In between Netflix, YouTube, movies, to daily life (personal & professional) is reading. Yet, reading needs focus and attention. And, it can always be temptingly set aside for later over pleasure viewing especially after a tough day.
Today’s conversations tend to circulate on what is trending on social media. It is a topsy turvy range of interests from politics, economics, entertainment, sports, etc. – where, feeds are flooded with more opinions and fabricated stories rather than facts. It is a deluge of information and misinformation. It is a circus where one does not want to be left out. With that, there is a tendency to be glued and consumed by the scrolling culture.
Thus, where do books and/or reading position itself from sunrise to sunset?
How does one in between all things place reading in one’s 24 hours?
Below is a simple guide that keeps me reading.
(1) Aim it. Set a reading goal. Give a number. 20 or 50 books a year.
(2) Schedule it. Set a specific reading time and period. 5AM, 1 hour.
(3) Log it. Take note of your reading accomplishment as you finish each book. I indicate completion dates.
(4) Share it. Have meaningful conversations with a friend/s about your readings. It does not matter if you have read the same books. In one way or another, you will find a common ground or will discover the wisdom of other genres.
Most importantly, make reading a lifestyle. It is a calming alternative that boosts brain power.
For 2019, below is my list. I am still aiming for 50 in 2020. Care to share your favourite reads of 2019? I am very interested.
19 – [Dec 24] Born a Crime (Stories from a South African Childhood) by Trevor Noah
18 – [Dec 14] The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
17 – [Nov 16] iGen (Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy – And Completely Unprepared for Adulthood… and What That Means for the Rest of Us) by Jean M. Twenge, PhD
16 – [Nov 02] A Brief History of Japan (Samurai, Shogun, and Zen: The Extraordinary Story of the Land of the Rising Sun) by Jonathan Clements
15 – [Sep 22] Well Met by Jen DeLuca
14 – [Aug 30] Gaudete et Exsultate (Apostolic Exhortation on the Call to Holiness in Today’s World) by Pope Francis
13 – [Aug 26] Cooking for Picasso by Camille Aubray
12 – [Jul 27] Start With Why (How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action) by Simon Sinek
11 – [Jun 30] Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
10 – [Jun 23] Leading by Alex Ferguson with Michael Moritz
09 – [Jun 15] The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
08 – [Jun 05] Shortest Way Home (One Mayor’s Challenge and a Model for America’s Future) by Pete Buttigieg
07 – [May 12] The Future of the Mind (The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind) by Michio Kaku
06 – [Apr 20] Why I am Catholic (And You Should Be Too) by Brandon Vogt
05 – [Apr 07] The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves
04 – [Mar 24] Option B (Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy) by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant
03 – [Mar 09] Istanbul (City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World) by Thomas F. Madden
02 – [Feb 03] 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do by Amy Morin
01 – [Jan 07] Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch
*** Indicated dates are completion dates.
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© rooks 2020
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