(Don’t miss the special book offer discussed below)
I am frequently asked to recommend good books to read. Since a friend’s book recommendation is often more rewarding to read than an unknown book, each January I publish the list of books I have read during the previous year. Some are great and some are not. I tend to read about half as many non-fiction books as I do fiction books, which are just for fun.
Many of the books I read are out of the several boxes of books we picked up at garage sales for almost nothing. (One dollar for a box of paperback books.) Therefore, I am constantly reading authors I haven’t read before and have stumbled onto many new favorites. When I finish a book, I give it away or put it in a neighborhood little red library box. If it is especially good, I keep it on my bookshelf to read again later.
In 2021 I read 17 non-fiction books, to enrich my learning, and 30 books purely for entertainment. It came out to just short of one book per week.
We are nearing the end of redecorating/remodeling our home, and after moving everything into the garages for painting and new carpet, we are now trying to put only half of what is in the garage back into the house. So I am offering a special deal for those who want to read my books or give them as a gift. For the next few days, or until I run out of books in the garage, you can get an autographed set of my five book collection for only $50, including shipping and handling (retails for $130 + S&H). To take advantage of this deal, send me an email through the contact tab on my website with your name and mailing address and I will contact you with payment details.
So without further ado, here is last year’s book reading list, in the order I read them. The books I especially enjoyed and recommend are linked and start with an * so you can conveniently find them.
*The New Testament: I set out to read the Bible in 2020, which I do periodically, but I only finished the Old Testament, which is 80% of the book. I finished the rest this year. Full of great advice.
*The Doctors Guide to Eliminating Debt (My book): I read this again in preparation for a lecture. Teaches an easy way to get out of debt and stay out.
*The Doctors Guide to Real Estate Investing for Busy Professionals (My book): I read this again in preparation for a lecture. Teaches how to invest in real estate when you are already very busy.
*The Art of Resilience by Ross Edgley: Great book exploring his 1780 mile swim around Great Britain.
Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson: This fine book shows the science behind learning skills, which we are not born with. Thus everyone can become excellent.
The Sands of Time by Sidney Sheldon: Another of his great adventure stories.
Seven Grey Swans by Chuck Bentley: Some society trends that threaten our financial future.
*The Color of Water by James McBride: Great example of how discrimination can affect our lives.
Shareholder Yield: A Better Approach to Dividend Investing by Mebane Faber: High dividend producing companies produce better long term returns in the stock market.
*The Street Lawyer by John Grisham: Yet another great story from Grisham about a lawyer who finds a place in his heart for the homeless.
God’s Word in its Fullness by Dr. Timothy F. Neu: The CFO of Wycliff shares what he learned from translating the Bible into new languages.
*Can I Retire by Mike Piper, CPA: Great tips for those nearing retirement.
Talk of the Town by Karen Hawkins: Fluff romance book.
*Make Your Bed by Admiral William H. McRaven: Great advice on life lessons he learned from Navy Seal Training.
*How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street by Allan S. Roth: Excellent and simple investment advice.
Casino Royal by Ian Fleming: The very first James Bond book but I found it boring. Pick a different one.
*The White Coat Investor’s Guide for Students by James Dahle, MD: Great financial advice for medical students.
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt by Gary E. Parker: A murder mystery I don’t recommend.
Life Penalty by Joy Fielding: Who done it with gruesome descriptions; not a keeper.
The Spider’s Web by Agatha Christy: Here is a good who done it.
The Art of the Question by Dave Waldo: Asking the right question makes a difference. Very long answer for something that should have been a blog post.
Murder She Wrote, Manhattans & Murder by Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain: Typical who done it set in New York City about the witness protection program.
Murder She Wrote, A Little Yuletide Murder by Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain: Typical who done it set in Cabot’s Cove Maine when Santa Clause gets killed.
I’ll be Seeing You by Mary Higgins Clark: Murder mystery at a fertility clinic.
The Day the Sun Rose Twice by Ferenc Morton Szasz: Good story of the development and testing of the first atomic bomb.
The House on Hope Street by Danielle Steel: Story of a woman whose husband died on Christmas and how she worked her way back from despair to joy again.
Cry for the Strangers by John Saul: Series of deaths in a coastal town.
*The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon: Great mystery of someone buying all the books from a certain author and burning them to remove all trace of him and one boy’s quest to find out why.
Pop Goes the Weasel by James Patterson: Murder mystery with some foul language.
Hello Darkness by Sandra Brown: Good who done it about a radio talk show host.
Gone South by Robert McCammon: Good story about chasing down a killer.
Thorn in My Heart by Liz Curtis Higgs: Modern version of the Esau and Jacob story from the Bible.
*The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom: Great true story about a family hiding Jews from the Germans in Amsterdam during WWII.
The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth by Richard Paul Evans: Basic financial attitudes.
*Life’s Golden Ticket by Brendon Burchard:Great book about living life to its fullest. I wanted to read this book again as soon as I finished it.
G is for Gumshoe by Sue Grafton: Nice murder mystery.
*Captivate by Vanessa Van Edwards: Great book about how to command the room.
Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie: Life story of the rise of one of the world’s wealthiest men. Starts off great in his early life, then fell short on his later life.
*In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park: Great book showing us what life is like in countries that don’t have our level of freedom. If you don’t like it in the United States, take a look at what it was like for this girl.
Twelve Rules of Life by Jordan B. Peterson: Some good lessons but this book is way too long and wordy.
Bel-Air Dead by Stuart Woods: Who done it that’s not very exciting.
Animal Farm by George Orwell: A interesting look at the pitfalls of socialism.
Saucer by Stephen Coonts: Fun book about what would happen if someone found a flying saucer at an archaeological dig.
For Such a Time as This by Kayleigh McEnany: Story of her life as the white house press secretary.
Fail-Safe by Eugene Burdick: Good story about how the nuclear arms race can go badly.
Lisey’s Story by Stephen King: A real sleeper that I didn’t finish. He has better books.
*A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles: Great book of historical fiction with an inside look into life in post-revolutionary Russia.
There you have it, my reading list and recommendations from 2021. I encourage you to read some good books this year. If you find a particularly good one, let me know, I’d love to read it too. If you are looking for something financial to read, try one of my books in the Doctors Guide series. Remember, an autographed set of my five book collection for only $50 can be yours while supplies last. So, send me an email and get your autographed set shipped today.
