I just picked up a new book called Wild at Heart by John Eldredge and as I started to read I stopped for a moment to take a count of how many books I’ve read this year. So far including this one it will be 8 books and I hope to pick one more up before the end of the year.  To be honest that’s the most books I’ve ever read in one year ever however pale in comparison to the amount of books that Cliff reads in one year.  I’ve been given some great recommendations by Cliff through the years but still in the amounts department I’ve never come close to what Cliff ploughs through.  I’m okay with that because I feel it’s quality over quantity and I’m not saying Cliff reads for quantity, he may just be a faster reader, I’m not.  Sometimes my mind will wander and then I’ve realized I’ve read 2 pages and don’t remember anything so I have to go back.

I think that’s one of the biggest things I struggle with reading and staying focused.  I often let my mind wander and it’s not because the book isn’t great, just I have other things on my mind or when I’m reading in a quite location my mind can actually think about other stuff and sorta becomes free.  However I find if I read with Lindsay right before bed that seems to set the right tone for a good reading atmosphere and also sets me up for success so that I can actually go to sleep.  With the whole mind wandering thing if I don’t focus it on something then I just can’t get to sleep, that’s a whole different story.

I have to say though, reading more has given me a whole lot of perspective on various things as I’ve read a different range of books however mostly all in the success and self-improvement areas.  I know our marriage has taken a drastic turn for the better after reading “The 5 Love Languages” and “Personality Tree”.  I’ve been able to understand my wife better in her personality and how to actually work with that personality and also with her love language and know why the things I do actually matter to her and make her all warm and fuzzy inside and likewise for her.  I’d say those two books would be the 1 of 2 that really impacted our lives since last November. 

The other book, the 2 of 2 would be “The Richest Man In Babylon”. This is the book that started off our whole debt crushing and set the stage to open our minds to tried and tested principals that have been around for thousands of years and allowed us to try some new ideas in getting rid of our debt.  If you’ve not read this book I highly recommend it.  It’s not the only reason why we started killing our debt but it was the one pivotal thing that set us off right.

All the other books I’ve read so far this year have been really great and I’ve appreciated every single one of them and taken a little bit from each one and applied it to my/our lives.   While I didn’t either a) understand or b) agree with everything in all the books the one thing its taught me is to have an open mind to new ideas and success principals.  There is a reason why they say “Leaders are Readers” and how you are a product of the books you read and the people you hang around with.  I’m excited to keep up the reading and will pass along any “gooders” I come across.

Books I’ve Read