intellectual growth.
Title: 71 Titles and a Lot of Questions: My 2025 in Audio
They say you are what you eat, but I’ve always believed you are what you listen to. Looking back at my 2025 Audible stats, it’s clear that I spent the year on a quest for context. With 71 titles under my belt and an average of 92 minutes a day, my commute and chores became a classroom for Politics and Social Sciences.
My "listening peak" hit in August—45 hours spent deconstructing world systems—but the real standout was my deep dive into the work of David Graeber. Spending 26 hours with his perspective (specifically Bullsht Jobs*) changed how I look at the modern workforce.
Whether it was exploring the "Economics of Belonging" or the historical reach of "How to Hide an Empire," this year was about awareness. I’m heading into 2026 with a much noisier brain, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Lately, I’ve been looking closely at the data behind my reading habits. For the longest time, my "female author ratio" sat at about 1 in every 6 books. It’s a statistic that surprised me, and it’s made me realize how easy it is to fall into a reading bubble without even noticing.
This past year, I made a conscious effort to change that. I’ve managed to bring that number up to 1 in 3. While my ultimate goal is a 50/50 split, shifting a decade’s worth of habits takes time. It’s also made me think about why we read. I’ll be honest: I find it hard to read just for "fun." For me, reading is about self-improvement and gaining new perspectives.
I’m curious—do you track the gender of the authors you read? Is your ratio closer to 25%, or maybe even 1%? And do you read to escape, or to grow?
The "Psychological Experiment" Approach
I remember a science teacher once telling me a strange rule of thumb: for men, the "safe" ratio for reading female authors is 1 in 7. If you drop below that—if you immerse yourself almost exclusively in a male perspective—strange things start to happen to your worldview. Honestly, looking at the "roller coaster" the world is on right now, I’m almost hoping for some of those strange things to happen. Maybe a shift in perspective is exactly what the doctor ordered.
I’ve been tracking my own data, and the shift is real. Over the last decade, I was sitting at a 1/6 ratio. But this past year? I’ve pushed it to 1/3. I’m intentionally seeking out the voices of women, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, and those navigating mental illness. There is a clear pattern in how these voices are being amplified or suppressed to manage the masses, particularly through "vox vat" development—shaping the consciousness of people based on who they are forced to be in proximity with. By changing who I read, I'm trying to change how I see the machine.
Out of the last 10 years have noticed
Of researching my goal of one out of seven books I have to read has to be the opposite sex for a challenge
After a decade of doing that I think I'm going to try and read one and two books has to be female 🙄
It's trying times or what I've learned is
Past good reads bio’s are!!!!
Reflecting on this past year with my dog blog, I've reached an exciting milestone! Since November 2024, my blog has garnered **13,500 views** just on the main page, not including views from my individual posts. With about **125 posts** uploaded, I estimate around **12,500 views** for those too, bringing my total to close to **26,000 clicks**
Huge thanks to everyone who has been part of this journey with me! Your support means the world. Here’s to continuing this adventure with our furry friends!
The mythbuster is not wrong with regards to logic. Simply reading anything, no matter the duration, does not guarantee comprehension and precision of application. Nor, however, does purchasing a degree.
Be honest. How many degree holders among us have actually read everything our professors assigned us? How many of us have received perfect scores on assessments? How many of those assessments were reliable and valid enough to determine whether we are experts in our chosen fields?
No one becomes an expert without knowing the field. Professors deliver their weekly diatribes, but these talks of various quality do not amount to nearly as much practicable knowledge as the readings assigned for the class. Unfortunately, the readings often come from highly-priced multiple-edition texts that have become obsolete with each passing year under the scrutiny of new evidence. Does this mean that the understanding and precision of our current experts will be obsolete in a year?
The point is, purchasing a degree means nothing if our experts do not continue to access new information. 1hourlitchallenge challenges us to devote an hour a day to researching our field no matter what other obligations we have. We publish our booklists and blog our findings. If our community agrees or disagrees with our book choices and comprehension, they can comment in the blog section, constructively.
We challenge you to devote an hour a day to your field. Your profession deserves it!
Definitely women definitely immigrants and lgbtq and mentally ill at the cost to control the mass population. I've noticed it. Emphasis by proximity of people in an area as a vox vat
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