Welcome to 2020! It is the start of a new decade. The mysteries of my reading journey lay before me. I have two, er, three goals ahead of me. As I noted in my message about the 2020 reading challenge, I will be pursuing two goals: read 75 books and complete Modern Mrs. Darcy’s reading challenge. I am eager to get started. Come and check out my reading list for January and read along with me.
My reading list was primed by Sinter Klaas. I have three books listed based on that wonderful treat. January is going to be a very diverse reading month for me. The books are all over the map. I wonder if the rest of the year is going to be the same.
Here is what is on my reading list for January 2020:
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
Listening to podcasts over the years, I have heard this book mentioned on a number of occasions. I put this on my wishlist and Sinter Klaas must have seen it because it showed up under my tree. I am always looking for books to read on productivity, habits, and goal attainment.
Via Amazon:
In this instant New York Times bestseller, Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent, but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls “grit.” “Inspiration for non-geniuses everywhere” (People).
The daughter of a scientist who frequently noted her lack of “genius,” Angela Duckworth is now a celebrated researcher and professor. It was her early eye-opening stints in teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience that led to her hypothesis about what really drives success: not genius, but a unique combination of passion and long-term perseverance.
In Grit, she takes us into the field to visit cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, teachers working in some of the toughest schools, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. She also mines fascinating insights from history and shows what can be gleaned from modern experiments in peak performance. Finally, she shares what she’s learned from interviewing dozens of high achievers—from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff to Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll.
“Duckworth’s ideas about the cultivation of tenacity have clearly changed some lives for the better” (The New York Times Book Review). Among Grit’s most valuable insights: any effort you make ultimately counts twice toward your goal; grit can be learned, regardless of IQ or circumstances; when it comes to child-rearing, neither a warm embrace nor high standards will work by themselves; how to trigger lifelong interest; the magic of the Hard Thing Rule; and so much more. Winningly personal, insightful, and even life-changing, Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that—not talent or luck—makes all the difference. This is “a fascinating tour of the psychological research on success” (The Wall Street Journal).
Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
Influence is one of those books that has been widely recommended on different podcasts that I have listened to. It is time to see what makes it so talked about.
Via Amazon:
The widely adopted, now classic book on influence and persuasion a major national and international bestseller with more than four million copies sold!
In this highly acclaimed New York Times bestseller, Dr. Robert B. Cialdini the seminal expert in the field of influence and persuasion explains the psychology of why people say yes and how to apply these principles ethically in business and everyday situations.
You’ll learn the six universal principles of influence and how to use them to become a skilled persuader and, just as importantly, how to defend yourself against dishonest influence attempts:
- Reciprocation: The internal pull to repay what another person has provided us.
- Commitment and Consistency: Once we make a choice or take a stand, we work to behave consistently with that commitment in order to justify our decisions.
- Social Proof: When we are unsure, we look to similar others to provide us with the correct actions to take. And the more, people undertaking that action, the more we consider that action correct.
- Liking: The propensity to agree with people we like and, just as important, the propensity for others to agree with us, if we like them.
- Authority: We are more likely to say yes to others who are authorities, who carry greater knowledge, experience or expertise.
- Scarcity: We want more of what is less available or dwindling in availability.
Understanding and applying the six principles ethically is cost-free and deceptively easy. Backed by Dr. Cialdini s 35 years of evidence-based, peer-reviewed scientific research as well as by a three-year field study on what moves people to change behavior Influence is a comprehensive guide to using these principles effectively to amplify your ability to change the behavior of others.
Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis by Jared Diamond
I am not exactly sure where I heard about this book. Perhaps it is because I found Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies so interesting, I thought this would be a good read. I guess I will find out shortly.
Via Amazon:
A Bill Gates Summer Reading Pick
A “riveting and illuminating” (Yuval Noah Harari) new theory of how and why some nations recover from trauma and others don’t, by the Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of the landmark bestsellers Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse.
In his international bestsellers Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse, Jared Diamond transformed our understanding of what makes civilizations rise and fall. Now, in his third book in this monumental trilogy, he reveals how successful nations recover from crises while adopting selective changes — a coping mechanism more commonly associated with individuals recovering from personal crises.
Diamond compares how six countries have survived recent upheavals — ranging from the forced opening of Japan by U.S. Commodore Perry’s fleet, to the Soviet Union’s attack on Finland, to a murderous coup or countercoup in Chile and Indonesia, to the transformations of Germany and Austria after World War Two. Because Diamond has lived and spoken the language in five of these six countries, he can present gut-wrenching histories experienced firsthand. These nations coped, to varying degrees, through mechanisms such as acknowledgment of responsibility, painfully honest self-appraisal, and learning from models of other nations. Looking to the future, Diamond examines whether the United States, Japan, and the whole world are successfully coping with the grave crises they currently face. Can we learn from lessons of the past?
Adding a psychological dimension to the in-depth history, geography, biology, and anthropology that mark all of Diamond’s books, Upheaval reveals factors influencing how both whole nations and individual people can respond to big challenges. The result is a book epic in scope, but also his most personal book yet.
Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture by Johan Huizinga
Homo Ludens has been referenced in many of the other books I have dealing with game-based learning and gamification. Since it is such a foundational book, I felt it was time to read it.
Via Amazon:
2014 Reprint of 1955 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition. Not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. In “Homo Ludens,” the classic evaluation of play that has become a “must-read” for those in game design, Dutch philosopher Johan Huizinga defines play as the central activity in flourishing societies. Like civilization, play requires structure and participants willing to create within limits. Starting with Plato, Huizinga traces the contribution of “Homo Ludens,” or “Man the player” through Medieval Times, the Renaissance, and into our modern civilization. Huizinga defines play against a rich theoretical background, using cross-cultural examples from the humanities, business, and politics. “Homo Ludens” defines play for generations to come.
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
This book has shown up on list after list. As noted below, this book is regarded as a very influential and inspirational book.
Via Amazon:
Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the experiences of others he treated later in his practice, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl’s theory-known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos (“meaning”)-holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.
At the time of Frankl’s death in 1997, Man’s Search for Meaning had sold more than 10 million copies in twenty-four languages. A 1991 reader survey for the Library of Congress that asked readers to name a “book that made a difference in your life” found Man’s Search for Meaning among the ten most influential books in America.
Beacon Press, the original English-language publisher of Man’s Search for Meaning, is issuing this new paperback edition with a new Foreword, biographical Afterword, and classroom materials to reach new generations of readers.
The Liberator: One World War II Soldier’s 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau by Alex Kershaw
The more I have dug into World War II, the more that I want to know. I have heard about Kershaw but I have not read any of his books… yet. I am looking forward to it.
Via Amazon:
The untold story of the bloodiest and most dramatic march to victory of the Second World War.
Written with Alex Kershaw’s trademark narrative drive and vivid immediacy, The Liberator traces the remarkable battlefield journey of maverick U.S. Army officer Felix Sparks through the Allied liberation of Europe—from the first landing in Italy to the final death throes of the Third Reich.
Over five hundred bloody days, Sparks and his infantry unit battled from the beaches of Sicily through the mountains of Italy and France, ultimately enduring bitter and desperate winter combat against the die-hard SS on the Fatherland’s borders. Having miraculously survived the long, bloody march across Europe, Sparks was selected to lead a final charge to Bavaria, where he and his men experienced some of the most intense street fighting suffered by Americans in World War II.
And when he finally arrived at the gates of Dachau, Sparks confronted scenes that robbed the mind of reason—and put his humanity to the ultimate test.
That’s it for this month — I want to hear what good books YOU’VE read lately! Please share in the comments below.
If you missed other months in 2020, you can still check them out:
January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
My Reviews for This Reading List
- Book Review: Man’s Search for Meaning
- Book Review: Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
- Book Review: The Liberator: One World War II Soldier’s 500-Day Odyssey From the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau
- Book Review: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
- Book Review: Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture
- Book Review: Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis
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