My 2019 in Books

I made a commitment a couple years ago to read more. I did this for a few reasons. First, I had a lot of books I’d been wanting to read. Two, I spent (spend) way too much time online. Three, I had purchased a used Kindle Paperwhite a couple months prior and wanted to actually use it!

I committed to 15 books in 2018 and again in 2019 just to keep myself reading without the pressure of completing a challenge. I ended up reading 41 books in 2019! To be fair, some of them were pretty short books (quick productivity reads, mostly on the Kindle). Still, I was floored and proud of my progress. Plus, I got to read some really good books.

Process

One of the books I read last year was “Digital Minimalism” by Cal Newport. I highly recommend reading it! I followed his 30 day detox (he calls it something else … but I like detox). One of the steps in that detox is to find an activity to replace the mindless scrolling through the infinity pool apps (Twitter, FB, etc.). I had chosen reading, so I tried to keep a book with me at all times. The Kindle Paperwhite was perfect for that. It’s small enough to carry with my notebook. I also found a cool cover on Etsy that lets me keep my glasses and some pens with me too.

The key is replacing the habit of picking up your phone when your bored with picking up your book. So, if you want to read more … keep a book handy. It’s amazing how quickly you can get through a book with just 5 or 10 minutes here and there.

Assess

The cool thing about Goodreads, aside from easily tracking what I’m reading and have read, is the end-of-year review they provide. Here are the stats from my 2019…

And here is the complete list of books I read. Did you read any of them?

Progress

I’ve upped the challenge a bit to 20 books in 2020. Partly for the number alliteration and partly just to make sure I keep pushing myself a little. You can keep track of my challenge here. Or better yet, if you are on Goodreads you should add me as a friend! You can always see what I’m currently reading with the little widget on this blog.