2020 Review: A Book a Month

One of my resolutions for 2020 was to read a book a month. Yes, I make New Year’s Resolutions and like the masses, I almost always forget about them by the end of the first quarter of the year.

Reading has been a glorified habit of highly effective people. Billionaires read a lot. CEOs read a lot. VIPs Read a lot. Me? I never used to read. I took up the challenge at the beginning of the year.

A book a month means that by now I should be on the 12th Book. So, how did I do?

Books I read to completion:

Before we get to the core of my performance, these are the books I read to completion in order of the extent of impact they had on me.

1. Real Help by Ayodeji Awosika. Real Help is Self Help meets reality and truth. Bitter truth. This book made me wake up and take risk, put myself out more. I still refer to it from time to time.
2. The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. This book is a simplified financial management class. I have applied the principles in it and so far, so good. I even did a review here.
3. The Emperor of All Maladies by Mukherjee Siddhartha. Reading this book opened my eyes to a lot of new information on Cancer. I did not do just one, but two reviews. Cancer is a horrid diseases and this book dissects its core.
4. Atomic Habits by James Clear. A clear and succinct guide to shedding bad habits and picking good ones. Again, just had to do a review.
5. The Nurse’s Guide to Blogging by Brittney Wilson and Kati Kleber. The title says it all (inserts smiley face).
6. Rookie Smarts by Liz Wiseman. This book made me comfortable being a newbie at work. If you see me use #RookieNurse, this is the source.
7. A Great Move by Katia Vlachos. This is a survival guide for expatriates. I wish I had read it last year before the move but all the same it has some really good tips on settling in in a new country.

Books I never completed:

1. The Everything Store by Brad Stone. This is a biography of Jeff Bezos. I have had the book for months now but for some reason, I never read past chapter two.
2. The Mis-education of the Negro by Carter Godwin Woodson. I bought the book after watching an Engage Talk. It was also the period of BLM and I wanted to feel connected to something. Again, never read past chapter two.

The Analysis

Based on the above, I scored a 58%, a poor performance if I may say. However, I am not where I started at and that is a win. From the seven books I completed I have learnt a lot, some of the wisdom which I have shared and will continue to share.

Upon reflection on my performance, here are some tips on reading that I will apply in 2021:

• Read books that fulfill an immediate need and are enjoyable to read.
• Ask for recommendations from my circles and peers.
• Create time for reading everyday.
• Do more book reviews here.

I don’t see myself completing the two books before the year ends but I have to before January 2021. And in 2021 I will continue with A book a Month until it becomes a habit and then maybe we can start doing two a month.

What are some of the resolutions you had for this year and how did you perform?