to practice the piano while reading.
Vivian is someone who I respect implicitly, and she deeply values reading. In fact, she does it all the time. Before, with the time that she’d be reading, I’d be compulsively watching some assortment of random and loud YouTube videos - I mean, don’t get me wrong, I still watch YouTube all the time, but now slightly less.
Over the first couple years of dating, she did her best to try to find books that I’d love, so we could read them together (cute, I know). To add to this, one of Vivian’s super powers that I appreciate so much is there’s never a sense of pressure or judgement. When she wants to help me better myself, it’s primarily selfless, and extremely patient.
So Vivian partly inspired and supported me reading, but also I had a moment of epiphany realizing that essentially everyone I respected most I found read, and were actually quite avid readers. The correlation was too apparent and consistent to pass up, and I first truly realized this when I was catching up with my best friend, and two other mutual ex-colleagues.
All 3 of these people, by my account at least, are extremely smart, wonderful people, and as we were catching up over a few beers I wanted to mention something crazy I saw on Reddit. There was this Kickstarter that had just smashed all Kickstarter records and raised $41.75 MILLION dollars. For 4 books. With the average backer spending $225. What?! Insane! How?!
The way I brought this up to the table was “Who the hell is this guy?! How is this possible?!” and what I was met with was an almost synchronous outpouring of love for the author, Brandon Sanderson. Beyond that, all of them not only knew about the author and the Kickstarter, but they had also all purchased the most expensive option on the Kickstarter, and read almost his entire catalogue.
This provoked a realization, and on the way home I reflected that, while not everyone talks about it, almost everyone in my life that I want to be a little more like for one reason or another, reads.
The last main ingredient that spurred my start of reading was finding the right book. This helped me realize that I never didn’t like reading, I just didn’t know how to find the right author or writing for me.
My best friend, Colton, who was one of those Sanderson obsessors, was also exceedingly patient. He knew I’d love The Cosmere (Sanderson’s literary fantasy universe where a majority of his books take place) and its stories and magic, but it took over a year since the prolific author initially came up at that dinner before I’d actually start and finish a book. Colton kept subtly pushing, answering all my questions, and as soon as I started reading, would support my interest and reading by re-reading chapter summaries as I went along so he could respond appropriately to all of my crazy assumptions and thoughts about what I was reading. It truly made the experience so much better than it would have been just reading on my own.
Of course, I knew reading was also a conduit for improvement and learning, so I didn’t want to read just fiction works. I figured that what’d work best for me was a hard rule of alternating between fiction and non-fiction - and I’ve mostly kept with that! In fact, 3 of my top 10 books of 2023 are non-fiction!
One Weird Thing That Worked
While all of these wonderful people, especially Vivian and Colton, got me started reading, the last thing I found helped most of all in keeping me reading was something I think might resonate with some others - but stick with me, cause it’s a little odd.
Whenever I used to read, I’d do it in moments I thought most other people would. These were in bed before going to sleep, on planes, and on the couch when lazing about during the day. None of these EVER worked for me, and in my past year of reading, these locations probably account for less than 5 or 10% of my reading time.
Whenever I’d read in these locations, I’d just get sleepy. I’d find myself reading slowly, fighting to stay awake, and constantly repeating sections that I dozed off during to make sure I kept them in my head just to forget them by the next time I started reading.
This time around, what’s worked most for me, is reading outside. I typically read while walking, on the subway, or on a bench outside with a beverage of choice (typically, a beer or two).
This one change has dramatically helped my reading consistency, and I think it’s mostly because my brain is more active and can more easily pay attention without getting sleepy. My brain also now associates these activities with reading, as opposed to fighting against other associations like being in bed = sleeping. Highly recommend trying this if you’ve felt similar!
Onto the List
In the half of 2023 that I was actively reading, I completed 26 books (up from a whopping 0 the year prior, and the year before that, and probably before that too).
Quick Stats
14 Fiction, 11 Non-Fiction (I abandoned 2 Non-Fiction, hence the lack of balance)
Average rating was 4/5
5 books had a rating of 5/5, 1 of which was non-fiction
Of my top 10 books, 7 were by Brandon Sanderson
My lowest rated book was a 2/5
Awards
Best Fiction Book: Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
Best Non-Fiction Book: Atomic Habits by James Clear
Highlights & Recommendations
Fantasy - The Cosmere - Books by Brandon Sanderson
As you can tell by my list below, I read a LOT of Brandon Sanderson last year. I love this universe and I’d recommend it to anyone looking to pick up a fantasy series, but which book and series to start with within the Cosmere is dependant on the person.
The Cosmere is one of Brandon Sanderson’s universes where stories and series take place, for the most part, on a planet within the Cosmere essentially connecting separate series together into a more mysterious overarching story - each planet tends to have a unique magic system that somehow connects to a grander magic system existing across the universe. They take place in different time periods, as different planets find themselves in different ages, and as time goes on, series seem to connect more and more. You can read more about it here!
Mistborn
My first book in the Cosmere was The Final Empire, the first book in Mistborn’s Era 1. Mistborn to me, especially when compared to Stormlight, is a very easy and relatively short series that makes a good entry point to hook you into the Cosmere. The first book can be read as a standalone if you’re really not digging it by the end, but if you choose to read the 3 core Era 1 books, it wraps itself up very satisfyingly.
The Final Empire is more or less a heist story with an extremely interesting magic system, likeable characters, and brilliantly written fight scenes that leverage the magic system and are so easy to imagine in your head while following along. Honestly, one of Sanderson’s greater strengths in general is writing fights scenes.
The biggest difference to me between this series and Stormlight is that Mistborn kind of reads like a YA book. It’s simply written and straightforward, which makes it easy to read and appreciate the story of.
Stormlight
On the other hand, The Way of Kings, and Stormlight as a whole, is the opposite. It takes its time building its world and sharing its lore. Honestly, it’s very intimidating to read at first, and takes a while to get acquainted with the plethora of wild fantasy names - but don’t worry, you’ll get there, and when you do you’ll find yourself completely engrossed and having trouble putting it down.
The first book focuses on introducing you to the world and core characters, and has you wondering about their past and how they came to be who they are, while primarily following a character looking for redemption.
Stormlight is a gift that keeps on giving. I am obsessed. I am biased. I am beyond excited for the 5th mainline book in the series to come out at the end of this year.
While I wouldn’t go back and change my reading order, if you try Mistborn and find yourself thinking it’s too simple for you to appreciate, switch to The Way of Kings.
Non-Fiction
Atomic Habits by James Clear
I’ve found that a lot of self-help books, even best selling and highly rated ones, could basically just be one core learning or sentence, that’s repeated a slightly different way 100 times to fill up a book and be sold to the masses.
Atomic Habits by James Clear wasn’t one of those books for me. I have tons of notes I took out of Atomic Habits. I love how James Clear first helps you understand why success and personal growth is dependant on being systems-oriented over being goals-oriented without being overly preachy, then follows up with actual practical systems you can put in place immediately, custom to your own desires for life and growth, was amazing to me.
Full List of Books Read and Personal Ratings
Rhythm of War, Brandon Sanderson - 5/5
Dawnshard, Brandon Sanderson - 5/5
The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson - 5/5
The Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson - 5/5
Atomic Habits, James Clear - 5/5
Oathbringer, Brandon Sanderson - 4.5/5
Words of Radiance, Brandon Sanderson - 4.5/5
Mistborn, Brandon Sanderson - 4.5/5
The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz - 4.5/5
Creativity, Inc., Amy Wallace and Edwin Catmull - 4.5/5
Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts - 4.5/5
Warbreaker, Brandon Sanderson - 4/5
Shoe Dog, Phil Knight - 4/5
Hooked, Nir Eyal - 4/5
Traction, Gino Wickman - 4/5
The Hero of Ages, Brandon Sanderson - 4/5
Greenlights, Matthew McConaughey - 4/5
Shadows of Self, Brandon Sanderson - 3.5/5
The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel - 3.5/5
Deep Work, Cal Newport - 3.5/5
The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle - 3.5/5
The Alloy of Law, Brandon Sanderson - 3/5
Edgedancer, Brandon Sanderson - 3/5
Secret History, Brandon Sanderson - 3/5
The Art of Learning, Joshua Waitzkin, 2.5/5
The Obstacle is the Way, Ryan Holiday, 2/5
I hope you enjoyed reading this! I can’t wait to reflect on the books I read this year to see how my tastes and opinions may have differed.
