[040] The Books I Actually Finish (And Why That Matters)

Story #040

The Books I Actually Finish (And Why That Matters)

Max J Miller

December 22, 2025

As soon as I pressed send on last week’s Wisdom Wayfinder, I began to question its premise. Was my reading (and book buying) really motivated by ‘keeping up with the (intellectual) Joneses’?

I decided to test that assertion by reviewing the books I purchased and read in 2025. It would be pretty simple to discern my motivation for reading (or purchasing) each book.

The results of my survey were both reassuring and surprising. I was reassured that my reading choices were not primarily influenced by bestseller lists, but were closely aligned with my current projects and personal interests. 

The books I read this year fall into five categories consistent with my areas of interest:

  1. Consciousness, Spirituality, & The Human Condition
  2. Wisdom, Aging, & Meaning
  3. Mind, Mindset, Paradigms
  4. Writing & Creativity
  5. Leadership, Business, & Effectiveness


The pattern I described last week of compulsively buying any book cited by a friend or colleague may have been overstated. My personal interests have significantly constrained my book-buying impulse. 

Even so, my areas of interest are numerous and broad. Seeing that I have already acquired more books than I will be able to read in my lifetime, I want to sharpen my criteria for allocating my reading time. 

The irony isn’t lost on me: seeking to sharpen my focus, I started four books on the topic. I’ve finished exactly one.

Something that surprised me was a pattern I saw in the books that I actually read all the way through. I’m not surprised that I purchase (and even start reading) many books I ultimately don’t finish. Many of us do that for a variety of reasons.

Of the books that I actually read cover to cover, many of them were by authors whose previous books I’ve also read in full. This year, I completed multiple books by Alan Watts, David R. Hawkins, Angeles Arrien, Stephen Batchelor, Brené Brown, Thich Nhat Hanh, Benjamin Hardy, Bernadette Jiwa, Sam Harris, Walter Wink, David Brooks, Dan Koe, and Will Storr.

Why do I return to these particular voices? Why do I not just finish their books but reread them? The answer reveals the difference between information and transformation: These authors go beyond information into the realm of insight. More than passing on knowledge, they transmit wisdom. They connect the dots. They shift my perspective, upgrade my ambitions, and renew my spirit.

This suggests a three-part approach to my reading habit: one-third of my reading time devoted to current projects, one-third to my trusted wisdom teachers, and one-third to pure curiosity. Structure without rigidity. Intention without obsession.

So I’ve created a reading log in my daily journal to track this experiment. Will it work? Will I stick to it? Ask me again in three months. 

For now, here’s what I’m learning: the books worth finishing aren’t necessarily the ones everyone’s talking about. They’re the ones written by people who’ve done the deep work of transforming information into insight. My reading log isn’t really about productivity—it’s about paying attention to which voices help me see more clearly, think more deeply, and live more wisely. And maybe that’s the essential criterion for allocating any of our finite resources: not what’s trending, but what’s transforming.

Next week, I’ll share some of my wisdom takeaways from my reading in 2025.

Shine,

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