Thank you, Esha, for sharing this inspiring and wide-ranging list of books! Every time I read one of your posts, I’m reminded of how reading is such a rewarding, pleasurable and generative activity.
This post itself is such a mosaic of inspiration! I love your four lessons on reading from this year. My favourite one is: “Let it always feel expansive.” For me, that sense of expansiveness is one of the things that keep me going back to reading. So this lesson resonated deeply!
Following your newsletter this year has been such a true delight, and your plans for 2025 make me even more excited to follow along! Wishing you an amazing end of the year, and I look forward to reading more of your wonderful writing in the new year!
Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts, Saran. Always great to have you here <3
And yes, that expansiveness is what keeps me reading as well—expansiveness of knowledge and thought. I also included this as a sort of reassuring reminder that even if I wander off my plans or change my mind, it's alright. It's about the feeling of enlargement that reading provides.
I love how this end-of-the-year newsletter did not feel overwhelming to read. I glided from one topic to the next with ease. The lessons from 2024 and COAMR in 2025 were my favourite. Your evolution as a reader and writer this year has been so special. I love that I got to witness it so closely. I am sure you'll achieve your reading goals and even if you don't, something really interesting will come out of the digression.
Do you have any tips for someone who starts reading a book, loses interest mid-way and forgets about it altogether? Asking for a friend. 🙈 🥲
Ask yourself: What topics are meaningful to me and keep me occupied? What do I want to know more about and think of at length? Then search for books that deal with those things. I care about knowing the foundational literary texts, so I am doing the slow read and going through Greek mythology. I want to pay better attention to people and my physical experience, so I am picking up non-fiction books that will show me more angles to these topics. Sometimes, I want to escape to a familiar world, so I'll read fanfiction. Locate (some of) your wants and curiosities, then match them to a bookish destination.
2. Discipline
I know reading is supposed to be for fun. A hobby! A pleasure! But sometimes, you're not in the mood. Scrolling feels more enticing or your brain won't settle. So, if you can pick the book up and be like, "I'll try reading a chapter" or "I decided to read for 30 minutes out of the 16 hours I am awake. Let me do it," then you can get over those bumpy days and ensure you make progress with the book. Try to keep the rhythm going so that you reach a point where not reading feels harder than reading (the secret to maintaining any habit over the long run).
Also, if you're only reading after dinner or you're tired, try reading when you're more alert and can pay sharper attention. That might shift your experience.
I loved this!! I HAVE to read the invention of Angela carter as she is my FAVORITE !! and I’m totally buying that book about understanding art - I took an art history class my last semester of college and was always said I couldn’t take more!
Then you’ll definitely enjoy the biography! I love its cover, the font, the photos, the journal entries and of course, knowing all the details about Carter’s work.
And the art history book will be a great jumping-off point—really brings some order to the vastness of the art world for beginners.
I really enjoyed this, Esha, thank you. Like you I am inspired by Simon Haisell and Matt Long (I had the great pleasure of chatting on a Zoom call with Matt early in 2024). I did the Wolf Hall slow read. Very interested in the Klinkenborg … the only non fictions I pick up these days are generally about writing … I make an exception for Rob Macfarlane! My challenge this year is to read to celebrate a milestone birthday. 25 books published in 1965, my ‘year of publication’! Happy reading. Barrie
Some people found Klinkenborg's style arrogant or too unforgiving of academic writing, but I think his advice was direct and fresh. If you read it, I hope it's useful for you, too.
I am now intrigued:
1. What was your experience of the slow read?
2. Any writing book recommendations? I have three more lined up, but after that, I am out of ideas.
3. Are you only reading 25 books or are those a slice of your much longer TBR?
I started out faithfully keeping (slow) pace with Simon but I quickly got caught up in the plot. I rattled through it in the end. Unputdownable, as they say! I’ll come back to the other books in the trilogy.
My go-to re-reads on writing are ‘Bird by Bird’ Anne Lamott and ‘On Writing’ Stephen King - both are light on mechanics, which suits me, stops them being too ‘learny’ and they focus on approaches and mindset. I’ve added ‘In Writing’ by Hattie Crisell and I have high hopes for it. Which hints at the last question. I like to keep the ‘challenge’ modest. After aiming for (and reaching) 57 books in 2022, I’ve kept the targets lower for the past two years so I can write more and keep on with our adventures. I’m bound to read more this year but 25 from 1965 has a ring to it. We’re on a 3 month rail adventure around Europe in the autumn and I plan to read novels set in towns we visit. So, lots of reading, plenty of writing and loads of adventures! Yay, a good year ahead.
What plans do you have for reading, writing and adventures?
I liked Bird by Bird, too. It offered some really helpful ways of approaching character, plot, &c that seemed grounded but not too mechanical like you said. Hadn't heard of 'In Writing' before but will look it up now.
I have kept a somewhat low count (37) for the same reason—to have space for life and writing. And I love the idea of reading books that are set in the towns you are visiting!
I am doing something similar—will visit my parents in India this year (or early 2026), and I intend to read books about the city I grew up in when I visit them.
Thank you, Esha, for sharing this inspiring and wide-ranging list of books! Every time I read one of your posts, I’m reminded of how reading is such a rewarding, pleasurable and generative activity.
This post itself is such a mosaic of inspiration! I love your four lessons on reading from this year. My favourite one is: “Let it always feel expansive.” For me, that sense of expansiveness is one of the things that keep me going back to reading. So this lesson resonated deeply!
Following your newsletter this year has been such a true delight, and your plans for 2025 make me even more excited to follow along! Wishing you an amazing end of the year, and I look forward to reading more of your wonderful writing in the new year!
Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts, Saran. Always great to have you here <3
And yes, that expansiveness is what keeps me reading as well—expansiveness of knowledge and thought. I also included this as a sort of reassuring reminder that even if I wander off my plans or change my mind, it's alright. It's about the feeling of enlargement that reading provides.
I love how this end-of-the-year newsletter did not feel overwhelming to read. I glided from one topic to the next with ease. The lessons from 2024 and COAMR in 2025 were my favourite. Your evolution as a reader and writer this year has been so special. I love that I got to witness it so closely. I am sure you'll achieve your reading goals and even if you don't, something really interesting will come out of the digression.
Do you have any tips for someone who starts reading a book, loses interest mid-way and forgets about it altogether? Asking for a friend. 🙈 🥲
You can look at this at two levels:
1. Book selection
Ask yourself: What topics are meaningful to me and keep me occupied? What do I want to know more about and think of at length? Then search for books that deal with those things. I care about knowing the foundational literary texts, so I am doing the slow read and going through Greek mythology. I want to pay better attention to people and my physical experience, so I am picking up non-fiction books that will show me more angles to these topics. Sometimes, I want to escape to a familiar world, so I'll read fanfiction. Locate (some of) your wants and curiosities, then match them to a bookish destination.
2. Discipline
I know reading is supposed to be for fun. A hobby! A pleasure! But sometimes, you're not in the mood. Scrolling feels more enticing or your brain won't settle. So, if you can pick the book up and be like, "I'll try reading a chapter" or "I decided to read for 30 minutes out of the 16 hours I am awake. Let me do it," then you can get over those bumpy days and ensure you make progress with the book. Try to keep the rhythm going so that you reach a point where not reading feels harder than reading (the secret to maintaining any habit over the long run).
Also, if you're only reading after dinner or you're tired, try reading when you're more alert and can pay sharper attention. That might shift your experience.
I loved this!! I HAVE to read the invention of Angela carter as she is my FAVORITE !! and I’m totally buying that book about understanding art - I took an art history class my last semester of college and was always said I couldn’t take more!
Then you’ll definitely enjoy the biography! I love its cover, the font, the photos, the journal entries and of course, knowing all the details about Carter’s work.
And the art history book will be a great jumping-off point—really brings some order to the vastness of the art world for beginners.
I really enjoyed this, Esha, thank you. Like you I am inspired by Simon Haisell and Matt Long (I had the great pleasure of chatting on a Zoom call with Matt early in 2024). I did the Wolf Hall slow read. Very interested in the Klinkenborg … the only non fictions I pick up these days are generally about writing … I make an exception for Rob Macfarlane! My challenge this year is to read to celebrate a milestone birthday. 25 books published in 1965, my ‘year of publication’! Happy reading. Barrie
Hi Barrie, thank you so much for reading!
Some people found Klinkenborg's style arrogant or too unforgiving of academic writing, but I think his advice was direct and fresh. If you read it, I hope it's useful for you, too.
I am now intrigued:
1. What was your experience of the slow read?
2. Any writing book recommendations? I have three more lined up, but after that, I am out of ideas.
3. Are you only reading 25 books or are those a slice of your much longer TBR?
Great questions, Esha.
I started out faithfully keeping (slow) pace with Simon but I quickly got caught up in the plot. I rattled through it in the end. Unputdownable, as they say! I’ll come back to the other books in the trilogy.
My go-to re-reads on writing are ‘Bird by Bird’ Anne Lamott and ‘On Writing’ Stephen King - both are light on mechanics, which suits me, stops them being too ‘learny’ and they focus on approaches and mindset. I’ve added ‘In Writing’ by Hattie Crisell and I have high hopes for it. Which hints at the last question. I like to keep the ‘challenge’ modest. After aiming for (and reaching) 57 books in 2022, I’ve kept the targets lower for the past two years so I can write more and keep on with our adventures. I’m bound to read more this year but 25 from 1965 has a ring to it. We’re on a 3 month rail adventure around Europe in the autumn and I plan to read novels set in towns we visit. So, lots of reading, plenty of writing and loads of adventures! Yay, a good year ahead.
What plans do you have for reading, writing and adventures?
I liked Bird by Bird, too. It offered some really helpful ways of approaching character, plot, &c that seemed grounded but not too mechanical like you said. Hadn't heard of 'In Writing' before but will look it up now.
I have kept a somewhat low count (37) for the same reason—to have space for life and writing. And I love the idea of reading books that are set in the towns you are visiting!
I am doing something similar—will visit my parents in India this year (or early 2026), and I intend to read books about the city I grew up in when I visit them.