fifty two weeks of reading (2024)

i read 52 books last year!

the full list of books i read this year is available here, along with a partially complete list from past years. i read a pretty even mix of fiction and non-fiction, though generally not much sci-fi or fantasy.

i'd like to make some recommendations! i think i'd strongly recommend five of the books i read this year, where i think of strongly recommend as the following commitment: “if you read this book and honestly found it to be a waste of your time, i would gladly get coffee and defend the book or read a book of your choosing.” descriptions are left deliberately short, i strongly prefer to come into books relatively blank slate and "experience" them." without further ado —

• the myth of sisyphus by albert camus. this book eloquently expressed a number of thoughts i'd crudely had before. i think this is the most personally meaningful piece of literature that i've read in years.
• a grief observed by c.s. lewis. a short, raw reflection after the death of his wife, this was painful to read but hauntingly beautiful. i still think about individual lines from the work often. n.b. the book touches often on his christianity, but i found lots of meaning despite not being one myself.
• days at the morisaki bookshop by satoshi yagisawa. an adorable, warm book set in a second-hand used bookstore in japan. i suspect this is the most biased and stubborn inclusion on this list. i've often said my dream is to one day run a second-hand bookstore and that bookstores are my happiest places, which likely explains much of my love for this piece.
• man's search for meaning by viktor frankl. a classic & often recommended book that i thought lived up to expectations. obvious what a personal theme of reflection was for me this year between this and the myth of sisyphus.
• mathematica by david bessis. the first half of this book is a wonderful description of synthesizing intuition and building a language to communicate it. i'd consider myself a fine but not particularly good math student, but thought the principles were far more generally applicable.

to make good on my commitment above — if you read one of the five and you regret the time you spent on it, i'd love to buy you coffee and talk about it (note: i reserve the right to retract at some point if the volume of outreach becomes overwhelming). send me an email at pranav [at] conviction [dot] com or shoot me a DM on twitter.

i'd love some recommendations from you -- fill out this form below & i'll let you know if i read your book. thanks in advance!