Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson
It took me forever to finish reading Walter Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin. Almost 4 months! That's a long time for me because I had set a goal to read 2 books a month. I started reading it by the end of January and I just finished it recently. It's the second book I finished this year and I am still a long way to reading the books on my reading list.
I chose to include it in my reading list for 2023 because I really enjoyed reading Steve Jobs also by Walter Isaacson, and I have read recommendations saying how insightful the life of Benjamin Franklin was. I didn't realize how difficult a read it was. The English was written to match the English during Franklin's time. That meant that I couldn't speed-read it. I also was not very consistent with reading daily, which contributed to the delay in finishing the book.
The book was also quite long, around 600 pages, so my rate of 2 books per month was not very applicable to it. Anyway, I still enjoyed reading the book, especially during Franklin's time in France. Finishing it was so satisfying and reading about the founding father's life offered a better understanding of America.
I think I'll dive deeper into the book by writing a Book Review on it. In this post, I'll share with you the books I've read last year (2022), highlighting some of my favorites. I'll also be sharing my reading list for this year, and I'd gladly accept some recommendations to complete my list.
Let's all share our love of books through our recommendations!
The books I've read in 2022
At the start of 2022, I decided I would be more serious with my journaling. I bought a leatherbound journal and looked for a book to help me with my journaling. Journal to the Self by Kathleen Adamas was an easy read, and it gave me numerous ways to write a journal and how it can help me with my personal growth.
I received a recommendation from 
I thought I really liked this book, but months after finishing The Secret, I realized that it was not as helpful as I thought it was going to be. I still believe in the Law of Attraction but I think the book stretches it a bit too much.
This book holds the most practical truths in life, so practical that it's difficult to accept and apply them. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki will make you doubt buying a house or car because they're going to be liabilities. This book forced me to think about what assets I can get that are incoming generating. And it's an extremely difficult thing to think about.
Show Your Work by Austin Kleon was one of my quickest reads. This was a recommendation from one of the popular self-help YouTubers, Ali Abdaal. This book offers really simple and actionable tips to build your online audience.
Atomic Habits is one of my favorite books, so reading The Power of Habit served as a more in-depth learning experience about habits. I was really surprised by the storytelling prowess of the author. I think he would do really well if he wrote fiction or biographies. This book contains very detailed research studies about habits, but Charles Duhigg presents them in a digestible manner.
This book was published during the 1930s, but it's still extremely timely and helpful. I'm a Toastmaster and I struggle with socializing sometimes, so this book gave me a boost in my communication skills.
This is one of my favorite books. In 2022, I decided to read this again. In my second read, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey gave me a deeper understanding of Habit 1 (Be Proactive) and Habit 3 (Put First Things First), and how to better apply them in my life. In the future, I wish to join trainings on The 7 Habits to better immerse myself in it.
In 2021, I read The Handmaid's Tale, and I am so glad that I read it during that time because the sequel to the book (The Testaments) was already available. The Handmaid's Tale was published in 1985 and after more than 30 years, Margaret Atwood decided to write a sequel. Reading The Testaments felt absurd and familiar at the same time. I didn't know that Atwood said that everything he wrote in the book was based on real-life events.
This was a Goodreads recommendation and it's probably the lightest fiction read in the entire list. It's romance, so maybe that's why People We Meet On Vacation just went straight through me.
Another one of my favorites! Crying in H Mart was an instant hit for me. I can't remember how many times I've cried while reading this. Michelle Zauner is such a talented writer. I can't wait for the movie based on this book to come out.
This is also one of my favorites! This was a bit of a long read but I was on edge every time. Patrick Radden Keefe made it feel like I was reading fiction because of how exciting and unbelievable the events in the book were. But it's all true. Everything is true. It amazes me to see the actual faces of the characters in the book by doing a Google search.
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari is a recommendation from a friend. She was meant to lend me her copy of it, but she relocated before I got the chance to get it. I already read Robin Sharma's The 5 AM Club before, so I was not surprised by his writing style with this one.
John Green made me cry with his fiction books before. I didn't expect that he could do the same to me with his non-fiction book, The Anthropocene Reviewed. Reading this book didn't really require comprehension. I had to feel and imagine the words to fully experience this book. That's why I really like this.
I added this to my book list because I've heard so many good things about this book. My expectations were rightfully met! Start with Why by Simon Sinek can feel repetitive sometimes but as you continue reading it, I realized the necessity of reiterating how important it is to start with your why.
This is a re-read and I think I've already written so many things about why I love this book. I wrote 3 posts about Jim Kwik's Limitless.
I wanted to read at least one of the best classic books, and I thought George Orwell's 1984 would be a good read. And it was! The book was atmospheric even sometimes depressing, but that's what's special about it. While reading it, I felt like I was entering a dark cloud and stayed in there until I stopped reading the book.
Finally, the 18th and last book I read in 2022 was David Allen's Getting Things Done. I can't express how important this book is to me. I have re-designed how I operate my life because of this book. It's that life changing.
My reading list for 2023
For this year, I want to read 24 books. I have put together a reading list based on recommendations from the people in my life, the books I've read, Goodreads, and social media. The list still needs 6 more to be completed, and I'm reserving it for future recommendations.
- Make Time by John Knapp and Jake Zertasky
- Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson
- Nigh Sky With Exit Wounds by Ocean Voung
- On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Voung
- The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner
- Let's Talk About Death (Over Dinner) by Michael Hebb
- In Search of Identity by Anwar el Sadat
- The Element by Ken Robinson
- Dune by Frank Herbert
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
- Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
- The Maid by Nita Prose
- Book Lovers by Emily Henry
- Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
- Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
- How to Live 365 Days a Year by John Schindler
- The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz (re-read)
- Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins
Book Reviews and Book Content
I've written quite a few of content about books here is Hive. If you want to check them out, I've listed them down here:
- No More Excuses! | My Takeaways from David Schwartz's The Magic of Thinking Big
- How to Live a Peaceful Life | My Takeaways from Jay Shetty's Think Like A Monk
- Tips to Overcome Rejection, Rumination, and Low Self-Esteem | My Takeaways from Guy Winch's Emotional First Aid
- Creating and Breaking Habits | My Takeaways from James Clear's Atomic Habits
- ShowYourWork | My First PD (Personal Development) Digest
- I Thought I'd Never Read Books Again | How I Rediscovered the Joy of Reading
- Using My Hive Earnings to Support My Goals | Unboxing My Amazon Kindle
- Would You Kill to Give Birth? | Thought-Provoking Ideas from Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale
- How to Find Meaning in Suffering: Practical Tips Inspired by Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning
- Enrich Your Faith: The Shack (Book Review)
- Sticking to Your Goals: The 4 Disciplines of Execution (Book Review)
- Easily Memorize Large Amounts of Information: Part 3 of My Best Takeaways from Jim Kwik's LIMITLESS
- Incredible Memory Techniques: Part 2 of My Best Takeaways from Jim Kwik's LIMITLESS
- Read Faster, Memorize Better: My Best Takeaways from Jim Kwik's LIMITLESS
