Let’s get reading! Sitting down this weekend to update my current reading list, see where I’m at for the year so far, and make adjustments for fall reading season!
I started with a shortlist of questions to check in:
How’s it going?
How has my reading been so far in 2023? According to my GoodReads, I’ve read 34/52 books (just two behind schedule) although I have quite a few half read books.
Are my categories the right ones? I still love reading YA, Scandinavian Noir, captivating non-fiction (true crime or thrilling history), fitness and health, mindfulness, brains and science, social and emotional learning, nature, creativity, and food writing.
Are the length of books the right ones? The worst is when I find myself stalled by a long book where I’ve lost my attention span. I’ve been trying to have a healthy dose of fast reads to move the ship along.
Have I gotten stuck anywhere? Usually I’m only stuck when I start reading too many books at once.
What can I improve?
How do I make sure I’m learning in the areas that I want to be known for: Longetivity, Good Things, Social and Emotional Learning? Who are the top five authors in the fields that I work in?
Are there noticeable gaps in my reading? I always find that I’m more inspired by memoirs and biographies, but don’t read them enough!
Do I have dedicated reading time? My evergreen quest: read more, scroll less.
It’s here! I’ve been doing a quarterly reading list for the past several years that has somehow turned more into a book list for the whole year. (I have a lot of holdovers from last year that I’m keeping on here.) You can take a look through previous years here: (2022) (2021) (2020) (2017) (summer 2010) (Summer 2014) (Fall Cookbooks 2011)
Why have a reading list? This helps me make decisions about getting in quality reading without falling into decision making slumps. I aim to have a large percentage of my reading written by women, POC, and international writers; and typically read a handful of Man Booker short list titles. I typically make a list of my favorite categories, and then will supplement or swap as I find reading that calls out to me.
What if you just want to read something new and exciting? I make room for the synchronicity of just picking up any random title, but I always have a backup!
The Marvel Effect: it’s easier to pick up a new book in a series than start something completely new. One thing that I’ve learned after a lifetime of reading: it really helps me to have series that I can blow through – long books that don’t require me to continuously learn about a new world and a new set of characters, as well as a smattering of very easy read books (usually middle grade fantasy, or RomCom) – things I can read reliably for a half hour or hour before bed even after an exhaustive day.
A few notes and observations:
Audio Books: yes, I definitely count audiobooks as reading. I process information better when on my walks and runs, and thus prefer listening to memoirs or non-fiction this way. It’s also easier for me to stay engrossed and follow along while I’m moving physically.
Don’t forget FOOD! For the past several years, I read almost zero food memoirs, literature, or history – some of my favorite topics. So I made this one of my kitchen resolutions this year! (Again.) I’m also re-reading cookbooks.
The library is your friend. While I always try to support local book stores – I’m also a huge fan of my local library – grabbing things off the Speed Read Shelf is my jam. Plus you can leave with a large stack and it always feels like I’ve won something. (You can also get Kindle books from the library through Libby. Having a list allows me to put more things on hold, because sometimes there’s a longer wait.)
As always, still working my way through my list of Personal Leadership Development Books, and the BBC Big Read. I also read quite a few business books for work – whatever I need to expand my ideas and sharpen my skills.
I’m always interested in reading things that stoke great minds. I read for entertainment, to rest, to inspire, learn, and to stoke my curiosity. Whenever I listen to a podcast episode, I’m always curious about what kinds of things the guest is reading (particularly when the book is completely outside of their topic, or very niche in their topic.)
New: I’m trying to engage with my reading more by reading criticism, and more importantly, writing.
Categories to choose from: (I often choose outside these, but I find that when I’m in the mood for a particular feeling, it breaks down by this type of category.)
Book Categories I Enjoy:
Fantasy (Adult, YA Fantasy, Middle Grade)
Scandinavian Crime (or Noir crime in general)
Fiction (catch all)
Memoir (particularly: comedy, leadership, business or political)
Non-Fiction (Psychology, philosophy)
Nature (and generally Science Writing)
Creativity
Work (Product Management, People Management, Sales)
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (BBC Big Read; I think I’ve read before) 453 pages
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (2002, 255 pages)
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman (and Practical Magic) (2020, 396 pages)
✅ Fairy Tale by Stephen King
✅ Thursday Murder Club #1 (Series) by Richard Osman (2020, 382 pages)
✅ The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Look for new:
Susannah Clarke
Erin Morgenstern
Stephen King
TJ Klune
Crime / Thriller / Gripping and/or generally Scandinavian
Hidden in Shadows by Viveca Sten (Are Murders #2) – Dec. 5th
The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg (2010, 393 pages)
The Island by Ragnar Jonasson (2019, 336 pages) – 2 in the series
My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (2018, 226 pages)
The Hunger by Alma Katsu (2018, 368 pages)
Death Notice (book 3, if they publish the translation) by Zhou Haohui
Beartown by Fredrik Backman (2016, 432 pages)
Pick a book by:
Henning Mankell
Jo Nesbo
Arnaldur Indridason
Viveca Sten (but I just read the newest in Dec.)
Lucy Foley
Memoirs / Non-Fiction Reporting
✅ Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (great!)
✅ Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
✅ Cultish by Amanda Montell
The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish (2017, 288 pages) (own)
Dear Girls by Ali Wong (own) (2019, 240 pages)
Broken by Jenny Lawson (2021, 275 pages)
Taste by Stanley Tucci (own) (2021, 304 pages)
Eat a Peach by David Chang (2020, 306 pages)
“Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”: Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard P. Feynman (1985, 356 pages)
I’m Glad my Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (2022, 320 pages)
Life Itself by Roger Ebert (2011, 346 pages)
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe (2018, 518 pages)
A Heart that Works by Rob Delaney (2022, 196 pages)
A Book of Days by Patti Smith (2022, 410 pages)
Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan (2022, 423 pages)
Nature and Science:
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben (304 pages, 2015)
Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright (have on audio) (2017, 336 pages)
The Nature Fix by Florence Williams (2017, 226 pages)
How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan (2018, 482 pages)
Come as You Are by Emily Nagoski (2015, 400 pages)
How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy: by Jenny Odell (2019, 257 pages) (on audible)
Tracking the Wild Koomba
Food and Cooking
Note, I don’t keep cookbooks on this list, but I try to choose memoir-ish cookbooks as much as possible.
✅Cooking as though you might cook again by Danny Licht (2021, 78 pages)
Elegy for an Appetite by Shaina Loew-Banayan (2022, 88 pages)
Fatty Fatty Boom Boom by Rabia Chaudry (2022, 352 pages)
Romance/RomCom:
Bride Test by Helen Hoang (Book 2 – 2019, 296 pages), The Heart Principle (3)
Hook, Line + Sinker Tessa Bailey (2022, 365 pages)
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
✅ Happy Place by Emily Henry
✅ A Cowboy to Remember by Rebekah Weatherspoon
✅ The Bodyguard by Katherine Center (2019, 282 pages – done)
✅ Red, White + Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (2019, 318 pages – finishing)
✅ ADDED The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer
Anything new by
Emily Henry
Rebekah Weatherspoon
Jasmine Guillory
Jennifer Armentrout
Leadership / Business / Finance:
✅ Traction by Gino Wickman
✅ 10x is Easier than 2x Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy
Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman (1983, 301 pages) – own on audible
✅ 4000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman (2021, 129 pages)
✅ Automate your Busywork by Aytekin Tank
Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson (2002, 273 pages) (book and audible)
The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, Kaley Klemp (In-Progress 2015, 377 pages)
Connect by Carole Robin, David L Bradford (2021, 203 pages)
The Gifts of Imperfection – Brené Brown (2010, 208 pages)
To Sell is Human by Daniel Pink (2012, 272 pages)
Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards by Yu-kai Chou (own) (2015, 513 pages)
Creativity: Writing and Creating:
✅ Big Magic Creative Living Beyond Fear (re-read) by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Practice: Shipping Your Creative Work by Seth Godin (2020, 274 pages)
Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon (2014, 225 pages)
Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon (160 pages, 2012)
How to Enjoy Art by Ben Street (2021, 160 pages)
Better Living Through Criticism AO Scott (2016, 282 pages)
Look for new:
Cal Newport
David Epstein
Fitness and Health / Mindfulness / Brains
✅ Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell (2021, 291 pages)
✅ Outlive by Peter Attia
✅ How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis
✅ Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay Gibson
Built to Move by Kelly Starrett + Juliet Starrett
Listen Like You Mean It: Reclaiming the Lost Art of True Connection by Ximena Vengoechea (2021, 337 pages)
Unmasking Autism by Devon Price (2022, 304 pages)
The Body, A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson (2019, 491 pages) owned on audible
The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life by Piero Ferrucci (2007, 354 pages)
The Comfort Book by Matt Haig (2021, 231 pages)
Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller (2020, 256 pages)
Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud and John Townsend (1992, 324 pages) (updated version on Audible)
Codependent No More by Melody Beattie (1986, 278 pages)
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (1997, 163 pages)
Look for new:
Mary Roach
Bill Bryson
And that’s a wrap! Will I get to all of these? Absolutely not. Will I try to expand on the diversity of my thought and add things along the way? Yes indeed!
What’s on your shelf this year? What’s up next? Here’s to a year of good reading!
After a great 2019, and a middling 2020 for reading, and an even worse 2021 (lots of half read books with my attention as shot), here I am with my renewed sense of enthusiasm in the new year!
Having a reading list helps me make decisions about getting in quality reading without falling into decision making slumps. I aim to have a large percentage of my reading written by women, POC, and international writers; and typically read a handful of Man Booker short list titles. I typically make a list of my favorite categories, and then will supplement or swap as I find reading that calls out to me. I make room for the synchronicity of just picking up any random title, but I always have a backup!
A few notes and observations:
Audio Books: yes, I definitely count audiobooks as reading. I process information better when on my walks and runs, and thus prefer listening to memoirs or non-fiction this way. It’s also easier for me to stay engrossed and follow along while I’m moving physically.
Don’t forget FOOD! For the past several years, I read almost zero food memoirs, literature, or history – some of my favorite topics. So I made this one of my kitchen resolutions this year! (Again.) I’m also re-reading cookbooks
The library is your friend. While I always try to support local book stores – I’m also a huge fan of my local library – grabbing things off the Speed Read Shelf is my jam. Plus you can leave with a large stack and it always feels like I’ve won something.
As always, still working my way through my list of Personal Leadership Development Books, and the BBC Big Read. I also read quite a few business books for work – whatever I need to expand my ideas and sharpen my skills. Our team has quite a few readers, and an up and coming leadership book club has us reading (me re-reading Brené Brown’s Daring Greatly, next.)
January:
Re-read Atomic Habits by James Clear; Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg (done!)
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (done!)
We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers (in-progress!)
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Re-Read: Dare to Lead by Brené Brown (work book club)
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
What it’s Like to Be a Bird David Allen Sibley
Categories to choose from: (I often choose outside these, but I find that when I’m in the mood for a particular feeling, it breaks down by this type of category.)
YA fiction or Fantasy
Gallant by VE Schwab (March 1 Release)
Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin
The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy) by S.A. Chakraborty
In the Serpents Wake (Tess of the Road #2) by Rachel Hartman
Skyhunter by Marie Lu
Leadership / Business / Finance:
Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson
The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, Kaley Klemp
Think Again by Adam Grant (in-progress!)
Working Backwards by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr
Writing and Creating:
The Practice: Shipping Your Creative Work by Seth Godin
Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon
The Boron Letters by Gary Halbert
Fitness and Health / Mindfulness / Brains
Listen Like You Mean It: Reclaiming the Lost Art of True Connection by Ximena Vengoechea
How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell
The Body, A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson
The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life by Piero Ferrucci
Gripping / Thrilling / Literary:
My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
The Hunger by Alma Katsu
Memoirs / Non-Fiction Reporting
The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
Taste by Stanley Tucci
Eat a Peach by David Chang
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe
“Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”: Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard P. Feynman
Books to Finish (technically there are many more half-reads over the past few years):
The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk
Dutch House (Audiobook?)
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
Circe by Madeleine Miller (may switch over to Kindle)
Coming off of a great year of reading (who would have guessed, 2019?), I’ve been keeping up the momentum with a list of books to start with in 2020. Having a reading list helps me make decisions about getting in quality reading without falling into decision making slumps. I aim to have a large percentage of my reading written by women, POC, and international writers. I typically make a list, request books from the library a few at a time, and then will supplement or swap as I find reading that calls out to me.
A few notes and observations:
Audio Books: yes, I definitely count audiobooks as reading. I process information better when on my walks and runs, and thus prefer listening to memoirs or non-fiction this way. It’s also easier for me to stay engrossed and follow along while I’m moving physically.
Don’t forget FOOD! Last year I read almost zero food memoirs, literature, or history – some of my favorite topics. So I made this one of my kitchen resolutions this year!
The library is your friend. Grabbing things off the Speed Read Shelf is my jam. I aim for one a week. Not two, because I can never finish two in 7 days and will get fined. (Plus, if I have a list, I can reserve things in advance.) Still working my way through my list of Personal Leadership Development Books, and the BBC Big Read.
Here are some of my next reads (vaguely categorized):
YA fiction
VE Schwab – Villains Series
Tomi Adeyemi – Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha)
S.A. Chakraborty – The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy)
Leadership / Business:
Marshall Goldsmith – What you got there won’t get you here
Dr. Spencer Johnson – Who Moved my Cheese?
Danny Meyer – Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business
Tom DeMarco – Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams
Bill Aulet – Disciplined Entrepreneurship
Mindfulness / Brains:
Dr. Oliver Sacks – Musicophilia
Nicholas Cook – Music, A Short Introduction
B.J. Fogg – Tiny Habits
Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk – The Body Keeps the Score
Jenny Odell – How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy
Louise Aronson – Elderhood
Bill Bryson – The Body, A Guide for Occupants
Audio Books:
Ann Patchett – The Dutch House
Dr. Jen Gunter – The Vagina Bible
Kate Moore – The Radium Girls
Casey Cep – Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee
Here we are, the last week of January, and I’m here to document some of the good things this week that happened in my life. I’ve taken back to writing out the good parts of my week as part of my regular gratitude practice – so here we go with a second blog post in 2019! On a roll!
{Week 4} Good Things
My kitchen project:working to organize my spices this week. I went to the Container Store for an expandable spice rack, and did some well-needed culling. I still need to figure out how best to store my assorted bags and vacuum packs of spices from the spice bazaar in Turkey. Right now they are just hanging in a variety of places. (Pictures below are the “after”. I’m not a minimalist)
A facebook thread about [the oldest thing in your refrigerator]. While I didn’t win any awards (I think that went to a can of paté from the 60’s, my own contribution to the thread was a dried mushroom packet from around 2007. This may have been the catalyst to do a little bit of cleaning. (Oddly enough that isn’t getting tossed.) Fess up, what’s the oldest thing in your fridge? (Drop it in the comments.)
My creative date: I ended up punting on my planned creative date on Friday (the creative time I take to myself every week out of the house) but I ended up watching a movie and ordering some Indian takeaway, which was pretty spectacular. So I ended up squeezing in a last minute creative date on Sunday: a.k.a. a trip to the library where I acquire as many books as I want. (Bonus: free.) I ended up with a new to me Korean cookbook, some YA fiction, the new Reid Hoffman book about scaling your startup, and Mimi Sheraton’s 1000 things to Eat Before You Die – which I plan on making my own list for.
Lunch with a friend at Rox. 10 years of catching up! My regular meal: classic breakfast with two eggs, ham, and a side of hollandaise.
I went out to an event at MassChallenge. Looking forward to more events, conferences, and panels this year as I take put on the “start-up founder” hat (cape? spandex) for my online yoga and meditation company and spread the word of what we’re doing to take make yoga and meditation accessible to every body, not just the 1%.
On that note, TWO yoga classes this week. I took Yoga for Office Workers with Charina on both Tuesday and Thursday this week on Ompractice. You can take the class right from your desk – in my case, my couch. She was kind to deal with my creaky-ness and tight hips! Want to join me this week? One of the best ways to stay accountable to fitness is to do it with friends!
My new sketchbook and pen. Inspired by so many of my favorite creatives, I realized I was long overdue for a sketchbook. (See my first doodle this week.)
I got a new plaid shirt from StitchFix. Usually I just get my box and return everything (I don’t pay a styling fee, so I just keep them coming.) This week I found something I loved! (My affiliate link if you are interested in signing up, and you get $25 off your box.)
{Delicious Meals:}
The last of my hot paprika chicken broth with tortellini. While watching the second of the Fyre festival documentaries. (Watch Netflix first, then Hulu.)
Scallops, mushrooms, and cauliflower gnocchi. I had to call Trader Joe’s to put aside three cauliflower gnocchi for me, because they keep on selling out in a flash. Could be the woman who bought *12* last week. But who am I kidding, I’ve been that person.
Trader Joes Vegetable Biryani with yogurt. These are very good. (I also really like their fish korma curry and the lamb vindaloo. I try to keep them stocked in my freezer!)
A stir fry with ground turkey and escarole, topped with Odd Flavor Sauce from Lucky Peach: 101 Easy Asian Recipes. (I make this sauce every few weeks. It’s *very good*.
An avocado with fig balsamic vinegar.
Trader Joe’s Mash Up: Cauliflower Gnocchi + Gnocchi alla Sorrentina. Sometimes you really want gnocchi, but you also really want vegetables.
Delivery (twice this week… yeesh):
Pho Viet: the Allston one has a new outpost in Newton Centre. I went for Bun with a spring roll and a jasmine bubble tea. (Oh bubble tea, it’s been a while.)
Shan-a-punjab. Butter chicken, garlic naan, aloo naan, raita, masala chai. All of the condiments. I also ordered an extra masala sauce to re-purpose for a meal in the coming week.
Lobster Cobb-ish. (The first photo in this post.) This got some major love on Instagram this week, and frankly it was as good as it looks. Fresh lobster meat from Whole Foods, arugula, mint, basil, and a lot of lemon. Tomatoes, avocado, and a little bit of stilton. Pretty much the *perfect* dinner.
Omelette with Peas and Cheese, shallots and peas cooked in butter, with a couple of eggs, some leftover Mexican blend cheese, served with some tomatoes and a bunch of sauerkraut.
And because in flipping through the week, at least 60% of my photos are photos of my dog, I leave you with this image from the week of Bertram, the couch seal.
Oh, and this link, just because I had to explain it to someone this week, and you might enjoy it as well: Dishwasher salmon. Did you know this was a thing?
Have a great week! xo Sam
PS: every month or so I send out a newsletter of wellness wisdom, good things, reading, and more. I’m due for a new one in a week or so. If you want to subscribe, just sign up below!
Every morning before I start work, I devote an hour to personal development (largely non-fiction) reading while I let my cup of coffee do it’s magical work. Reading is the best way to kickstart my workday – it’s flipping the switch: from brain fog to focus. Sometimes I need a mere 15 minutes, other times, I take the whole hour if I’m enjoying what I’m reading. (On the flip side, I read fiction and cookbooks in the afternoon and evening to wind down.)
Here’s [version one] of my personal development reading list for 2018. I’ll be supplementing this with plenty of fiction (usually YA novels, sci-fi,and fantasy), and other books as I see fit. I typically write out a quarterly reading list that is a little bit more robust with variety, but I wanted to work through these as a starting point. Some of these books I’ve read before, and I’m looking to read with a new lens to apply to my current work. Many are books that I’ve had on my list for years, and feel like I’m at the right moment to actually get what I want out of them.
How did I pick the books? When I sit to create lists like this, I’m interested in hitting on different aspects of “whole being development” so I try to fill up with a series of business, life, psychology, health, financial, self-help, creative and inspirational reading. I find biographies and history particularly stimulating – if anything, reassuring that you don’t have to have it all together to succeed in life…Also, it’s usually a criteria that they don’t suck. If I really hate the book 50 pages in, I can quit.
Next steps for this list:I try to keep my lists updated as I work through them – there’s no hard and fast rule to sticking to what I’ve added on here. I also want to cross check and make sure that I’m reading a good amount of books written by women, POC and global voices. Already this list is skewing a little too male for my preference. Other things notably missing: I’m a little low on health, wellness, and fitness reading – I’ve had trouble finding great books that have come out in the past decade. (Suggestions welcome here!) I’ll update the list as I make adjustments and read through these.
I’m taking any and all suggestions – do you have a favorite I should read? Anything on here that I shouldn’t waste my time with?
These categories are… loosely organized here. Several of these books fit into more than one of these categories; the top of the list are one’s I’m going to likely start with in the new year.
Starting Here:
[ ] Tribe of Mentors – Tim Ferriss
[ ] Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World – Gary Vaynerchuk
[ ] The Artist’s Way – Julia Cameron
[ ] The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life – Mark Manson
[ ] The Five Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage – Mel Robbins
[ ] Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win – Jocko Willink
[ ] Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration – Ed Catmull
[ ] Autobiography of a Yogi – Paramahansa Yogananda
[ ] Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny! – Tony Robbins
[ ] The Manager’s Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change – Camille Fournier
[ ] Founder at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days – Jessica Livingston
Classic-ish Business:
[ ] How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie
[ ] Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion – Robert Cialdini
[ ] The Hard Thing about Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers – Ben Horowitz
[ ] Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work – Chip and Dan Heath
[ ] How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of “Intangibles” in Business – Douglas Hubbard
[ ] The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It – Michael Gerber
[ ] What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful – Marshall Goldsmith
[ ] Getting Everything You Can out of All You’ve Got – Jay Abraham
Productivity:
[ ] Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World – Cal Newport
[ ] Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less – Greg McKeown
[ ] Who Moved My Cheese? – Spencer Johnson
[ ] Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done – Jon Acuff
[ ] The 10x Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure – Grant Cardone
[ ] Daily Rituals: How Artists Work – Mason Curry
[ ] On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction – William Zinsser
[ ] The 80/20 Principle – Richard Koch
Psychology
[ ] The Gift of Fear – Gavin de Becker
[ ] Playing Big: Find Your Voice, Your Mission, Your Message – Tara Mohr
[ ] Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us – Daniel Pink
[ ] Getting to Yes: Negotiating an Agreement Without Giving In – Fisher, Ury, Patton
Finance
[ ] The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy –Stanley and Danko
[ ] The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing – Taylor Larimore
Self–Care/ Better Living:
[ ] Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End – Atul Gawande
[ ] Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Mediation and Practice – Shunryu Suzuki
Happiness:
[ ] Stumbling on Happiness – Daniel Gilbert
[ ] The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work – Shawn Achor
Health, Wellness, the Body:
[ ] Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease – Gary Taubes
[ ] Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain – Oliver Sachs
Biography or Autobiographical
[ ] What Happened – Hillary Clinton
[ ] Promise Me Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose – Joe Biden
[ ] Find a Way – Diana Nyad
[ ] Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE – Phil Knight
[ ] Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice – Bill Browder
[ ] The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics – Daniel James Brown
Other:
[ ] Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! Adventures of a Curious Character – Richard Feynman
[ ] Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu
[ ] Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind – Yuval Harari ; THEN Homo Deus
[ ] Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl
[ ] Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone – Brené Brown
[ ] Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business – Danny Meyer
[ ] Siddhartha – Hermann Hesse
Other people’s lists of note which I used for some inspiration while putting together this list:
Non-business: I’m still working my way through the BBC’s now deprecated Big Read – a catalyst for making 2017 a year of Terry Pratchett.
A few other notes:
On Application: I think it was Darren Hardy who mentioned – you are better off reading one business book and applying it fully than binging on business books and not acting on what you’ve learned. To this end, every book I read I try to apply a portion if not multiple aspects to my work. Most people read and don’t apply what they’ve learned… and that’s a shame. To push myself towards doing more of this, I’ve started taking notes in my books (GASP!), testing and applying.
But sometimes I just read for the sake of reading. One thing that I’ve learned in the past few years is that one of the best results of reading non-fiction is actually just a simple context switch and brain shift in order to get myself going in the morning. So I try to use reading as a multi-purpose tool.
On Writing: The past few years I’ve been trying to commit and re-commit to sharing what I’ve learned from my reading (as opposed to hoarding knowledge.) Each year I try to write more than I did the last. It takes a bit of a mind shift from reading for one’s self, to reading with the intention of sharing the knowledge and learnings. Friends, hold me to this! (Yes, I give you permission to guilt and shame me for not writing about what I’m reading.
Do you have a 2018 reading list? Have you ever done a reading challenge? I’d love to hear about it.
The Second Lunch is a (mostly) food blog by Sam Tackeff about recipes, food writing, ingredient hunting, travel, healthy living, fitness, and everything in between.
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