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Looking for Good Books to Read? I Read 213 Last Year, Let Me Help You

My Next Big Batch of Good Books to Read

I’m a huge fan of Half Priced Books. I still say hi to the employees when I come through the door, but let me tell you I look immediately for just one thing. Those lovely purple background, yellow lettered signs that say CLEARANCE. My cheap old discount tree-book Heaven!

You know why I love it so much? I read a whole friggin’ lot! I hate to see what kind of bill I’d have if I bought everything I read retail. That’s scary to imagine. But slap a $1 sticker on it? Yes, please!

Well I decided to challenge myself for 2011. I committed to reading at least 200 books throughout the entire year. 200!!! Was I nuts or what?

I did it! And I did it right. I read 213 books in 2011 and it has proved to be the year of self-growth. I think I can actually feel the extra weight all of the new brain-wrinkles added to my head. I don’t mind at all.

Maybe this doesn’t sound like much of an accomplishment to you, maybe it sounds completely and unbelievably wacko. Either way, it was a huge goal and I knocked it out of the park. This post is part celebration and part sharing.

How this Can Help You

I’ll have a post in the near future sharing some hints and tips on how to read more quickly, find what you’re looking for, and save some money doing it. All in the name of self-improvement, of course!

Below is a list of all 213 books. I’ve separated them into categories as best I could. I also added my rating in parenthesis after the author’s name (on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being sucky and 5 being awesome) I am VERY conservative with my 5’s – they have to be real, life-changing winners.

For now, I recommend finding the topic you are most interested in and looking for the 5’s. Those will be the winners and a great place to start on your journey into that topic. Some of these are a little specific to my interests and others are books everyone should read.

When you’re done with the 5’s, come back and check out the 4’s. They’ll also make a big impact in your life. And I wanted to give a lot of them 4.5 for being so dang-near awesome, but I just didn’t want to muddy the ‘5’ waters. Tough calls on some of these.

Ready for it? Here goes!

List of 213 Books Read in a Single Year:

Business and Entrepreneurship:

  1. Call Me Ted by Ted Turner (3)
  2. Crush It!: Why Now Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk (3)
  3. Doing What Matters: The Revolutionary Old-School Approach to Business Success and Why It Works by James M. Kilts (3)
  4. Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur by Pamela Slim (3)
  5. Fish! Sticks: A Remarkable Way to Adapt to Changing Times and Keep Your Work Fresh by Stephen C. Lundin (3)
  6. Gung Ho!: Turn on the People in Any Organization by Ken Blanchard (3)
  7. How to Become CEO: The Rules for Rising to the Top of Any Organization by Jeffrey J. Fox (4)
  8. One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey by Ken Blanchard (3)
  9. Raving Fans by Ken Blanchard (4)
  10. Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition by Guy Kawasaki (4)
  11. Rework by Jason Fried (3)
  12. Small Is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas by Seth Godin (3)
  13. Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie (3)
  14. The E Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber (3)
  15. The One Minute Entrepreneur: The Secret to Creating and Sustaining a Successful Business by Ken Blanchard (3)
  16. The One Minute Manager Builds High Performing Teams by Ken Blanchard (3)
  17. Your Future as a Project Manager by Unknown Author 482 (2)

Career:

  1. The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Management Fable About Helping Employees Find Fulfillment in Their Work by Patrick Lencioni (4)

Communication and Influence:

  1. Excuse Me, But I Was Next: How to Handle the Top 100 Manners Dilemmas by Peggy Post (3)
  2. 4,000 Questions for Getting to Know Anyone and Everyone by Barbara Ann Kipfer (3)
  3. Click: The Forces Behind How We Fully Engage with People, Work, and Everything We Do by Ori Brafman (3)
  4. Creative Conflict Management by Catherine Daw (1)
  5. Effective Networking Freeway Guide by David Nour (2)
  6. Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently by John C. Maxwell (3)
  7. Feedback That Works: How to Build and Deliver Your Message by Sloan R. Weitzel (2)
  8. Goodbye to Shy: 85 Shybusters That Work! by Leil Lowndes (3)
  9. How to Be a People Magnet: Finding Friends–And Lovers–And Keeping Them for Life by Leil Lowndes (3)
  10. How to Make Someone Love You Forever!: In 90 Minutes or Less by Nicholas Boothman (3)
  11. How to Remember Names and Faces: How to Develop a Good Memory by Robert Nutt (3)
  12. How To Start A Conversation And Make Friends: Revised And Updated by Don Gabor (3)
  13. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie (5)
  14. Influencer: The Power to Change Anything by Kerry Patterson (4)
  15. Persuasion IQ: The 10 Skills You Need to Get Exactly What You Want by Kurt Mortensen (3)
  16. Tell to Win: Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story by Peter Guber (4)
  17. Thank You Power: Making the Science of Gratitude Work for You by Deborah Norville (3)
  18. The Art of Influence: Persuading Others Begins With You by Chris Widener (4)
  19. The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking by Dale Carnegie (4)
  20. Unfolding the Napkin: The Hands-On Method for Solving Complex Problems with Simple Pictures by Dan Roam (5)
  21. Who’s Listening Anyway?: A Guide to Effective Listening by John Lovitt (2)
  22. Working with Difficult People by Kathleen Lundin (3)
  23. You Say More Than You Think: Use the New Body Language to Get What You Want!, The 7-Day Plan by Janine Driver (5)

Creativity and Innovation:

  1. 2011: Trendspotting for the Next Decade by Richard Laermer (2)
  2. How to Be a Successful Inventor: Turn Your Ideas Into Profit by Gordon D. Griffin (3)
  3. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath (5)
  4. Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman (3)
  5. The Circle of Innovation: You Can’t Shrink Your Way to Greatness by Tom Peters (4)
  6. The Life of Wolfgang Amadeas Mozart by Perry Keenlyside (3)
  7. The Power of Innovative Thinking by Jim Wheeler (3)
  8. The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield (3)
  9. They Made America: From the Steam Engine to the Search Engine: Two Centuries of Innovators by Harold Evans (3)
  10. Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques (2nd Edition) by Michael Michalko (5)

Faith:

  1. Frequent Confession: Its Place in the Spiritual Life: Instructions and Considerations for the Frequent Reception of the Sacrament of Penance by Benedict Baur (4)
  2. The End and the Beginning: Pope John Paul II–The Struggle for Freedom, the Last Years, the Legacy by George Weigel (4)

Family:

  1. Ages and Stages: A Parent’s Guide to Normal Childhood Development by Charles E. Schaefer (3)
  2. Boys Should Be Boys: 7 Secrets to Raising Healthy Sons by Margaret J. Meeker (4)
  3. Building Better Families: A Practical Guide to Raising Amazing Children by Matthew Kelly (3)
  4. Generation Text: Raising Well-Adjusted Kids in an Age of Instant Everything by Michael Osit (3)
  5. If My Parents Knew…: Discovering Your Teenager’s Unspoken Needs by Rodney Gage (4)
  6. NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson (5)
  7. Screamfree Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool by Hal Edward Runkel (5)
  8. Teaching Montessori in the Home: Pre-School Years: The Pre-School Years by Elizabeth G. Hainstock (3)
  9. The Natural Nursery: The Parent’s Guide to Ecologically Sound, Nontoxic, Safe, and Healthy Baby Care by Louis Pottkotter (3)
  10. The New Peoplemaking by Virginia Satir (5)
  11. The Verbally Abusive Relationship: How to Recognize It and How to Respond by Patricia Evans (3)
  12. Toilet Training in Less Than A Day by Nathan H. Azrin (3)
  13. Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of a Former Planned Parenthood Leader’s Eye-Opening Journey Across the Life Line by Abby Johnson (5)

Fiction (Mostly Sci-Fi and Fantasy):

  1. 1984 by George Orwell (3)
  2. Animal Farm by George Orwell (3)
  3. Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney (3)
  4. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (4)
  5. Fool Moon (The Dresden Files, #2) by Jim Butcher (4)
  6. From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne (3)
  7. Grave Peril (The Dresden Files, #3) by Jim Butcher (4)
  8. House of Gold by Bud Macfarlane Jr. (4)
  9. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (3)
  10. Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss (5)
  11. Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov (4)
  12. Phantastes by George MacDonald (4)
  13. Prince Caspian (Chronicles of Narnia, #4) by C.S. Lewis (4)
  14. Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson (4)
  15. Silas Marner by George Eliot (4)
  16. Storm Front (The Dresden Files, #1) by Jim Butcher (4)
  17. Symbios by Joe Kimball (4)
  18. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (4)
  19. The Horse and His Boy (Chronicles of Narnia, #3) by C.S. Lewis (4)
  20. The Last Battle (Chronicles of Narnia, #7) by C.S. Lewis (5)
  21. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #2) by C.S. Lewis (4)
  22. The Magician’s Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #1) by C.S. Lewis (4)
  23. The Princess Bride by William Goldman (4)
  24. The Silver Chair (Chronicles of Narnia, #6) by C.S. Lewis (4)
  25. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (3)
  26. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia, #5) by C.S. Lewis (4)
  27. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (3)
  28. Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll (3)
  29. Watership Down by Richard Adams (4)

Health:

  1. Breathing: A Beginner’s Guide to Increased Health and Vitality by Ken Cohen (3)
  2. Encyclopedia Of Family Health & First Aid by Anita Kerwin-Nye (4)
  3. Let’s Play Doctor: The Instant Guide To Walking, Talking, and Probing Like a Real M.D. by Mark Leyner (2)
  4. The Book of Survival: The Original Guide to Staying Alive in the City, the Suburbs, and the Wild Lands Beyond, Third Edition by Anthony Greenbank (3)
  5. The Medical Advisor: The Complete Guide To Alternative & Conventional Treatments by Time-Life Books (3)

Home and Garden:

  1. 1001 Ideas for Outdoor Spaces: The Ultimate Sourcebook: Decking, Paving, Designs & Accessories by Brett Martin (3)
  2. Household Hints & Tip by Reader’s Digest Association (3)
  3. Taylor’s Guide To Gardening In The South by Rita Buchanan (2)

Leadership and Teams:

  1. Generation Blend: Managing Across the Technology Age Gap by Rob Salkowitz (3)
  2. Instant Turnaround!: Getting People Excited about Coming to Work and Working Hard by Harry Paul (3)
  3. Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Leadership by Ken Blanchard (3)
  4. Leadership Is an Art by Max DePree (4)
  5. The Articulate Executive: Learn to Look, ACT, and Sound Like a Leader by Granville N. Toogood (3)
  6. The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly (3)
  7. The New York Times Leadership and Vision: 25 Keys to Motivation by Ramon J. Aldag (3)
  8. The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard (3)
  9. The On-Time, On-Target Manager: How a “Last-Minute Manager” Conquered Procrastination by Ken Blanchard (3)
  10. The Pocket Mentor: Essential Advice For Aspiring Executives by Harry Hoffman (3)
  11. You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader: How Anyone, Anywhere, Can Make a Positive Difference by Mark Sanborn (3)

Learning:

  1. Exposing the Learning Curve: Giving You Confidence to Learn and Grow by Richard N. Stephenson (5) (I had to, lol)

Marketing and Branding:

  1. Advanced Book Marketing by EJ Thornton (4)
  2. Scientific Advertising by Claude C. Hopkins (4)
  3. The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product or Service Into a World-Class Brand by Al Ries (3)
  4. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries (3)
  5. Winning the Zero Moment of Truth – ZMOT (Enhanced Version) by Jim Lecinski (4)

Mind, Memory, and Hypnosis:

  1. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (4)
  2. Double Your Brain Power: 7how to Use All of Your Brain All of the Time by Jean Marie Stine (2)
  3. How to Think Like Einstein: Simple Ways to Break the Rules and Discover Your Hidden Genius by Scott Thorpe (3)
  4. Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman (3)
  5. Monsters and Magical Sticks: There is No Such Thing as Hypnosis by Steven Heller (5)
  6. Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer (3)
  7. My Voice Will Go with You: The Teaching Tales of Milton H. Erickson by Sidney Rosen (5)
  8. Strategies of Genius, Volume One by Robert Dilts (3)
  9. The Memory Doctor: Fun, Simple Techniques to Improve Memory and Boost Your Brain Power by Douglas J. Mason (3)
  10. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell (4)

Money and Investing:

  1. 24 Essential Lessons for Investment Success: Learn the Most Important Investment Techniques from the Founder of Investor’s Business Daily by William J. O’Neil (3)
  2. Beating the Street by Peter Lynch (3)
  3. Comfort Zone Investing: Build Wealth and Sleep Well at Night by Ted Allrich (5)
  4. Double Your Income Doing What You Love: Raymond Aaron’s Guide to Power Mentoring by Raymond Aaron (3)
  5. First Comes Love, Then Comes Money: How to Overcome the Number One Problem Couples Face by Bethany Palmer (4)
  6. Get Real, Get Rich: Conquer the 7 Lies Blocking You from Success by Farrah Gray (3)
  7. Go Green, Live Rich: 50 Simple Ways to Save the Earth and Get Rich Trying by David Bach (3)
  8. How to License Your Million Dollar Idea: Everything You Need to Know to Turn a Simple Idea Into a Million Dollar Payday, 2nd Edition by Harvey Reese (3)
  9. Learn to Earn: A Beginner’s Guide to the Basics of Investing and Business by Peter Lynch (3)
  10. Own Your Own Corporation: Why the Rich Own Their Own Companies and Everyone Else Works for Them (Rich Dad’s Advisors (Paperback)) by Garrett Sutton (3)
  11. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki (4)
  12. Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing: What the Rich Invest in, That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki (3)
  13. Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth by T. Harv Eker (4)
  14. Shopportunity!: How to Be a Retail Revolutionary by Kate Newlin (2)
  15. Stock Market Wizards: Interviews with America’s Top Stock Traders by Jack D. Schwager (3)
  16. SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes And Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance by Steven D. Levitt (3)
  17. The Art of Profitability by Adrian Slywotzky (4)
  18. The Cashflow Quadrant: Rich Dad’s Guide to Financial Freedom by Robert T. Kiyosaki (3)
  19. The Intelligent Asset Allocator: How to Build Your Portfolio to Maximize Returns and Minimize Risk by William J. Bernstein (5)
  20. The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns by John C. Bogle (3)
  21. The Motley Fool Million Dollar Portfolio: The Complete Investment Strategy that Beats the Market by David Gardner (4)
  22. The One Minute Millionaire: The Enlightened Way to Wealth by Mark Victor Hansen (3)
  23. The Smartest Investment Book You’ll Ever Read: The Simple, Stress Free Way To Reach Your Investment Goals by Daniel R. Solin (3)
  24. The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder (4)
  25. The Warren Buffett Way: Investment Strategies of the World’s Greatest Investor by Robert G. Hagstrom (4)

Philanthropy:

  1. Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism by Muhammad Yunus (4)

Science:

  1. A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking (3)
  2. Centrifugal Pumps: Design and Application by Val S. Lobanoff (2)

Self Growth and Mastery:

  1. 21 Ways to Defuse Anger and Calm People Down by Michael Staver (4)
  2. 25 Days to Better Thinking & Better Living: A Guide for Improving Every Aspect of Your Life by Linda Elder (2)
  3. Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error by Kathryn Schulz (3)
  4. Discovering Your Purpose (Skillpath Self Study Sourcebook) (Item #13 0006) by Ivy Haley (3)
  5. Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry (3)
  6. Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment by Tal Ben-Shahar (3)
  7. How to Stubbornly Refuse to Make Yourself Miserable about Anything: To Make Yourself Miserable about Anything, Yes Anything by Albert Ellis (3)
  8. Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality by Henry Cloud (4)
  9. Jump . . . And The Net Will Appear by Robin Crow (3)
  10. Laugh and live by Douglas Fairbanks Sr. (3)
  11. Linchpin by Seth Godin (4)
  12. Living the Seven Habits by S. Covey (3)
  13. Living the Truth: Transform Your Life Through the Power of Insight and Honesty by Keith Ablow (3)
  14. Managing Information: The Challenge and the Opportunity by John Diebold (1)
  15. Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham (3)
  16. Outwitting the Devil: The Secret to Freedom and Success by Napoleon Hill (3)
  17. Self- Esteem by Matthew McKay (3)
  18. Self-Improvement 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know by John C. Maxwell (3)
  19. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath (3)
  20. Talent Is Never Enough: Discover the Choices That Will Take You Beyond Your Talent by John C. Maxwell (4)
  21. The 4 Hour Workweek, Expanded And Updated: Expanded And Updated, With Over 100 New Pages Of Cutting Edge Content. by Timothy Ferriss (4)
  22. The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy (3)
  23. The Difference Maker: Making Your Attitude Your Greatest Asset by John C. Maxwell (3)
  24. The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Ken Robinson (4)
  25. The Flip Side: Break Free of the Behaviors That Hold You Back by Flip Flippen (3)
  26. The Fred Factor: How passion in your work and life can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary by Mark Sanborn (4)
  27. The Identity Code: The 8 Essential Questions for Finding Your Purpose and Place in the World by Laurence Ackerman (3)
  28. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (4)
  29. The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play by Neil A. Fiore (4)
  30. The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner (3)
  31. The Upside of Turbulence: Seizing Opportunity in an Uncertain World by Donald Sull (3)
  32. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill (4)
  33. Three Feet from Gold: Turn Your Obstacles Into Opportunities by Sharon L. Lechter (4)
  34. Timidity, How to Overcome It: By Yoritomo-Tashi by Yoritomo-Tashi (2)
  35. Wake Up and Change Your Life by Duncan Bannatyne (3)
  36. Whale Done! : The Power of Positive Relationships by Ken Blanchard (3)
  37. Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson (3)
  38. Your Life Begins Now by Wayne W. Dyer (2)

Selling:

  1. Discover Your Sales Strengths: How the World’s Greatest Salespeople Develop Winning Careers by Benson Smith (3)
  2. The 25 Most Common Sales Mistakes: And How to Avoid Them by Stephan Schiffman (3)
  3. The 25 Sales Strategies: That Will Boost Your Sales Today! by Stephan Schiffman (3)

Social Media:

  1. Social Media – For Income, Influence and Impact by Oli Hille (3)

Time Management:

  1. Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy (3)
  2. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen (4)
  3. Slow Down… And Get More Done by Marshall J. Cook (3)

Writing, Publishing, and Authorship:

  1. How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months by John Locke (4)
  2. How to Write a Damn Good Novel: A Step-by-Step No Nonsense Guide to Dramatic Storytelling by James N. Frey (3)
  3. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Knowlton Zinsser (5)
  4. Six-Figure Freelancing by Kelly James-Enger (3)
  5. So You Want To Sell a Million Copies by Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar (3)
  6. So you want to write a novel… by J.P. Kurzitza (4)
  7. The Copywriter’s Handbook: A Step-By-Step Guide To Writing Copy That Sells by Robert Bly (3)
  8. The Little Red Writing Book: 20 Powerful Principles of Structure, Style, and Readability by Brandon Royal (3)
  9. Write Good or Die by Scott Nicholson (4)
  10. Write Is a Verb: Sit Down. Start Writing. No Excuses. by Bill O’Hanlon (3)

I’ve got a bunch more books to read and a bunch more to share. Take this time to see if reading more will fit into your schedule somewhere. This really was the biggest year of my personal growth. Crazy amount of growth. It took some getting used to, but it was well worth it. I’ll give the how-to in a future post. Look for it!

Oh and if you’re curious, the picture at the start of this post is this year’s stack of “to-read” books. I’ve got some work to do.

How many books did you read last year?

Looking for some free resources instead? Check out This Free Library of Books on Personal Development, Self Growth, and Motivation.

Filed Under: Self Help

Comments

  3. Its really inspiring i red your blog kudos to Mr Richard
    Greeting from India ,Bangalore :)