The Books that I've Read This Year
The year is coming near it's end with this blog post being written very late on Halloween night. With only two months left in the year I found it fit to sit down and write about all of the books that I've read this year.
Proper books
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
This one is by far my favorite book that I've read this year. The whole book is something that I think everybody in this day and age needs to read. John Mark Comer is a christian pastor who basically had the modern "do as much stuff as physically possible" attitude, I guess people call it the "hustle" mindset. He had everything he wanted to consider himself "successful" but it was too much and was bogging him down in life so he decided to slow down.
"Quiet is a kind of balm for emotional healing, and more; an unlocked open door to spiritual life."
"In seasons of busyness we need more time in the quiet place, not less, definitely not less. And if you're running through your rolodex of excuses right now - I'm a full time mom, I have a demanding job that starts early, I'm an extrovert, I have ADHD, etc. - stop for a minute. Jesus needed time in the quiet place. I repeat, Jesus needed time, and a fair bit of it, you think you don't?"
Make Your Bed by William H. Mcraven
This is a self help book written by a famous Admiral in the Navy describing his lifes difficulties and giving his best advise on how to live a good life. He describes the process of making your bed at the start of your day as a way to start your day by achieving something. The book was a very easy read, not terribly long (I finished it in two days and I'm a very slow reader) The advise given by the author is fairly timeless and useful.
"Making my bed correctly was not going to be an opportunity for praise. It was expected of me. It was my first task of the day, and doing it right was important. It demonstrated my discipline. It showed my attention to detail, and at the end of the day it would be a reminder that I had done something well, something to be proud of, no matter how small the task."
Gratitude by Oliver Sacks
It's been a good while since I've read this book, I had borrowed it from the library and read it in one day, but I do remember it being a very good book written by a very soulful guy, may he rest in peace. I recall him speaking of his difficult upbringing, having cancer, but choosing to be grateful rather than complain.
I had written down the following quote from this book into my commonplace book that I carry as a part of my EDC (everyday carry) "I cannot pretend that I am without fear. But my predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved; I have been given much and I have given something in return; I have read and traveled and thought and written. I have had an intercourse with the world, the special intercourse of writers and readers. Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure."
I have had a very emotionally turbulent year so all of the books that I have finished reading have been some form of self help books, or books pertaining to these sorts of subjects.
Books that I have read, but not finished yet
- Welcome To The Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut - This is a really solid collection of short stories. I really enjoy the writing style of Kurt Vonnegut. the book was actually purchased for me by a co-worker in exchange for coaching them on driving a forklift. I only didn't finish it because I got very distracted playing the English translation of Mother 3 on the GBA
- Atomic Habits by James Clear - this is a good self help book but it's too "clinical" I think. None of what was written in it was bad at all, but it just seemed like James Clears descriptions of things just didn't stick in my mind and I had trouble retaining much of what I read other than "habit stacking" "be 1% better everyday" and "design your environment to make good habits irresistible."
Manga books
Dragon Ball Super #1
This one was honestly boring as hell to me. Dragonball is a series that works much better as an anime than a manga. It just seemed like photos of people fighting without much further substance. Fighting is much more fun to watch in motion.
DaiDark #1
This one was really good. I'm not even going to attempt to explain the plot of this one it had alot of things that I would consider abstract in nature. Like, ideas within the lore itself that aren't really explained that you just kind of have to accept, but it's a weird japanese manga, what do you expect.
DanDaDan #1
This was the most entertaining of the 3 Manga books that I read this year by far, it was kind of creepy in it's weird sexual overtones, but the actual story itself was ridiculous in an entertaining way. The plot itself is two kids one who believes in ghosts, and the other who believes in aliens daring each other to visit notorous areas that aliens and ghosts had been sited and both of them realizing that the beliefs of the other were true. It's got some very overly sexual things in it, nothing that I would consider pornography, but just a bit much for the average reader in my opinion. If you can set that aside it's quite entertaining though.
I am a slow reader and do not forsee myself reading through anymore books before the end of the year, if I do I will write a blog post about those as well. It's kind of an odd list being mostly self help books than very odd anime, but I made it my goal to start reading more this year than prior years. In 2024 I literally finished one book that being "The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck" by Mark Manson, an excellent book, but again I wanted to do more and I do believe I have achieved 2025's new years resolution.