All the wisdom in the world

Late last year, I stumbled upon the blog posts by Julien Smith and Dave Fleet, preaching the benefits of a regular reading plan. Julien had taken on the challenge of reading a  new book each weak, for all the weeks in 2009. Dave felt that 26 would be as much as he could practically manage, and so he forwarded the challenge on. Twenty-six books a year equates to roughly 20 pages a day on average, and I decided that I’d take up the challenge.

I’ve always loved reading, but becoming a father to 1, then 2 boys, and taking on new responsibilities at work had certainly eaten into my reading time. The impassioned plea by Julien caught my attention; you really need to read it in it’s entirety, but here are a few quick points that I took away:

  • All the wisdom in the world is contained in books
  • You’ll learn new skills and make you better at your job
  • You’ll develop a habit of completion
  • The internet is FULL of crap
  • Increasing the pressure (taking on an impossible task) is the best way to ensure you’ll succeed
All the wisdom in the world, and develop a habit of completion, definitely appealed to me. I took up the challenge, and today have finally got round to collecting the list of books I’ve read so far. I knew if I left it till the end of the year I’d forget some… and I may have already forgotten some, but here’s the list so far, ordered by kind of book, and then alpha by title. When I get to the end of the year, I’ll post a little more about these books, what I enjoyed, what I didn’t, etc.
Non-Fiction General

Propellerhead Reason: Ignite! – Matt Piper
Propellerhead Record: Ignite! – Michael Prager
The Secret History of Star Wars – Michael Kaminski

Non-Fiction Inspirational
Four Views on Hell – Crockett, Walvoord, Hayes, Pinnock
Reimagining Church – Frank Viola
Heaven is for Real - Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent
Fiction

The Call of Cthulhu - H.P. Lovecraft
Death of a Salesman – Arthur Miller
The Children of Hurin - JRR Tolkien
Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson
The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
The Epic of Gilgamesh – Introduction by NK Sanders 
The Aeneid – Virgil
The Food of the Gods – H.G. Wells
Homecoming: The Memory of Earth – Orson Scott Card
Homecoming: The Call of Earth - Orson Scott Card
Homecoming: The Ships of Earth - Orson Scott Card

 

That’s 18 books, which means I am right around my target. I haven’t managed to stick to 20 pages a day, but when I’ve had the chance (such as while travelling) I’ve been reading a lot more than 20 pages. Since getting a Kindle for my birthday, my reading has jumped quite a bit, as has the number of books I’ve been actually buying, rather than borrowing.