At the end of each year, I draw my goals for the coming year in my Dream Board. Reading goal is one must-have goal. I used to set it as reading 12 or 24 books a year. But I realized this approach didn’t excite me this year. I need to make it more engaging — something that sparks emotional motivation. So, I turned my reading goal into a challenge.

Just like I set running challenges — 5K, 10K — I started setting “5K” and “10K” book challenges too. 5K means reading 20 books, and 10K means 40 books (my own metric 🙂 ). The names felt more exciting to me. I began listing the books I read each month in my blog to track my progress.

This routine not only keeps me accountable with my goal, but also helps me reflect on my reading habits — what topics I explored and what topics were new to me. It helps me aware of my ignorant areas.

For this year, I set 10K Book Challenge — reading 40 books.

5 books I read in February:

1. How to Read a Book — Mortimer J. Adler and Charles van Doren

If you want to read well, this is a right choice. It was first published in 1960, but its value and guidance remain relevant today.

“If you want a new idea, read an old book” (Ivan Pavlov).

The book provides a comprehensive guide to four levels of reading: elementary reading, inspectional reading, analytical reading, and syntopical reading (reading multiple books on the same topic). You will learn the idea of reading isn’t just about reading the words on the lines, but reading the words between the lines too. I’m still learning that.

2. On Writing Well — William Zinsser

I was curious about this book because it’s one of two often called “writer’s bible”. The other is The Elements of Style by White and Strunk. After reading it, I understood why.

In this book, you don’t just read the author’s writing guidance — the words on the lines, but you also feel his love for writing — the words between the lines. One clear message run through the book: Writing isn’t just about your ideas or contents, it’s about yourself.

3. The Heart to Start — David Kadavy

I started my first Medium blog after reading this book.

When we think about challenges, we often focus on those that arise while working on a project. But what about the challenges that come before we even start? These obstacles stop you right at the starting point. You haven’t even start, let alone made progress. These are invisible obstacles. This book makes them visible.

Kadavy points out the common challenges before you start — what I call the pre-start stage, and shows you how to overcome them. So you can finally start.

4. Apollo’s Arrow — Nicholas A. Christakis

The book was written in 2020 when COVID-19 was still a nightmare in our planet. It explores what we know about past pandemics (e.g., Black Death, Spanish Flu) and how we’ve responded to the current one.

Same fears, same physical and emotional actions are what we’re fighting with this familiar enemy — despite our advances in our science.

Have we truly learned from our ancestors’ battles against this enemy? Through these comparisons, we know how our species has reacted in the past, so we understand our reactions now, and the why behind the. ”A pandemic is not new to our species — it is only new to us.”

5. An American Sickness — Elisabeth Rosenthal

Healthcare in America is expensive and inefficient — a statement often cited in books about the U.S. healthcare system.

Viewing it as a disease, Rosenthal first diagnoses its historical illness, examines their root causes, and then offers a prescription for treatment.

Like a documentary film, this book tells touching stories of patients struggling with staggering medical bills. It uncovers when, and how the American healthcare system began prioritizing profit over patients. After reading, I knew the answers and I wish I didn’t.