Reading Analytics

I’ve already shared that I read every night and have done for years (and, at this point, possibly even decades). Almost all of my reading happens on Kindle, which makes analytics largely possible. A quick GDPR request to Amazon and I was able to pull all of my reading sessions since 2018…and a hop-skip-and-a-jump away with Claude, and I’d got a bunch of analytics on what and how I read.

I’m not here to dive into that just yet, but I am here to talk about my reading over the last 5 months of parental leave!

Books I’ve read

This covers the period February 2026 to the start of July 2026

The Wee Free Men

I was coming off the back of a slog through Les Miserables and wanted something new, light and fun. I love Pratchett and had never read this one…and it was exactly that: fun. Not as much depth as some of his books but very enjoyable all the same. Maybe one for my eldest child soon…

The Mistborn Trilogy

I loved these, but they took me a whole bunch of time (around 7 weeks). I’d never read Sanderson before but had heard a lot about him and thought this would be a good setting off place (a 99p deal on Kindle sealed it). Wow. Love the magic system, love the world, and love the twists and turns along the way. Found the first two books fantastic…wasn’t as fussed by the third book but I was committed by then.

I haven’t added more Sanderson since, but honestly…I really enjoyed these.

The English and Their History

I only dipped into this, as I sometimes do when I’m at a loss for what I should read next. I first read it on holiday years ago and loved it - very accessible, very detailed, and ultimately a great primer into the country I live in. I did 9 days of this and clearly decided that I wanted to get back into a story after reaching the Battle of Hastings (or thereabouts)

Reaper Man

Back to Pratchett, and one that I enjoyed the first time I read it but had never really clicked with, in the same way I had with the Watch series. It has one of the more beautiful moments in all of Pratchett (aside from the entirety of the Night Watch book): Death giving up some of his time for the little girl. I was floored the first time I read it and I was this time too: build up a currency and give it away - perfect storytelling.

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Again, not the whole thing, but I dipped in to this book that I first read when I was working in my first graduate job (at Mars). The book really impacted me and I’ve re-read it a couple of times since then: it’s so easy to slip into the anti-patterns the book gives and I find it helpful to remind myself of them and reflect on what I’m doing as a father and husband.

The Rose Field

I moved off of the Kindle for this one, as I bought this as a present for my wife when I was last in Oxford. As a child, I read (and loved) Pullman’s Dark Materials and I’ve re-read the whole series at least two more times - as an older teenager and as an adult. Each time I get more from them and I think they’re just the absolute pinnacle of…well, maybe children’s literature. But are they really children’s literature? Whatever they are, they’re magnificent.

I don’t think the newest trilogy are nearly as good, but that’s an impossibly high bar. I remember finding the first two books pretty interesting, and this one had its moments too. Not my favourite, and I ended up rushing the last book because I didn’t want to take it on holiday with me but wanted to finish it before I left!

A Fine Balance

I’ve already written a review of this book here so I won’t add much more here, other than the book is long - it took me a whole week on holiday, 49 sessions and more than 10 and a half hours.

The Master and Margarita

This was longer and trickier than I thought it’d be, but was a lot of fun. I loved the take on Pilate, and though I don’t really get any of the Moscow-specific details, it was nice to see a book where it felt like the author was enjoying themselves writing it.

The Remains of the Day

I’m still reading this now, but I started it on parental leave so am counting it. It’s going really well so far. Very different from any of the other things I’ve read while on leave, but that’s fine. Embarrassingly, I’ve previously written a book and claimed that it was tonally similar to Ishiguro. It’s not. Not even close. This is restrained and beautiful. Fair play.

Anxious Generation

I don’t really know where/how to include this (and the next entry) as I listened to them, rather than actually read them. However, I still think that counts and so I’m fine to put it here. I talked about the book here so won’t go into more detail.

Free-Range Kids

I listened to this immediately after the Haidt book and found it much less academic, but a whole lot more fun than his book. Between the two of them, I feel like I’m excited to take a much more ‘hands-off’ approach to parenting.

Conclusion

It’s been a busy period and I’ve been doing a lot else, but it’s good to know I’ve kept up with my reading and there’s quite a range of books that I’ve gone through. Maybe I should do twice-yearly check-ins and keep a track on all the stuff I’m reading and what I thought of it. I know GoodReads is supposed to be about that, but I’ve never really clicked with it.