This year, I decided to read 100 books in one year.
I didn’t announce it because I was worried I’d get halfway through January and forget about it, but here we are: done with the first quarter of the year and I’ve read over 25 books.
I’m rereading a few things I want to dive deeper into, but most of these books are new to me and I’d like to share some with you. The full list of where I’m at so far is at the bottom.
I read books in 7 categories: Personal Effectiveness (6), Business (5), Communication (4), Fiction (4), Theology (3), Psychology (3), and Finance (1). I’ve definitely been on a personal effectiveness kick recently, also those books are easy to find at libraries. I’m assuming that Theology will increase pending my Masters program in the Fall.
I’m surprised I read more fiction than Theology, as that’s usually not the case. For the next few weeks, I’ll probably be reading even more personal effectiveness, because that’s what’s on my Kindle. But I would like to read more Theology.
Read 100 Top 3
Here are my top three books from the first quarter of the year. I recommend you pick them up!
1) Letter and Spirit
If you’re looking to get a good foundation of biblical theology, Dr. Hahn’s book is solid. Letter and Spirit is between an academic book and a general spirituality book. It clarifies the relationship between Scripture and Tradition (specifically the Liturgy, which is where Tradition lives).
2) Atomic Habits
Most people suggest Seven Habits of Highly Effective People as the first book on personal effectiveness to read. I disagree, mostly because it’s a lot all at once. That book has been around a long time, which means misinterpretations of it have been around as well. (For example, every company has a “mission statement” but they rarely mean anything.)
This book is like an intro to the Seven Habits. You need to know how to actually build habits first. Atomic Habits is like a cheat code manual (remember those?) to figure out your brain, why you have bad habits, and how to build good ones.
3) Amusing Ourselves to Death
Oh man, if you want to feel horrible about technology, this is the book for you. Written 25 years ago, Neil Postman warned about the increasing prominence of television. Much of what he says translates to our reliance on smart phones. He has no problem with entertainment, but “infotainment.” Long conversations can’t happen on a televised program with commercial breaks…and definitely not on Twitter. He would’ve hated Twitter but loved podcasts.
Side note: This book is what prompted me to reread Brave New World. Postman compares Orwell’s 1984 to Huxley’s Brave New World, saying the latter is a more accurate description of how human beings become oppressed.
My List…So Far
Here is my list of what I have read this year. I post them as I finish them on my Instagram, if you’d like to keep up. Comment what books you’ve read!
