Issue 101: The Reading Life of... Matthew Long
On the work that goes into a meaningful life as a reader and how to plan a deeply satisfying 2025 reading list
When I was trying to figure out who I wanted to profile for my last 2024 Reading Life interview, I knew it had to be . Matt is the best at intentional reading, tracking and organization. He already shares his process so generously with his readers at but I am always asking him about his famous reading plans, his commonplace books, and how he has arrived at his objectively very thoughtful but very personal system. I even used “my connections” to take a glimpse at his 2025 Reading Plan before it was made public, which I considered a personal badge of Substack achievement. 😎🤭
As I was reading his responses to the questions below, I was struck again by how clearly he makes the point that as with most things that matter in life… it is important to approach reading as a process of personal discovery and trust that even if it takes a while, it is important to figure out what works for you.
This, I felt, was the perfect message for the last few days of the year. I hope you are having a cozy time and take at least a little bit of time before the end of 2024 to reflect on the type of reader you intend to be in 2025.
Tell me a little bit about yourself. What role do books and reading play in your personal life? I am 47. My wife, Jannett, and I have been married for almost 22 years. We have two children. Our son is 20 and a junior in college. Our daughter is 17 and a junior in high school. I grew up on a farm in Missouri, the oldest of five children. My wife is from Lima, the capital city of Peru. Our life experiences before getting married were different, but we made it work. We met early in my Navy career while stationed in Groton, CT. Throughout my career, we moved all over, including Washington State, San Diego, southern Georgia, and Tennessee. I recently retired after 24 years on active duty. Now, I care for the home while my wife is pursuing her career. I spend a lot of time talking to my dog, Lola, and running ideas by her. Occasionally, those conversations become a topic for my writing.
PKG: Fun fact, a little while back Matt and I figured out that we live ~30 minutes from each other but have yet to meet in person! 2025 is our year!
My family had little money when I was young, but our needs were always met. My mom frequently took us to the local public library, and my parents loved reading. Books surrounded us and filled our lives. My grandmother was a writer and a prolific reader. She was a tremendous influence in my life as a reader and writer. When I started writing , I wrote quite a bit about my family's impact on me. Those articles are in my archives if folks want to check them out.
Throughout my life, there have been different seasons. In some, I read more, and in others, I read less. Today, reading is an integral part of my personal and professional life. I do a lot of individual reading and a significant amount of research for my writing.
On an average week, how much do you read and when? Most days, I dedicate around three hours to reading, about 20 hours a week, give or take. I do most of my reading in the middle of the day when my wife is working, and my daughter is at school. During the day, I typically read in 30-minute sessions. Then, I get up and do some chores or walk the dog. Sometimes, I write a little. So I alternate 30 minutes of reading and 30 minutes of doing something else. This keeps my mind engaged. If I go over 30 minutes at once, my mind wanders while my eyes read. The only caveat is if I get into a delightful novel, I can sometimes binge for a few hours straight, provided I have a pot of coffee nearby.
When it is cold and dreary outside in the fall and winter, I turn on the fireplace and hunker down to read for hours. In the spring and summer, I am more outdoors. I sometimes use audiobooks or concentrate on reading in the evenings and on weekends.
What do you like to read? How has your taste changed over the years? I read widely across genres and styles. History, bibliography, literary fiction, sci-fi, westerns, philosophy, psychology, spirituality, self-improvement, etc… The only thing I avoid is raunchy romance. However, I have read almost every spy/espionage novel out there, which is more or less my version of romance novels. I sometimes like deep-thinking stuff, and sometimes I just want a fun, mindless read. I think it is essential to mix it up. I usually have several books going at once, so I have options. Over the last year, I have added quite a few Substack writers to my reading mix. I discovered my 2024 Book of the Year on Substack, so reading articles on the platform has become essential to my regimen.
My reading habits have changed significantly over the years. I read mostly sci-fi and fantasy in high school and my early twenties. I mainly read spy/espionage books, religion, and philosophy in my late twenties and early thirties. My late thirties and early forties began my transition to a much more intentional reading style, and the genres I read started to broaden. Now, I have a deliberate process for planning my reading, ensuring I get a good mix of everything.
PKG: One of my favorite things about connecting with readers on Substack is talking to people of all ages who love books so much. But I think there is something uniquely enriching about hearing from GROWN folks about how different seasons of their life have felt different in terms of reading. What a good reminder to stop FORCING consistency which sounds marketable??! but around these corners of the Substack universe we are in pursuit of deeper goals.
What's a reading ritual or habit you've developed that's unique to you? I don’t know if any habit is unique since many people exist. However, in 1997, I started to keep track of the books I read in a little notebook. I annotate the date, title, and author whenever I finish a book. So, I have a good record of my reading history. This notebook is one of my treasured possessions. I can look back through it and trace the scope of my life since I was 19. I can see what I read at critical junctures in my personal history and when major world events occurred.
PKG: Ok. Jealous. That’s all.
Because you have written extensively about your note taking and also about how you plan your reading, can you walk us through both for people who may not be familiar with your method? Ok, let’s tackle note-taking first. wrote about my note-taking style in her anniversary post, which you can find here:
As I read, I always have a yellow legal pad nearby to take notes. I also annotate heavily in the margins of my books. Anytime I have an annotation or an underline, I put a sticky tab on the page. Once I finish reading the book, I grab my notebook and make a fresh entry with the title, author, and date completed, and then I transcribe all my rough notes and any other ideas, quotes, thoughts, etc, from the tabbed pages. I have a few of those journals with years of thoughts from books I have read. I keep a separate journal, simply a chronological list of every book I have read since 1997. When I finish, I note the title, author, and date. Finally, I keep a third notebook, which is more of a personal journal. It is my random mind on paper. Bad poetry, terrible drawings, random musings, etc.… So that is note-taking.
PKG: Matt is one of the people who really encouraged me to join the Commonplace Book Club in January. Please tag me somewhere if you are too!
Over time, I have developed an intricate process for planning my reading. In the fall of each year, I print out my giant TBR list and critically consider my reading life. There are several critical components to making this a successful day. First, I must be alone during this process, so I find a quiet place. Second, I make sure to have a pot of coffee nearby. Third, my jazz playlist is going in the background.
This is a very intentional process for me, and I have a couple of goals. I plan what I want to read in the coming year and reflect on my reading life.
I think about the fact that I only have another 30 years of reading left—maybe less. So, I need to be wise in my reading choices.
That doesn’t mean everything has to be all serious and high literature. It is simply an awareness. For every book I choose to read, I also choose to probably not read something else. So, being intentional about the process is necessary, even more so when, like me, your reading life is devoted to lifelong learning. I enjoy reading some fun, mindless reads at times. Those books are an essential part of my reading. But I mix it with nonfiction, literary fiction, and things I can learn from.
I start by broadly thinking about some themes I want to focus on for the year. I then make a list of things that interest me. Then, I start looking at my TBR, and as I go through the list, I group them into different thematic categories. I also remove books from my TBR that no longer interest me or that are much lower priorities at this time in my life.
Once I have gone through this process, I have a mental picture of my reading options. Then, I prioritize themes that go well together. For example, I have read War and Peace for the last two years. Next year, I am reading a biography of Tolstoy. I am interested in Russian history and literature, as evidenced by several books on those topics on my TBR. Next year, I am building on my love of War and Peace by reading a biography of the author and then getting historical and literary context to combine with that.
A couple of weeks ago, I shared my philosophy of self-education and included my 2025 reading plan in that essay. Anyone interested can check it out and see what topics I chose to focus on for the coming year.
PKG: I love Matt’s idea of organizing reading around themes… and will be doing some personal reflection on how to do that for myself for 2025. When we take the time to look back on what we have liked in the past or what we seem to gravitate towards (no justification necessary)… or aspire to be — we become so obvious to ourselves. It’s not hard to figure out, but you do need to look.
Are you particular about your materials - notebooks, pens, highlighters vs. pencils, etc? Yes. I spent a lot of time writing in my professional career. The only pen I use is the Tul Medium Needle Point Black, which I buy in bulk. I use a standard yellow legal pad for rough notes while sitting and reading. For my journals, I use only Leuchtturm 1917 ruled. I don’t highlight. I rarely use a pencil, but a standard #2 is always on my desk.
PKG: By popular request, this is a new addition to the Reading Life questionnaire. Office supplies nerds, we got you. Always.
Where do you get ideas about what to read? I have an extensive To Be Read List (TBR) that I have curated over the years. I add books to it throughout the year as I discover things I want to read. I usually put a note next to the book to remind myself where I heard about it. Sometimes, friends recommend books. Sometimes, I hear about them while reading articles or other literature. Sometimes, I see something interesting while browsing in a bookstore. I often add books by writers I have loved or want to explore. For example, when planning to read John Steinbeck’s works in a year, I went to different sources to ensure I had an accurate list with the correct publishing dates. I researched various biographies and other supporting documents to make the most of the experience. When reading, I often get interested in something in the text, which makes me look deeper into that topic and find books of interest.
If people want to see which books I have read or which are on my TBR, I have included them on this spreadsheet: The Books of My Life.
PKG: Click on that link above!
When people ask me how come I read as much as I do, I frequently just give them a list of things that I don’t do as regularly as I probably should: exercise, clean house, spend time with friends. What do you choose NOT to do in favor of reading? I choose not to be attached to electronic devices. My phone has very few apps, I don’t use social media, and I don’t watch much TV. The time I spend on electronic devices is typically necessary for the publication of my newsletter or is related to my reading life. Again, this is an intentional and personal decision. There is no judgment here. Everyone has to decide how they want to spend their time. My choice is reading.
PKG: Put your phone down.
Do you have any tips or advice for people who wish they were reading more? Be intentional. You have to make it a priority. People are addicted to their phones, television, sports, or whatever they spend their time on. I am addicted to books. Some addictions are healthier than others. If you want to read more, you must give up something else. Reading takes time.
I listen to many audiobooks when I am walking the dog or driving. Sometimes, if I am doing chores around the house, I will have an audiobook on, but I also like to listen to Strong Sense of Place, a fantastic bookish podcast run by Mel and Dave, who also have a Substack by the same name: .
What are you reading now and what is one book that you find yourself recommending to people over and over and over again? I finished my 2024 reading plan a few weeks early and have been grabbing random stuff off my shelves lately. These are the books I am currently reading:
The Iliad by Homer (in preparation for the book club I am leading in 2025). I am reading two different translations side by side, the Robert Fagles and the Emily Wilson.
A Companion to The Iliad by Malcolm Willcock
Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy by Robert M. Owens (I am reading a biography of every president in chronological order)
Selections from Ralph Waldo Emerson edited by Stephen Whicher
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Regarding recommendations, this is a little harder because people have diverse interests in reading. I am always recommending my books of the year. The most recent three of which are:
The Requisitions by Samuel Lopez-Barrantes
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
I love recommending books to others, but I prefer to get to know them better by learning about their interests.
Some questions for you:
Which of Matt’s tips and ideas resonated the most with you?
Pause and see if you can identify some themes around which you can organize some of your reading life in 2025. Care to share?
Question for GROWN folks: please share some of your favorite / least favorite seasons of your reading life?
Petya, thank you so much for this fantastic opportunity. It was an absolute pleasure to sit and think deeply about your questions. It was a good chance to reflect, and I am grateful for the privilege of sharing my passion with others. My inbox is always open if folks have questions.
Well, I just bought the journals and pen set on Amazon. I am already reading the introduction to the Iliad. So definitely notetaking is something I want to do more of.
My theme is more of looking at the books that I have at home and trying to finish or start them. I am 70 years old and just retired in May after 40 years of teaching. So during my teaching I did not have a lot of time to read with raising kids and following their lives. So now it's my time. And I'm enjoying every second of it. 'Berta