2019 had been a year of revival for me when it comes to reading. More accurately, most of the books were read in later half of the year, when I started on my indie maker journey, and needed fresh inspiration and ideas to nudge me forward. 

It started when I took a month off the grid in July–no appointments, networking events, coffees or lunches. Just reading and thinking and planning. That month really broke the dry season that had been going on for years, and got me started back on regular reading. Since then, I dedicated the first hour or so of my workday to learning by reading. It’s amazing how fast you can blaze through your reading list when you do a bit of it every day, every week. 

I got through 29 books in 6 months, so that averages about at least 4 books per month, or 1 book per week. WOW. ? Again and again, this typifies my reading habits and patterns. It’s either bone-dry season, with zero inspiration no books read or books attempted but dropped after a while. Or it’s pours, biblical flood style. I think the dry seasons are usually also the seasons when work is busy and not too exciting or inspiring, stress and exhaustion is high, and overall energy levels are low. When it rains books, it usually happens at life or career transitions when I am searching for new inspiration and direction, and thus new knowledge and ideas. That’s why most books are focused around motivation, money, career and productivity. I could definitely read more fiction and alternative history, just for the fun of it.

But nevertheless, I’m keen to keep this habit of reading for an hour every workday from here onwards, transition or not. It’s my job to stay inspired. I also enjoy learning. I usually start my goals being “I want to see if I can learn my way to…” So what better way to read my way to all that I want to achieve?

-–

Motivational, career success and productivity

1. ?Antifragile: Things that gain from disorder - Nassim Taleb
   - most profound book I read this year that shifted my deeper paradigms in ways I’m not even fully aware yet
2. ?Atomic Habits: Tiny changes, remarkable results. An easy and proven way to build good habits and break bad ones - James Clear
   - learned that habit formation is a skill that I can learn and get better at. In fact, learning how to form good habits and break bad ones should be required education in schools.
3. ?How To Get Rich - Naval Ravikant
   - not strictly a book. It was a tweetstorm that went viral, that became a podcast, got transcribed, got more podcasts built around it. I think it qualifies as a book now. Changed my view of wealth, that ethical wealth creation is possible.
4. Rework - Jason Fried, DHH
5. ?It Doesn’t Have To Be Crazy At Work - Jason Fried, DHH
   - all the books I read from Basecamp were great myth-busters of “hustle porn”. Made me more aware of the startup myths I unknowingly bought into, and should drop. Life-changing in the work-life balance conversation.
6. The Antifragility Edge: Antifragility in practice - Sinan Si Alhir
7. How Luck Happens: Using the new science of luck to transform life, love, and work - Janice Kaplan
8. The How of Happiness: A scientific approach to getting the life you want - Sonja Lyubomirsky
9. Tools of Titans: The Tactics, routines, and habits of billionaires, icons, and world-class performers - Tim Ferriss
10. Tribe of Mentors: Short life advice from the best in the world - Tim Ferriss
11. Deep Work: Rules for focused success in a distracted world - Cal Newport
12. 100 Side Hustles: - Chris Guillebeau
13. Company of One: Why staying small is the next big thing for business - Paul Jarvis
14. The million-dollar, one-person business: Make great money. Work the way you like. Have the life you want. - Elaine Pofeldt
15. Evil Plans: Having fun on the road to world domination - Hugh MacLeod
16. The Middlemen Economy: How brokers, agents, dealers, and everyday matchmakers create value and profit - Marina Krakovsky

Motivational classics

17. The Artist’s Way Every Day: A year of creative living - Julia Cameron

18. The Magic of Thinking Big - David Schwartz

19. ?The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the code to wealth and live rich for a lifetime! - MJ DeMarco
- another money myth busting book. A classic and must-read.

20. ?Think And Grow Rich: - Napoleon Hill
- this book is so fascinating and strange all at once. And written in the 1930s at that! 

Coding

21. Rails crash course: A no-nonsense guide to Rails development - Anthony Lewis

22. Ruby for kids for dummies - Christopher Haupt

23. Ruby on Rails for dummies - Barry Burd

Fiction

24. The Three-Body Problem - Cixin Liu

Alternative history

26. America Before: The Key to Earth’s Lost Civilization - Graham Hancock

26. The Magicians of the Gods: The forgotten wisdom of Earth’s lost civilization - Graham Hancock 

Birth

27. ?Birth Without Violence - Frédérick Leboyer

28. From Fear to Love: Your guide to a fearless magical birth - Red Miller

29. Placenta - The Forgotten Chakra - Robin Lim

Still reading / Want to read

1. Dollars And Sense - Dan Ariely
2. Head Strong - Dave Asprey
3. The Start-up of You - Reid Hoffman
4. Unscripted - MJ DeMarco
5. Everything Is Figureouttable - Marie Forleo
6. Sacred Rest - Saundra
7. Algebra of Happiness - Scott Galloway
8. How to Fail At Everything - Scott Adams 
9. Obviously Awesome - Dunford
10. Lights Out - Wiley
11. Start Small Stay Small - Rob Walling
12. Super Human - Dave Asprey
13. The Bulletproof Diet - Dave Asprey
14. The Big Fat Surprise - Nina Teicholz
15. Skin In The Game - Nassim Taleb
16. Fooled By Randomness - Nassim Taleb
17. On Immunity - Eula Biss
18. The Body Keeps the Score - Bessel van der Kolk
19. Traction: How any startup can achieve explosive customer growth - Gabriel Weinberg
20. Embrace Your Weird: Face your fears and unleash creativity - Felicia Day
21. The Dark Forest - Liu Cixin
22. Death’s End - Liu Cixin