I love reading. It is one of the most satisfying and productive activities a human being can do, and it is also the #1 source of knowledge "packaging & consumption" up to date. Books are usually well thought, drafted, edited, and re-edited on yearly cycles and haven't been (yet) replaced by Youtube videos, training courses, webinars or in-person learning. Books continue to be one of my main passions, and I want to share the 80+ books list that passed through my hands during 2019.
Getting to "At least" One book/week
An average book length is about 280 pages or about 8h of reading time. That said, by merely dedicating 1h 15min per day, you would be "digesting" one book a week. Simple to say, but hard to implement. I know. I've been there.
While one entire book/week may sound severe, at the very beginning, it is just a matter of understanding the value of allocating time to do it. 10, 15, 20, or 30 minutes per day will be a good start point if you want to start building a habit to do it.
Still, there are many ways and opportunities for reading a book and, more objectively, building a reading habit. I dedicate about 12 hours/week for reading, but it wasn't like that two years ago.
Reading "Costs"
First, you need a book. An average book at Amazon costs about $25. Buying 80+ books would mean I spent, at least, about $2,000 in 2019 to get to that level of information. Still, investing $2K for education a year is not a big deal at all, if it would have been the required alternative. But, indeed, it wasn't the case for me.
If you live in a major metropolitan area, there are lots of libraries where you can register and start borrowing books at no cost. I live about four blocks away from Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec. It is enormous, and I have borrowed there more than half the books I've read this year. I use to go once every three weeks and borrow 3 to 4 books — more than enough for my rhythm.
You can also borrow books digitally or audiobooks using an App synchronized with your library account. Significant libraries are available all across Canada, and minor ones are also available in most small towns/municipalities. Just do a simple Google search for "libraries near me," and you will be amazed by all opportunities that will show up.
And if you can't find any, then there is the "default" option of $25 on Amazon, and you get the book in a couple of days.
Time "Costs"
Well, having the book is 10%, the remaining part of the deal is up to you. You need to find the time, build the habit around it, and make it work. For me, it wasn't either a night change. It took time, dedication, and exploring all available alternatives. Here is a list of tips that could help you find time for it:
Read before falling asleep. Have the book next to your bed, sofa or wherever you will rest. Make it easy, and don't turn on your TV. You will be impressed by how effective it is for both having a sweet sleep and closing a long day.
Read on public transport, while having lunch (if you are alone) or during waiting time.
Allocate a fixed moment of the day to do it. The earliest, the better. It could be waking up 15 minutes earlier in the morning just to read.
Listen to Audiobooks while you are doing side activities. Working out at the gym, driving (drive safe BTW), doing the dishes... all these activities can easily be combined with a good audiobook.
I like to do it after lunch (~ 30 min) before falling asleep (~45 min) and listen to some audiobooks at the gym (~30 min x 2 times a week minimum).
My biggest advice: work on your reading habit. Make it work. It will be the best investment of your life.
The 80+ Book List
I have to start saying that I haven't sorted this list under any specific criteria. I'm intended to do so on separate articles. Books are not sorted by my reading order, or priority, or personal recommendation — neither by length, subject field, or publishing date.
I have just grouped them all by authors, about 60% are New York Times Bestsellers, and four every 5 are business-oriented books:
The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur: The Tell-it-Like-it-is Guide to Cleaning Up in Business, Even if You Are at the End of Your Roll by Mike Michalowicz
Surge: Time the Marketplace, Ride the Wave of Consumer Demand and Become Your Industry's Big Kahuna by Mike Michalowicz
Clockwork: Design Your Business to Run Itself by Mike Michalowicz
The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field by Mike Michalowicz
Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz
Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know by Malcolm Gladwell
Content Inc.: How Entrepreneurs Use Content to Build Massive Audiences and Create Radically Successful Businesses by Joe Pulizzi
Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins
The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday
The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau
One Simple Idea, Revised and Expanded Edition: Turn Your Dreams into a Licensing Goldmine While Letting Others Do the Work by Stephen Key
Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins
The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
How they started: how 25 good ideas became great companies by Carol Tice
The Value of Debt by Thomas J. Anderson
The Value of Debt in Building Wealth by Thomas J. Anderson
Play at Work: How Games Inspire Breakthrough Thinking by Adam L. Penenberg
You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero
The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks Than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian P. Moran, Michael Lennington
Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam
When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life - Before 8 AM by Hal Elrod
The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich by David Bach
The Latte Factor: Why You Don't Have to Be Rich to Live Rich by David Bach, John David Mann
Gap Selling: Getting the Customer to Yes: How Problem-Centric Selling Increases Sales by Changing Everything You Know About Relationships, Overcoming Objections, Closing and Price by Keenan
The Algebra of Happiness: Notes on the Pursuit of Success, Love, and Meaning by Scott Galloway
The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google by Scott Galloway
Buying and Selling a Business: How You Can Win in the Business Quadrant: Rich Dad Advisors by Garrett Sutton
The Fixer: My Adventures Saving Startups from Death by Politics by Bradley Tusk
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller
Level Up Your Life: How to Unlock Adventure and Happiness by Becoming the Hero of Your Own Story by Steve Kamb
Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller
HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business: Think Big, Buy Small, Own Your Own Company by Richard S. Ruback, Royce Yudkoff
Permission to Screw Up: How I Learned to Lead by Doing (Almost) Everything Wrong by Kristen Hadeed
Scaling Lean: Mastering the Key Metrics for Startup Growth by Ash Maurya
Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build Their Business and Influence-and How You Can, Too by Gary Vaynerchuk
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It by Chris Voss
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz
What It Takes: How I Built a $100 Million Business Against the Odds by Raegan Moya-Jones
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Rich Dad's Guide to Investing: What the Rich Invest In That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki
Rich Dad's Rich Kid Smart Kid: Give Your Child a Financial Head Start by Robert T. Kiyosaki
More Important Than Money by Robert T. Kiyosaki
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (Expanded and Updated) by Timothy Ferriss
How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital: The Four Rules You Must Break to Get Rich by Nathan Latka
Rich Dad's Retire Young Retire Rich: How to Get Rich and Stay Rich by Robert T. Kiyosaki
Rich Dad's Cashflow Quadrant: Guide to Financial Freedom by Robert T. Kiyosaki
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman
The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Rich by Thomas J. Stanley Ph.D.
Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You by John Warrillow
The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry by John Warrillow
Burn Your Mortgage: The Simple, Powerful Path to Financial Freedom for Canadians by Sean Cooper
Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School by Andrew Hallam
Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't by Jim Collins
Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin
Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't, Rockefeller Habits 2.0 by Verne Harnish
You Can Retire Sooner Than You Think by Wes Moss
Explosive Growth: A Few Things I Learned While Growing to 100 Million Users and Losing $78 Million by Cliff Lerner
The Compound Effect: Multiply Your Success One Simple Step at a Time by Darren Hardy
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
The Alter Ego Effect: Defeat the Enemy, Unlock Your Heroic Self, and Start Kicking Ass by Todd Herman
The Startup Way: How Modern Companies Use Entrepreneurial Management to Transform Culture and Drive Long-Term Growth by Eric Ries
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Hyper Sales Growth: Street-Proven Systems & Processes. How to Grow Quickly & Profitably by Jack Daly
This Is Marketing: You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn to See by Seth Godin
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, Braden Kowitz
RRSPs: the ultimate wealth builder by Gordon Pape
Tax-Free Savings Accounts: how TFSAs can make you rich by Gordon Pape
The ultimate TFSA guide: strategies for building a tax-free fortune by Gordon Pape
Money-savvy kids: the best ways to teach your children about money for a strong financial future by Gordon Pape
Budgeting 101: from getting out of debt and tracking expenses to setting financial goals and building your savings, your essential guide to budgeting by Michele Cagan
Seducing Strangers by Josh Weltman
The Visual MBA by Jason Barron
How Money Works by DK
Hire Smart from The Start by Dave Carvajal
The Slicing Pie by Mike Moyer
And if you think this is a long list, you should see my "wishlist" line. That is probably three times this one. I have enough books there for up to 2022.
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