2019 Book Reading Challenge
- Me and reading books
- So, what about 2019?
- What other books would I like to read this year?
- Now I challenge you
The Book Reading Challenge is something I have been aware of since I discovered Goodreads in 2017. Goodreads is a social network and book catalog about books.
It is great not only for looking up information and reviews about books, but also keeping track of your book lists (books you have, books you have read, you want to read, etc.) and what your friends are reading.
Goodreads, to encourage people to read more, every year, lets you set a reading challenge for yourself. You set a target, a number of books you want to read in that year, and every time you mark some book on the platform as read, it will count towards your challenge.
And because Goodreads is also a social network, you can see reading challenges of your friends, their targets and progress, and what books they have already read.
I jumped on that train immediately and have set it for three years in a row now, and this year I want to share my plan and take you with me.
Me and reading books
I am always hot and cold about reading books. As a small kid, I loved reading. I was always in a library, looking for a new book.
I remember being about 9 years old when my eyes landed on The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, looking forward to reading it one day.
High school was when I lost my passion for books. Being forced to read books I didn’t choose, then write reports on them and be tested on them? No, thank you.
In university, I simply ignored books. My only books were text books and I spent all my free time partying and hanging out with friends, doing internships etc. Not really seeing the point of reading books, when we have the internet.
I started to regularly read years later, several years into my 9-5 job, as a way to utilize time while commuting to work, as I was spending three hours every day stuck on a bus and I didn’t want it to be such a waste of time.
And I started to appreciate it a bit. I started to pick non-fiction books, books about business, language textbooks, or just some biographies to relax and get inspired.
Right now, I am working from home, and I pretty much read only when I go to bed, as part of my night routine, to get a rest from looking at a computer screen all day.
Even though I read books to help me with my business or to learn new skills, I still don’t value it as much. I would like to shift my mindset and consider reading a book all day a well spent and productive time.
Because it is work. It is research, it is learning, and better and more information and skills brings me closer to my goals. And to treat it like something I want to do, not something I think I should be doing.
So, what about 2019?
All right, back to this year’s challenge. For 2019 I gave myself a target of 24 books. Last year I had target 12 and I managed to read twice as much, so this year it is my target.
To be completely honest, I kinda cheated last year. I counted even books which are not your traditional “wall of text” type. For example, photography books, which are usually just filled with pictures, and technically count as a book.
In 2018 I bought Humans of New York by Brandon Stanton. It is an amazing book filled with photos from the streets of New York and its people, but those are just photos.
On the other hand, it gave me what any good book would, it gave me the opportunity to relax and get taken into another world, it forced me to think, it sparked some ideas and inspired me. But it wasn’t much of a “reading a book” in the traditional sense.
What do you think? Is it cheating or should it count as reading a book?
This year I wanted to do it a little bit differently. I want to specify which books I am going to read, to have a plan and bigger commitment. Not all 24 of them, but at least to make a small list, so throughout the year I don’t have to think about what to read next.
In 2019, I want to read all the books I have at home and give them away, as I am trying to reduce the number of books I own and keep only those I want to read regularly, and I read again some of my keepers.
Those are books I usually read when I start a new business or a new job, or when I plan a new project, just to remind me of various topics, principles, ideas, methods, and tools. But more about them later.
I have already read nine books. Six are not related to the topics I talk about on this website (there were some fiction books, a photography book, one about history, one about programming, etc.) and the other three are these:
- Inside Steve’s Brain by Leander Kahney
- Inside Larry and Sergey’s Brain by Richard L. Brandt
- iCon: Steve Jobs, the Greatest Second Act in the History of Business by Jeffrey S. Young, William L. Simon
I wrote a separate post for each of them (just click on the name of the book). I grant those reviews are a little bit experimental because I haven’t written a proper book review since high school, so I am just trying to figure it out.
What other books would I like to read this year?
I am nine books in and I have planned six more. These are some of the books I have already read and I think I can benefit from reading them again.
And as for the new books, I would like to read more books about minimalism, stress, burnout, mental health, and relationships.
Here is the rest of my list for this year:
Start With Why by Simon Sinek
I got introduced to Simon Sinek and his Golden Circles in AIESEC, a student organisation, where they used it to explain to us what, how and why they do what they do and why the organisation exists.
When I read it the first time, I could not truly apply it, but now, as I am working on a new business, re-reading it could help me organise my thoughts and define the projects.
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
I got hooked after watching Simon Sinek’s TED Talk and hearing his Johnny Bravo story and circle of safety theory. I got this book when I was starting a new job as a team manager and I wanted to prepare for it.
In that time, it helped me a lot to build a great team, so I want to re-read it and see what else I can learn and apply to my life, not only just a work environment.
The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
This book was pivotal in changing my mindset and thinking about business and life. It pushed me over the edge to start working hard, learning and to try my business ideas (and a few months later I did launch my first project.).
I have already read it several times. I read it every time I start a new business project and even if the project fails, it reminds me why I am trying in the first place and keeps me motivated to try again.
Art of War by Sun Tzu
Small philosophical book from ancient China full of thoughts about how to fight wars and lead your armies, which can be also applied to your “normal” life, minus the killing part.
This book stuck with me when I first saw it/heard about it in the TV show Smallville, in which Lex Luthor receives it as a gift from his ruthless father for his 14th birthday.
I don’t know if it was the Asian origin of the book, our similarities in names with Lex, or how the book looked (it was a bright red hardcover edition with golden lettering), but I was just sold.
And of course, the next day I ran into the bookstore and bought myself a copy and I have it since.
Here is just a little teaser, one of my favorite quotes:
In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity. - Sun Tzu
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
This was probably the first book I have read about business, financial freedom and self-development, and kickstarted my interest in this niche.
I have read it only once, in high school, and even though I understood what was proposed in the book, I didn’t see much use, as things like buying a real estate or owning a company were very abstract concepts for me in high school.
But I also remember it being very controversial as many people were taking it too literally, worshipping Robert Kiyosaki, saying he is the only person who knows anything about making money.
Waves of people joining shady multilevel and pyramid scheme businesses, praising him and using this book as their “bible”, claiming these are the only ways to make money and reach financial freedom.
And their argument always was that in these businesses you don’t have to work, you just need to recruit people and they will generate income for you and that is the only financial freedom out there.
I think reading it again, ten years later, with more experience and a different view on life. Could be interesting.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey
This is a simplified version of the original book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, written by the author´s son.
I have never read the original, but I would like to read it (maybe even this year) and I thought I can start with the simpler version first and compare them.
Now I challenge you
Set a reading challenge. And make it challenging.
It doesn’t matter if you are reading a real book, e-book or listening to an audiobook. It all counts, as long as you are reading the full version and getting its whole idea.
If you don’t read regularly like I was, just start small.
You can start with 6 books a year – it’s one book every two months, I think anybody can read one book every two months. Which is like five pages a day for your average book.
Seriously, anybody can read five pages a day.
Pick a book, find 15, 20, 30 minutes a day and let’s go!
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