My 2016-2017 Reading List - First Quarter

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This post contains the full list of books that held my interest long enough to finish over the last three months of this, my fourth year of voracious reading. If you want to take a look at previous years, you can click "Books" on the navigation bar or access them here: 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 and 2015-2016. You may also want to check out my list of Top 12 Life-Enhancing Books, as well as the top lessons learned from reading over 100 books and five more insights from reading another hundred books.

Unfortunately, in April and June, the list is a bit short. I abandoned a number of books, which means they didn't make the list. Reasons for abandoning a book include: it didn't hold my interest, it was too similar to another book I've read, or I didn't make time to finish it before it was due back to the library (in which case I may request it again and have it end up on the list at a later date).

Topics

Among the 14 books I did manage to finish were works of fiction and mostly non-fiction, including some behavioural psychology (3), a sprinkle of finance and economics (2), the human condition (3) and some personal development (6) as well. Quite a mixed bag as usual, though definitely heavily weighted on the self-help side, mostly thanks to a few recommendations (see sources of inspiration below).

Here's the full list of books I've managed to finish over the past three months. If I've posted the book cover, it means it was a favourite, either because of the writing, the subject matter, or both.

Of note: The Big Short, The Element and Peak have already resulted in blog posts (here, here and here), and I've used a number of quotes from other books in the list below as well, including The Simple Path to Wealth, Ted Talks and Out of Our Minds.

April (3):

May (7):

June (4):

Sources of Inspiration

I have the following people and organizations to thank for suggestions that made it on the list below: Eric Barker, Stephanie Staples, TED, the Freakonomics podcast and JL Collins.

I do also appreciate the suggestions I receive from family, friends and F2P readers. That said, I'll admit that I've learned the hard way to ask what else someone has read and enjoyed when they choose to recommend a book. Context is everything, as is the amount a given person reads in general. 

What's Up Next? 

I'm reading a few more books in the self-help category (yes, I know) and I've also taken quite a liking to Noam Chomsky's writings, so you'll likely see some of his titles. 

I also intend to read more fiction. In my sights? George Orwell's 1984 & Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (both a second read) and something completely different: a French-Canadian novel titled Le Grand Blanc by Francine Ouellette. (I usually plan on at least one French-language novel per year so as to practice my mother tongue beyond everyday conversation. The last two were Le petit prince and Ces enfants de ma vie.)

As I've mentioned in previous updates, if you don't want to wait another three months to know what I'm reading or have finished, the "Currently Reading" and "Just Finished" sections in the right sidebar can help satisfy your curiosity. I usually update these every week or so, depending on how many books I manage to consume. That said, a number of selections do sometimes end up being trashed in favour of others for reasons previously stated. I'd suggest going with "Just Finished" if you want to know what might be a worthwhile read or if you want to know what might be inspiring upcoming posts.

What about you? Anything in the list above you loved? Hated? I'd love to hear what you've found to be some worthwhile reads...and even more importantly what to avoid! 

If you have any questions about the titles above, drop me a line or leave a comment and I'll be sure to respond.

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