In January, I promised to read more books. Prior to 2012, I might have barely started a book each year. The last book I finished was an assignment to me in grade school so I had gone without reading for 7 years. I’m not a fan of fiction so I picked up a few books that appealed to me. Some are fiction but not all. Here are the books I’ve completed from January to May 1st:
- The 4-Hour Body
- Autobiography of a Yogi
- Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality
- The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1
- The Art of Manliness: Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man
- Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
- The Prophet & The Wanderer
- Man’s Search for Meaning
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
- The Complete Joy of Homebrewing
In total, I’ve spent as much time as possible taking in these books. 4-Hour body and The Prophet & The Wanderer I went through twice so I could take in as much as possible. I’ll probably read The Prophet again on my flight to Amsterdam in a few weeks.
I pick books that are classics in they take me back to another time such as Sherlock and Huckleberry Finn. I also pick books that take me to another part of the world such as Yogi and Behind the Beautiful Flowers. Most importantly, I try to find books that expand my understanding of myself. I want to understand more about why I am this way both the good and the bad and this comes from books that talk a great deal about psychology.
I would have liked to read twice as many books this year but have been lacking mostly because I spend a great deal of time reading news and opinion on today’s world. I’ll do a better job at balancing that since reading is so new to me.