I started reading again: 18 books in 2019

Somewhere in Sacramento

Looking at the title, this seems a pretty pitiful number, but certainly much better than previous years (close to zero). Despite four months of 90-100+ hour workweeks, this year I have had more free time than all the other years of medical school, and suddenly began to read for leisure again.

I remember what it was like to be a voracious reader as a child and a teenager, and was increasingly disillusioned with myself for numbing my brain with endless social media. I even throw podcasts into this since I definitely use them as a way to pass time without really gaining anything from them. So my month in Chicago kickstarted what will hopefully be a habit of reading more, writing more, and being more critical and deliberate with the content I consume, and how I choose to use my precious free time.

Bolded and highlighted titles are those that I strongly recommend. Italicized titles are those I am currently reading and expect to finish before the year is over.

1. The Hazel Wood - Melissa Albert
2. I'm Not Dying with You Tonight - Kimberley Jones, Gilly Segal
3. The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon
4. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid
5. Big Little Lies - Liane Moriarty
6. Becoming - Michelle Obama
7. The Woman in Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware
8. An Enchantment of Ravens - Margaret Rogerson
9. The River at Night - Erica Ferencik
10. Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng
11. Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo
12. Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie
13. A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara
14. This is Going to Hurt - Adam Kay
15. Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness - Susannah Cahalan
16. No Exit - Taylor Adams
17. The Outsider - Stephen King
18. Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng

I expect to keep up this pace of reading into the first quarter of 2020 since I'll be traveling for residency interviews and not socializing with my classmates while I'm on the road. I don't really have a set TBR, but here are some of the books I definitely intend to hit in 2020.

1. The Secret Commonwealth - Phillip Pullman
2. Dear Girls - Ali Wong
3. House of Leaves - Mark Z. Daneilewski (RR)
4. Crooked Kingdom - Leigh Bardugo
5. Catch and Kill - Ronan Farrow

What does the future hold for me, and this blog? I really don't know that answer (other than I seriously hope everything works out and I match into orthopedic surgery), but hopefully I can use this space to log my books and talk about them in manageable batches. Looking at this list, it definitely seems my tastes are shifting away from fantasy and science fiction and towards contemporary mysteries and thrillers. Additionally, my goal is to read more medical humanities since my medical school library has an abundance of them (and everybody is too busy studying to read them for fun, except the graduating students).