I'm not sure what it is - it could be the fact that I've been trained by smartphones but I didn't used to read multiple books at a time. I used to read one book, finish it and then read the next, but my habits have changed, especially now that I quit books that I don't like or read specific chapters at a time, depending on what interests me.
Somehow, I've managed to have ten books on my reading list and of course, always looking to add more, but I thought I would reflect on what I'm currently reading and what is interesting me so far:
Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene
When the book came out, it was basically an instant buy from me - I'm a huge follower of Robert Greene's other books and while I think a lot of the stories can be dry, they do help solidify the many laws, strategies and rules that Robert espouses in his books and the Laws of Human Nature are no different. What better way to understand others than by understanding the laws that humans follow, and how to counteract some of these laws in your life?
I will teach you to be rich (second edition) by Ramit Sethi
Another entrepreneur that I follow - Ramit came out with an updated edition of his book 'I will teach you to be rich'. I'm only through the introduction and part of the first chapter but am excited to read some of his updated content and to re-learn the basics of finances again. I remember reading this book a while ago and while some of the lessons resonated with me, I didn't follow everything in the book, which I now kind of regret. I'm not going to make the same mistake again with this book.
What got you here won't get you there by Marshall Goldsmith
I have heard a lot about how good this book was but was not really sure what to expect (I mean you can't really tell from the title of the book). I thought it was about the strategies that people used to get to the next level but as I read this book, Marshall actually covers the psychological / mindset barriers that people have as they blast past to the next level. As I was reading, I thought to myself, I don't have these 'blocks' but as I continued reading the stories of individuals that Marshall has coached, I humbly realized that I certainly have some of these blocks, although they may not be as impactful as the ones that Marshall describes.
Free to focus by Michael Hyatt
This book is quite different than other books about productivity. Having gone through the first few chapters, the book covers similar concepts to other productivity / time management books but Michael has quite an informal and friendly approach to sharing how he has managed his time to get things done. I have to say that I'm quite excited to putting some of his strategies into place in my life.
The Little Big Things by Tom Peters
I'm beginning to think that the quote "No man steps into the same river twice" needs to be updated to "No man reads the same book twice". The book does not change but depending on where you are in your life, you are going to get different things out of the same book - at least that is what has happened to me. I read this many, many years ago before I understand the concept of customer service and how important it is to businesses and now that I am in a customer service business, it's given me a lot of great ideas on how I can help my customers exclaim "wow". This book is chock-full of stories, anecdotes, tactics and strategies from other companies on how they wow their customers. For example, there's a diner that has extremely clean and spotless washrooms but the finishing touch is fresh flowers in the bathrooms replaced every morning. Wow! The takeaway from this book: the little things are the big things.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (translation by Gregory Hays)
Since I'm a huge fan of Ryan Holiday and his books (and he has a new book coming out this year!), I thought I would go directly to the source of his thinking and go to some books on stoicism. Marcus was a brilliant, brilliant man and what I like about this book is that you may read something but in order for it to really sink in and for you to understand it, you have to reflect on the words from Marcus' point of view. I'm excited to 'absorb' some of these stoic rules and mindsets into my life.
Own the day, own your life by Aubrey Marcus
A book in a similar vein to the one I'm writing about, Aubrey covers a number of different areas in people's lives and provides a fantastic overview of what to do, what to avoid and what the 80/20 is for any particular area of your life, whether it's working out, eating right or sleep. There's lots of information out there and while you can't believe everything you read, I do want to implement some of these lessons right away to see what works for me (because that's how you learn and that's how you really see if something works).
The 100 best business books of all time by Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten
Love that the authors have scoured tons of different books to compile this list. Each of the books gets a great summary and some detailed takeaways that the authors have found pertinent to readers and it can certainly beat reading a thousand different business books to find those 'nuggets'.
Side Hustle Bible by James Altucher
A great little book on side hustles by my favourite author. James covers many, many different strategies to make an extra dollar or two on the side and he shares an incredible roadmap that helps anyone with an internet connection, computer and a work ethic to make money.
The Thinking Machine by Jacques Futrelle
I don't read a lot of fiction but I could not resist including one of my favourite detectives as part of my reading list for May! I managed to pick up a volume of Jacques' collected stories and am always amazed at the ingenuity and creativity of the author to come up with these situations: in some cases, murder, locked rooms and kidnappings. If you like mystery novels, the Thinking Machine is one detective I highly recommend.
All of these books will, I'm sure, get longer in-depth detailed posts but for now, I haven't quite finished these books on my reading list. Hope you find something in the list that you might enjoy or if you are looking for book recommendations, please comment below and I'm happy to help if you provide a few books that you liked and what you are interested in reading in the future.