This year, I’ve read fewer books than ever. For the past six years, I’ve published a post at the end of the year sharing the books I’ve loved (you can find past posts here), and I expect this year’s list will be quite short. I’ve come to enjoy this approach to reading, because it lets me focus on the precious few books that touch my soul, rather than trying to read for the sake of reading. In that spirit, I’d love to hear from you:
What’s the one book that changed you this year? (And why?)
I’ll start with mine: The most impactful book I read was Starting Point by Hayao Miyazaki. I wrote a bit about it here:
“I’m obsessed. I love that he is honest about the pain and struggle of creating something that truly moves people. It’s not easy to do great work. There are no tricks, no shortcuts. There are many days where you are exhausted, deflated from pushing yourself so hard. But for those of us that are driven in this way, those that want to make something that evokes, moves, and touches people, it’s not really a choice.”
P.S. Be sure to share why the book you share impacted you, so fellow readers can know whether it’s for them, and/or whether it’s the right time for that book.
I really loved Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin - it was a great exploration of chosen family & non-romantic relationships, identity, disability, and gender. And video games!
I've been taking the opposite approach to reading this year - allowing myself to enjoy whatever I want without the pressure that anything has to be profound or important. It's opened me up to a lot of new authors and even some genres I didn't particularly think I'd enjoy. And it's probably been the year I've read most as an adult!
That’s awesome! I love that. The best part is that you found new genres and authors that you really enjoy. What were some new discoveries?
I actually was open to + started many books this year, just didn’t finish them. I gave myself permission to drop a book if it wasn’t enjoyable, or didn’t capture me enough. I’ve also been reading tons of old books of fables, and they are pretty huge so I often don’t finish them, but they are a big source of joy in the mornings!
I just finished a historical fantasy romance trilogy. Romance isn't a genre I've always kind of turned my nose up at, but I got pulled in by the magical elements and ended up really liking it.
I do think the permission to drop books is also a very good way to approach reading - life is too short to read books that aren't doing anything for you!
Nice! I haven’t read as much fantasy these days, but the last one I loved was Spinning Silver. I don’t usually love that particular style of book, but I got hooked! It was really fun
It’s really hard for me to choose just one because I read some really impactful books this year in all different genres. But I’m going to go with one I read way back in January, Nick Cave and Sean O’Hagan’s Faith, Hope, and Carnage. It’s a series of conversations between one of my favorite musical artists and a journalist. It emphasized the sad beauty and fragility of this extraordinary life we’re given in a way that really moved me.
Yes it’s definitely tough to pick one! I forced that constraint for the purpose of discussion, but I always enjoy your book reads if you want to share more! I’m reading the Great Work of Your Life book now.
Faith Hope and Carnage sounds really lovely. I have been enjoying reading interviews with artists through the Creative Independent blog, it’s so cool to be able to hear these conversations, and feel like you’re with them.
I’m hoping to do a roundup of favorites this year if n a couple weeks! There were definitely some gems, and also a few real duds. I love that, because I think I’m reading more adventurously.
For a while I've struggled with sharing music I learn on the piano. I always feel a kind of resistance that "insists I'm not that good, so maybe I should wait for when I'm perfect like a concert pianist. Then I can share my work"
In the book Pressfield unmasks the different shades of what he calls 'Resistance' and how it prevents us from doing our best work.
It’s wonderful to hear from you, Jimmy! How are you my friend?
War of Art is an absolute classic. I read it years back and loved it. Might be time to revisit it soon, I’m starting to do more re-reading of books these days.
How about you? It is good to keep reading your posts. Talk about rereading; I'll be re-reading your old posts on the Polymath lifestyle.
I was going through your opinion on the book The Courage to Be Disliked and it reminded me of the challenge of living a Polymath lifestyle and how it defies everybody's expectations about what a career ought to be
I've received an offer to enroll in a Masters Degree that seems to be taking me back to my IT days; at the same time, I feel like I'm finding my place as a Music Educator: I'm learning composition and gaining more confidence to arrange music which is a big thing for me. But then the opportunity to study and travel in another country is something not to pass on if it works.
And right now, I'm afraid that going with the Masters will mean losing out on the musical gains.
Thank you for sharing! You’ve got a wonderful set of options in front of you. It does seem like you’d still be able to pursue music even with the degree, but perhaps not diving wholeheartedly into it. Which of the two has you feeling excited for the future? One challenge I have is I like to keep my options open. But when forks like this arise we have to choose. I’m sure it’s not easy!
At one point I quit tech entirely without being super clear on what I would do instead. I figured I’d do some kind of writing teaching thing to make money. But soon I discovered I didn’t want to do that, it put too much pressure on my creativity. It ruined the thing. So, the wisdom of “pursue your passion” doesn’t account for the fact that doing so often works when you have something else to pay bills etc.
Now I do part time work in tech and still get to do my creative work freely. Some would say i’m “hedging” and not fully into one or the other, but it works for me.
The main advice I’d give is to allow yourself to choose a structure that may be wrong and later required you to course correct. And secondly to get creative to see if it’s possible to find a life with both things (in my case I didn’t even believe working part time at a startup was possible…until one day I asked my friend casually and he said yes. My entire work structure exists purely because I just asked.)
Use those multi talents to find angles like you said. There’s usually room, it’s just hard to see sometimes.
I guess quitting entirely without some form of financial prop makes the journey much harder. I wonder where the concept of being fully into something as a mark of commitment came from.
Is commitment the only way to evidence a career path?
I agree that when we forget to ask we end up getting what we didn't ask for. I appreciate your insight on this, at the end of the day it boils down to what works for you. I think life's greatest challenge is blending the wisdom of the times with the intuition that comes from your personal experience when making such seemingly life-altering decisions.
Of course, pursuing music is a no-brainer. The weird 👽 thing is that I now work in a school, and as of the last three months, my role has expanded to include IT Administration, which has been quite the joy being a part of. And it's come full circle because it's the best-case scenario of what work ought to look like for me: working with children of different minds and abilities, serving the community, shaping minds while making use of all my gifts and talents to make a contribution that only I can make.
As you say, keeping options open is a challenge, and I guess that whatever decision I'll make, I'll still want to exploit the loopholes that come with the option.
I really loved Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin - it was a great exploration of chosen family & non-romantic relationships, identity, disability, and gender. And video games!
I've been taking the opposite approach to reading this year - allowing myself to enjoy whatever I want without the pressure that anything has to be profound or important. It's opened me up to a lot of new authors and even some genres I didn't particularly think I'd enjoy. And it's probably been the year I've read most as an adult!
That’s awesome! I love that. The best part is that you found new genres and authors that you really enjoy. What were some new discoveries?
I actually was open to + started many books this year, just didn’t finish them. I gave myself permission to drop a book if it wasn’t enjoyable, or didn’t capture me enough. I’ve also been reading tons of old books of fables, and they are pretty huge so I often don’t finish them, but they are a big source of joy in the mornings!
I just finished a historical fantasy romance trilogy. Romance isn't a genre I've always kind of turned my nose up at, but I got pulled in by the magical elements and ended up really liking it.
I do think the permission to drop books is also a very good way to approach reading - life is too short to read books that aren't doing anything for you!
Oops, I meant to say it *is* a genre I've turned my nose up at
Nice! I haven’t read as much fantasy these days, but the last one I loved was Spinning Silver. I don’t usually love that particular style of book, but I got hooked! It was really fun
Oh I’ve heard so much about this book! Might be time to give it a read
I'll be curious to hear what you think!
It’s really hard for me to choose just one because I read some really impactful books this year in all different genres. But I’m going to go with one I read way back in January, Nick Cave and Sean O’Hagan’s Faith, Hope, and Carnage. It’s a series of conversations between one of my favorite musical artists and a journalist. It emphasized the sad beauty and fragility of this extraordinary life we’re given in a way that really moved me.
Yes it’s definitely tough to pick one! I forced that constraint for the purpose of discussion, but I always enjoy your book reads if you want to share more! I’m reading the Great Work of Your Life book now.
Faith Hope and Carnage sounds really lovely. I have been enjoying reading interviews with artists through the Creative Independent blog, it’s so cool to be able to hear these conversations, and feel like you’re with them.
I’m hoping to do a roundup of favorites this year if n a couple weeks! There were definitely some gems, and also a few real duds. I love that, because I think I’m reading more adventurously.
The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield:
For a while I've struggled with sharing music I learn on the piano. I always feel a kind of resistance that "insists I'm not that good, so maybe I should wait for when I'm perfect like a concert pianist. Then I can share my work"
In the book Pressfield unmasks the different shades of what he calls 'Resistance' and how it prevents us from doing our best work.
It’s wonderful to hear from you, Jimmy! How are you my friend?
War of Art is an absolute classic. I read it years back and loved it. Might be time to revisit it soon, I’m starting to do more re-reading of books these days.
I'm well, thank you, Salman
How about you? It is good to keep reading your posts. Talk about rereading; I'll be re-reading your old posts on the Polymath lifestyle.
I was going through your opinion on the book The Courage to Be Disliked and it reminded me of the challenge of living a Polymath lifestyle and how it defies everybody's expectations about what a career ought to be
I've received an offer to enroll in a Masters Degree that seems to be taking me back to my IT days; at the same time, I feel like I'm finding my place as a Music Educator: I'm learning composition and gaining more confidence to arrange music which is a big thing for me. But then the opportunity to study and travel in another country is something not to pass on if it works.
And right now, I'm afraid that going with the Masters will mean losing out on the musical gains.
Lol. That's how I am (somewhat) doing
Thank you for sharing! You’ve got a wonderful set of options in front of you. It does seem like you’d still be able to pursue music even with the degree, but perhaps not diving wholeheartedly into it. Which of the two has you feeling excited for the future? One challenge I have is I like to keep my options open. But when forks like this arise we have to choose. I’m sure it’s not easy!
If you don't mind, how have you approached such fork situations in your life and experience?
Good Q. I would say a few things:
At one point I quit tech entirely without being super clear on what I would do instead. I figured I’d do some kind of writing teaching thing to make money. But soon I discovered I didn’t want to do that, it put too much pressure on my creativity. It ruined the thing. So, the wisdom of “pursue your passion” doesn’t account for the fact that doing so often works when you have something else to pay bills etc.
Now I do part time work in tech and still get to do my creative work freely. Some would say i’m “hedging” and not fully into one or the other, but it works for me.
The main advice I’d give is to allow yourself to choose a structure that may be wrong and later required you to course correct. And secondly to get creative to see if it’s possible to find a life with both things (in my case I didn’t even believe working part time at a startup was possible…until one day I asked my friend casually and he said yes. My entire work structure exists purely because I just asked.)
Use those multi talents to find angles like you said. There’s usually room, it’s just hard to see sometimes.
I guess quitting entirely without some form of financial prop makes the journey much harder. I wonder where the concept of being fully into something as a mark of commitment came from.
Is commitment the only way to evidence a career path?
I agree that when we forget to ask we end up getting what we didn't ask for. I appreciate your insight on this, at the end of the day it boils down to what works for you. I think life's greatest challenge is blending the wisdom of the times with the intuition that comes from your personal experience when making such seemingly life-altering decisions.
Of course, pursuing music is a no-brainer. The weird 👽 thing is that I now work in a school, and as of the last three months, my role has expanded to include IT Administration, which has been quite the joy being a part of. And it's come full circle because it's the best-case scenario of what work ought to look like for me: working with children of different minds and abilities, serving the community, shaping minds while making use of all my gifts and talents to make a contribution that only I can make.
As you say, keeping options open is a challenge, and I guess that whatever decision I'll make, I'll still want to exploit the loopholes that come with the option.