So Goodreads is telling me I’m behind in my 2012 reading target – 16% behind, to be precise – and I don’t like it one bit. Plus, it’s December already!
Since I’m an engineer, I can’t help obsessing about numbers. My target for the year is to read 50 books. I finished 38 already and I’m now working on book #39 and #40. I’ve read more than 38, actually, but I exclude some from the list because they’re too light or short. That leaves me with 10 more books to go this month. Last year, I read the most books in December, so there’s still hope for me.
I think I can do it. No. I know I can.
I just have to alter my strategy a bit. Maybe I’ll target books that range between 150-300 pages, and leave those 500+ pages biographies for next year. But then again, biographies have a way of sucking me into their world, accelerating my reading speed. The biggest problem, though, is that I don’t have enough medium-sized books to make 50 yet. Right now, this is my list for the rest of the year:
Currently reading:
39. On Writing Well by William Zinsser
40. The Prophets by Abraham J. Heschel (which I may have to ditch and pick up next year since it’s like…700 pages long!)
To read:
41. Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller
42. The Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller
43. The Prince of the Marshes by Rory Stewart
I’m very excited about #41-43, so there should be no problem finishing them (#41 and #42 are arriving today via Amazon shipment. Woohoo!). But now it gets trickier, and the rest is still tentative.
44. A Governor’s Story by Jennifer Granholm
45. William Wilberforce’s book (long, old English)
46. John Newton’s biography (long)
47. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
And I still don’t have good candidates for #48-50. Need help. Any recommendations?
Hi Cloudious!
What I usually do is steal time here and there to read. It’s hard to allocate an hour to read for example, especially in engineering! So I keep a book with me at all time, and the times where I need to wait, on the bus, waiting for someone, during a meal if I’m eating alone, etc., a few minutes here and there, and they can amount to a lot! Most of the books I read is done this way.
Hey guys l want to know how you guys manage, and get the time to read so many books, l know its possible, but being an engineering student has made me to be so absorbed in my academic work, of which l feel emptiness coz l long for more knowledge from exciting books
Kisses from Katie is a potential! Will look into Gray Matter. Thanks!
Nice!
Gray Matter by David Levy or Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis.
Yeah, with students and a couple people from work. My hope is to use it to explore questions they likely face at school/work (and secret CAMPUS training). I’m thinking “Cross Examination” will be next.
Thanks Roy!
Haven’t read that one too! You’re doing book club at church?
Oh, and did you ever read “Beginnings: Are Science And Scripture Partners in the Search for Origins” by Brand and Jarnes? That ones excellent, and quick enough you could fit it in before the end of the year. We’re reading it in our book club right now.
Lessons on Faith – Jones and Waggoner, God in Pain – David Asscherick, Men of the Bible – Dwight Lyman Moody. [they don’t pack much pages, but they go straight to the heart. I’m taking a guess, but I’m pretty sure you’ve read the first one. It’s still one of my favorites. God in Pain was a super fast read; I think it’s Pastor David’s first book. Smart and clever just as he is in his preaching. I especially like Men of the Bible; started it but haven’t finished, but it’s very short too. Saw sides of Abraham I felt that was there, but it just made it a lot more easier to digest and appreciate. Other characters covered include Naaman the Syrian, and Joseph of Arimathea. It’s free for download to Kindle, if you’re into that. Happy reading~
It’s good to have friends who like to read!
“There Is a God” by Antony Flew is a tremendous book from an apologetics angle from a former leading skeptic.
Rob, those sounds fascinating!! I think I’m interested in ALL of them. Thanks!!
Here’s a few of my favorites you might not already have read.
“Cradle to Cradle” – McDonough, architect, and Braungart, chemist, look into a way of manufacturing that contributes to the environment rather than harming it. It should be right up your alley.
“Girls Gone Mild: Young Women Reclaim Self-Respect and Find It’s Not Bad to Be Good” – Shalit looks at why some girls who are rejecting the sexualization society is imposing on them.
“Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream” – An impressive look at what’s wrong with current “city” planning in America. It has the dangerous side effect of making the reader want to pick up and move (I have one friend who did). Worth reading just to explore how they make their argument effective.
“The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right” – Gawande gives an interesting look at how checklists have been effectively used to improve safety and products, making an argument for their use in medicine.
I’m always up for interesting articles!
Do articles count? Because I might have a suggestion! I’m also reading The Voice in Speech and Song by EGW right now (slowly and intermittently), and have been very, very blessed. Luther: A Guide for the Perplexed by Whitford’s a short read, and informative too!
Nice! Thanks Tom! I read The Places In Between and another one of Rory Stewart’s books. He’s one of my favorite author. I haven’t read any of the others you suggested, so I’m totally gonna check them out. They look interesting!
Hope you hit your reading target too.
The “Prince of the Marshes” is an awesome book (so is Rory Stewart’s first, “The Places In Between”)! Read that during an exam week, iirc. If you can get “God’s Faulty Heroes” by Roy Gane. You will loooove it. Also, “The First 90 Days of Marriage” by Eric and Leslie Ludy is very high on quality. Also, since I’m into the whole triathlon thing, “A Life Without Limits” by Chrissie Wellington will get you, since she’s about so much more than triathlon. I flew through that one.
My goal is 24 books, and I’m at 20 right now. I have a couple I’ll finish fairly easily by then. Just need to knock off a couple others.
I don’t know if you’ve read “Eat and Run” by Scott Jurek, but that’s on the must-read list. Wait, hold the phones. If you haven’t read “Kisses from Katie” by Katie Davis yet, you need to stop everything you’re doing and read it right now.
The classic, East of Eden.