I didn’t really keep notes while I was reading these. This is basically me looking back and going, “oh yeah… that one”, and trying to remember what actually stuck, I have also missed a few others, which I will update if I get the time.

Not a massively curated list, but there’s a theme (as usual): health, habits, money, tech, and why things work the way they do.

Exercised: The Science of Physical Activity, Rest and Health - Daniel Lieberman

Not a fitness book in the usual “here’s your plan” sense. It’s more about why humans move at all, and how “exercise” as we think about it is a pretty modern concept.

It made exercise feel less loaded. Movement matters, but it doesn’t have to look a certain way to count. I didn’t suddenly become a new person, but it did quietly reset how I think about being active.

Burn - Herman Pontzer

Probably my favourite thing I read this year. It explains metabolism in a way that actually makes sense, without turning into a diet plan or trying to sell you a system.

The main idea (as I understood it anyway) is that the body adapts more than we assume. You don’t just keep burning more and more calories forever by exercising more. Once that clicks, a lot of the usual health advice suddenly looks a bit wonky.

Atomic Habits - James Clear

I nearly skipped this because I’m pretty tired of productivity books, but I’m glad I didn’t. It’s straightforward and practical without being preachy.

The focus on small changes and just making the “good” thing easier than the “bad” thing felt realistic. I didn’t overhaul my life (thankfully). It mainly made me notice what I’m already doing on autopilot.

Same as Ever - Morgan Housel

This one was just enjoyable. Short chapters that are easy to dip in and out of and nothing too heavy.

The point is basically that while the world changes constantly, people don’t (at least not in the ways that matter). Fear, optimism, bad incentives, overconfidence all of that has been around forever. I found it oddly calming, especially with how noisy everything else feels.

Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What To Do About It - Corey Doctorow

This is a book from an Essay Corey Doctorow, it put a name to something I’ve been noticing for years. Platforms start out useful, then slowly get worse as incentives shift away from users.

It’s not exactly cheerful, but it is clarifying. Once you’ve seen the pattern properly, it’s hard not to notice it everywhere.

Project Hail Mary (audiobook, re-listen?)

I read this a few years ago and loved it, almost as much as The Martian. I didn’t enjoy Artemis nearly as much, but Project Hail Mary felt like a proper return to form.

This year I came back to it as an audiobook after hearing how good the narration was, and yeah, it’s excellent. It also turned into a bit of a bonding thing with my son, we listened together in the evenings, a chapter or two at a time, and he was completely hooked. Seeing him get pulled into it made me enjoy it even more the second time around.

That’s the lot. If you’ve read anything similar (or think I’ve missed something obvious), send it my way.