2022 Reading List & Tips for Developing a Regular Reading Habit

Book club

Jan 2

Written By Peta Sitcheff

“I can’t remember the last time I read a book”

“I’ve no time to read”

“I always fall asleep after 2 pages”

“Your’s was the first book I’d read in 10 years”

“I can’t find what I like”

“I’ve a stack of books on my bedside table waiting to be read”

“Once I start I feel obligated to finish it. Even if I don’t like it”

Familiar? I get it. All are words I’ve muttered from time to time, defending my many reading droughts over the years.

Today, reading is my mental fitness. A daily habit that slows me down, keeps me present, nourishes my thirst for learning & inspires my creativity.

How did I start my book a week habit?

Here are a few tips that got me started & a few home truths:

I gave reading a role in my life, learning & inspiration. (You might prefer escapism, it’s personal choice)
I schedule reading time in my diary. Always during the day, before 5pm. (hint: time won’t miraculously appear in your diary to read, you have to make time.)
I don’t rely on night time reading unless I want to fall asleep with a book on my nose.
If one chapter is all you can manage per day, it’s enough. It’s about the daily habit. I started with ten pages then built the habit. Today I aim for 50 pages per day.
I save fiction for Netflix.
I pick topics which feed my professional purpose (growing business by growing human connection), interest in mental health & personal transformation. Follow your curiosity & accept what doesn’t interest you.
I’ve gotten to know my local book store & employees. It’s a welcoming place.
I read with a highlighter to highlight what I’d like to remember &/ or share with clients.
If I don’t like a book, I move on … fast (I promise you won’t offend the author! Nor have you “failed” BTW)
I take what I’m reading with me everywhere. (& never complain about having to wait again)
I prefer to read paper books (unless it’s out of print)

My 2022 “book a week” reading challenge morphed into a book a fortnight last year as I needed to slow life’s pace.

Here is the list below.

Courage is Calling - fortune favours the brave
by Ryan Holiday
Nowhere to Hide - a memoir of football, mental health & resilience
by Tom Boyd
Listen - how to find the words for tender conversations
by Katherine Mannix
Lighter - Let go of the past. Connect with the present. Expand the future.
by Yung Pueblo
Trust & Inspire - how truly great leaders unleash greatness in others
by Stephen M. Covey
Emotion by Design - creative Leadership lessons from a life at Nike
by Greg Hoffman
The Power of Strangers - the benefits of connecting in a suspicious world
by Joe Keohane
Scrubbed - a heart surgeon’s extraordinary memoir of life, death & everything in between
by Dr Nikki Stamp
Do As I Say - how cults control, why we join them & what they teach us about bullying, abuse & coercion
Sarah Steel
Clarity & Connection
by Yung Pueblo
Stolen Focus - why you can’t pay attention
by Johann Hari
The Power of Fun - why fun is the key to a happy & healthy life
by Catherine Price
Living Untethered - beyond the human predicament
by Michael A. Singer
Bittersweet - how sorrow & longing make us whole
by Susan Cain
Finding Me
by Viola Davis
Childless -a story of freedom & longing
by Sian Prior
The Man Who Mistook His Job for His Life - how to thrive at work by leaving your emotional baggage behind
by Naomi Shragai
Listen Like You Mean It - reclaiming the lost art of human connection
by Ximena Vengoechea
Into the Rip - how the Australian way of risk made my family stronger, happier & less American
Damien Cave
Toxic Positivity
by Whitney Goodman
Belonging - the ancient art of togetherness
by Owen Eastwood
Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket
by Hilma Wolitzer
Fair Game
by Alex Blackwell
The Inner Self - the joy of discovering who we really are
by Hugh Mackay
Hippocrasy - how doctors are betraying their oath
by Rachelle Buchbinder & Ian Harris
Three Sisters
by Heather Morris
My Friend Fox - a memoir on mental health
by Heidi Everett
Power - A woman’s guide to living & leading without apology
by Kemi Nekvapil