I made a decision last year as I was writing up my 2023 best books list (and tv and movies) that I was going to at least write down the books that I had read each quarter so it wouldn't be such a slog at the end of the year. I missed the first quarter so I promised myself I would catch up.
And as I gathered up the books I'd read I thought you might be interested in a mid-year preview. You'll have to stay tuned for the rest of my pics but here are the nonfiction books I've made my way through and listed in order of consumption.
- Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty - I'd been familiar with Shetty through various touchpoints but hadn't sat down to read this, it does a nice job of tying the principals together with actionable tips on how to apply, it's not unfamiliar to Buddhist and other principles.
- Deep Work by Cal Newport - He also wrote Digital Minimalism which I liked, extolling the virtues of deep work with some tips on how to relearn how to have focus, one of the keys to being more effective with your time, would read again.
- The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg - This had been on my shelf for ages, as a big fan of habits I really liked this, a very different structure than Atomic Habits but appreciated the case study approach to individual, organization, and society, would read again.
- Brag Better by Meredith Fineman - A great story of why it's so important to learn to brag better and some very specific examples of how to do it, would read again.
- We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers - I'd been familiar with her but picked this up as a recco from my biz coach, a great moral and tactical agenda, a little more skewed to entrepreneurial options but still relevant to all.
- How to Keep House While Drowning by K.C. Davis - This was definitely targeted to people who are in fact drowning, I think permission to know that your worth is not your tidiness and systems for supporting you to ease in, I appreciate a system.
- Invisible Influence by Jonah Berger - This was a really good look at the science of influence, things that influence you to do something or not to do something, there's a lot of interesting nuance but a helpful awareness, would read again.
- Self Compassion by Kristin Neff - This was one of those books that kept getting recommended in other books, she did a lovely job of talking about merits and how to do it as well as differences compared to self-esteem, would read again.
- Insecure in Love by Leslie Becker Phelps - A recommendation that wasn't totally my jam, lots of info on romantic relationships, and the attachment styles may have been a little challenging to follow in the audio versions, though some strategies to deal with regardless of style.
- The Gap and the Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy - I generally appreciated this framing of shifting perspective to what you've accomplished instead of where you have yet to go, interesting strategy regarding goals.
- Give and Take by Adam Grant - I loved this science-backed perspective on giving with some amazing case studies about how giving is so a great takeaway in every chapter,
Let me know if you've read any of these what you thought or comment with any recs I should add to the queue.
As you probably know reading a book is great but one thing to think about is what action you want to take to start to institutionalize the knowledge. Reach out if you want some help putting any plans in place.
