Reading Goal for 2018: 150 Books
For 2017, I participated in a reading challenge through Good Reads setting my goal at 75 books. I surpassed that goal and read 100 books last year.
This year I doubled by goal to 150 books. I hit 100 books in April. I hit 230 in November.
How I Read
The excellent thing about Good Reads is that I can track my progress, by page or percentage read, and this keeps me motivated to keep working towards my goal. I try not to have too many books in progress at a given time, usually my average is about 6 books at any given time.
My reading approach includes both listening to audiobooks through the CD player in my car and Libby or Overdrive, reading physical books from the library or my workplace library (or my own copies), reading on Kindle or another ebook reader (Libby or Overdrive work well for this – I can reserve and checkout books without having to abide by library hours) and my employer provides access to Safari books which I can read from a computer OR my mobile device.
If I’m in the car, I focus on either audiobooks on CD or digital audiobooks played from my phone. If I’m at home doing the dishes or cleaning, I listen on headphones or a speaker.
I often read a book more than once – first reading for my understanding, and second to take notes. If I’ve got free time to spend, I’ll pick up a book and read / take notes as needed.
I use the approach of reading the table of contents for physical and digital books, noting the TOC in notes, and then creating notes by chapter.
Best Books I Read this Year
- HBR’s Guide to Delivering Effective Feedback
- Thanks for the Feedback by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen
- Difficult Conversations by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen
- Driving Fear Out of the Workplace by Kathleen D. Ryan
- Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg
- What We Say Matters by Judith Hanson Lasater
- Co-Active Coaching by Laura Whitworth
- Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal
- Humble Inquiry by Edgar Schein
- The Five Levels of Attachment by Miguel Ruiz Jr.
- Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
- The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor
- Before Happiness by Shawn Achor
- The Agile Mindset by Gil Broza
- Immunity to Change by Robert Kegan
- The Zen of Listening by Rebecca Shafir
- Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
- Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
Check Out my Full Reading List
I’ve read a variety of fiction and nonfiction this year, as I did last year. Interested in the full list of what I’ve been reading? Take a look here.
You can also see my year in books here.
