2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

Hi all,

Good luck with your lists. I hope to thrash down my to-read pile a bit this year...

Progress to date -

#1: 'Lessons In Chemistry', Bonnie Garmus, 3.5/5
#2: 'The Odyssey', Homer, 4/5
#3: 'Weird Bristol', Charlie Reveille-Smith 3/5
#4: 'War Doctor', David Nott 3/5
#5: 'Slow Productivity', Cal Newport 4.5/5
#6: 'The Alchemist', Paul Coelho 3.5/5
#7: 'Zero to One' Peter Thiel 4/5
#8: 'The Long Game' Dorie Clark 2/5
#9: 'The Colorado Kid' Stephen King 4/5

I thought I'd post a quick summary of each book as I go -

The latest, War Doctor, I quite liked:

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An autobiographical story of a British vascular surgeon and (self-admitted) adrenalin junkie who takes a few weeks or months a year away from his first world hospital job to visit various violent hell-holes all around the world, in order to perform emergency trauma-surgery on combatants and civilians caught in the cross fire.

The description of the clinical activity is graphic, brutal even, but the stories of what people can survive (with the help of a well wielded scalpel) is grimly uplifting.

The most negative aspect for me was the heavy dose of propaganda that comes layered into the text throughout. I get that he is embedded into a certain side of each conflict, and no doubt needs to keep certain powerful groups on-side for him to do what he does. Even so though. Even so.
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Slow Productivity... I will post a review to the Buddy Reads thread.

The Alchemist

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This was a quick and easy read, simply told and well written in the sense that the style didn't get in the way. It was short at 161 pages, but didn't feel truncated: it was as long as it needed to be.

It was an unashamed coming-of-age tale, told in a light fairy-tale style and loosely set somewhere in the 20th century. The exact date doesn't really matter as it dealt with timeless concepts.

Our shepherd protagonist leaves the life he knows and goes in search of treasure, or perhaps adventure, or maybe himself.

Many are the scrapes, setbacks, temptations and interestingly archetypal characters he is exposed to, each of which provides a moral lesson in one way or another. Don't be too naive, but don't lose yourself to cynicism either, work hard but hold the rewards of that work lightly. Don't lose your sense of wonder at the world, or your faith in it. Keep your eyes open and your head up, and be yourself even in the face or mortal peril. You will grow into your full ability and leave those behind who become stuck at one of the hurdles. All good lessons for life.

You can criticise the plot on technical grounds, but that rather misses the point. It's not that kind of book.

Although I did wonder what the continuation would be when he walked off into the sunset with the perfect mate archetype and started having children. Welcome to level 2...

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Hi Sean! I hope you have been making good progress on your goal and enjoying some great books along the way! Happy reading!

Sean, I hope you've been enjoying your 2025 reads!