As always this year I took a note of the books I have consumed. I say consumed because books are not just read anymore, they are listened to as well. It came to 36. 16 read and 20 listened.

As the year is ending, the last book of the year is Hope for Cynics – The surprising science of human goodness by Jamil Zaki and it is even changing the way I think about reading books.

As I read hope for cynics, it is also an introspection into how I have been looking at our world. I am coming face to face with my own cynicism. Being painfully aware of it. It is making me very uncomfortable and the realization that there is more I should do to trust human goodness. The discomfort is when I ask myself if I am capable of that trust in the way I want. I don’t know, but we will see.

Jamil mentions something that in a way throws out of the window what I wrote in the first paragraph. I will try to phrase it as best as I understood.

If we start putting a number to something, and try to quantify and over optimize everything in our personal life it could get addictive and lose its meaning. He goes on to say that to thrive as human beings we need unquantifiable experiences.

Unquantifiable experiences can include the urge to be good, the need for strong deep relationships, empathy, art, love, music, hope, moments of flow, grieving, loss, goodbyes, warm hellos, anticipation, random acts of kindness, laughter, a sense of wonder, nature, self awareness and more. Stepping outside the framework and not force us to define ourselves with data always.

Coming back to books. Does it matter how many books I read. Absolutely not. Other than showing off in this post here what significance does it have. I think we read for two reasons. One is enjoyment and other is retaining information. I don’t think both were true in all the books I consumed. Then what is the point in reading a lot.

Can reading be an unquantifiable experience. I think so. Not just reading. On a personal level, 2025 for me is to explore unquantifiable experiences. Explore life beyond the data.

Wish you all a great year ahead !