I read a hundred books in 2021, and I even finished my reading challenge early.
I learned a lot, even from the fiction books that I read.
I read almost all of these on my kindle, which makes it a little easier to keep track of how much I'm learning from them.
Using Readwise.io also helps me see my notes and highlights more frequently. Use this link to get a free month.
From my 100 books I read this year, I added 1500 highlights. That's 15 per book!
This screenshot shows which books I highlighted the most each month.
This screenshot shows which books I highlighted the most each month.
So my top five books are as follows:
5. The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense
What I really liked about this book is the reliance on a method for proving and disproving things.
I think the author is missing a lot by only believing in the scientific method as a way to prove things and not accepting other ways of knowing, but for the purpose for which he wrote the book, it makes sense.
4 The Reincarnationist Papers
This is actually a fiction book, but it really made me think. What would I do if I my spirit were to enter a different body and I could remember my previous lives? Would I be completely hedonistic like the characters in this book, or would I do something really good to leave my mark on the world?
The movie Infinite is actually better than this book. Also, another movie that was better than the book is Old.
3 Humor Seriously
This book teaches how to not be so serious at work. Definitely worth a read. I imagine it has to be hard to write a book about being funny, and actually be funny. Footnotes were dynamite, actually worth reading.
2 How to Take Smart Notes
This book really changed how I take notes, and it is powerful. It has made writing books so much easier. I'm still not a pro at it, but I can already see how powerful it is for me.
Want to improve your thinking? Get this book.
1 Who not How
This book inspired me to do three major things this year:
Hire help for my podcasts, which was getting overwhelming for me.
Hire help to work with a district, which took my PD there to a much higher level.
Hire a book consultant to help me rework my book. I just wasn't happy with it and Simon really helped me rearrange it so it is much more powerful. More on that book project coming soon.
This book cost me money, saved me money, and made me money.
More importantly, I realized that I don't have to do everything all alone!
Honorable Mention: Better off Dead, the latest Jack Reacher Book
I don't know why, but I just love these books. I've read all 26 of them, all the short stories, and some spinoffs.