I read 100 Books in a Year - This is What I Learned

My goal for 2021 was to read or listen to 100 books. #dramaticmusicplaying…

…and I failed! Jokes aside (even though that could probably also be a great article), I actually did manage to complete this goal. Yes, please send me a gold medal, preferably one of those with chocolate inside.

On December 31 at 6.21 pm I finished my 100th book. Today I would like to share some insights and advice for anyone wanting to read more. I have written the questions myself (sometimes when answering them I forgot that it was really me who had written them and I felt so popular and sought-after) and I’ve tried to summarize the things some people have asked, like WHY, just whyy, did I do this. Let’s go!

1. How did you come up with this goal?

I have always liked reading but I have also always had great excuses why I didn’t read as much as I wanted where lack of time was one of my favorite excuses. In 2020 I decided to read 50 books which felt reasonable as it amounts to around one book per week. By the end of that year, I had read more than 60 books and that gave me confidence to continue doing it.

Advice no. 1: By accomplishing one goal (big or small), you will get confidence and motivation to set even bigger goals.

2. Who inspired you to start reading a lot and who kept you motivated?

One person who inspired me was one in Business & Dreams’ community, @kimsbokhylla, who has for a long time read 100 books per year. During the process of reading a lot, I occasionally posted insights on my Instagram and got a positive response which continued to motivate me (a big majority from Business & Dreams’ community, thank you for being the best). Camilla also has really high goals within reading (congrats on your 2021 reading goal!!) and I love to discuss books with her. Moreover, my parents have both always been avid readers and as we all know, kids do what parents do and not what parents say. Seeing my dad carve out a considerable part of his busy days to sit down and read, or seeing my mom listen to books by Dostojevskij (sometimes even in French to challenge herself) made me eventually become addicted to books as well.

Advice no. 2: Find like-minded people who are interested in or already are doing the things you want to do.

3. Do you read physical books or listen to audio books?

It’s 90% audio books. As mentioned above, one of my previous excuses to not read more was a lack of time. Since I love to e.g. walk and bike, I realized that I could use my time in a different way and listen to books while walking or biking. One comment I get from those who don’t enjoy audio books is that they eventually zoom out. My response is that I did that too in the beginning and it’s a question of habit. Moreover, it is not the end of the world if we do. I zoom out while reading physical books too. When I mind-wander during an audio book, I just continue listening and eventually I will get the bigger picture.

Advice no. 3: Use audio books and just continue listening if you happen to mind-wonder.

4. How do you have time to listen to 100 books, i.e. two books per week on average?

Thanks to the speed increase function in audio books, the process becomes much shorter. I remember the first time I set the pace to 2X. I thought to myself “I can’t hear anything, what kind of alien is this function made for?”. Keeping in mind that I might be somewhat of an alien myself, I gradually increased the speed and before I knew it I was listening to 2X.

One comment I sometimes get from people when I say this is that they don’t want to just rush through books and that increasing the speed is not that pleasant and kind of removes the experience of consuming a book. And I fully get that. When I listen to fiction or just a book in general where I love how it’s written or maybe it’s just really exciting, I listen to it in a calmer pace. But when I listen to non-fiction about e.g. habit formation, my goal is to absorb information and that’s when 2X is a great function. My friends sometimes joke that I am addicted to this function. After one very slow meeting, Camilla asked me if I deep down wanted the people speaking in it to switch to 2X. My friend Joella asked me another time if I listened to music and guided meditation at 2X too. To answer both - yes and no. #sorrynotsorry

Advice no. 4: Use the speed increase function and increase gradually (if you want to).

5. How much do you listen in a day?

When I listen to 2X, every books takes half the time to listen to. (Yes Vendela, that’s how math works, teach us more). At 2X, a book typically takes eight hours, meaning I listen to audio books roughly 2 hours per day to keep the pace of 100 books a year. While that may seem like a lot, I try to use moments like getting ready in the morning, walking to and from work, exercising, waiting in line in grocery stores, evening walks etc.

One goal I have in life is to never “waste time”. This may sound weird but I never want to e.g. stand in a line in the grocery store and be bored and wind-wander. I never want to just be restless doing nothing waiting for a friend who might be late. I once read a quote, I think it was from Warren Buffett (now I will be one of those people who attribute any good quote to any famous person), who always brings a book with him. If e.g. someone is late for a meeting, and they say “Sorry that I kept you waiting”, he smiles and replies “I wasn’t waiting”, simply because he was reading and learning new things. With that said, being late is rude. Also number 2 with that said, my goal is not to always be “productive” (I am a human being, not a human doing. And partly an alien) but I do want every moment to be chosen consciously. I want to either learn something, or I want to be fully present and enjoy e.g. a conversation, meditate or sit in silence.

Advice no. 5: Use the moments you have when you e.g. get ready in the morning to listen.

6. How do you remember everything you read?

I don’t. Would be so inspiring if I just ended the answer here. But I seriously remember just a small part of what I read. Sometimes I reread books and it feels like it’s the first time reading them for me. I can even look back at summaries I have made and be like “The person who wrote this seems so knowledgeable” and then I remember it was me and that I definitely should read that book again. But one way that helps me to retain knowledge is to take notes. Every time I start a new book I open a new note page on my phone. After I’ve finished the book, I read my notes. By taking notes you also become a more active listener which makes the whole process more fun.

Advice no. 6: Take notes while reading a book.

7. How to you stay motivated throughout the year?

One thing that keeps me motivated is that I write down all the books I read. Sounds simple, but this primitive form of gamification actually releases quite a big dose of dopamine in my brain. I have also come to realize that the way we think of ourselves will determine our actions. After I started to see myself as a person who reads a lot, I simply maintain this image I have of myself. I believe this can be applied in many situations in life, with both good and bad results. If you see yourself as an honest person, you will avoid lying. If you see yourself as a person who doesn’t have the energy to lower the toilet seat after you have used it, you will not lower the toilet seat after you have used it.

Advice no. 7: a) Use forms of gamification and b) be aware of how you see yourself - are you the kind of person who lowers the toilet seat or not?

8. What do you do in the moments you simply don’t have the energy to listen?

What I have come to realize is that resistance is usually in the beginning of any process. When I go on a walk, it is often tempting for me to just listen to music. And often times that’s exactly what I will do (follow me on Spotify if you want to get your party started). But I am also aware of that it’s the start of something that is the hardest part, whether that is going to the gym or cleaning my home. I therefore fool myself on those days that I only have to listen for 30 seconds to the book and often I just continue listening to the book after that. I played myself in a good way so to speak. DJ Khaled would agree. It’s like Newton’s first law, the law of inertia, which says that an object at rest remains at rest, and an object that is moving will continue to move. That last line made me feel so smart and I wish everyone reads this and just ponders how smart I am.

Advice no. 8: Remember that it’s the start of something that consumes will-power. And that I am smart.

9. What is your goal for the coming year?

My goal for 2022 is to read 101 books. With this 1% increase, no one can tell me I’m not constantly stepping up in life. Jokes aside, I feel like around 100 books is a good pace and probably something I can continue doing for many years. I might step up when I’m 100 years old and have the whole days to just read and make cinnamon buns to my grand children. I also want to revisit the books I really like. As mentioned earlier, I have come to (a bit painfully) realize that my brain is not a computer but more like a really slow parrot where you have to repeat stuff at least five times before it remembers barely 1% of it. So yes, rereading books is a great thing I believe.

Advice no. 9: If you have found a pace you like, make it long-term. And please come visit me when I’m 100 and try my delicious cinnamon buns where the secret sauce that makes them so delicious is just adding a lot of sugar and fat.

10. Lastly: Why Vendela? Just why? Why do you read this much when you could be listening to hiphop?

Yes, don’t tempt me. That’s not fair. And to answer my own question, I do listen to a lot of hiphop. And secondly, and my more serious answer, is that I read this much to grow as a person (that sounded like a first date answer or like a lame job interview). But I do want to be able to affect others in a positive way. I can honestly say that reading has made me a happier, calmer and more optimistic person. If I look back at myself say 2-3 years (see black and white picture above), I definitely was a less happy person. Books have taught me so much and given me so many great perspectives on life.

I have come to realize that life in itself is not that serious. For one, we are all going to die one day as one of my favorite authors Mark Manson likes to remind us of in the healthiest of ways, so how could anything happening to me in life really be that serious? If I would die in one hour, I wouldn’t spend that hour being a 5 out of 10 in happiness level - I would just EMBRACE life and have the best hour left ever. Life is not much different except that we just don’t know exactly how much time we have left. I feel right now like the person at a party reminding everyone of sad truths, sorry. Hope I’m not destroying your Saturday or something. But this very fact is why I have come to love my own life, regardless of how it may look to others. And I have come to appreciate everyone around me ten times more (even more than my speed increase so that’s kind of a big deal) and the precious time we have left together.

Insights like these all come from the books I read, e.g. my favorite “The Untethered Soul” by Michael Singer. The book says that if Death would knock us on our shoulder and say “Hi, it’s time to die”, many of us would reply “What, I wasn’t ready”. The author then reminds us how weird it is that many of us live a life where we are not ready to die in any second, i.e. not living life to the fullest, when we know death could happen at any time. I guess what I am trying to say is Carpe diem. And that I still listen to a lot of hiphop. And that I hope Drake wasn’t offended by my meme above and that I wonder if he has any book advice for me. That’s all.

Advice no. 10: Figure out why you want to read more and keep reminding yourself of your Why.

If you are not too bored of me, I have decided to summarize the books I enjoyed the most in 2021. Meanwhile, if you have any book advice, please connect with me on my Instagram or Business & Dreams’ Instagram.

Thank you so much for reading this and for making me feel a bit less like I wrote my own questions.

One of my favorite books!