What I Learned from Reading 59 Books in 2018

I read a grand total of 59 books in 2018. Something about constant learning brings me great joy. I know I'll never stop growing and I look forward to building even greater understanding in 2019. Here's the highlights, lowlights, and what I take away from 2018.

Lowlights
I start with the lowlights because they're pretty forgettable. Even the worst books still taught me something, so it wasn't a waste of time.

• TB12 – I love Tom Brady as an athlete, but found his book self-aggrandizing and annoying.
• MBA Admission Guide – I did not enjoy reading this all that much, but I did realize that I don't want to go back for an MBA.
• The Singularity Trap – I loved the Bobiverse books and was expecting similar quality. Expectations tend to lead to disappointment!

Highlights
I definitely covered some great books this year. I look forward to re-reading some of them in 2019.

• Snow Crash – An old favorite, and one of the best sci-fi books around.
• Mastery – Robert Greene is a legend. I can't wait to re-read this one in print so that I can take notes.
• The Truth – Neil Strauss constructed a therapy session in a book. I broke through to a new level with regard to my relationships.
• Extreme Ownership – A new look on leadership and great takeaways for my team at work.
• Thinking Fast and Slow – A master class in social psychology.
• The Obstacle is the Way – A practical operating system for life and its challenges.

In 2018 I learned
Across all 59 books, I averaged a rating of 8.40. That may or may not tell you something about me as a person.

• With an average of 8.40, I'm either too nice, or I'm better at choosing books than I should be. I suppose it could be a combination of the two. I would expect the average to be closer to 7.5. I will push myself to be more critical and to dig deeper into nuance in 2019.
• At 59 books, I accomplished my goal of over 1 book per week. I aim to hit 52 again in 2018.