We just finished up the final quarter of 2021 and saw that year come to a close.
This means it’s time for another quarter-year book review!
At the beginning of the year, I started my official 50 books/year goal for what I hope to be the rest of my life.
This quarter I read 12 books, bringing this year’s total to 59 (23 in the first quarter, 15 in the second, 9 in the third, and 12 in the fourth)
100M Offers by Alex Hormozi - phenomenal book that I cannot recommend highly enough. This is the book that you want to read to take your business to the next level in not only your level of service but also the income produced by it. Alex goes into the mindset behind serving people and why you’re actually helping people better by charging them more. A super fascinating book that has helped me overcome some upper limit beliefs about money and serving. I would almost put this book with some of the all-time good ones, but it was a bit repetitive after a while, and a lot of the ideas could have been condensed down a bit. Overall rating: 9/10
The Sacred Search by Gary Thomas - Another marriage book, excellent writing, though not a ton of new content. One thing I really enjoyed about this is the focus on why you’re getting married, and not so much on “the one”. There’s a large part of the culture that is focused on finding “the one” and thinking that literally, every other person must be incompatible. When in reality, many are compatible. I would recommend giving it a read if you’re interested in getting married. Overall rating: 5/10
They Ask You Answer by Marcus Sheridan - One of my all-time favorites. It’s another mindset book (with some practical actionable things) talking about how to build your brand, reputation, and sustainable “free” marketing. The primary point of this book was answering the questions your clients/customers are asking and sharing those answers publicly in the form of a blog and social media. This is one of those books that is a long-term investment but I’d say is one of the core structural things you can do for your business to establish your reputation and ensure you are the person people go to get their problems solved. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It applies nicely to solopreneurs, self-employed, and large corporations. I’ve been practicing some of what they talk about for several years and can say it’s been one of the bigger reasons I’ve been able to grow my reputation as fast as I have. Overall rating: 10/10
The Holy War by John Bunyan - an excellent analogical book about the battle of your soul and how Satan and his armies attack it. Super interesting, but it does require a bit of attention to reading. This isn’t a light read. I’d say it’s the second part to Pilgrims Progress, though not quite as simple. Really good read, and very eye-opening to things you might be struggling with that you can’t quite put your finger on. Overall rating: 7/10
Tribe of Millionaires by David Osborn, Pat Hiban, Mike McCarthy, & Tim Rhode - this is an interesting analogical book about the power of networking and having a cohort of people/peers you’re sharpening and being sharpened by. This is an excellent introductory book to those who don’t know what a mastermind group is and its purpose. It’s very simple, attention-grabbing, and intellectually stimulating! Fair warning: It will probably make you want to join or start a mastermind group after reading it! Great read, and I highly recommend it! Overall rating: 8/10
The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday - Fantastic book about taking a different perspective of the problems you might be facing, and how to utilize them to your advantage. I’d say this is another world opener type book and would put it close to the introduction to the entrepreneurial lifestyle category. The illustrations they gave were very intuitive and interesting and really get your gears going on how to apply it to your own life. Unfortunately, it does get a little repetitive about halfway through and it lost my attention 3/4ths of the way. Still highly recommend it! Overall rating 8/10
Master Your Money by Ron and Michael Blue - really great book about getting a handle on your finances and putting the infrastructure and order in place that allows you to keep an eye on and manage your money. I’d say this is the more practical version of a lot of the content that Dave Ramsey puts out. Very practical and to the point, though it can be a bit of a difficult read. I will definitely need to go through it again as many of the concepts and ideas were very new to me and I need to get a better understanding of them. Overall rating: 9/10
Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis - I’ve always had this on my reading list and recently got an opportunity to listen to these on a long drive. Overall not bad, these are letters that require a bit more thought, and go into the temptations we face as we go through life. I wasn’t fully paying attention to it, and will need to give it another read before putting together a more comprehensive review. Overall rating 7/10
A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis - Really good book about the different thoughts and struggles people go through when dealing with great losses. I really love this book because of how raw and honest it is. Many things are shared in it most people would never share with another human being. The doubts, the pain, the uncertainty. Really beautifully written and very interesting. It’s a shorter read, something nice to read by the fire in the evening. Overall rating: 8/10
The Weight of Glory by C. S. Lewis - haven’t finished this book yet, but a really interesting read. This book is about the struggle of living a life in Christ vs worldliness and the desires we have of serving God and serving man. Really interesting read so far! Overall rating thus far into it: 7/10
Standing on the Promises by Doug Wilson - an excellent book about raising children in the Covenant. Not very much of this was new to me (as I was raised in a family that practiced much of what was written) but a really good read for some of the reasons behind why and how you should be raising your Children as believers. Really good read and I greatly recommend it to those looking to raise their kids as strong believers. Overall rating: 8/10
Rilla of Ingleside by Lucy Maud Montgomery - My favorite all-time historical fiction book, re-reading it for maybe the 14th time (I have a tradition of reading it during the winter). This is a part of the Anne of Green Gables series (the last book), about Anne’s daughter (Rilla) growing from a frivolous young girl into a woman during the first world war. Packed with dread, fear, sadness, desire, and hope, I never get tired of reading this book. Highly recommend! Overall rating: 10/10