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This year, for the first time in a long while, I feel genuinely proud of how I read. With 31 books already finished (and a 32nd on the way), I finally have enough distance — and depth — to look back and name real favourites. But more than the number, it was how I read that mattered: the mix of non-fiction and fiction, the family audiobooks in the car, the way stories carved out moments of focus, escape, and connection. I share my favourites for each category alongside the highlights below, but it is more a set of reading reflections than a list of favourites.
Favourite Non-Fiction: Deep Work – Cal Newport
What it’s about
Deep Work is a powerful argument for reclaiming the ability to focus in a distracted world. Cal Newport makes the case that the capacity to concentrate deeply — without distraction — is becoming increasingly rare and increasingly valuable. He distinguishes between deep work (focused, cognitively demanding tasks) and shallow work (emails, meetings, admin), and shows how modern work culture often rewards the latter while eroding the former.
Key highlights
- Focus is a skill — and it can be trained
- Busyness is not the same as productivity
- High-quality output = time × intensity of focus
- Digital minimalism as a productivity strategy
- Rituals and boundaries matter more than willpower
Why it mattered for me
In my portfolio life, I am happy with the breadth of things I have on my plate, but I struggle with achieving the depth that I believe truly adds quality to my work. I find myself switching too much or trying to do too many things at the same time. Through Cal’s book (and also with his Slow Productivity one), I got a reminder of why this happens in our brains and how I can find myself strategies to regain my hours of deep work or, as I used to call it, “whitespace”. This book ranks among my favourites because it had an immediate, tangible effect on my professional life — and because I still return to its ideas whenever I feel myself drifting away from focus (including while writing this article).
Favourite Fiction: The Seven Sisters – Lucinda Riley
What it’s about
This sweeping seven-book saga follows the lives of adopted sisters scattered across the globe, each uncovering their origins through richly layered historical and contemporary narratives. The series blends family mystery, romance, history, and travel — moving effortlessly between continents and time periods.
Key highlights
- Strong, complex female protagonists
- A sense of place that feels immersive
- Intergenerational storytelling
- Themes of identity, belonging, and chosen family
- Perfect balance of escapism and emotional depth
Why it mattered to me
I started the first book not knowing it was a series, as I considered joining a local book club. I found myself back in my teenage years, where nothing could get between me and my book. It was late summer by the time I read it, and when I realised it was a series, I was a bit disheartened:
“I don’t have time to read 7 books with this intensity!”
Oh, but I did, especially when I found out I already had them all in my Kindle and there were no barriers to moving from one book to another. I blame my lack of sleep – and some loss of deep work on this series- but I am immensely grateful for it. Thanks to a mix of present and past and an intertwined family history, I found myself truly disconnected from the world, which I had not been able to do in forever. Cherry on top of the cake? There are not 7 books, but rather 8, if you really want to know the whole story.
Favourite Personal Development: The Artist’s Way – Julia Cameron
What it’s about
The Artist’s Way is a 12-week framework designed to help people reconnect with creativity — not as performance, but as a way of being. Through practices like Morning Pages and Artist Dates, Julia Cameron invites readers to remove inner blocks, quiet the inner critic, and create space for curiosity and play.
Key highlights
- Creativity as a spiritual practice
- Morning Pages as a tool for mental decluttering
- The importance of solitude and boredom
- Permission to create without output pressure
- Reframing creativity as nourishment, not productivity
Why it mattered to me
This is hard to fit in a paragraph, and, in time, I think it is likely to become a full article on its own. The Artist Way is a process of transformation. I have known about it for years, but this was the year I decided to dive into it. I started by offering it to my best friend, and with that, we decided to embark on this journey together, with our own adaptations. I used to be a poet when I was younger, and when I became a serious banker, I stopped writing poetry. When I started the blog a few years later, it was a response to my need to create that I had kept buried inside, and whilst it was not poetry, at least it was a conduit for expression. But it was tied to productivity, publishing, and results, no matter how much I just wrote for fun.
With the Artist Way, I have been learning about my creativity without boundaries and, truthfully, how I have been my biggest impediment. The Morning Pages have been hard to pick up on, but, together with the reading of “Deep Work”, have really improved my focus and my stillness. The Artist Dates have been scarce, but they have also taught me about how I need to give myself permission to create that space. And most of all, writing without a specific goal has been a real lesson, and one that I am still getting to grips with.
Favourite Family Book: Kid Normal
What it’s about
The Kid Normal series is a joyful, laugh-out-loud children’s collection about a boy with no superpowers in a school full of superheroes. It’s clever, inclusive, and genuinely funny — for adults and kids alike — with sharp observations about difference, belonging, and confidence.
Key highlights
- Celebrates being “normal” in a world obsessed with exceptionalism
- Humour that works across generations
- Strong messages about self-acceptance and friendship
- Perfect for shared reading moments
Why it mattered to me
This was the first fiction audiobook I heard with my son. We had done a few fiction books, but I did not know how I was going to feel about listening to fiction. I could not have chosen a better set of authors, who also read their own books. The story was good and became a series of books we read eagerly, and ended up including the whole family when we went on family trips, but it was the reading that made it truly exceptional. We were held in suspense and laughed out loud with their multiple intermissions. In the meantime, I found a series to read with my daughter as well (The Mother Daughter Book Club series), and we have picked up on multiple books by the same authors of Kid Normal. Thanks to this book, we embarked on a new activity as a family.
Looking back, what strikes me is that all these books — across genres — had one thing in common: they slowed me down. They invited depth over speed, presence over performance, and connection over consumption. In different ways, they supported my journey back to myself — rekindling my love of reading and, quietly, reopening the door to my love of writing.