July flew by without me getting to write about the books I wanted read. It’s ok though because I still ended up being able to read two books last month. Here’s my quick August reading list and a July reading list recap.
Keeping track of all the books I want to read was starting to get tedious so I created a trello board to store everything. You can read all about how my reading plan started and more about why I created the trello board.
July Recap
Biz Books
Crushing It!: How Great Entrepreneurs Build their Business and Influence – and How You Can Too by Gary Vaynerchuk- I have a hard time with parts of the message in this book because at times the message to 24 hours a day on can make me anxious and feel like what I’m doing is never enough. Gary Vaynerchuk is all about the hustle hard mentality, and be on all the social platforms. I’ve decided to focus and get good at a few platforms then I can work to be great on more.
The idea of working hard all the time reminds of the book 10 X Rule by Grant Cardone. He has a similar message of persistence and working 10 times more than everyone else is what is necessary to be successful. While I don’t necessarily completely disagree I believe this message can be problematic and lead to burnout.
The greatest message from Crushing It! is no matter what platform you’re on interesting and valuable content wins!
168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam – I’m in the middle of this one. I feel like 168 Hours balances the go all out for your business, and recognizing there is more to you than just your work. It’s really great so far. It shares how we all get the same 168 hours to use every week, and we just need to make decisions about how we want to use them.
Fluff
Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth – I listened to this lovely teen lit fantasy novel. It’s a duology, and I’m just about done listening to the second one. It’s about how two people from enemy countries are brought together by fate and prophecy. I’ve enjoyed the books for the most part. It’s told from the perspective of multiple characters, which I don’t mind when it’s only two, but in the second book there are multiple perspectives I found that to be frustrating.
Books I Started
So even with my reading list I get pulled in multiple directions about what I want to read. Sometimes I read solely based on my mood which means I’m often in the middle of multiple books. I keep the reading biz list to keep me on track so I at least finish books to grow my business.
Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang – The premise for Rest is needed and interesting because of the contrast it offers to Crushing It! I’m very interested to finish it. I only read the introduction and I’m enjoying the idea that Rest takes work.
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan – I wanted to read this because I absolutely love Rom-coms and the movie is coming out soon. It looked really cute and fun! Wealth and family connections dictate society and relationships and Rachel had no idea what she was getting into. It’s been a nice easy summer read so far. It’s also pretty awesome that it’s an all Asian cast in the movie, which hasn’t happened since sometime in the 90s.
The Fates Divide by Veronica Roth – This one is the final book in the duology it’s been great to listen when I’m commuting to pick up the kiddos.
August 2018 Reading List
Here’s what I plan to finish this month. It’s a bit more than my goal for 2 business books a month and one fun book. I think it will work though because I just need to finish them a few of them.
Biz Books
Finish 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam
Finish Rest by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
Ask. by Ryan Levesque
Life & Fluff
Finish Fates Divide by Veronica Roth
Finish Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
The Conscious Parent by Dr. Shefali Tsabary