Marvin's Monthly Book Bites is a monthly newsletter I started in 2024 to share the books I've read over a month. You can subscribe to updates here.

 Hey there 👋

Wow, what a year 2024 has been. I've never read as much as I have this year, and I even managed to read more than one book per week. I can truly say that I've rediscovered a hobby in reading and found an incredibly enjoyable way to relax. Probably also because I've only read a handful of business books and mostly focused on fiction and novels.

I've shared all of this in 12 issues of Monthly Book Bites, where I've consistently written short reviews and thoughts on the books I've read. And now we are here, at the last issue. I want to share some of my highlights from the year and the books that have really stuck with me.

Anyone who reads my newsletter knows that my absolute favorite book this year was Melody. It completely captivated me; I couldn't put it down, and it helped me rediscover my joy for reading.

In addition, there were also incredibly amazing books that fascinated me. One of them was by Martin Suter (who truly was my favorite author this year) titled Montecristo. In this story, a Swiss video reporter is accidentally drawn into a dangerous intrigue involving financial fraud, corruption, and murder that turns his life upside down. It’s a thriller with great twists and a tremendous gripping effect. However, an old classic by Patrick Süskind also fascinated me. In The Parfume, the scent-gifted outsider Jean-Baptiste Grenouille develops a murderous obsession in 18th-century France to create the perfect perfume from the scents of young women. It was a true page-turner for me, and especially since I read it at the beginning of the year, it greatly influenced my subsequent reading journey.

As I mentioned, I have read hardly any business books or guides this year. Probably because I just can't stand hearing self-proclaimed coaches tell me that I need to wake up at 5:00 AM if I want to be successful. The jungle of non-fiction books is gigantic, dense, and dark. It’s not easy to find quality anymore. One book I return to every year is The Almanack of Naval Ravikant. If I give a book as a gift, it’s usually this one. Because you really don’t need much more. No book has influenced me as much as this one.

On top of that, I have finally learned how to organize my digital life and why a little chaos can sometimes be a good thing. In The PARA Method by Tiago Forte, a simple, universal system is presented that organizes tasks, projects, and digital information into four categories to maximize focus, efficiency, and long-term productivity. It finally clicked for me how I can implement a system amidst all the chaos.

Yes, this year I have also been captivated by book series. Two have particularly stood out. On the one hand, there is the Trisolaris series by Liu Cixin. Here, humanity is faced with existential challenges due to contact with an advanced alien civilization, testing science, philosophy, and the survival instinct of humanity. I must admit that I am still stuck on the third book, and it feels like a real fever dream. But I still enjoy it.

The second series that I thoroughly enjoyed was the Allmen series. In Martin Suter's Allmen series, the charming but financially troubled bon vivant Johann Friedrich von Allmen, along with his loyal servant Carlos, solves elegant criminal cases while recovering art and luxury goods. Each book felt like a vacation, and I became so immersed in the adventures of Allmen and Carlos that sometimes I could hardly find my way back out. Thank you for these wonderful moments, Mr. Suter.

After my trip to Japan, I also dove into the world of mangas. In the last edition of this series, I wrote about how much I was captivated by Dragon Ball and how I find this universe incredibly exciting and amazing. Additionally, I discovered Jujutsu Kaisen and can absolutely recommend the series. I then watched the first two seasons of the anime and can't even count how many times I sat on the floor, cheering for my favorite characters! Note to self: The best storytelling is simply found in mangas!

So that was my reading year 2024. I’m not setting a reading goal for 2025 because I know that reading brings me joy again. And that is exactly how it should be.