As per usual, I set a number of goals and ambitions for myself this year. I’ll keep myself accountable by reporting back briefly at the end of each month. So: Four non-fiction books, one city trip (Ghent). Workouts and 10k walking every day. Finding the time and energy to practice each of my languages (and piano) on a daily basis proved more difficult, but I’m persevering. Saunas: check. Also (virtually) no sugar, except for a couple of occasions when it would have been impolite to decline. So overall a very successful month.

The books:

The Nutmeg’s Curse (Ghosh) – how colonialism begat global capitalism which begat the climate catastrophe. Some very interesting insights. (4.5/5)

The Atlas of Unusual Borders (Nikolič) – a light (-hearted) look at the more curious borders of the world. Informative. (3.5/5)

The Daily Stoic (Holiday) – Stoic wisdom through the ages, to be imbued daily. I couldn’t help but read it in one go. (4/5)

Deep Sea (Copley) – a collection of essays on the largest part of Earth: the sea. Brief, and to the point. Apparently it’s one in a series of similar books. (4/5)