I don’t know how mom and dad did it, but however they did, worked. Somehow they got my siblings and I to read, and eventually, love it. Every year I try to read as much as I can.
Just like some read newspapers as their daily ritual, I read a book or books and, of course, blogs. I use Feedly to pull feeds from some of many blogs. I also continue to enjoy reading (and occasionally publishing) on Medium as well.
I’m also starting to follow other blogs with WordPress’ new desktop app, Calypso. So many options now!
(I read many blogs. If you’re a blogger or writer, thanks for writing and publishing. Thanks for challenging me and many others around the world. Thanks for being vulnerable and daring to make the world a greater place.)
I often encourage people to read books I’ve found helpful and, at the same time, get suggestions. 2015 hasn’t been a great year for both reading and writing for me. I didn’t write or read as much as I would’ve loved.
But, this doesn’t stop me from having a better shot at in the New Year. I keep a running list of books to read, as people mention them. I have a number of sources, recommendations from people I know personally, reviews online, quotes etc.
I don’t think I’ll be able to read all books I have on the list, however I want to try. I have an undergrad degree to complete too… Thus my reading will be over and above my formal studies and research. If I manage to read a third of these books I’ll be overjoyed.
The list is not comprehensive or set in stone either. (I’m still refining the list of spiritual books and hopefully will be publishing it at I Am Jonah) So, in no order of priority (except for the first two books), genre and without further ado, here we go:
Books I Hope To Read In 2016
Being Nixon: A Man Divided by Evan Thomas
Live, Love, Lead by Brian Houston
The Terrorist’s Son by Zak Ebrahim
David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
Icarus Deception by Seth Godin
Jan Smuts: Unafraid Of Greatness by Richard Steyn
Why We Work by Barry Schwartz
The Hairdresser Of Harare by Tendai Huchu
Rework: Change The Way You Work Forever by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
Remote: Office Not Required by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
Talk Like TED by Carmine Gallo
Decision Points by George W. Bush
The Road To Character by David Brooks
How To Lie With Statistics by Darrel Huff
The Commitment Engine: Making Work Worth It by John Jantsch
The Pause Principle: Step Back To Lead Forward by Kevin Cashman
The Advantage: Why Organisational Health Trumps Everything Else by Patrick Lencioni
The Reinventors: How Extraordinary Companies Pursue Radical Continuos Change by Jason Jennings
To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others by Daniel Pink
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown
How To Write About Africa by Binyavanga Wainaina
Dinner With Mugabe by Heidi Holland
The Billionaire Who Wasn’t: How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune by Conor O’Clery
So, this is the list of books I hope to read in 2016!
This list is very likely to be chopped and changed. I hope to add books by African authors. I might only have one African (as in from Africa and not African American) author.
Also, I just realised I’m not aware of any contemporary Eastern authors. Just before publishing this post, I realised the authors of most of these books came mostly from a similar worldview.
I left out fiction. This is because I usually walk past the fiction stall in the bookshop. I generally get into fiction books in the form of audiobooks, and on a whim…
The last biography I read was Walter Isaacson’s one on Steve Jobs. I’m likely to read and or add more biographies.
Let me know what you’re reading and what you’d add (or subtract) from my list.
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Update:
Additions / Suggestions by Friends
A Man Of Good Hope by Jonny Steinberg (Suggested by Job Thomas)
The Number by Jonny Steinberg (Suggested by Job Thomas)
Nice to have a list ahead of time. I have not heard of my most of the books.
I read a book a month (often cramming in the last day or so of the month.)
I have this, which I want to update some. http://www.shelfari.com/christopherbattles/shelf
I might switch to having “to read” on my Amazon Wish List and use this to keep track of what I have read.
From your list, I have read Do Over, Animal Farm, and To Sell is Human. (The Bible also, ;) )
Neat! I like the bookshelf. I’m sure I started one on some site many years ago and forgot about it. I’m going through the list of books you’ve read in the past and some I’ve read as well. Some interesting titles. You also have Agatha Christie my favourite mystery / crime writer at some point, when i was younger
Do let me know as you find other interesting reads as they year goes. Looking forward to reading a lot of your writing too ;-)
The first African author I read is Jonny Steinberg. His “The Number” was an amazing read and Kim just finished “A Man of Good Hope”.
Thanks Job! Will check them out. Haven’t heard of them before you mentioned them. They seem interesting…