If you’ve made it to this, I’m assuming you are genuinely curious - so I’m hoping this page can answer ALLLLLLLLL of your questions in one spot. If not, leave a comment and I’ll add an answer!
What are You Doing?
In 2024, I am challenging myself to read 52 Non-Fiction books with a specific goal of reading books that I think will help me improve in some way. I am also challenging myself to review each book after I read it to take away not only if I enjoyed the book and my thoughts on it, but also my 3 Key Takeaways (lessons I learned or new Ideas I was exposed to) and 1 Action Step the book inspired me to take.
Why Are You Doing This?
As simply put as possible, I read a lot of fiction. As in a lot. As in over 150 new fiction novels in 2023 plus a ton (and I mean a TON) of re-reads of old favorites. As a fiction author, this makes a lot of sense. I think fiction is so important, and I think reading and loving fiction is absolutely fundamental to who I am as a person. However… setting a reading challenge for myself with fiction is a bit of a moot point. While I can (and do) introduce new genres from time to time, reading fiction comes easily to me.
In 2024, I want to challenge myself to do something brand new, and something I think could be really beneficial for me, by building on a hobby that I already love and am passionate about - hence this challenge. This year I’m challenging myself to read 52 non-fiction works aimed at growing me in some way (an outlook, a skill, a habit, etc) and supporting the things I already want to work on all year. This isn’t about bringing a ton of new habits or ideas into my life willy-nilly, I want to read things that will keep me passionate about my goals this year.
How Are you Doing This?
I’ve pre-seeded this list with 40 books already, across the 4 categories I think I want to focus on: Creativity, Business/Finance, People Skills, and Health & Happiness. The current book list can be found on the main page for this challenge. As for the rest, I plan to let life happen and see where inspiration strikes. I might add 3 books to each category as the year progresses. I might swap some books out for others if I get good feedback or find out new information. I might add a whole 5th category if a new need arises in my life. Part of the journey is going to be seeing what comes up for me!
On a more practical logistical note - I’m counting each week by the Saturday it ends on, so even if it’s Saturday the 1st - that counts for the next month!
As for the order - with the exception of 1 book that’s not released yet (marketing works) - I generally want to use one of those spin-the-wheel sites to determine which book I read next. However, for January in particular, I plan to read The Mediterranean Method, AI - A Guide for Thinking Humans, Winning Moves, and Every Good Endeavor - as these are personal recommendations that contributed to me even wanting to do this challenge in the first place! Transparently, I have also already started all of these books (none is more than 15% read) giving me a bit of a kickstart to get going.
How Can I Join In?
I’m really hoping my friends and family at least will want to join in by either leaving comments on the blog posts or on the social media posts I make reviewing these books. I’m also inviting anyone and everyone to join in by recommending books, though I will only seriously consider recommendations that fit into the categories of books I’ve already outlined.