At last, the final part of the 72 books in 2017 analysis. Spent more time on this than I initially planned, but I learned some things along the way…and I hope you did too.
In the previous articles – Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – I mentioned each category of books. And there are different ways I can categorize besides topic. This article looks at this list in a few different ways.
Re-Reading Books
Another category I can look at is which books did I read, that this wasn’t the first time reading.
If a book is really good, you can’t possibly get everything out of it, in one read.
The Secrets Teachings of Plants by Stephen Harrod Buhner
It was necessary for me to read this book for the second time, in help with writing the chapter on heart intelligence and perception for my book, Powered By Nature. This book is not an easy read, but is very dense in both some of the science, and the meaning behind it.
I believe this book would change most people’s view of nature if they read it, as it’ll open you to a new way of seeing the world that is downplayed, or said not to exist, in the standard Western viewpoint.
I think this was my third read of Essentialism. It’s a pretty quick read with an important topic, especially in this day and age. It’s all about getting down to what is essential in business, in life, in everything you do. There is a good chance I’ll be reading it again in 2018, as each time I do I feel like it helps me to strip away another layer of un-essential things.
This book is a roadmap to running a successful business. It is dense with specific things to do, recommended resources and examples. This was my second time reading through it and I’ll definitely be reading it again this year.
Basically, we’re using it as our bible for growing Lost Empire Herbs and have been since I started using it. It was also great to hear a fellow business owner I know that had just sold his business for 9 figures that he also used this as his main roadmap.
If you’re aiming to build beyond a small business this can be a great help. (But it is not good for lifestyle type businesses…just too much that wouldn’t be relevant.)
Automatic Wealth by Michael Masterson
This was my second read through. I was looking for just a refresher around money and liked this book the first time through. I figured I had grown since several years ago when I read it, so it would reveal something new to me.
The Tao of Power by Lao Tzu and R.L. Wing
I hadn’t actually read this translation before, but I had read a different version of the Tao Te Ching. I was beginning my day with a passage every day, which is not a bad when to start the day.
The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi
A quick read, but full of wisdom. Although it is mostly about fighting, of which Musashi was one of the greatest ever, the principles apply to many other areas of life. But you’ll have to do some work in translating it to those areas.
Reading Multiple Books by an Author
Comparing how many authors I’ve read multiple books versus a single book I come up with the following for authors I’ve read two or more books from:
- Dan Simmons
- Richard Louv
- Stephen Harrod Buhner
- Rupert Sheldrake
- Yuval Noah Harari
- Perry Marshall
- Douglas Adams
- Steven Kotler
- Tim Ferriss
- Michael A. Singer
- Russell Brunson
- Les McKeown
- Nora Gedgaudas
- Dave Asprey
- Dr. Joseph Mercola
- Napoleon Hill
- Michael Masterson
That’s 17 authors out of 63 or about 25%. (I counted two or more authors for one book as one author.)
Some of them were first time and multiple books this year (Louv, Harari, McKeown). Others I had read before and read new or different books this year.
Late in 2016 I remember going back to Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich. That’s when I thought, why haven’t I read everything this guy put out. So I did. If you like and author, and gain from their material, why just read one book?
Authors I Have Met
It was interesting to look at how many of these authors I have met.
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Meeting Dave Asprey at a Conference Kevin Feinstein
- John Perkins
- Tim Ferriss
- Rick Smith
- Dave Asprey
- Bryan Franklin
- Michael Ellsberg
- Richard Branson
- Charlie Engle
- Russell Brunson
- Dr. Mercola
Looking over the list all of them were at various events, from small foraging classes with Kevin Feinstein, to traveling to the Amazon and Guatemala with John Perkins. Most of the others were at various conferences and were mostly brief meetings, like a hello and a handshake.
On that note I have also seen Greg McKeown and Verne Harnish speak at events but didn’t have a chance to meet them.
And while I’ve never met with Elliot Hulse in person, I have spoken with him for an interview.
Reading Plans for 2018
I hope you enjoyed this five-part breakdown. It was interesting for me to do as spending this much time analyzing what I read revealed a few ideas to me that I otherwise would not have had.
Here are some of my plans for what I’ll be reading throughout 2018.
- More fiction. I’ve got no plans to stop or slow non-fiction, but aiming for a stronger fiction:non-fiction ratio than 5/72 this year.
- More diverse reading covering a wider-range of topics.
- More biographies.
- More re-reading. I like new books as I get the joy of learning something new, but with all that I have read I have a really good idea of which books are worth re-reading. So, probably more than 6 re-reads in the next year.
- Since in previous years I had read sooooo much on the topic, recently I’ve got away from reading much about strength and fitness. In 2018 I’ll bring it back in.
- And since I’m having a baby, while I’ll shoot for 72 books or more, I fully recognize that I may not have as much reading time as I did in 2017. So I will be gentle with myself if my list next year is only half as big.
- On that note I plan to be reading a few books about parenting too.
Jim Kwik, the memory expert, has said that “Readers are Leaders.” I fully embrace that statement. I feel like the reason I have been successful in many areas of life is because of my constant learning. Not only that, but I enjoy reading. When joy and learning go together big things can happen.
What about you? What are your reading plans for 2018?