Hooked on Books

A new feature on what I’m reading

I can remember being in the 4th grade and checking out every book on Native American tribes?from the school library and reading them until Mom came in and told me to turn out the light. ?I’ve always loved to read, so much so that when seeing a statistic?like 19% of Americans didn’t read ONE?book in 2013 makes me nearly insane.

Or that among the 81% of Americans that DID read a book, the average amount of books read in one year was 5! ?Five?!?

We did Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace class in early 2006. ?In his program, he states that the average millionaire reads 2 non-fiction books per month. ?Now at the time I was working part-time during college, and in no way planned to be a millionaire, but from that moment on I changed my reading to include or be driven my mostly non-fiction books. ? Nicholas Sparks became dead to me (except for a few long plane rides haha).

Now I read not only because I love it and it helps me learn so much about finances, faith, and leadership, but also because it helps me to be a better writer. ?How can I construct?solid sentences if I don’t learn from the best?

Each month on the 1st, I would like to share with you what I plan to read for that month. ?I may choose to highlight some of my favorite books from the month before, but most likely I’ll leave you to reference my Goodreads account to see how I rated things those books previously read. ?I’d also love for you to share in the comments what you are reading or a book that made a big impact on you. ?As you’ll see, most of the books I read come from suggestions from friends or people I trust.

 

Here’s what I plan to read for June:

The Magic of Thinking Big– ?I’m actually about half-way through this book. ?There are some powerful insights and I really wish I would have read this about 10 years ago. ?(i.e. It’s all the things I didn’t learn in college).

The Great Railway Bazaar– (Not pictured) This book came highly recommended from one of my best friends. ?I’m hoping it will inspire some of my travel writing.

The Traveler’s Gift– Another one that came highly recommended by someone I respect. ?It’s only $2.99 for Kindle right now so you may want to click the link and snatch it up!

Dirty God– This book about the grace of God?was an inexpensive find and I respect many of the authors that gave solid reviews. ?It’s also only $2.99 for Kindle right now.

The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth– I listened to a couple?podcasts from John C. Maxwell about the content of this book, so I’m looking forward to learning more.

Clutterfree with Kids– Our house has taken on so much STUFF since having the kiddos. ?I enjoy Becker’s blog at Becoming Minimalist, so reading this book was the next step. ?I’m about 1/3 of the way through.

As you can see, I still prefer to read real books. ?I like to underline and bookmark and doing this is on the Kindle or Nook app just doesn’t do it for me. ?That said, Kindle and Nook books provide an easy way for me to read while I work out, and so for that I’m thankful. ?In 2013, 32% of e-Book readers read one on their cell phone! ?How cool is that? ?Another reason why there is no excuse not to read! ?Almost everyone I know has a smart phone right now, you can read a book while you wait instead of playing Bejeweled Blitz! 😉

Any books you’d like to check out? ?Or maybe you’ve read one of two of these? ?I’d love your feedback!

For your continued reading…

Pew Study on Reading