Books : 31 Books in 2018 - Achieved ! (Current : 115th Book)

October 01, 2018

I already reached my goal of 31 books this year, last month in March 2018 ! 
Last year I failed to read 30 books as planned, so this time I had to change my technique to cater my busy lifestyle and I started early (+ I didn't slow down like I usually do every year). 

What did I do ?
I started subscribing to Scribd ($8.99 per month) and used it to listen to as many audio books as I want. I download at least 2 offline books (for outing activities - which rarely happen nowadays) and I listen to audio books online most of the time when I'm at home. On my laptop while I'm working and on my iPhone when I'm cleaning the house or cooking. That's it - I stop buying books and I just rent all the audio books. By the time I'm writing this, I just finished book 33 (in April).

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Book List 2018 (bold text are the ones that I like) :
  1. You & a Bike & a Road by Elianor Davis
  2. Anthem by Ayn Rand
  3. Porcelain and Pink by F Scott Fitzgerald
  4. The Sense if an Ending by Julian Barnes
  5. The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo
  6. The Little Book of Contentment by Leo Babauta
  7. What Language is That by Uwem Akpan
  8. The Ghost by Robert Harris
  9. The Noticer by Andy Andrews
  10. The Light Princess by George Mac Donald
  11. Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
  12. Cici's Journal by Joris Chamblain
  13. Mathilda by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
  14. Seriously...I'm Kidding by Ellen deGeneres
  15. Call Me by Your Name by Andre Aciman
  16. After You by Jojo Moyes
  17. The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
  18. The Magic String of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom
  19. Sounds Like Me by Sara Bareilles
  20. Rework by Jason Freid
  21. Yes, My Accent is Real by Kunal Nayyar
  22. An Unquiet Mind by Kay R. Jamison
  23. $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeum
  24. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
  25. The Year of Less by Cait Flanders
  26. Lagom by Niki Brantmark
  27. The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking
  28. Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
  29. The Misfit's Manifesto by Lidia Yuknavitch
  30. Launch Your Dream by Dale Partridge
  31. The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin
  32. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
  33. Where Am I Now by Mara Wilson
  34. The Wisdom of Sundays by Oprah Winfrey
  35. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
  36. Unfiltered by Lily Collins
  37. The Achievement Habit by Bernard Roth
  38. #girlboss by Sophia Amoruso
  39. The Joy of Less, a Minimalist Living Guide by Francine Jay
  40. Chakra Healing by Rosalyn L Bruyere
  41. Silence by Thinch Nhat Hanh
  42. How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere by Larry King
  43. How to be Everything by Emilie Wapnick
  44. Awkward by Ty Tashiro
  45. Simply Clean by Becky Rapinchuk
  46. Ajak Penumbra 1969 by Robin Sloan 
  47. Madame Zero : 9 Stories by Sarah Hall
  48. Real Artists Don't Starve by Jeff Goins
  49. Talking with Confidence for the Painfully Shy by Don Gabor
  50. To Siri with Love by Judith Newman
  51. Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston
  52. Harvest for Hope by Jane Goodall
  53. 50/50 : Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days - by Dean Karnazes & Matt Fitzgerald
  54. The Faith of Obama by Stephen Mansfield
  55. Angela's Ashes by Frank Mc'Court
  56. Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success by Steve Harvey
  57. South and West by Joan Didion
  58. If You Feel Too Much by Jamie Tworkowski
  59. A New Model by Ashley Graham
  60. Note to Self by Connor Franta
  61. I Got This by Jennifer Hudson 
  62. Brave by Rose McGowan
  63. The Moment of Everything by Shelly King
  64. The Bassoon King by Rainn Wilson
  65. 'Tis by Frank McCourt
  66. Three Cups of Deceit by Jon Krakauer
  67. Always Eat Left-Handed by Rohit Bhargava
  68. Letter to my Daughter by Maya Angelou
  69. Reason for Hope by Jane Goodall
  70. The Longevity Book
  71. Packing My Library by Alberto Manguel
  72. Blue Nights by Joan Didion
  73. Life's Too Short to Go F*cking Slow by Susan Lacke
  74. My Paris Dream by Kate Betts
  75. 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do by Amy Morin
  76. Ten Days in a Mad-House by Nellie Bly
  77. You'll Never Know Dear by Hallie Ephron
  78. Elon Musk Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
  79. Girl in the Woods : a Memoir by Aspen Matis 
  80. A Work in Progress by Connor Franta
  81. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
  82. The Audicity of Hope by Barack Obama
  83. Over the Garden Wall by Pat McHale *<---- i="">The moment I decided to read novel graphics
  84. Quiet Girl in a Noisy World by Debbie Tung
  85. Us by Curtis Wiklund
  86. Giant Days 1 by John Allison
  87. Giant Days 2 by John Allison
  88. At the Shore by Jim Campbell
  89. Giant Days 3 by John Allison
  90. Goodbye, Sweet Girl by Kelly Sundberg
  91. Giant Days 4 by John Allison
  92. Giant Days 5 by John Allison
  93. Giant Days 6 by John Allison
  94. Giant Days 7 by John Allison
  95. Over the Garden Wall #1 (2016) by Jim Campbell
  96. Over the Garden Wall #2 (2016) by Jim Campbell
  97. Over the Garden Wall #3 (2016) by Jim Campbell
  98. Over the Garden Wall #4 (2016) by Jim Campbell
  99. Over the Garden Wall #5 (2016) by Jim Campbell
  100. Over the Garden Wall #6 (2016) by Jim Campbell
  101. Over the Garden Wall #7 (2016) by Jim Campbell
  102. Over the Garden Wall #8 (2016) by Jim Campbell
  103. Over the Garden Wall #9 (2016) by Jim Campbell
  104. Alibaba : The House that Jack Ma Built by Duncan Clark
  105. The Crossroads of Should and Must : Find and Follow Your Passion by Elle Luna
  106. One Sip at a Time by Keith Van Sickle
  107. Julie & Julia by Julie Powell
  108. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (re-read)
  109. Men without Women by Haruki Murakami
  110. Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol
  111. Onibi by Cecile Brun + Olivier Pichard
  112. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (re-read)
  113. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink (re-read)
  114. The Prisoner's of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (re-read)
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I noticed that it is easier for me to listen to self-help books and biographies (instead of fiction), so I'm using this chance to listen to as many books as I can before I bore myself out and stop consuming books for awhile. 

Books for freelancer / creative souls / aspiring entrepreneur :

  • Launch Your Dream by Dale Partridge
  • The Misfit's Manifesto by Lidia Yuknavitch
  • Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
  • Sounds Like Me by Sara Bareilles
  • Rework by Jason Freid
  • Yes, My Accent is Real by Kunal Nayyar
  • $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeum
  • The Achievement Habit by Bernard Roth
  • #girlboss by Sophia Amoruso
  • How to be Everything by Emilie Wapnick
  • Real Artists Don't Starve by Jeff Goins
  • Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success by Steve Harvey
  • The Crossroads of Should and Must : Find and Follow Your Passion by Elle Luna

    • --

      Books for minimalist / searching for a way to a simpler life :

    • The Year of Less by Cait Flanders
    • Lagom by Niki Brantmark
    • The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking
    • The Little Book of Contentment by Leo Babauta
    • The Joy of Less, a Minimalist Living Guide by Francine Jay
    • Simply Clean by Becky Rapinchuk

      • *

        Note (in April) : I think I've decided to upgrade my next book goal to 100 books, inspired by another app developer I followed on Goodreads - he's on book 32 at this moment.

        Note updated (in July) : I've already reached 100 books, so I decided to unsubscribe to Scribd at this moment and wait for January 2019 to start on a a new challenge. Currently I'm taking in super slow back. Picking physical books to reread and enjoy the typed words.

        Note updated (in August) : My subscription to Scribd ended, and I started to read physical books that I already owned instead of buying new books. At this moment, I'm currently on the third book. I'm rereading the 'The Shadow of the Wind' series by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, the series that I started around 10 years ago. Enjoying slow life so far :)

        Note updated (in December) : I've read all the 3 books in the 'The Shadow of the Wind' series by the end of November and I'm slowing down on reading :)

        How's your book reading challenge so far ?
         😁

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        4 comments on "Books : 31 Books in 2018 - Achieved ! (Current : 115th Book)"
        1. Wow, congratulations on getting through so many books already! I actually only read seven books last year (that is so embarassing to admit) but I'll definitely pass that this year as I'm down five already. I changed my reading habits too and instead of just waiting for the mood to strike I actually make it a priority to spend the last half hour or so before I sleep reading.

          I'm not sure I could do audiobooks. I find if I'm not actively listening to something it doesn't really go in my head so am not sure if I'd be able to listen to a book unless I was doing an activity that didn't require any thinking like working out or walking somewhere. Listening to it while on the computer would be impossible for me because my mind would definitely miss things while scrolling around. I'm glad it works for you though! Keep going!

          Asti || atypicalnarrative.com

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          1. Hi Asti !
            Well, not everyone finds listening to audio books suitable for them. You need to try it first. For me, it works the best because I always on my laptop (drawing/designing) and I can focus entirely on the audio book while doing my work (because it tends to be repetitive).

            Hope you can reach your goal this year :D

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        2. That's amazing!
          My target is 12 books this year since I couldn't finish my target last year. Thanks for your recommendation of Scribd now I can listen to audiobooks during my commute to and from work :D

          ReplyDelete
          Replies
          1. Yoshh, your welcome ! I'm glad my post helped you in reading/listening to more books ! :D <3

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