My One Book Per Week Challenge For 2013
For the past four years, I have started each year with the goal of reading 52 books by the end of December — or one book per week. In 2010, I finished only 48, but otherwise, I have reached this goal quite easily.
Of all the habits I have been working to adopt over the years, this is the only one that has stuck for good. Whatever the reason (Could because I learned to love books at a young age), it’s a habit I will always keep recommending and I didn’t think twice before setting the goal again for this year.
If reading more is something you have been thinking of doing, now is a great time to join the challenge.
To track your progress in the challenge, join Goodreads (it’s free) and use the site’s Reading Challenge tool to set yourself a goal. Then pick your first book (or books, as I have written before) and start reading.
The list
This year, I am starting with a list of books I think I want to read by the end of the year. I have some topics I want to explore more deeply (design for example) than I have before, so I think deciding on some books on the topic in advance will help me make better organize my learning.
In the end, the list that I end up reading could be totally different from this, but it’s good to have a plan. So, if you are interested, check out the list below — maybe there is a book or two that you would like to read as well.
Business, entrepreneurship and work
Except for The Icarus Deception, these are all books that have been waiting to be read in my bookshelf for a while already. So, maybe now is the time.
Also, I have a copy of Seth Godin’s “mammoth book”, This Might Work on my night table… It’s huge, so I might not finish it this year, but I’ll definitely be reading it for ideas and inspiration.
- Seth Godin: The Icarus Deception
- Walter Isaacson: Steve Jobs
- Daniel Pink: Drive
- Tim Harford: Adapt
- Lisa Gansky: The Mesh
- Martin Lindstrom: Buyology
Bread (and food)
As I bake a lot of bread — and publish a magazine on Bread,
I will be reading a lot about bread. A lot of it will probably be online, but good books also have their place.
- Dan Lepard: The Handmade Loaf
- Andrew Whitley: Bread Matters
- Tim Ferris: The Four-Hour Chef
Design
Publishing a magazine for a year has made me want to learn more about designing information: books, magazines, websites, and so on. I’m starting with these two, but will soon be adding more to the list. If you have favorites, suggestions are welcome!
- Frank Chimero: The Shape of Design
- Hugh McGuire and Brian O’Leary: Book: A Futurist’s Manifesto
- Robert Bringhurst: The Elements of Typographic Style
- Aaron Gustafson: Adaptive Web Design
Writing
Like design, writing is something I want to keep improving at. These books should help.
- Lynne Truss: Eats Shoots & Leaves
- Anne Lamott: Bird by Bird
Miscellaneous non-fiction
These are books that I want to read just out of curiosity, without other motives.
- John Robbins: The New Good Life
- Jonathan Safran Foer: Eating Animals
- Tom Hodgkinson: Brave Old World
- Mark Frauenfelder: Made by Hand
- Gabrielle Walker: An Ocean of Air
- Kari Kuula: Kotona kristinuskossa
Fiction
A good reading list should always include good fiction. Even if my list is strongly skewed towards non-fiction, there is nothing like a good novel to challenge your thinking and give the brain some exercise.
- Haruki Murakami: 1Q84
- Yann Martel: Life of Pi
- Hannu Rajaniemi: The Quantum Thief
What are you reading?
That was 24 books, so a bit less than half of the books I am going to read this year.
Have you done a similar list of books you want to read this year? If so, I would love to see what you have in mind and grab some ideas for my own list…
