I like reading books for both education and entertainment. I learned early in my life that leaders are readers, so I made it a point to read many books every year. With such a large annual reading list, people were often asking me for book recommendations. It can cut down on the duds if you only read books someone else recommended. A few years ago I started listing the books I read on my webpage with special emphasis on the ones I felt were especially good. This year I am going to change that up.
I read 86 books this year and didn’t feel like listing them all since not all of them were worth mentioning. I chose to concentrate only on the ones I felt were especially good. Of the 86 books I read, I rated eleven of them as highly recommended. They came from ten authors. One of the books was so good that when I found out there was a sequel, I just had to read it.
Here are the eleven books I read this year that I would recommend you add to your reading list. They are listed alphabetically by the author’s last name. I have also made every title a hot link to that book on Amazon so you can buy the book by simply clicking on the title. Happy reading.
This is a great novel about a group of men, mostly colleagues on the police force, who decide to become better fathers. It is filled with fun, serious, and sad moments. It is not only entertaining, but if you are a father, you will be challenged to reevaluate how you are performing at the job. You can do it better.
Most physicians struggle with their home life. We often work long hours, are on call, work nights and weekends, and this schedule takes its toll on our home life. If you want to be a better parent, this book is a good place to start.
Audrey Blake: 1) The Surgeon’s Daughter 2) The Girl in His Shadow
The author Audrey Blake is not a real person, but the pseudonym of two writers, Regina Sirois and Jaima Fixsen, who combined their writing skills to write this incredible series.
Set in England in the mid 1800 when anesthesia was first emerging into the medical field which made surgery a very viable alternative. Like all new things, it was not universally accepted as a good thing. It was also a time when women were not welcome to become physicians and surgeons.
The story follows the life of a young woman, Eleanora Beady, who as a small child was adopted by a surgeon when her entire family dies. She tags along with a very prominent surgeon/father who teaches her all he knows. By the time she is of age, she knows more about medicine and surgery than most graduating residents of the time. She wants to become a surgeon, but no one will give a woman the chance.
Every woman, especially those in the medical field, ought to read these two books. I’m hoping there is a third one on the way.
Dr. Brian Foley: Wealthy Doc’s Guide to Achieving Financial Freedom
I may be a bit biased with this author as I would call him a friend as well as a colleague. He shares his true rags to riches story which is powerful. He came from a family that was on the bottom rung of life. No one who knew him as a child would ever have imagined he would later become a physician. He not only achieved something he also didn’t think was possible, he went on to teach others to do the same with his Wealthy Doc blog.
If you are wondering how you can ever make it in life, because you didn’t come from a wealthy family, his story will be very inspiring.
Chip & Joanna Gaines: The Magnolia Story
When we were on a timeshare vacation in Austin, we planned to do a road trip up to Waco to see the Magnolia Market which was developed by Chip and Joanna Gaines. In preparation, we listened to their book for more background information.
The book is a very fun story about their meeting, marrying and then developing a very successful real estate empire and television show. Their bumps along the way are funny as well as informative.
If you are a fan of their work, you should read this book. If you have never heard of them, you will have a great read and might even want to visit Waco, Texas. We need to go back later because we were not able to visit Waco due to an ice storm that shut down central Texas and cut our vacation short. Even though we didn’t get there, we loved their story.
Dr. Michael Greger: How Not To Die
Dr. Greger has devoted his life to learning what the evidence (true scientific studies) says about using food as medicine. What foods make diabetes better or worse? What foods make atherosclerosis better or worse? What foods affect blood pressure and so on?
I sat in the audience as he spoke live on heart disease and the foods that cause it. I was so impressed that I bought the book to look into the other diseases and what we know from scientific studies that will make improvements in my health. I incorporated his findings on hypertension, which I have, and watched my blood pressure noticeably drop by simple dietary changes.
Use this book as a reference. Read the chapters that pertain to your own health issues. Then read the last section about the foods he found everyone should incorporate into their diet.
Dr. Jordan Grumet: Taking Stock: A Hospice Doctor’s Advice on Financial Independence
As a hospice physician, Dr. Grumet has spent a lot of time with dying patients. What do they look back on and say they did well and what do they look back on with regret? This is an eye-opening book that will make you reevaluate your choices in life.
Do you want to reach the end of your life and have regrets or fond memories. See what this one doctor’s experience has taught him.
Kristin Hannah: The Four Winds
This was a great novel looking at the life of those affected by the great depression followed by the dust bowl. I can’t imagine what it was like to go through what this family had to endure.
This is a story of overcoming adversity. Another strong female leading character who doesn’t know she is strong. Her family convinced her as a child that she was weak and worthless. She was far from their assessment. What a great novel.
Delia Owen: Where the Crawdads Sing
Here is another leading lady who was born in the swamp, grew up poor and uneducated, and was made fun of by almost everyone who crossed her path. But it didn’t stop her from eventually getting an education and finding love.
As a young girl she was on her own when her mother left her, and her dad was drunk most of the time and also eventually left her on her own. How can this kid overcome the odds and break away from the swamp she was destined to die in?
Dave Ramsey: Financial Peace Revisited
I was invited to go through the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University program. It was fun and I enjoyed it. Just before the program started, I decided to pull his book off my shelf, which I had read years ago, and read it again. It was a lot of fun.
He teaching has become a very controversial subject. That is what happens to everyone who gains a very large following. But the bottom line is, no matter what nuances you don’t like about his advice, if you follow it, you will do very well financially.
I encourage you to read this book and take the parts you love and implement them.
A very powerful book about forgiveness. Sometimes it is so hard to forgive others when we are wronged. But everyone is wronged and wrongs others. When we think about it from each other’s prospective, forgiveness becomes possible.
If you are struggling with forgiving someone who has wronged you, read this book.
I read many other very good books last year but the ones listed above are what really stood out to me as a recommendation for you. Pick one off the list that resonates with you and curl up by the fire and enjoy it.
Happy New Year.
