I pushed myself this year to read more books than ‘normal’. I wanted to hit 40 books, but fell a bit shy at 31 books completed and 3 others partially read, as shown in the list below (in reading order). While I have read some hardcopy books, most of these have been on my Kindle or the Kindle app on my phone. I have tried to maintain a balance of books covering self-improvement (or business), science fiction, and space. I also started a book club with people from work, so some of those titles are included in the list. This has been an interesting and enjoyable journey. Let’s see how long I can keep up this pace!
Reading the self-improvement/business books provides facts, strategies, and techniques to improve your performance at whatever you do – whether professionally or personally. It’s an investment in yourself. Indulging in fiction provides an enjoyable escape – for me, a way to unwind every evening.
I make reading a daily habit. Even reading just a few minutes a day compounds greatly over time.
Here is this list of the books I read this year, with the uncompleted books indicated as such:
- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Carol S. Dweck
- Endurance: My Year In Space, A Lifetime of Discovery, by Scott Kelly
- Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, by Angela Duckworth
- The Last Campaign (The Near-Earth Mysteries, Book 2), by Martin L. Shoemaker
- Everything Is Figureoutable, by Marie Forleo
- Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, by Seth Godin
- Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program That Brought Nazi Scientists to America, by Annie Jacobsen
- The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, by Charlie Mackesy
- Start With Why, Simon Sinek
- The Culture Code, by Daniel Coyle
- Night Train to Rigel, by Timothy Zahn
- Guerilla Publishing, by Derek Murphy, Ph.D. (STARTED – 11%)
- The War of Art: Break Through Your Barriers and Win Your Inner Creative Battles, by Steven Pressfield
- The Triton Disaster, by Brandon Q. Morris
- 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do: Take Back Your Power, Embrace Change, Face Your Fears, and Train Your Brain For Happiness and Success, by Amy Morin
- The Atlantis Gene: A Thriller (The Origin Mystery Book 1), by A.G. Riddle
- Start: Punch Fear In The Face, Escape Average, and Do Work That Matters, by Jon Acuff
- The Taking of K-129: How the CIA Used Howard Hughes to Steal a Russian Sub in the Most Daring Covert Op In History, by Josh Dean
- Radical Candor: Fully Revised and Updated Edition: Be A Kick-Ass Boys Without Losing Your Humanity, by Kim Scott
- The Enigma Cube (Alien Artifact Book 1), by Douglas E. Richards
- Just Listen: Discovery the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone, by Mark Goulston
- Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
- New Eden, by Tipimeni Kishore
- Artemis: A Novel, by Andy Weir
- The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos, by Christian Davenport
- The Fossil: Science Fiction Thriller (Secrets of Mars Book 1), by Joshua T. Calvert
- Marchenko’s Children: Hard Science Fiction (Proxima Logfiles Book 1), by Brandon Q. Morris
- Shoot for the Moon: The Space Race and the Extraordinary Voyage of Apollo 11, by Jim Donovan
- Constance, by Matthew FitzSimmons
- The Far Shore, by Glenn Damato
- Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath (STARTED – 55%)
- 3zekial (First Contact), by Peter Cawdron
- Starman’s Saga: The Long, Strange Journey of Leif The Lucky, by Colin Alexander
- Sprinting Though No Man’s Land: Endurance, Tragedy, and Rebirth in the 1919 Tour De France, by Adin Dobkin (STARTED – 36%)