100 (+) Books for 2013

The goal was to read 100 books within the 2013 calendar year. It’s a goal that I have had for some time and fallen short on in previous attempts (in 2012 I made it to a paltry 63). This time I was not to be denied – my official total for 2013 was 113.

I will be the first to admit that reading 100 books is not an optimal strategy if you want to really absorb the material. It requires one to read so much, so quickly, that there’s no real time to reflect and absorb what you just read.

My all-time favorite

So why read this many books?

Initially it was just to see if I could do it. I’ve heard it said, by the likes of Seth Godin, Darren Hardy, and many other personal achievement leaders, that the most successful people read the most books. And, quite honestly, I want to do the things that the most successful people do.

It feels strange to sit here on January 1st and not have this goal in my mind. It leaves a bit of a void. And while you can bank on the fact that I will read a lot in this new year, my strategy moving forward will be less quantity and more quality.

A secondary motivation in my quest for for 100 was to (hopefully) inspire other people to read. As important as exercise and proper nutrition is to the body, I believe reading is to the mind and spirit. If my effort inspired even one person to pick up a book and read it, then, in a world filled with non-readers, I consider it a resounding success far beyond the personal satisfaction of a goal achieved.

Anyhow, the goal was achieved and exceeded (read: crushed).

Here’s the list –

100 (+) Books for 2013

1 Tales of the Revolution – Seth Godin
2 V is for Vulnerable – Seth Godin & Hugh MacLeod
3 The Icarus Deception – Seth Godin
4 the 101 Best Personal Development Classics – Vic Johnson
5 The Strangest Secret – Earl Nighingale
6 My Philosophy for Successful Living – Jim Rohn
7 Oh, The Places You’ll Go – Dr. Seuss
8 Day by Day with James Allen – Vic Johnson
9 The Miracle of Right Thought – Orison Swett Marden
10 The Go-Getter – Peter B. Kyne
11 Acres of Diamonds – Russell H. Conwell
12 The $100 Startup – Chris Guillebeau
13 The Shoemoney Story – Jeremy Schoemaker
14 It Works – R. H. Jarret
15 Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion – Emile Coue
16 The Majesty of Calmness – William George Jordan
17 You’ll See It When You Believe It – Wayne W. Dyer
18 The Primal Connection – Mark Sisson
19 Mere Christianity – C. S. Lewis
20 The Science of Getting Rich – Wallace D. Wattles
21 The Science of Being Great – Wallace D. Wattles
22 The Science of Being Well – Wallace D. Wattles
23 As A Man Thinketh – James Allen
24 Killing Kennedy – Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard
25 Eight Pillars of Prosperity – James Allen
26 The Greatest Salesman in the World – Og Mandino
27 A to Z With C. S. Lewis – Louis A. Markos
28 Hung by the Tongue – Francis P. Martin
29 Thoughts Are Things – Prentice Mulford
30 Whatcha Gonna Do With That Duck? – Seth Godin
31 Freedom is Blogging in Your Underwear – Hugh MacLeod
32 Ignore Everybody – Hugh MacLeod
33 Make Your Life Worthwhile – Emmet Fox
34 Evil Plans – Hugh MacLeod
35 I Dare You – William H. Danforth
36 Man’s Search For Meaning – Viktor E. Frankl
37 The Flinch – Julien Smith
38 Recollections: An Autobiography – Viktor E. Frankl
39 The Joy of Hate – Greg Gutfeld
40 Do The Work – Steven Pressfield
41 Have a Little Faith – Mitch Albom
42 Unblogger – Darrell Vesterfelt
43 Self-Reliance – Ralph Waldo Emerson
44 The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch
45 Twelve Pillars – Jim Rohn & Chris Widener
46 Above All Else – Chris Widener
47 Can’t Swim Ride Run – Andy Holgate
48 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
49 Peaks and Valleys – Spencer Johnson, M.D.
50 The Fred Factor – Mark Sanborn
51 Unlikely Finisher 140.6 – Dale Petelinsek
52 Fatboy to Ironman – Jaan Larner
53 Year of the Ironman – Jerry Williamson & Andrew Straka
54 Ring in The Dead – J.A. Jance
55 Quiet – Susan Cain
56 How To Write A Book This Weekend – Vic Johnson
57 The Last Freedom – Michael F. Ryan
58 The Art of Influence – Chris Widener
59 The Road Back – Michael Vitez
60 The Art of Non-Conformity – Chris Guillebeau
61 The Dip – Seth Godin
62 The Book of Virtues – William J. Bennett
63 Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson
64 Prisoners of Our Thoughts – Alex Pattakos
65 The Doctor and the Soul – Viktor E. Frankl
66 She Comes First – Ian Kener
67 The 27th Mile – Ray Charbonneau
68 The Death of Cool – Gavin McInnes
69 Zen Habits – Leo Babauta
70 Linchpin – Seth Godin
71 The Power of Right Thought – Orison Swett Marden
72 Can’t Sleep, Can’t Train, Can’t Stop – Andy Holgate
73 Buried Alive – Thomas S. Gaines
74 Second Watch – J. A. Jance
75 The Authentic Swing – Steven Pressfield
76 Character – Samuel Smiles
77 An Iron Will – Orison Swett Marden
78 Symposium – Plato
79 Life Is Short And So Is this Book – Peter Atkins
80 A Message to Garcia – Elbert Hubbard
81 Know Regrets – Tim Durant
82 Thrift – Samuel Smiles
83 As a Man Thinketh – James Allen
84 How To What You Want – Orison Swett Marden
85 How to Completely Change Your Life in 30 Seconds – Robert C. Worstell & Earl Nightingale
86 Wake Up & Live – Dorothea Brande
87 Purple Cow – Seth Godin
88 The Dip – Seth Godin
89 Acres of Diamonds – Russell H. Conwell
90 The Go-Giver – Bob Burg & John David Mann
91 Crush It! – Gary Vaynerchuk
92 Dust – Patricia Cornwell
93 The Magic of Thinking Big – David J. Schwartz
94 The Art of Being Unmistakable – Srinivas Rao
95 David and Goliath – Malcolm Gladwell
96 I Dare You! – William H. Danforth
97 How to Live on 24 Hours a Day – Arnold Bennett
98 The Noticer – Andy Andrews
99 Think & Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
100 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
101 – The Noticer Returns – Andy Andrews
102 The Traveler’s Gift – Andy Andrews
103 The Butterfly Effect – Andy Andrews
104 The Final Summit – Andy Andrews
105 The Icarus Deception – Seth Godin
106 Skipping Christmas – John Grisham
107 As a Man Thinketh – James Allen
108 V is for Vulnerable – Seth Godin & Hugh MacLeod
109 Oh, the Places You’ll Go! – Dr. Seuss
110 The Authentic Swing – Steven Pressfield
111 Self-Reliance – Ralph Waldo Emerson
112 Faith – Norman Vincent Peale
113 Freedom – Richard Blaine Proctor

Happy reading in 2014 🙂

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