I try to document every book I read. This post will be a collection of other people’s lists who’s work I like. Maybe there is an overlap or maybe not.
Patrick Collison, CEO of stripe (I started using around 2015)
Sharing a favourite leadership book with Arts Council
Are “you” the blocker?
If life was binary. For every interaction you were either an enabler or a blocker. If YOU are the blocker I suggest reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.
Reading time
I like to read. Reading let’s me drift off to alternative worldviews. I sometimes get asked how I find the time. One page at a time i guess. Yet for ages i found all sorts of excuses not to read. I’m too busy to read raising kids, working, being a husband blah blah. Instead of spending less time with family I worked around the problem. I played around with different reading times until I landed on reading when I wake up. In the gap between my wife waking and being disturbed by the kids. Some days it’s 5mins or 30mins.
I also purposely read in front of the kids when given the chance to show them reading can be for passing the time.
I can call my reading a positive habit that I’ve fostered.
This week I had the pleasure of taking the kids to the library to choose their own books. An activity that reminds me of my own childhood. I wonder if they’ll remember in 30 years time too.
Reading list 2022
Every year I document each book I read. You can find previous year in the archive. I try to find 30mins a day to read. I support my local bookshop and read things in the kindle when I’m at a loose end on my phone or in the dead of night when I should be counting sheep.
- Rebel ideas by Matthew Syed. Finished 10 January 2022. Ebook.
- Everything I Know about Life I Learned from PowerPoint by Russell Davies. Finished 6th Jan 2022. Hardback ISBN 9781788167376. I do loooots of talks and this book is packed with short helpful tips to help beginners or seasoned folk like me. Sometimes my talks go went and other times not so much. I’ll be recommending this to others. Thanks to Matt Jukes for the reading choice.
- How To Live by Derek Sivers. Finished 30 January 2022. Hardback ISBN 9781991152305. As ever I love. How Derek makes me look at things differently. Whatever you choose to do in life is all good.
- BRIT(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging by Afua Hirsch. It’s about what it says on the title. I really enjoyed it, especially as we are similar in age, both have a Ghanaian parent and young kids.
- Competing in the New World of Work: How Radical Adaptability Separates the Best from the Rest by Keith Ferrazzi, Kian Gohar and Noel Weyrich. Finished 10th April 2022. Audio book. I’m really interested in how the forced experiments of hybrid and remote working during the pandemic may play out. Keith and Co do a great job of highlighting the challenges and opportunities.
- The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger. Finished 23 April 2022. Kindle format. A leadership book by the CEO of Disney.
- Re-read The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need by Andrew Tobias finished 24 April 2022.
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey finished 14 June 2022. One of the most recommended books in the field of personal development. I really enjoyed it as it was all about you and how consistent habits can improve home and work.
- Polar Bear Pirates: and their quest to engage the sleepwalkers by Adrian Webster finished 24 June 2022. Paperback isbn 9780857081278. Recommended by Rob HR and is a fun short read on reawakening dormant talent.
- Alibaba: The House Jack Ma Built by Duncan Clark finished 25th July 2022 kindle.
- The Golden Flea by Michael Rips finished 23rd September 2022. Paperback 9781911547761
- Second City: Birmingham and the Forging of Modern Britain by Richard Viven finished 22 November 2022 hardback 9780241454534
- the New Age of Empire by Kehinde Andrews Finished 17 December 2022 kindle
- kindred by Octavia E.Butler finished 30th December on Kindle