In March 2024, I began a reading routine. The inspiration to read more brought on a structure, a syllabus, and a reading list.

Each weekday morning, I got out of bed, ate a cold breakfast, drained a pot of hot coffee, then started a timer while I read. On loose-leaf paper in an orange binder, I wrote what I learned and what wasn’t worth further study. I then marked a wall calendar with notes on subjects I covered.

From March to November, I accomplished what I intended to. I set goals to read, and I read. No one was herding me into it, which made it both harder and easier to maintain. After a December break, I started the routine again in January 2025.

Below are titles from 2024 alphabetized by author. What’s listed is books that kept my interest from start to finish across 8 months.

Fiction	• The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins • Fellowship of the Ring: Book One, Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
Poetry	• I Will Not Be Moved by Maya Angelou • The Tradition by Jericho Brown • The Trouble with Poetry by Billy Collins • How the Water Holds Me by Tariq Luthun • Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón • The Death of Sitting Bear by N. Scott Momaday • American Cavewall Sonnets by C.T. Salazar • Monument by Natasha Trethewey
Nonfiction	• Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown • Gospel of Luke, Catholic Bible (New Revised Standard Version, NRSV) • The Essential Rumi, translated by Kabir Helminski • Self-Love Workbook for Women by Megan Logan • The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday • No-Nonsense Buddhism for Beginners by Noah Rasheta • The Elements of Style by Strunk & White