READING CHALLENGE 2021

For the book summaries of the books read in 2021 as part of the Reading Challenge, check out this page!

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I took a book challenge in 2016 to make reading a habit. I ended up reading 29 books instead of 52 books. But more importantly, I made reading a daily habit.

Here is a screenshot of my 2016 reading challenge from Instagram.

I again took the challenge in 2019 and finished with 36 books. I know these are vanity metrics but what I am trying to say is that these challenges are helping me to read more consistently and develop a strong habit. So I will continue doing them.

And this time, you’ll are invited! ?

What am I asking you to do?

• Email/message me if you’re interested in the challenge and we can connect on Goodreads! I have created a group with interested members – let me know if you would like to be added!?
• Pick any time of the day that works best for you to spend time alone and schedule 30 pages to read every day. Yes – just 30 pages!
• Every week/month when you finish a book, we can discuss thoughts about the book and find similar books. I am always down for new recommendations.
• I will be using my newsletter and this “Reading Challenge” page on my blog to share my thoughts on the book but will add your entries to this newsletter as well so if others are interested in the same book, they can see the recommendation!
• If you have friends interested in this challenge, please ask them to join the newsletter??

Habit building becomes easier if there is a network effect in-place (i.e. every new recommendation adds value to the group building the reading habit). I am trying to build this network effect!

My Personal Challenge

This year, I am going to (try) to read 4 books a month. IMO, I have become a better reader over the past 4 years and I am exploring genres and books that I wouldn’t before. I am also planning to start using Audible this year.

How did I select my books?

1. Recommendations – Friends and colleagues who recommended books. Also, I have a habit of saving down books recommended by Bill Gates, President Obama, and others.
2. Lindy Effect – Books that have been existing for a long-time, the ideas in the books will be relevant for the same amount of time in the future. Example – Sun Tzu’s Art of War was written in 5 BC. The knowledge in the book is still being used and it will be used for another thousand years.
3. If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking (applies to all the content that you consume).
4. Genres – I focus on genres I consume TV/online content of. If I like that genre for a TV show, there is a high probability that I will enjoy the book for the same genre.

For book summaries and lessons learned from the Reading Challenge 2021 – check out this page!

Here’s the list.

🤔 Philosophy – January

• Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
• A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine
• The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz
• The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh

🧠 Psychology, Human Behavior, or Decision Making -February

• Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches by Marvin Harris
• Algorithms to Live by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths
• Factfulness by Hans Rosling
• Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

😊 Biography, Autobiography, Memoir – March

• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
• Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson
• Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
• When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

🗝 History – April

• The Origins of Political Order by Francis Fukuyama
• The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant
• The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan
• Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

💭 Fiction – May

• Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
• Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder
• Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

⭐ India (not a genre but I want to learn more about my mother country) – June

• The Mahabharata by C. Rajagopalachari (recommendations for other translations are welcomed – I have already read Jaya by Devdutta Pattanaik)
• India after Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha
• India – A History – John Keay
• Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran

🏰 Classics or Non-fiction – July

• Civilization and it’s Discontent by Sigmund Freud
• The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, Thomas Cleary
• As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
• A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
• Think on These Things by Jiddu Krishnamurti

⛏ Self-Help – August

• Everybody Writes by Ann Handley
• Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
• Influence by Robert Cialdini
• Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene

💰 Finance and Economics – September

• The Most Important Thing Illuminated by Howard Marks
• Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson
• Money Master the Game by Tony Robbins
• Good Economics for Hard Times by Abhijit Banerjee
• The Psychology of Money

💼 Business or Leadership – October

• Range by David Epstein
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
• Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
• The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

🤔 Things I am curious about right now (the books below might be updated)

• Body for Life by Bill Phillips
• Transcendental Meditation (topic – I am looking for books to learn the practice)
• The New Wine Rules
• The E-Myth

I will be updating my Reading Challenge page with book summaries and lessons learned throughout the year.

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Note: Some items listed above are Amazon affiliate links. This means I receive a tiny commission if you make a purchase after clicking through some of the images/links above, at no additional cost to you (i.e. the prices don’t change).