What We’re Reading: Here’s what you read the most in 2023
Many people recognize Auld Lang Syne as a Scots-language poem set to music and often sung just as the clock strikes midnight on the last day of the year, per the Gregorian calendar.
I’ve heard the entire song — each verse! — sung by my Scottish neighbors, and it’s lovely. It’s also not just for New Year’s. It’s sung at graduations and at funerals. Written in what some describe as “light Scots” by the poet Robert Burns, each verse becomes more Scottish as you continue to recite it. It’s kind of an onomatopoeia of poetry, in that way, to me.
I thought about Auld Lang Syne as I researched the list of the stories that you read the most on Medium this last year. You loved a sad story about a lost love that likely ended in divorce. You devoured a U.S. president’s thoughts on Israel and Gaza. You went deep when a Google employee, who joined the company via an acquisition, discussed Google’s “core cultural problems.”
Whether penned by a new writer, a one-and-done scribe, or a seasoned professional, many of these favs were quite niche. And, for all of them, it seems the more a writer gave of themselves, the more you readers gave of your time.
Burns’ poem ends with this:
And there’s a hand, my trusty fere!
And gie’s a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll tak a right gude-willie waught,
For auld lang syne.
Roughly translated, this means take my hand and here is mine in return. Take a chug and remember the good, old times.
I like to think that writers here offer their hand, and readers here offer a hand in return. This reciprocity makes Medium go ‘round.
Happy New Year,
Adrienne Gibbs, Director of Content
What We’re Reading: Some of 2023’s most popular stories
Note, these are in random order and placement does not correlate to ranking
How To Wake Up at 5 A.M. Every Day (2019)
By Bryan Ye
Average Manager Vs. Great Manager (2015)
By Julie Zhuo
What Really Happens to a Human Body at Titanic Depths (2023)
By JP Brown
Medium’s Terms of Service
By Medium (You really did read this a TON in 2023)
Angular V16 is Here! (2023)
By Minko Gechev
Use Git Like a Senior Engineer (2022)
By Medium’s own Jacob Bennett, an engineer
No One Really Tells You The Hardest Part Of Getting Older (2022)
By Linda Caroll
If You Only Read A Few Books In 2023, Read These (2023)
By Ryan Holiday
What are your favorite stories of the year? Let us know in the responses.
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“What We’re Reading” is a weekly roundup of insightful stories and perspectives from across Medium. Browse previous editions here.
