My goal last year was to read 36 books. I was just shy of my goal and ended up reading 31. Still – not bad.
This year, I set my goal to 37 books, even though I didn’t quite prove that I could hit the lower mark. I think it’s a reasonable number and I want to push myself to keep improving. Plus, reading is one of the most important things we can dedicate our time to, as Warren Buffet preaches.
As I consume this year’s literary selections (which I decide to read based on whim & book availability), I will update this humble little article. If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to follow along, though I will warn you: I post absolutely no insights or ratings publicly. I much prefer to do to that here, for the eyes of only those who care 🙂
UPDATE: Ended the year with 18 of 37 books read (49% of goal) with a heavy lift towards the end of the year. Not great BUT I did do a 90-day learning challenge in a different format that I didn’t anticipate a was arguably way more valuable than any books I could have read. Didn’t reach my goal but I did get smarter.
Have a book recommendation? Let me know!
January
(1) Killing Season – Violet Darger #2 | LT Vargus & Tim McBain
After reading the first book of the series while traveling, I decided this was a great traveling companion series. I enjoy spending time with the main character, Violet Darger, and her companions. Next time I travel, I will likely download the next book in the series.
(2) Knife of Dreams – Wheel of Time #11 | Robert Jordan
Yup, things finally ramped up again in this book. Lots more action than the previous books. MUST. KEEP. READING.
February
(3) Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World | David Epstein
Being a generalist, I found this book very intriguing, thought-provoking, and validating. One of the most impactful books I’ve read. Took me a few weeks to read it, which was nice because I got to spend a lot of time sitting with the concepts and pondering them in my daily life.
(4) The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle | Stuart Turton
Very mysterious and weird! I found myself not wanting to put the book down. Interesting message and fun read overall would recommend.
March
Nothing…I didn’t finish any books in March 🙁 Got a new job in February, which has been really amazing but is also a huge time investment. Chugging along with the Wheel of Time series, though! Jake finished the last book in March, which felt like the end of an era.
April
(5) Measure what Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs | John Doerr
Excellent read!
May
(6) Give & Take | Adam Grant
Read for Book Club at work (my pick!). Good concept of differentiating between givers/takers/matchers, didn’t agree with everything, but it did provide a great framework that I continue to reference months after reading it.
July
(7) The Power of Nice | Linda Kaplan Thaler
Read this while on a family trip in Mexico as part of an ongoing learning challenge, and it was a pretty light and uplifting read. Didn’t pull anything super groundbreaking from it but I enjoyed the concept and that it put positive vibes out into the world.
(8) Consulting Success | Michael Zipursky
Wanted to read something aligned with my career so I picked up this book. It was solidly mediocre – not great not terrible. Nothing groundbreaking at the point of my career that I’m in though it did spur some interesting thought about how to think about pricing and how to think about marketing yourself.
(9) Can’t Hurt Me | David Goggins
Another Book Club pick! BRUAL…WARNING…DO NOT PICK THIS TO READ AT WORK! Dude. Goggins is a beast. Found myself quite inspired by his words, per usual, but dang that guy endured a lot in his life. I enjoyed getting to know him on a deeper level.
August
(10) Who Moved my Cheese? | Spencer Johnson & Kenneth Blanchard
Yet another Book Club read…you can tell I was waning on the reading at this point. Lots of turbulence in life at this point. Perfect for the theme of this book: CHANGE. It was a great read for context of the business environment. This was my second time reading it and I quite enjoy that it’s a quick read with a straightforward message, makes for a great book club discussion.
(11) The Four Agreements | Miguel Ruiz
Went on an emotional retreat with myself for myself and decided to read this book as I sat at a cafe, as I needed something to get me grounded. It worked. I liked it so much that I ordered a paper copy, which I keep on my nightstand. And I keep the four agreements on my whiteboard so I never lose sight of them. Really foundational principles to living a happy life, in my opinion. You don’t need to complicate it more than what’s presented here.
October
(12) Crucial Conversations | Stephen Covey, Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny
Can you guess what prompted this read? That’s right…Book Club!! It was on my list from way back when I was taking my MBA courses. It was okay. I appreciated the mindset but it was over complicated to be useful, in my opinion. My biggest takeaway was that people are complex and you should view tough conversations as opportunities to grow not as an indicator that everything is wrong.
November
(13) The New One Minute Manager | Kenneth Blanchard, Spencer Johnson
Really liked this one! Another quick read, memorable parable, straightforward message with a highly practical framework. Big fan.
December
(14) The One Thing | Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
Last Book Club book to close out the year. Had higher expectations for this book. I stored away some of his ‘simplification tactics’ in the back of my head to perhaps use later but there wasn’t anything super applicable here. The one thing (hah!) I pulled from it was that simplicity is goooood.
(15) 101 Essay that will Change the Way You Think | Brianna Wiest
This was a tough read, emotionally. It shook me. Yet, I couldn’t really articulate the value I got from it. It made me think about myself and my identity a bit differently, reminded me to be my own person and not be tied to anyone else. That I’m responsible for my own life. But I read it at a time when I was already emotionally shaken so it probably hit me even harder for that reason.
(16) Today Matters | John Maxwell
Biggest takeaway: attitude is everything!! Approach each day with a positive attitude and you can’t go wrong. As simple as that. Love me some John Maxwell 🙂
(17) The Millionaire Next Door | Thomas Stanley
This is one I wanted to read for a while. Found it on my brother’s desk and stole it from him to read while I was visiting. A bit dated in terms of the data and narrow-viewed in terms of the research perspective, but it was interesting to read about the author’s take on what makes people wealthy. Biggest takeaway: build a great team of smart people around you who can advise you around how to build and manage your wealth.
(18) The Midnight Library | Matt Haig
An EXCELLENT last read to close out the year! Work of fiction here hitting on a heavy topic – suicide (and therefore meaning of life…aka my favorite obsession, if you haven’t noticed). Very much enjoyed this read. It put to rest some obsessive thoughts I had that were weighing me down about feeling sad that I’m only one human that can live one life and I’ll never experience anything different.
Thanks for following along!
