A Book a Week
I never started out this year with the goal of reading one book a week. In fact, prior to this year, I had a public library’s worth of half-read books piling on shelves and bins in every corner of my house.
Then the internet (and my cell service) went out.
For three whole days. 72 straight hours. In the dead of winter.
I didn’t have any pre-downloaded movies or netflix series’ to binge on my iPad, well except the 1953 Disney classic Peter Pan which I forgot I bought for my nephew three christmas’ ago.
So, alright after watching Peter Pan… I still had 70.5 hours of isolation to fill with….. something…
After doing a made-up yoga routine…taking a candle-lit bath…trying unsuccessfully to MacGyver free wifi from the outside world…trying again…doing more fake yoga…. I finally decided to pick up one of my many unfinished books to pass the time.
Well, day after day the internet never came back and as I weaned off of technology, I finished book after book after book.
I felt so accomplished. So inspired. I was hooked. (weak Peter Pan pun intended)
The books fired synapses in my brain and made connections that provided fertile ground to sprout new blogs, content, guides for my clients and even ideas for new brands. I was more productive and intellectually stimulated in those three short days without technology, than the decades I spent buying books that I never finished.
My rekindled love for reading took flight.
How had I forgotten the power and pleasure of falling deep into the pages of a book, in learning and stretching my mind in an activity as simple, peaceful and easy on my body as laying down with a comfy blanket and cup of coffee to read a book.
I decided that even when the internet and work returned, I would create more space in my life to read and maybe the goal of reading one book a month would be manageable. Well, if you know me, you won’t be surprised to hear that one book a month, turned into one book a week, sometimes two.
So as I open up to the fresh new page of my eighth book this year…. I thought I would start a catalog of all the books I make my way through in 2021.
And since most of what I read are business, brand, or productivity related—I thought I’d share them below along with a mini review. And if you’ve got any book recc’s comment them below! At this rate, I’ll need more books to fill my year!
2021 Reading List
01
Pocket Full of Do
by Chris Do
Reading Time / 1-2 hours
Rating / ✮✮✮✮✮
A wonderful, quick read that is beautifully-designed and perfectly pocket-sized. If you’re a designer or creative, read this.
02
Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind
by Jocelyn K. Glei
Reading Time / 1-2 hours
Rating / ✮✮✮✮✮
I actually re-read this book every few years, along with two others in this series. It’s a wonderful collection of short thought pieces from the greatest minds and it’s always sitting at arms-reach on my desk.
03
Design Your Day
by Claire Diaz-Ortiz
Reading Time / 1 hour
Rating / ✮✮✮☆☆
This is a super quick read, you can literally finish it in less than an hour. While I agree with Claire’s DO LESS method, as someone who is familiar with deep work and productivity techniques, I didn’t find much of it eye-opening. A lot were things I already do, so it didn’t rank too highly for me in particular.
04
Building a Story Brand
by Donald Miller
Reading Time / 1 week
Rating / ✮✮✮✮✮
This is one of my favorite books of all time. The one thing that connects all of my interests (brand building, photography, film, etc.) is storytelling. As someone who build story brands and understands the power of story— this book totally resonated with me. If you have a brand or business, this is a must read. Especially if you write your own copy or create your own content but would not qualify yourself as a creative, this book gives you an easy formula to follow in order to clarify your message and your customer.
05
The Beautiful No
by Sheri Salata
Reading Time / 7 hours
Rating / ✮✮✮✮✮
So far, this is my favorite book this year. Ironically, the last book I loved this much was the Year of Yes, by Shonda Rhymes. Sheri was Oprah’s right-hand as executive producer of the Oprah Winfrey Show. Her stories of success and struggle are raw and enchanting in their own right. But she is a gifted writer and storyteller—weaving a rapt and real guide for stewarding your own transformation (at any age or stage of life).
06
In the Flo
by Alisa Vitti
Reading Time / FOREVER
Rating / ✮☆☆☆☆
Okay, sometimes books I’m excited to read about end up being a total DISAPPOINTMENT. This is one of them. I was super excited about this idea of syncing my productivity and life around my natural hormonal cycles. Especially after suffering from a painful ruptured cyst for a few years. But I found this book to lack any useful science and TBH Alisa Vitti seemed to be venting most of the book and sharing through the lens of her own anachronistic experience with period shame. Sorry to be harsh, but for me this was the book version of a meeting that could’ve been an email.
07
Deep Work
by Cal Newport
Reading Time / 1 week
Rating / ✮✮✮☆☆
I do love Cal and this book and theory so much. It is a keystone in how I build my own business and design my creative life. But Cal is an academic and so it is a bit of long read, filled with lots of research and studies that back this philosophy. Don’t get me wrong, I love it and am fascinated by it all, but I did have to break this one up into a few sittings. But even if you don’t read the full book, I absolutely recommend that you adopt this way of working.
