Last year, I set a goal to read 30 books. Eric and I even talked about it on the podcast last year. (We also discussed my Facebook fast. That didn’t last very long since the Facebook Groups app was mothballed.)
Well, I’m happy to report that I read 39 books this year. All told, I read 18 actual books, 26 graphic novels (including two standalone comic books) and 10 audiobooks. Here’s a complete list:
- Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy (Audiobook)
- Design Your Day: Be More Productive, Set Better Goals, and Live Life On Purpose by Claire Diaz-Ortiz
- The Better Life: Small Things You Can Do Right Where You Are by Claire Diaz-Ortiz
- Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living by Shauna Niequist (Audiobook)
- America’s Pastor: Billy Graham and the Shaping of a Nation by Grant Wacker (Audiobook)
- Green Lantern: Rebirth (One-Half)
- The Flash: Rebirth (One-Half)
- Batman, Volume 1: I Am Gotham (One-Half)
- DC Universe: Rebirth #1 (One-Half)
- I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America after Twenty Years Away by Bill Bryson (Audiobook)
- Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris (Audiobook/One-Half – Abridged)
- Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne (One-Half)
- Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today by Joan Chittister
- Superman, Volume 1: Son of Superman (One-Half)
- Prince Caspian by CS Lewis
- The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith by Tim Keller
- Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- October 31, 1517: Martin Luther and the Day that Changed the World by Martin Marty
- Action Comics, Volume 1: Path of Doom (One-Half)
- Detective Comics, Volume 1: Rise of the Batmen (One-Half)
- One Minute Mentoring: How to Find and Work With a Mentor–And Why You’ll Benefit from Being One by Ken Blanchard and Claire Diaz-Ortiz |Review
- Batman, Volume 2: I Am Suicide (One-Half)
- Chasing Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson
- Justice League, Volume 2: Outbreak (One-Half)
- The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis
- The Elements of Eloquence: How to Turn the Perfect English Phrase by Mark Forsyth
- Superman in Action Comics #750, November 4, 1998 (One-Quarter)
- Trinity, Vol 1: Better Together (One-Half)
- Justice League, Vol 3: Timeless (One-Half)
- Superman #87, March 1994 (One-Quarter)
- Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer by CS Lewis
- Titans, Vol 1: The Return of Wally West (One-Half)
- Martin Luther: In His Own Words by Martin Luther (Audiobook/One-Half)
- Action Comics, Volume 2: Welcome to the Planet (One-Half)
- Superman, Volume 2: Trial of the Super Sons (One-Half)
- Justice League: Darkseid War – Power of the Gods (One-Half)
- Flash, Vol. 2: Speed of Darkness (One-Half)
- Justice League: Darkseid War, Part II (One-Half)
- Meet Martin Luther: A Sketch of the Reformer’s Life by Anthony Selvaggio (Audiobook/One-Half)
- Reformation Profiles by Stephen Nichols (Lecture/One-Quarter)
- Nightwing, Vol. 1: Better Than Batman (One-Half)
- Owned: Property, Privacy, and the New Digital Serfdom by Joshua A. T. Fairfield | Review
- Al Franken, Giant of the Senate by Al Franken (Audiobook)
- Why We’re Protestant: An Introduction to the Five Solas of the Reformation by Nate Pickowicz <
- The Flash, Vol. 3: Rogues Reloaded (One-Half)
- Nightwing, Vol. 2: Back to Blüdhaven (One-Half)
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
- Super Sons, Vol. 1: When I Grow Up (One-Half)
- All-Star Batman, Vol. 2: Ends of the Earth (One-Half)
- Neither Here nor There by Bill Bryson (Audiobook-Abridged/Three-Quarters)
- Superman Reborn (One-Half)
- African American Lives in St. Louis, 1763-1865: Slavery, Freedom and the West by Dale Edwyna Smith
- A Year with C. S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works
- The Carols of Christmas: A Celebration of the Surprising Stories Behind Your Favorite Holiday Songs by Andrew Gant
So, I counted most audiobooks and all graphic novels as partial books. Next year, I will be counting any audiobook over 10 hours as a full book, but I will only count graphic novels as a third of a book.
Also, I’m going to change my goal by making it more specific. I’m hoping to read 15 books, 5 audiobooks, and 15 graphic novels, rated at one-third of a book each. This would give me a total of 25 books. This might confuse you, since I read 39 books last year for a goal of 30. “Why would he aim so low?” you might be asking.
Fair question. Here’s my simple answer, in three parts:
1) More family time – Last year, I was a bit too focussed on reading and wasn’t as engaged in my home life as I should have been.
2) More kids – My wife and I just welcomed our second child into our family. We haven’t parented a newborn in seven years, so as it its, we’re both stressed and exhausted. Something has to give.
3) More school – I resumed my graduate program last summer by taking two classes at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Because I had a change with my job I didn’t take a class this fall, and since we had a new baby by November, I didn’t take a class this spring. However, I only have five years from June 2015 to finish my degree. So, I will be taking an online class this summer and a traditional class in the fall. Both classes will require a lot of reading and will likely require a lot of writing, too.
Now, all of that said, I can’t leave you without some advice for your own reading resolutions. Unfortunately, the best advice I got came from someone else—Austin Kleon.
Those tips are pretty self-explanatory, which is why I like Austin’s work so much. Personally, I have adopted numbers 2, 3, and 6. I need to do better at 4. Scheduling time (number 5) is much harder for me, as my schedule really isn’t my own, but I’m working on it.
I’d also add a seventh: don’t be a media snob and use audiobooks. To that end, I’m listening to another Bill Bryson audiobook–love his humor–and have queued up about four more.
So, we’ve covered how last year went and talked about how to do better this year. Let’s close this out with some book recommendations. Here are some of the books I’ve read and enjoyed and so commend you to them:
- The Elements of Eloquence: How to Turn the Perfect English Phrase by Mark Forsyth
- The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith by Tim Keller
- Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today by Joan Chittister
- The Pastor’s Justification by Jared C. Wilson
- Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
- The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future by Kevin Kelly | Review
- Superman versus the Ku Klux Klan: The True Story of How the Iconic Superhero Battled the Men of Hate by Richard Bowers
Matt Brier says
I read 23 books on ’17, probably a few more as I wasn’t counting audiobooks. I’ve got a goal of reading 30 books this year which should be very doable.
Phil Schneider says
Sounds like a great plan! What was an audiobook from last year that you’d recommend?