Q1 has drawn to a close, so I'm looking back at my first quarter plan and reviewing what I achieved.
One of my goals for the quarter was to get more reading done, and I'm happy to say I accomplished this goal. As such, I thought I’d share with you what I read.
Fiction
Wool by Hugh Howey - A spectacular (and self published!) dystopian sci-fi that has sold a zillion copies and is being made into a Hollywood film by Ridley Scott. We spent
an entire episode of
Write Along Radio talking about the
book.
The Silver Linings Playbook by Mathew Quick - I've seen the spectacular film several times, and already had read the book, but I wanted to check out the audiobook. Needless to say, I love this story.
Lolita by Valdimir Nabokov - I somehow managed to make it through a Masters degree in English Literature without ever reading this masterpiece. I'm so glad I finally got around to
it. I was blown away by the prose, caught up in the thriller plot, and shocked by how surprisingly funny the book is.
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka - I talk about Kafka a bit in one of the webinars I have been doing lately, so I wanted to revisit this story, which, at its heart, is essentially about the role that work and career plays in our lives.
A Vision of
Fire by Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin - I've had a crush on Gillian Anderson for going on twenty years, so I just had to check out her debut novel! It's an X-Files-ish thriller, with a strong, smart female protagonist, which, of course, plays right into Anderson's personal brand.
Business and
Productivity
Essentialism by Geoff McKeown - An excellent book covering a minimalist approach to productivity. Key take away: focus on what really matters.
Getting Things Done by David Allen - This is considered "the productivity bible" by many, but I actually found it disappointingly outdated given how much it focuses on handling paperwork -
something I virtually never do these days.
Launch by Jeff Walker - Walker's book outlines the 'product launch formula' he developed a decade ago that has basically become the standard formula for launching products on the internet.
The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman - I wish I had read this as soon as I began my entrepreneurial work. I think reading Book Yourself
Solid and The Personal MBA will give most people an extremely solid business foundation to work from.
Writing
Rock Your Revisions by Kathy Yardly - I had a chance to
interview Cathy earlier this year, and so I was excited to check out her book about revising manuscripts, something I've being doing for some time on my current work in progress.
500 Ways to Write Harder by Chuck Wendig - A collection of writing craft list-posts from Wendig's blog. Filled with great blog posts, but they probably work better on a blog than they do collected into a
book.
Book Launch by Chandler Bolt - Bolt is a 22 year old wiz kid with a bunch of Kindle best sellers, and a online course called 'Self Publishing School'. I recently did an interview with him that will be coming out shortly.
Non-Fiction
The
Disaster Artist by Greg Sestero - A memoir about the making of the movie, The Room, generally considered to be the worst movie ever made. It is a great book about perseverance, art, and friendship.
The Game by Neil Strauss - This memoir from journalist and author Neil Strauss covers his time as one of the worlds most successful pick-up artists. It gives a fascinating glimpse into a
sub-culture I was totally unaware of, and ends up being a surprising heartfelt and emotional book about human connection, friendship, and love.
The Art of Work by Jeff Goins - As someone still stuck in a day job I hate while trying to start a business based on my passion, I really resonated with Jeff's book about finding work that you truly love. I did a
two part interview with Jeff that was released last week.
So
there you go my friends; that's what I read this quarter.
What about you? What have you been reading lately? Let me know.
Your pal in writing (and reading!),
Kevin T. Johns, writing coach