My “2021 Year of Reading” book lists and an invitation to join me in reading one or more of them

This is the fourth year that I have compiled a book reading list to work through in a year.

The whole experience of compiling a list and then reading through the books on the list continues to be a productive experience and finally got me back into the routine of reading books.

I love reading along with other people so if you want to join me in reading one or more of these, please let me know.

I will be using a single LinkedIn group as the base camp for reading these books.

 

For 2021 I have three lists as follows:-

1. The Main List
1. This is the main list comprising 12 books, 1 for each month of 2021.
2. I continue to find it challenging to read a book a month but I am looking to improve so I will aim for 12 books again this year.
3. These are the main books that I am looking to read during 2021.
2. The Self-Care List
1. These are books that require more depth of reading and application and ideally would have people reading together and supporting each other through the content.
2. These would be relevant to anyone looking to address any deep-rooted change issues that you have been looking to address for a very long time including e.g. inner voice / critic, imposter syndrome, anxiety, self-esteem and other self-care issues.
3. The main driver for me doing this was my experience of facilitating one of John Stepper’s pilot Self-Care circles in Q4 2018 and Q1/2 2019.
3. The  Sabbath List
1. In 2020 I started using Sundays as a rest day from The Main List and read books that are more specifically reflection-orientated.
2. These books would be helpful to a variety of people and two specifically may be especially helpful to those of is in the second half of our lives.

In 2020 I continued my reading routine of reading books at the start of every working day before my working day began.

As I read I take notes and at the end of each chapter I devise some application questions for me and anyone else to answer. I then post my questions, my answers and my book notes into the relevant online group fir others to address the questions I devise.

I encourage you to look through the info on each book below and see if there are any you want to read.

Although I have assigned a month to each of the books on the main list, I am more than happy for anyone to read any of the books at any time during 2021 or later. Ideally, you would post some information in the online group for each book that you read so I know that you are reading along with me and what you are reading.

I intend to (try to) stick to the monthly schedule as I sequenced the list specifically for me. You may find this sequence helpful too!

One of the issues is around how much time we should give to each book. I have found so far that it is best not to set a time limit with start and end dates but you may want to set yourself a start date and end date to encourage your own progress.

As a learning junkie, I am also happy to do anything with anyone related to any of these books and am open to all and any suggestions.

Feel free to invite any other people

Happy to take any questions.

What do you think of my list(s)? Any of these intriguing you? Want to read along with me?

… and so on to my list of books for 2021 with some rationale, background and a video to introduce each book as follows:-

The Main List

1. “Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work"; Whitney Johnson
1. Whitney has become an influential person in my life via her “Calm Amidst The Chaos” series on LinkedIn that she started in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued all year.
2. I find the “S-curve” analogy helpful.
3. It is now time to formally disrupt myself!
   
   
2. “The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery”;  Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile
1. I got to the point where I was hearing “enneagram” being talked about from a number of my favourite communicators on a number of my must-listen-to podcasts.

2. Ian appears to be one of the world’s leading authorities on the enneagram.

3. In a sense, I want to understand what all the fuss is about.

4. This was on my 2020 Main List that I never got to read.
   
   

3. “Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Handbook of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell”; Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, Alan Eagle

1. Coaching continues to be a subject and practice of interest to me.

2. I get into coaching situations when offering to help people start or develop things.

3. I have a lot of respect for Eric and heard him being interviewed about this book by Tim Ferriss.

4. I am increasingly aware that all managers and leaders at all levels need to be coaches to increase employee engagement.
   
   

4. “The Serendipity Mindset: The Art and Science of Creating Good Luck“; Christian Busch

1. I love serendipity and is one of the reasons why I work out loud to encourage this “luck” to happen more.

2. I have not studied this subject in depth or even at all before.
   
   

5. “The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action”; Donald A. Schön

1. I am looking to get better at journaling and self-reflection.
2. I need to practice more and I am hoping that this additional input will help me get this into a habit after too many false starts to count.
   
   
6. “Personality Isn't Permanent: Break Free from Self-Limiting Beliefs and Rewrite Your Story”; Benjamin Hardy
1. I heard Benjamin being interviewed on a podcast about this book.
2. I find him a compelling and well-researched author and speaker.
3. I won a copy of this book by commenting on a Whitney Johnson podcast,
4. This book is a good one to follow in from the enneagram one on this list.
   
   
7. “Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance“; Erica Dhuwan
1. I stumbled over Erica in Q4 2020 and it was one of those rare moments that a new speaker and subject captured my imagination and I was hooked.
2. Very few have had formal training in how to use email, IM, social media posts etc for effective communication within and across our organisations and in our personal lives. This book promises to be an amazing read into this challenge.
3. I have high hopes for this book.
   
   
8. "The Curious Advantage: The Greatest Driver of Value in the Digital Age";  Paul Ashcroft, Simon Brown and Garrick Jones
1. I am curious and fascinated by curiosity and fascination. I am becoming more so as I get older.
2. The book title intrigued me and ideally will be more encouragement for my rabbit trail-ing.
3. I also have more than a passing interest in delivering value in all that I do in all areas of my life.
   
   
9. “How to Be Everything: A Guide for Those Who (Still) Don't Know What They Want to Be When They Grow Up"; Emilie Wapnick
1. I should have read this some time ago.
2. I saw Emilie’s TED talk  at a time when I was on the verge of deliberately deciding to continue to specialise rather than becoming more of a generalist. Emilie’s talk stopped me in my tracks and turned my thinking upside down.
3. I do want to be a generalist with a number of areas of specialism.
   
   
10. "Learning to Make a Difference: Value Creation in Social Learning Spaces"; Beverly Wenger-Trayner and Étienne Wenger
1. I am aware that these authors are well-known and this subject sounds like a good way in to their work.
2. I love learning in social learning spaces.
3. It is time again to get some formal input on this subject to develop my capability in this area.
   
   
11. “Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World”; David Epstein
1. Originally on my 2020 Year of Reading list.
2. Delighted to see the book in Bill Gates’s top 5 books of 2020.
3. I have an ongoing and increasing interest in generalists vs specialists.
4. I would love to understand which of these I am in my core versus what I am currently doing work-wise.
5. I have heard some podcasts with David talking about this book.
   
   
12. "Curation: The Power of Selection in a World of Excess"; Michael Bhaskar
1. I do a lot of content curation.
2. I am aware of the role of curators in other contexts.
3. This book is an opportunity to spend some time proactively developing my capability in this area more formally.
   
   

The Self-Care List

1. “Self-Esteem: A Proven Program of Cognitive Techniques for Assessing, Improving, and Maintaining your Self-Esteem”; Matthew McKay and Patrick Fanning
1. This book was one of the recommended resources listed in the pilot Working Out Loud Self-Care circles.
2. The book was one of my 2020 reads and I am some way through the book.
3. I was specifically interested in the inner voice / critic and confidence content and the book has been very helpful as I have applied it as I have journeyed through the book.
   
   

2. “Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization”; Lisa Laskow Lahey and Robert Kegan

1. This was the core text in the Immunity To Change MOOC that I did a few years ago. That MOOC was the most deeply personally challenging of any learning that I have ever done thus far.

2. I want to reread this book to tackle other self-care issues as listed earlier
   
   

The Sabbath List

1. “Falling Upward: A Spirituality For The Two Halves Of Life”; Richard Rohr
1. Richard has been referenced in lots of content I have consumed but I have yet to read any of his books.
2. As I am getting older, this book’s themes caught my eye.
3. As far as I am aware, I have never read anything about these subjects.
4. This may be an ideal book to prompt some deep life self-reflection.
   
   
2. “Stillness is the Key: An Ancient Strategy for Modern Life”; Ryan Holliday
1. Heard good things repeatedly about the author.
2. Decided it was high-time to read one of this books.
3. This one caught my eye as I am not too good at being still for any length of time.
4. This looked like a good book to read in my Sabbath category.
5. Another book mentioning journaling!
   
   
3. “The Reading Life: The Joy of Seeing New Worlds Through Others' Eyes"; C.S. Lewis”
1. Not too familiar with the books of CS Lewis.
2. Thought this would be a good book to think about the practice of reading.
3. Hoping to get an insight into book reading and CS Lewis via this book.
4. A good book for the Sabbath list.
   
   
4. "Extra Time: 10 Lessons for an Ageing World"; Camilla Cavendish
1. Now in my 59th year and having the occasional thought about the passage of time.
2. Feeling it is appropriate to reflect on ageing.
3. Heard the author a number of times on news programmes and always comes across to me as talking a lot of sense.
4. A book to reflect with.
5. Camilla being interviewed on Equity and Inclusion in an Ageing World.