Book logs as tools for self-reflection
In 2019, I started keeping track of every book I read. Earlier that year, I left everything familiar to me and moved to the United States, where I still feel a bit out of place. Books became my refuge and an escape for my troubled mind. Today, I’m still keeping track of everything I’ve read. Over time, I realized, this record of the books I’ve read is so much more than just a neat list. Having such an overview, I can now see patterns emerging related to exploring my interests and establishing my identity that were not that obvious at the time of reading. In this sense, if you’re more of a non-fiction reader like me, keeping a book log can offer a useful exercise for self-reflection and learning about the path we’ve been following more or less consciously, hopefully learning about our choices, motivations, and values along the way.
My 2019 and 2020 book logs
As I reviewed my reading choices from 2019 and 2020, I identified the following themes:
Meaning in professional life: Differences in teaching and practicing public health in the U.S. and back home made me rethink my career choices and reflect deeply about what I would like my job and its impact to look like in the future. I became interested in how to transform my ideas into businesses, building a community and a life of multiple careers. For this purpose, I explored the secrets of productivity and minimalism more eagerly, trying to understand how to find a balance between professional life and time for play and solitude. Attempts to bring more simplicity into my life made me also reconsider my relationship with technology and limit its mindless use.
Staying true to oneself: Striving to find my way around the new reality forced me to pay more attention to how I deal with change. More importantly, it seems, I wanted to learn how to do so in a way that both maintains my integrity and lets me be more comfortable with my vulnerabilities, rather than adapting to societal expectations.
Keeping in touch with my roots: I probably read more books by Polish authors in 2020 than I did after graduating from high school. Reading the works of contemporary Polish authors has become a way for me to satisfy my longing for the language and the unique local contexts and cultural references.
Creativity: 2020 was a year of exploring my creative side and seeking creative expression to fill the void. I launched a few writing projects, one of which is this blog. Inviting more creativity into my life and establishing a daily creative practice has given me a lot of agency and possibility.
In a nutshell, the above list summarizes my two years of development. In retrospect, reflecting on the themes brings a great deal of clarity into the times full of doubts and uncertainty. Going through all of the titles feels like rereading old journal entries and learning about how far you’ve come. Except that writing down a book title every week or two seems less daunting than keeping a daily journaling practice.
