I read more books in 2017 than in any other year in my life. My goal at the outset of the year was to read 50, but I soon found that I would reach 50 well before the end of the year and upped it to 100. I completed the 50th book on June 28 (I think it was ABC-3PO) and the 100th book on November 30 (The Story of Music). Only 7 out of the 109 were books I had read previously. I also read much, much more fiction than I have in a long time; over 40 books were fiction, an unprecedented number for me!
I had many revelations and takeaways throughout the year, but one that stood out to me as 2017 comes to a close was the knowledge that I pursued this singular goal nearly every day this year. I wonder what else I could accomplish if I worked the next 365 days on a single goal? It is exciting to think about. In fact, I do have several new challenges for myself in the coming year, which I will share soon. For now, here are the stats and the books that made 2017 for me.
Books completed: 109
Books abandoned: 2 (The Sister by Louise Jensen, and BioShock: Rapture by John Shirley)
Books abandoned: 2 (The Sister by Louise Jensen, and BioShock: Rapture by John Shirley)
Pages Read: 25,304
Shortest Book: 18 pages (Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike)
Longest Book: 1,120 pages (Adolf Hitler: The Definitive Biography)
Most-read authors: J. K. Rowling (7), Francis Schaeffer (5), Arthur Conan Doyle (4)
The Books, Ranked from Worst to Best (bottom 10 and top 20 in bold)
109. Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike, Unknown
108. How to Talk to Anyone, Leil Lowndes
107. English Hymns and Hymn Writers, Adam Fox
106. The Day After Roswell, Philip Corso
105. Cliches, Nigel Fountain
104. Harry, A History, Melissa Anelli
103. If You Give a Pig A Pancake, Laura Numeroff
102. The Curious Case of the Missing Mammoth, Ellie Hattie
101. The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
100. Worldwide Effects of Nuclear War, Various
99. The History of Music in Western Civilization, Various Authors
98. 10 Little Rubber Ducks, Eric Carle
97. Weight Loss Motivation Hacks, Derek Doepker
96. 101 Amazing Harry Potter Facts, Jack Goldstein
95. Art of War, Sun Tzu
94. How to Manage Your Money When You Don’t Have Any, Eric Wecks
93. Till We Have Faces, C. S. Lewis
92. The Story of Music, Howard Goodall
91. Laptop Millionaire, Mark Anastasi
90. Murder on the Orient Express, Agatha Christie
89. Money Management Skills, Michael Finke
88. The Last Juror, John Grisham
87. The President’s First Year, Douglas Cohn
86. The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown
85. The Art of Eric Carle, Eric Carle
84. The Time Machine, H. G. Wells
83. A Christian Manifesto, Francis Schaeffer
82. Blood and Smoke, Steven King
81. The Adventure of the Cardboard Box, Arthur Conan Doyle
80. The Hound of the Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
79. Jonas and Daphne, Silver Lamb
78. A Natural History of the Piano, by Stuart Isacoff
77. Bartholomew and the Oobleck, Dr. Seuss
76. Draw Me A Star, Eric Carle
75. An Edible History of Humanity, Tom Standage
74. 21 Success Secrets of Self Made Millionaires, by Brian Tracy
73. Creating the Constitution, Christopher Collier
72. The Cardinal of the Kremlin, Tom Clancy
71. If I Ran the Zoo, Dr. Seuss
70. Big Agenda, David Horowitz
69. 80 Proven Ways to Become a Millionaire, Paul Demazo
68. Little Blue Truck Leads the Way, Alice Schertle
67. Put Your Heart on the Page, Anne Perry
66. The Music Teacher From the Black Lagoon, Mike Thaler
65. 8 Traits of the Greats, Stan Munslow
64. I Wish My Teacher Knew, by Kyle Schwartz
63. A Good Marriage, Steven King
62. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
61. Next, Michael Crichton
60. Practice Music Like a Pro, Stan Munslow
59. Animal Farm, George Orwell
58. Zen Shorts, Jon Muth
57. ABC-3PO, Calliope Glass
56. Goodnight Darth Vader, Jeffery Brown
55. Crazy Love, Francis Chan
54. Quiet, Susan Cain
53. The Symphonies of Beethoven, Robert Greenberg
52. Selected Short Stories, Anton Chekhov
51. Smart Fat, Steven Masley
50. A Time To Kill, John Grisham
49. World in Balance, Robert Crease
48. The Wrecking Crew, Kent Hartman
47. The Remarkable Farkle McBride, John Lithgow
46. Miles, Miles Davis
45. 1776, David McCullough
44. Narconomics, Tom Wainwright
43. The Fault in Our Stars, John Green
42. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, Dr, Seuss
41. The Abolition of Man, C. S. Lewis
40. How to Make It in the New Music Business, Ari Herstand
39. Write Songs Right Now, Alex Forbes
38. Nazism and War, Richard Bessel
37. Helping Children Succeed, Paul Tough
36. A Study in Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle
35. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
34. The Speckled Band, Arthur Conan Doyle
33. 9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America, Brion McClanahan
32. How Children Succeed, Paul Tough
31. Why Don’t Students Like School, Daniel T. Willingham
30. Little Blue Truck, Alice Schertle
29. Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell
28. Band of Brothers, Stephen Ambrose
27. Seizing the Enigma, David Kahn
26. What Teachers Make, by Taylor Mali
25. The Mark of the Christian, Francis Schaeffer
24. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J. K. Rowling
23. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J. K. Rowling
22. The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien
21. Exploring J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Corey Olsen
20. Between Heaven and the Real World, Steven Curtis Chapman
19. He Is There and He is Not Silent, Francis Schaeffer
18. Extra Virginity, Tom Mueller
17. Art and the Bible, Francis Schaeffer
16. Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
15. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J. K. Rowling
14. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J. K. Rowling
13. I Want My Hat Back, Jon Klassen
12. A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Tom Standage
11. The Secrets of Story, by Matt Bird
10. Make It Stick, Peter Brown
9. The God Who Is There, Francis Schaeffer
8. The Courage to Teach, Parker J. Palmer
7. The Song Machine, John Seabrook
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J. K. Rowling
5. How Star Wars Conquered the Star Wars Universe, Chris Taylor
4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J. K. Rowling
3. What If?, by Randall Monroe
2. Adolf Hitler, John Toland
1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J. K. Rowling
No comments:
Post a Comment