It occurred to me as I was cleaning and reorganizing my apartment today, that I have a lot of books...and I mean A LOT of books that I haven't read. On my lone bookshelf in the guest room, I have 61 books total. 23 of those are read or not unreadable. And by unreadable, I mean a books that one doesn't necessarily sit down and read. For example:
- A book of craft patterns
- AAA Tourist Books for the states surrounding Illinois (courtesy of Rhonda)
- Greek New Testament (I couldn't read it when I took Biblical Greek in college, I'm going to go ahead and say that it's safe to assume that I won't be able to read it now.
- I think you get the idea.
After subtracting the 23 unreadable books from 61, you get 38. And so, today, January 2, 2009, I resolve to read all 38 books by December 31, 2009. I am both pumped about and deathly intimidated by my goal. I'm pretty confident that I can do it, but with only 52 weeks in a year, I'm left with about 9 1/2 days to read each book. For some of the books that will be cake, for others...eh, I'm not so convinced. But here it is, my reading list for 2009, the good, the bad, and the very very thick (these are not listed in any particular order other than the order in which they were sitting on my shelf):
Build Your Own Website the Right Way Using HTML & CSS by Ian Lloyd: This book will have to be an ongoing read, teaching myself how to code is going to take slightly longer than 9.5 days...just a hunch.
Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath: I've heard a lot about this book, I'm optimistic.
Get a Financial Life by Beth Kobliner: I'm kind of a geek, if you didn't know.
No Man Is An Island by Thomas Merton: Recommended by my friend Jayson.
Pocket Guide to the Apocalypse by Jason Boyett: I started reading this book a long time ago, but I'm notorious for starting books and not finishing them.
Bad Cat by Jim Edgar: This will be a ridiculously easy read.
Thank You For Smoking by Christopher Buckley: This should also be a pretty easy read. I read Boomsday by Buckley during my senior year of college and I absolutely loved it, so I should be able to plow through this one pretty quickly.
A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby: I've heard a lot about this book and it's supposed to be really good.
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell: One of my geek-fix books, I loved The Tipping Point by Gladwell so I'm hopeful for this book as well.
Inferno by Dante Alighieri: We read large segments of this in Latin in high school and I own the book but I've never read it in it's entirety.
Saving for Retirement by Gail MarksJarvis: Yes, I am concerned about saving for retirement, Lord knows Social Security won't be there for me.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett: I got this book when I was very young, and I have a really pretty copy of it, it's got the really classic illustrations. I really enjoy the movie, and hey if nothing else, at least the pictures will be pretty.
Life After School. Explained.: I got this from the Alumni Association when I graduated from WKU. I mean, it'll probably be pretty dumb, but it'll for sure be an easy read and might have good information. Hey, when I said every unread (but readable) book, I meant it.
Understanding God’s Will by Kyle Lake: Have also started but not finished this one.
Wrestling With God by Rick Diamond: Have also started but not finished this one.
The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard: Have also started but not finished this one.
Shaping History by Derek Prince: Got this one at the OneThing Conference last year.
Legacies from Legends in Public Relations: Got this at PRSSA National Conference in Philadelphia in October of 2007.
The Vision and the Vow by Pete Grieg: Have also started but not finished this one.
Following Jesus by Dave Roberts: Have also started but not finished this one. (Noticing a trend yet?)
The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman: The world might be flat, this book, however, is not. This will be a toughie.
Wikinomics by Dan Tapscott and Anythony D. Williams: This has been on my want-to-read list forever.
Talent is Never Enough by John C Maxwell: I got this from my church at college for my graduation.
What Every American Should Know About the Rest of the World by M.L. Rossi: I am all about being an informed American.
The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw: This has also been on my want-to-read list forever.
Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Caroll: Have also started but not finished this one, but am excited to actually finish it. Alice In Wonderland is tied with The Little Mermaid for my favorite classic Disney movie.
The Origin of Brands by Al & Laura Ries: Recommended by my college boss and advertising professor, Cliff Shaluta, and I am all about reading books recommended by people I admire. After all, you admire people because they have traits that you desire for yourself, and reading what they read is generally a pretty good way to start working on those traits in your life.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut: Have also started but not finished this one. But I am darn close!
The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown: I've got a pretty decent start with this one, but it's been a while so I'll probably have to start all over.
The Case for Faith by Dan Strobel: I can't recall if I've read this book or not. It's got some pretty serious binding creases so I'm pretty sure I have, but I'm going to start reading it and if it sounds familiar and all starts to come back to me, then I'll put it in the already read pile.
One Thing by Dwayne Roberts: Have also started but not finished this one.
The Journey Towards Relevance by Kary Oberbrunner: Have also started but not finished this one.
Stiff by Mary Roach: Have also started but not finished this one.
New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton: Recommended by my friend Jayson.
The Fall of Advertising & The Rise of PR by Al & Laura Ries: Another book recommended by Cliff Shaluta, in fact, he required it for my research in Ad and PR class but we never used it.
Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller: Have also started but not finished this one. (I told you it was a problem!)
The Art of Being compiled by Constance Rhodes: My best friend Christy got this for me my freshman year of college and it's signed by all of the artists who contributed to the book, it's pretty neat.
And if I'm feeling REALLY ambitious...
**Extra Credit:** The 2007 World Almanac: Hey, I know it's nerdy, it was a required book for my AP News Editing class my junior year of college.
So there you have it, my 2009 New Years Resolution. If you take that reading list added with 2008's unfinished goal list (revised list below), I've got a LOT of work to do this year.
1. Get into an exercise routine. Whether it's the yoga ball, or running, or some weight training - just something to maintain my physical fitness. I don't need to lose any weight or inches, I just want to be healthy. If you start the habit now, it'll be easier to keep it up later.
2. Be better with my money. Save more. Stop spending so much on stupid small stuff. Etc.
3. Learn CSS & HTML, or at least have a good grasp on both. If I complete my major resolution, I will also complete this goal.
4. Fly somewhere for a random weekend just because I can, booking this flight for next year is also acceptable. With only one one-way trip standing between me and a free round-trip flight from Southwest, this is looking very likely.
5. Finish at least 3 books. Do I even need to elaborate on this one?
6. Make a more concerted effort to help people. I help people now, I just know I could do more.
This list will probably change, I know I had a good goal in mind and then it slipped into the dismal abyss but if it comes back I'll add it. Anywho, I hope you all had a fabulous (and safe) Christmas and New Year. I'll leave you with a few pictures of my holiday adventures.
This is me and my adorable godson, Robbie. Tell me he isn't cute, I dare you.
L to R: Kayla, Christa, and me. Also known as the three lovely ladies that our friend Jon had the pleasure of hanging out with on New Year's Eve.
Quite the list you've got there. One recommendation is that if you're serious of web-development you might want to look into Ruby on Rails or Python+Django. I'm starting to pickup RoR and it's amazing, it makes a lot of stuff really easy and if you're running 10.5 it's already installed!
ReplyDelete