30 Books in Six Months (Part One)
In late July of this year, I was on vacation with my family in Florida.
I went for a walk around the property, reflecting and sorting out my thoughts on several topics in my life. When I got back to our house, I began to ferociously scribble in my notebook all of the goals that I wanted to accomplish for the remainder of the year. For now, I’ll keep the complete listing to myself — but, I jotted down one goal in particular I’d like to share with you:
“Read 30 books before the new year”
…which brings me to this post. I’m going to read 30 books and write about each of them here…If you’re still interested, let’s continue:
- Why am I doing this? Let me be clear: I don’t want to read books for the sake of reading books. I want to stimulate my mind outside of the hours I spend at work. I want to be exposed to other perspectives and thoughts outside of my daily life. I want to learn new things. Setting this goal will, by default, help me implement these changes into my life.
- Why thirty books? Not sure. Thirty just felt right. Also, thirty averages out to little more than a book a week, from July through December, which seemed challenging but reasonable.
- What will I read? There are bunch of random books on my bookshelf that I haven’t read yet so they’ll be sprinkled into this list, for sure. Luckily, I can’t walk into a bookstore without picking something up. Also, I’m a loyalist to my favorites, so you’ll see me spring for works by my favorite authors (Don Winslow and John Grisham). Lastly, I always am willing to follow up on a book recommendation, too. (Hint, hint.)
- How will I do this? Let me be upfront about what I plan on reading: I will likely be reading more fiction than non-fiction. I’m really partial to mysteries, crime/detective, and suspense/thrillers. I’ll aim to branch out a bit, but you can expect to see many of those in this list. As I progress through the books, I’ll post about them in blocks of five, in a new installment of this series.
- What will this review look like? Each book review will have several key insights: why I chose the book, a brief overview of the book, and my ‘one big thing’. This one big thing is my singular most impactful takeaway from having read the book.
I’m doing this because I want to challenge myself and expand my knowledge. I’d like to have a collection of thoughts on this experience to refer back to. I’m also interested in seeing how my interpretation of books develops and matures over time. In some way, as I’ll be expressing my thoughts on a wide array of topics and situations, I’m hoping that this pushes me to grow as a writer…
…And of course, I write this with the hope that you’ll find these notes to be entertaining. Maybe, you’ll feel some inspiration to begin your own book journey!
For now, though — would you care to join me on mine?
Thirty Books in Six Months — Part One
Quench Your Own Thirst (Jim Koch)
This is the book that started this whole ordeal. I chose it because, earlier this year, I became interested in homebrewing and, eventually, opening up a brewpub.
In this ‘pull-up-your-chair-and-let-me-tell-you-some-stories’ origin story, Jim Koch (pronounced “Cook”) takes us through the early days of Boston Beer Company and his formation of the Samuel Adams brand. He speaks about several hardships he faced, and sticky situations he, as the Chairman and Founder, had to direct the company out of. He shares funny quips and anecdotes about his squabble with Anheuser-Busch, which I found particularly entertaining. While the dreams of owning a brewpub have since passed for me, I still haven’t given up hopes on becoming an entrepreneur and when I do, there are many nuggets in this book I’ll use.
One Big Thing: Koch highlighted a major crossroads when deciding to start a business: decide whether your business will (1) deliver on a value proposition (i.e. lower costs than your competitors) OR (2) deliver on a quality proposition (i.e. superior product/service than your competitors), OR (3) better yet, deliver on both.
If you can’t do either of these, says Jim, stop and rethink your idea.
When Breath Becomes Air (Paul Kalanithi)
I was in the Harvard book store and saw this book on sale. I had heard of it previously so I grabbed it.
I loved this book, though it took a few pages to get drawn into the story. Once I did, I really began to enjoy Paul’s voice and storytelling. His sense of humor pops off the page. This is not a spoiler alert and is worth highlighting: Paul, diagnosed with a terminal illness, passed away shortly before the completion of this book. Considering this, it offers two stories: insight into the schooling and grueling training of a neurosurgeon, and the memoir of a dying man and how he progresses through the stages of his own grief.
My family and I had just taken off, headed to Florida, when I finished the book. I never thought I could be as deeply sad as I was about the passing of an individual I’ve never met. I was particularly moved by the last paragraph Paul wrote; his parting words to a specific individual. The epilogue, penned by Paul’s widow, Lucy Goddard Kalanithi, is a poignant, sharp retelling of Paul’s last days. The conclusion was long foregone but, like a wreck on the highway, I couldn’t take my eyes off it.
It took a lot of measured breathing for me to steel off shedding a tear or two when I shut the book for the last time.
If this sounds silly to you, I dare you to give it a read.
One Big Thing: Paul, a philosophy buff, posits an additional maxim to Socrates: “If the unexamined life was not worth living, was the unlived life worth examining?” It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day of life but taking a breath and making concerted efforts to live, in every sense of the word, is important, especially, when you’re blessed to have your health and breath in your lungs. Said differently, this book is the embodiment of “Get busy living or get busy dying.” It was a kick in the butt for sure.
The Sober Entrepreneur (Russ Perry)
If I’m being completely transparent, this is the book that spawned several huge changes in my life. I inhaled this book in about three days in Florida, and it sparked my long walk around the Florida resort complex filled with reflection.
I had viewed some of Russ’ content on social media, which I thought was entertaining, interesting, and informative. I figured: well, he’d probably be able to turn this information into a consumable book, right? Also — Russ’ targeted Facebook ads worked. It showed in my news feed as being free for the next 72 hours — “Just pay for the shipping!” — so I pulled the trigger and ordered it. I’m a sucker for a deal.
(Note: Nice job creating urgency, Russ; it’s been a month since I grabbed your book and that ad still shows up on my feed. ‘Next three days’ huh?)
Russ’ story boils down a few key points: he’s an entrepreneur and had his life spiral as he was struggling with alcohol. He put his business and his family at risk. He turns his life around as he begins to employ various methods of self-enrichment. He is now running a successful business and enjoying his life.
In the book, Russ is very conversational and straightforward, and he sugarcoats nothing. He opens himself up with sharp vulnerability and I think that drew me in to his story. Even through the book’s pages, he seems genuinely interested in his readers’ success. Seeing his interactions with his audience in social media tells me that my suspicions are true.
Honestly, I was very skeptical that I’d get anything out of this book. But this book lit a fire under me for sure. I’ve implemented several accountability measures, which he recommends, and I’m on a path toward self-improvement that at one point seemed impossible. Some examples? I went from being able to do one pullup and now I’m tracking toward doing ten! I’m just shy from pulling a 300lb deadlift. I am now writing again (as I mentioned in this story). I journal everyday. Most notably, I’ve stopped drinking. Most importantly, I’m constantly looking for ways to get uncomfortable and to grow.
If you’re looking for an easy read that packs a strong punch, give Russ’s book a shot. If it doesn’t speak to you in some way, I’d be surprised.
One Big Thing: My time is valuable and when the option presents itself to spend my time, if this option doesn’t improve my life by: adding value, offering a learning opportunity, or providing the chance to connect meaningfully with someone, it’s a hard-pass from me. Sorry, not sorry.
The Power of the Dog (Don Winslow)
I picked this book because I read Don Winslow’s latest book The Force, which I strongly urge you to check out. I loved it so much, I decided to reach back to his oldies-but-goodies. In The Power of the Dog, Don Winslow does a masterful job of bringing together a handful of odd characters — a hitman, a priest, a troubled DEA agent, a call girl, and two cartel drug lords — and he crafts a compelling cat-and-mouse tale set in 1980s Mexico. There is clearly a good amount of research put into this book, and Winslow skillfully blends fiction and fact for a pseudo-retelling of the War on Drugs with imagined characters.
Winslow flawlessly and (seemingly) effortlessly switches from telling the story as a third-party omniscient narrator to a specific character’s perspective. You, as the reader, see how the situation at hand is perceived by a character, which can be (and often is) vastly different from another character. I enjoy this form of storytelling because seeing how all the players are reading the situation helps present different sides of the story, and truth lies somewhere in the middle.
Don Winslow builds blind spots for the reader, and when you least expect it, what actually happens is not in the least bit what you anticipated. When I consume entertainment, I’m often swinging for the fences, trying to think a few steps ahead to see if I can guess the outcome. Don Winslow’s curveballs leave me at the plate with called strikes every time.
One Big Thing: To highlight one of my favorite instances of Don’s narration style: there’s a scene where two minor characters (Quito and Paco) are discussing smuggling a gun across the border into Mexico. Winslow narrates this deal through Quito’s perspective, and you see him trace through all the reasons why this is a horrible idea, and why it would surely end in him being jailed or worse. The paragraph ends flipping the stream of consciousness to noting that, in real life, ‘Quito tells Paco thanks but no thanks.’ The indifference with which Quito responds, compared to the deep thoughts he processed is startling. To me, it is a reminder that we are all multi-dimensional creatures, which is comforting, comical and concerning when you really think about it.
The Silent Wife (A. S. A. Harrison)
I picked this book up while I was in a Wal-Mart in Petersburg, Virginia visiting my late grandfather’s family. I think I bought it because I mistook it for Sharp Objects, and because it was only $7.
This book is a treat because the first chapter contains the hugest of spoiler alerts: “…[S]he is deeply unaware that her life is now peaking, that her youthful resilience — which her twenty-year marriage to Todd Gilbert has been slowly eroding — is approaching a final stage of disintegration, that her notions about who she is and how she ought to conduct herself are far less stable than she supposes, given that a few short months are all it will take to make a killer out of her.”
Yeah — she’s going to kill him. Main character Jodi will be the reason Todd, her husband, stops breathing. How will she do it? What drives her to do this? What did Todd do? Will she get away with it?
The story is told in alternating “Him” and “Her” chapters, which feeds into my appetite for the same story delivered with different perspectives. I am hesitant to provide too many details about these characters, because I think the way A. S. A. Harrison unveils layers of their life and relationship is an important facet of the story.
The Silent Wife tells the cautionary tale of two complex characters who have willed themselves into an unfulfilling relationship and when an unforeseen catalyst is thrown into the mix, all hell breaks loose. While I do think there were some hidden bombshells about these characters that were left unexplored, the story is an entertaining one, and I enjoyed this page-turner.
Sadly, this author passed away shortly before the book’s publication. I think she’d be proud of the reception this book has received. Also, there are plans to produce a film based on this novel.
One Big Thing: Relying on someone else for your own happiness is a surefire way to begin your own demise.
