Up until this year, other than technical-related material, I had never been much of a reader. I could never be trusted to sit down on a consistent basis and get through books. That being stated, over the last few years I have been looking for ways to continue to better myself, not just on a technical/career level, but as a human in general. I had been listening to a number of podcasts and wanted to take that a step further. I so badly wanted that next step to be books. Books of different varieties and genres to continue to open my mind to different thoughts and perspectives. But…sentence number two still haunts me. Thinking through the fact that I was getting through a fair amount of podcasts while doing random things around the house, while driving, etc., I wondered if I could apply the same strategy to books. Trust me, if there is a path of least resistance out there, I am bound to find it. My laziness knows few boundaries. I took to Twitter to get recommendations about audiobook platforms. Thanks to the recommendations of a couple kind folks, I was able to get introduced to the Libby platform. Libby provides you a way to connect with your local library to check out audio books for free! I did not even have a library card, but through my local library I was able to get a digital version online and start with Libby right away, using the app on my phone. There are plenty that are available and if they are not at the time, you can put individual audio books on hold and the app will alert you when they are available. I am not sure if it differs per library, but all books I have checked out give me two weeks to finish them. Thanks to this platform, I have been able to get through over thirty five books this year. This is pretty big for a person who has barely delved into books at all in the past. I know I am not “reading” in the traditional sense, but I am still consuming the content and that is the important part to me at least. Here is the list of books I have gotten through this year. All but two have been through the Libby app. The other two were actual paper books, which knowing who I am, getting through two actual paper books in a year is quite the feat (the bar is fairly low here). Some of these in this list do not have the full titles listed, but a quick online search should point you in the right direction if you are interested in any of them.
- American Sniper – Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen, Jim DeFelice
- Anxious People – Frederick Backman
- The President’s Daughter – Bill Clinton, James Patterson
- What Got You Here Won’t Get You There – Marshall Goldsmith
- Ready Player One – Ernest Cline
- Dare to Lead – Brene Brown
- Killing the Mob – Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
- Unwinding Anxiety – Judson Brewer
- Little Fires Everywhere – Celeste Ng
- The Bomber Mafia – Malcolm Gladwell
- You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life – Jen Sincero
- Ready Player Two – Ernest Cline
- Deep Work – Cal Newport
- Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead – Bing West, James Mattis
- The Last Thing He Told Me – Laura Dave
- Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World – David Epstein
- About Where the Deer and the Antelope Play – Nick Offerman
- The Guest List – Lucy Foley
- In Cold Blood – Truman Capote
- Now, Discover Your Strengths – Donald O. Clifton, Marcus Buckingham
- Keep Sharp – Sanjay Gupta
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz – Heather Morris
- The Dark Hours – Michael Connelly
- Extreme Ownership – Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
- The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg
- The Wright Brothers – David McCullough
- Shadows Reel – C.J. Box
- Malibu Rising – Taylor Jenkins Reid
- No Cure for Being Human – Kate Bowler
- How the Word is Passed – Clint Smith
- Killing the Killers – Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
- The Wish – Nicholas Sparks
- The Power of Regret – Daniel H. Pink
- The Pioneers – David McCullough
- The Nineties: A Book – Chuck Klosterman
- Nine Perfect Strangers – Liane Moriarty
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck – Mark Manson
- Killers of the Flower Moon – David Grann
- The Recovery Agent – Janet Evanovich
- Talking to Strangers – Malcolm Gladwell
I am so glad that I leveraged this app throughout the year and am looking forward to continuing next year. I have tried to get a decent mix of fiction, historical, and career-related/self improvement books. I try to keep a decently open mind about things and I think books are a great way to get different perspectives. I encourage others to not only check out the Libby platform, but any method that allows you to consume content from books. Books not only allow your brain to think through concepts, they are also great conversation starters. Happy reading!
Netication 