I Missed My 2024 Reading Goals
A quick reflection of my 2024 reads, with beer recs and 2025 reading resolutions 🎄
It is that weird week between Christmas and New Year’s when time feels like a construct, and you’re unsure what to do with your life — except eat and drink.
(This in-between week is not something I grew up with. In Moscow, where I’m from, the big celebration is New Year’s Eve, while Orthodox Christmas on January 6 isn’t widely celebrated, largely due to decades of Soviet atheism).
So, this week feels like the perfect time to reflect on my 2024 reading journey:
As the GoodReads screenshot above shows, I missed my 2024 reading goal by 11 books.
Overall, though, I’m pretty happy with how this reading year turned out:
I didn’t read as many books as I planned, but some of the ones I read were thiccccc and took more time.
It was also our first full year since moving to Scotland, so life got in the way — and that’s perfectly okay.
I read a good mix of fiction and nonfiction. While there wasn’t a specific reading theme this year, I did explore various topics:
- Scaling, organizational and change management,
- AI and its influence,
- Black history (particularly, the legacy of slavery and its heartbreaking impact)
- Finding your voice in content creation and the importance of not giving up in the creating process,
- Some beautiful, atmospheric novels.
My reading resolutions for 2025
I’ve already got my “want to read” list for next year which is an eclectic mix of the books I’ve been setting aside over the past few years:
- Some philosophical reads,
- Some quirky picks (like “The mushroom and the end of the world”),
- More organizational management books to help me keep making sense of the corporate world
- I also want to dive deeper into political reads (especially to better understand the global rightward shift).
I’m going to do my best to stick to my “want to read” list and actually complete it — only adding new books when they are really, truly calling my name.
Most importantly, reading goals shouldn’t feel like pressure. What truly matters isn’t hitting your target of, say, 20 or 30 books a year — it’s enjoying the journey through what you read.
Here’s to countless great and enjoyable reads for all of us in 2025!
You might know that I don’t post book reviews without beer recommendations — books and beers, that’s what I do.
2024 was a great year, beer discovery wise:
My all-time favorite remains Belgian and Belgian-style beers, and I explored quite a few of them this year — like this delightful Allagash White I enjoyed in a cosy Manhattan bar just a few days ago:
Living in lovely Edinburgh, I continued trying out Scottish beers this year. My absolute favorite local brewery is now officially Moonwake — their XPA and Pacific Pale Ale frequently made appearances on my Medium.
I made a point to explore as many Scottish breweries as possible (supporting local bottle shops), such as this great selection from Otherworld Brewing:
I’m excited to discover even more beers in 2025 and step out of my beer comfort zone to try new styles and brews!
Have a lovely 2025 everyone! 📚🍻
