2019 Reads

I set an intention to read 25 books in 2019, or roughly one book every two weeks. I have had this goal in the past but never stuck to it. Not this year!

I learned two things about myself:

First, I love listening to audiobooks. I borrow audiobooks from my library through the Libby app. (Seriously – if you’re paying for books, whether e-books or an Audible subscription, please check out Libby). Consuming books while driving and making breakfast has greatly improved my reading pace.

Second, I find inspiration in a lot of interesting places - personal recommendations, TED talks, podcasts, references in other books. By jotting a quick note about the title, author, and where I heard about it, I always have a good sized pool of books from which to draw one that fits my current mood.

2019 Completed Reads

Links lead to original post which usually includes a mini review and link to related podcasts or TED Talks

1. In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honoré
2. The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles C. Mann ❤️
3. Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward ❤️
4. Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials by Malcolm Harris
5. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin
6. Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History by Dan Flores ❤️
7. The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
8. Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World–and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling ❤️
9. 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works–A True Story by Dan Harris
10. The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu ❤️
11. Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport ❤️
12. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (🏆1954)
13. How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell
14. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
15. Storm Front by Jim Butcher
16. The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams ❤️
17. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
18. Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin
19. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
20. How to Break Up With Your Phone by Catherine Price
21. A People’s Future of the United States by Victor LaValle
22. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher
23. Off the Clock by Laura Vanderkam ❤️
24. The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King
25. American Gods by Neil Gaimon (🏆 2002)
26. Work Optional by Tanja Hester
27. Becoming by Michelle Obama
28. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff ❤️
29. Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil
30. Sunmmer Knight by Jim Butcher
31. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin
32. Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac
33. Rocannon’s World by Ursula K. Le Guin
34. City of Girls: A Novel by Elizabeth Gilbert ❤️
35. Death Masks bi Jim Butcher
36. The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman

❤️ = favorites 🏆 = Hugo winner

On My To-Read List:

• The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon
• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• Lead Yourself First: Inspiring Leadership Through Solitude by Raymond Kethledge and Michael Erwin
• I Miss The World by Violet LeVoit
• Ursula K. LeGuin’s Hainish Cycle🏆🏆
• Ringworld by Larry Niven (🏆 1971)
• The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin (🏆 2015)
• The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin (🏆 2016)
• Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
• Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
• Call Sign Chaos by Jim Mattis
• Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered by Karen Kilgariff
• The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treur

I am chipping away at Hugo Award Winners. Currently, I have completed 11/73 (including Retro Hugos)