A couple of years ago, I stumbled upon this article in the Wall Street Journal about a competition between two elite individuals. It was not a competition of wits, of strength, or even talent. It was a reading competition.
For 3 years, Chief of Staff Karl Rove and then President of the United States, George W. Bush, competed to see who could read the most books. That first year, President Bush read 95 books and Mr. Rove read 110.
Ninety-five books?? If the Leader of the Free World can read that many books in a year, then I seriously need to re-evaluate how I’m spending my time. Probably watching too much Food Network, but I digress.
These past two years I made a concerted attempt to read more books, keeping a spreadsheet of the titles, authors, and number of pages. At the rate I’m going, I’ll catch up to the former President by the time I’m 45. But you have to start somewhere.
Here’s my list from 2012. Some made my brain hurt, others challenged my thinking, most of them entertained, and one or two made me shed a tear. I highly encourage you to check them out and add them to your list for 2013.
Novels/Fiction
Relationships/ Teen Sexuality
Productivity/Business
Inspirational/Spiritual
Cultural/Non-fiction
Biographies/Memoirs
What great books did you read this year? Please share the titles in the comments so we can all grow our reading lists!