My Chase for 100 Books in 2017 (October Update)
Ten months down, two to go.
With less than two months in 2017 left, I have read 76 books. Due to a busier month of music and work, I read at a slower rate than in past months. However, I have a slim shot at reaching the ultimate goal of 100 this year. A few observations from the last month of reading:
Feedback and recommendations helped fuel my reading during this hectic October. The Bridge of San Luis Rey and You Are a Badass were last-second additions to the list, and I am glad I obliged in reading them. Thanks, David and Michael!
I have found myself taking notes reading non-fiction, but not writing anything down when reading fiction. I suppose fiction has become immersive enough that I do not feel compelled to break reading flow to take notes.
I have continued using honey as a sleep aid to improve reading efficiency. On most occasions, it has helped me straight through the night. On other nights, I wake up but fall back to sleep immediately. The honey has also induced lucid dreaming, with some good dreams and some nightmares. I will continue to monitor over the next month to see which happens more frequently.
Below are the 8 books added to my year’s list. This month’s collection comprises biography, fiction, self-help, and astrophysics. Each is linked to Amazon and local bookstores by title and author respectively, and favorites are marked with a hot pepper:
69. Be Here Now — Ram Dass
“I can do nothing for you but work on myself…you can do nothing for me but work on yourself!”
70. Born a Crime — Trevor Noah 🌶
“We tell people to follow their dreams, but you can only dream of what you can imagine, and, depending on where you come from, your imagination can be quite limited.”
71. The End of the Affair — Graham Greene
“A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.”
72. The Bridge of San Luis Rey — Thornton Wilder
“The knowledge that she would never be loved in return acted upon her ideas as a tide acts upon cliffs.”
73. The Art of Possibility — Benjamin and Rosamund Stone Zander
“In the measurement world, you set a goal and strive for it. In the world of possibility, you set a context and let life unfold.”
74. Cat’s Cradle — Kurt Vonnegut
“Science is magic that works.”
75. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry — Neil deGrasse Tyson
“The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.”
76. You Are a Badass — Jen Sincero
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
. . .
As I reflect on my reading goals, I am thrilled that I could still end this year having read at least 90 books. Given that would reflect one book every four days, I would be content knowing that I worked diligently towards my initial goal.
Thank you to everyone who has inspired me through this process with ideas, wisdom, and newfound inspiration to read more.
And remember: If you read one book a month, you will learn at least twelve new ideas a year. If you finish a book a week, you can read over 50 books a year.
