Post: #26

Reading 52 books a year shouldn't be a challenge.

Not reading 52 books a year should be a challenge.

If you see reading as a challenge then it might be because you haven;t fallen in love with reading yet. And I do mean fall in love. Perhaps you are exploring genres which are not of real interest?

I used to be a pretty poor reader. But the key breakthrough for me was realising I hated fiction and only enjoyed non-fiction. That insight was the key which lead to reading thousands of books.

There are alot of great books out there which will grab you and make you want to read more than literally anything else. And I am not talking 'classics' here or anything fancy. With me it is often a great biography that makes me feel this way. The recent biographies of Steve Jobs, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mike Tyson were good examples of great books that grabbed me from the first word.

The important thing with reading is to have your attention and interest fully absorbed in a book. As such - I would recommend starting simple. Pick up some biographies of people you admire (sports stars are fine) and work up from there.

Personally - I read alot of 'intellectual' books - but the only motivation for doing so is because they are genuinely interesting (and - in a sense - entertaining) to me. I have never once picked up a book because I thought it would 'improve' me. That is not my reason for reading. The only reason I hvae is because a good book is literally more enjoyable than any TV show, film or conversation with friends I have ever had.

This is the mindset you need to cultivate. As opposed to setting arbitrary challenges based on numbers. To me that is the wrong way of thinking since it makes reading out to be a chore as opposed to something which can be incredibly fun.

As I look back - the first book which truly made me fall in love with reading was 'Walk In The Woods' by Bill Bryson. Which is a very funny (and interesting) travel book about his attempt at walking the 2200 mile long Appalachian Trail.

The reason I mention it is because without that book there is a good chance I would never have become a big reader. Since it was that book which made me understand how absorbing and fun a good book could be.

And it is that experience which is the key to becoming a lifelong reader. As opposed to turning it into a 'challenge' which is a dispiriting way of thinking about books.

Post: #27

Yes I totally agree.
I dont read to improve myself. I just love reading. As a kid I would go to the library and go through stacks and stacks of all the Three ??? books and that kind of stuff. Also reading Lord of the Rings was huuge for me when I was in my teens.

I just saw this challenge on another forum and thought it would be fun to log all the books that I read. Im not sitting here going "omg I gotta go through 52 books this year".
This is just a fun thing to me... I log my workouts, my income/expenses... I keep track of all kinds of stuff. So why not my books? I figured mybe it might motivate some other guys though and that we can share good books. I found interesting reads here on the forums that I enjoyed very much so I want to share what Im reading too. And I hope you guys share your good reads too.

Post: #28

Yeah - sorry for the above, woot. It wasn't aime at you. I just feel like extolling the virtues of reading from time to time since it had such a big impact on my life.

My mum mainly reads chick lit and my Dad doesn't read at all (he is smart but is sniffy about 'intellectual' types). Annd as a kid they were cool with me watching as much TV as I wanted.

Added to which - I didn't even realise that non-fiction books really existed until I was in my teens. I always assumed all books were either fiction or reference books.

So - I was a keen non-fiction reader in waiting - but never had an outlet for my unknown passion. And it all came bursting out of me when I was about 17-18.

As such - I know what it is like to be severely misguided when it comes to books. And now that I am on the other side of the bridge - I like to try and steer people away from many of the mistakes I made in the past.

Post: #29

Not a problem bro I just wanted to explain my motivation for opening the thread ... wasnt aimed specifically at you either, since several people here said they dont like the idea of the challenge.

Post: #30

I'm a day late, but I'll be finished on an 8th book by tonight, which makes 1 for every week this year.

This month I've read:
Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman
Fail Fast, Fail Often by Ryan Babineaux - I highly recommend this book to anyone, especially those getting into the game
And also finished Machiavelli's The Prince

I'd recommend all of these books. A lot of good information is contained within all of them

Post: #31

So far, I have crushed "Matterhorn"- Vietnam war novel by decorated Marine Cpt Karl Marlantes, and "Crime and Punishment"- psychological modern classic by Fyodor Dosteyvsky. Right now, I'm reading Philip Roth's "The Human Stain" and Herman Melville's "Moby Dick." I'm a slow reader, so there's a slim chance I'll be able to crack 52 this year. I'm gonna push for 20-30 solid reads, I'll be happy with that. The next up is Joseph Heller's "Catch 22," anyone who wants to join and post a subthread discussion, let me know.

Post: #32

(02-28-2014 10:21 PM)Architekt Wrote:  I'm a day late, but I'll be finished on an 8th book by tonight, which makes 1 for every week this year.

Add The Communist Manifesto to that list

Post: #33

Read through Pressfield's The War of Art, and Roosh's very own Day Bang. Should be done with the 48 laws of power pretty soon as well, amongst other titles

Still on target

Anyone else still doing this?

Post: #34

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Why Can't I Use a Smiley Face? - You should know this one..
The Multi-Orgasmic Man - I can't remember who wrote it. Pretty interesting, though.
The Short and Happy Life of Francis Macomber - Ernest Hemmingway

Getting back into my short stories while I plod through the longer works

Post: #35

How many hours per day are you dedicating to reading, Architekt?

I find it harder to read on my days off from work. With so much free time, it sucks but I keep ending up spinning my wheels and doing unproductive lazy bullshit.

During the work week I bring a book with me to work and knock out 2hrs of reading on my break per day. So around 10hrs of reading per week usually. Just curious if you have certain times of the day or schedules that work best for you.

Post: #36

Anywhere from 0 up to around 8 on a couple of occassions. Generally at least an hour or 2 before bed, and I like to read to fill in the gaps in my free time

Post: #37

Here's an example of an pointless goal. A woman sets out to read a book from every country in the world in one year. She can only read English, and she doesn't say how she avoids works of dubious quality:

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/2013071...n-365-days

What an idiotic project. What she should be doing is reading a large number of good books per year, period, regardless what countries the books came from.

Post: #38

(03-31-2014 03:29 PM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:  Here's an example of an pointless goal. A woman sets out to read a book from every country in the world in one year. She can only read English, and she doesn't say how she avoids works of dubious quality:

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/2013071...n-365-days

What an idiotic project. What she should be doing is reading a large number of good books per year, period, regardless what countries the books came from.

I aim to read at least 1 book in each of Russian, German, and hopefully also French or Spanish by the end of the year. My goals are language learning related, though.

Post: #39

You still doing this, woot?

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Rudyard Kipling

Post: #40

yeah I got about 40-50 books in last year

unfortunately I lost the excel file with the titles so I cant list everything

here are the last 16 books I read:

David Ogilvy - King of Madison Avenue
Vincent James - An Insiders Story
Roland Lazenby - Michael Jordan: The Life
Billy Miles - Sex in Thailand
Carol Tice - Get Great Freelance clients
Brian Tracy - Eat That Frog
Steven Pressfield - War of Art
Warren Buffet - Snowball
Nigel Findley - Shadowplay
Carl Sargent - Streets of Blood
Nigel Findley - House of the Sun
Nigel Findley - 2XS
Nyx Smith - Fade to black
Sam Walton - Made in America
Jerry Weintraub - When I stop talking youll know Im dead
Kitty Kelley - His Way the unofficial biography of Frank Sinatra