Last week I read, and was inspired by, Julien Smith’s article ‘How To Read a Book a Week in 2010‘. Take a read, maybe you will be too.
In a nutshell, Julien set himself a challenge last year to read a book a week, 52 books a year. He read 54.
Why, you might wonder?
In his words, “It feels awesome. It gives you an amazing amount of ideas. It helps you think more thoroughly. It’s better than TV and even the internet. It makes you understand the world more. It is a building block towards a habit of completion. Did I mention it feels awesome?”
Double use of awesome; this man is passionate about books. Me, I love books too. Or at least I did, before the internet came along and I let it spoil my infatuation. There never seems to be time anymore. True, I’m married with a small child, own a house, have a busy job and half a dozen side projects on the go. Somewhere along the way, it became more convenient – and perhaps more instantly gratifying – to reserve my sporadic reading for the internet (and yes, I’m looking at you too, Mr iPhone).
Julien’s article made me remember how much I used to read when I was a kid and up into my 20s – and specifically, how much I used to get out of it. Not just the learning but the joy of entering other people’s heads.
So I set myself a resolution – I will read a book every fortnight throughout 2010.
I shall keep a log on here to keep track of the books I read. I’m rather intrigued to see what that list will look like come January 2011. Please feel free to comment on the books I list, I’m happy to discuss or debate opinions on any of them.
Rather fittingly, the first book I’m reading is Trust Agents, co-authored by none other than Chris Brogan and Julien Smith.
Laptop is shutting down now, off to read a book.
You can follow Julien Smith on Twitter.