A year has come to an end, and with it, a year of reading. This year I’ve read more than 120 books published in several generations. Reading old, new, printed paper, electronic, or audiobook, I work hard to make use of a spare moment to dig in. With my reading, I’ve also tried to review books more here and most recently on Instagram at @cwlmedia. Reviews and not-taking, in general, can be challenging on the best of days, but doing it has helped me make better sense of books I read and pass on thoughts to others. So many of the books I choose to read are good, but some really do rise above and are worthy of more attention. So, without further delay, here are the best book I read this year.
The act of reading about reading itself always holds a special interest for me. I love to hear others muse about it, and I love to write about it. This what brought me to The Lost Art of Reading: Books and Resistance in a Troubled Time by David L. Ulin. The physical hardcover is small. For a hardcover at 4.7 inches by 7.28 inches, the book is very distinctive on a shelf (when you can see it back there). That’s probably what drew me to the book itself. And, for a book to be about books and reading, I’m interested. Buying this from my local indie book store was a bonus (support them!).
Hate for the book-tracking, Amazon-owned Goodreads is near-universal. Since Amazon purchased the tool on March 28, 2013, Goodreads has languished in a kind of purgatory that would have doubled over any Google moonshots (Google loves to shut down stuff). For all its pains, Goodreads is so frustrating because it has value. Any attempt to improve our experience as book readers has to transfer over this value to be a worthy replacement, but none have come along. Let me get into this a bit more though.
My thoughts on The Crash Detectives: Investigating the World’s Most Mysterious Air Disasters – This is definitely not a book to read on a flight. I had just gotten to the runway on a one hour trip when picking up this book to continue post-chapter 1. That was a bad idea. I doubt a page was read before I locked it away tight in my carry-on bag. I nevertheless endured and finally finished the book., on I really enjoyed actually.
My list for last year was rather short at only three books, but I’ve managed to expand my reading. Reading is something I do as much as I can. That can be difficult at times. If I’m not reading every day, things feel off. I try to sneak a couple pages of reading in line at the supermarket.
That writing needs to hold some value is not a new concept. Those that write have some basic intuition that what they create needs to have some intrinsic value. Of course, if I want to write a science fiction story, it should entertain and enlighten those who read it. When I write on this blog, […]
I’ve been writing a book for a very long time. In fact, I think I’ve been on this book for more than two years. Two years of going away, distracted by all that life offers, and returning to inch along, trying to add to my word count. One thing I’ve become very familiar with is returning cold to a book that’s been in some form of completion. Here’s how I approach this.
The coming end of this year usually brings ponderings of the past and predictions for an unknown future, but screw that. Books are where it’s at. I love to read. As a fellow reader, you’re probably looking for books to add to the “want to read” bookshelf. I’m here to recommend three more that you […]
Lately I’ve been utterly fascinated with books that detail alternative ways of thinking and mindsets that find success. I’ve become (at heart) a student of social sciences, so something like Levitt and Dubner’s Think Like a Freak is right in my sweet spot. My first introduction to this world came by way of the Freakonomics podcast, and its great start if you’re curious about how these guys think. It’s just a great listen in general. Once I dug into this book however, I was very pleased. Let me explain.
In business, I’ve heard it said that we must “Grow or die” (by who, I wonder?). This is one of the more pervasive business myths I see so many in those that run IT consulting companies supporting the SME space. They think that for the business to succeed, it needs to expand the revenue base and hire on a bunch of employees. Yes, this is one path, but there are many other well-worn paths to success in this business. Growth is important and achievable even if your a single person shop. How? By having a growth mindset.
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