Andrew Mina

At the end of 2018 I decided that 2019 was going to be for me, a year of reading. I found a group of guys who would also join me in a ‘Book Club’ to read at least one book per month that we agree upon mutually.

From the outset I had two goals: 1) read minimum 12 books, and 2) don’t buy any new books. Well, the first you will see from the list I managed to achieve and in fact I finished 19 books in 2019. For the second goal however, things did not go so well. Of the 19 books I read 5 were purchased new and 1 secondhand. But what also happened is that I ‘rediscovered’ my local library and I have started borrowing books from them.

Below are the books I read listed in the month they were read. I have included the title, subtitle, authors name and year of publication. Finally, with some reservation I have left a star rating ⭐️ and a thumbs up 👍🏼 if I would recommend it. You can also see what I thought at the conclusion of reading each one at my Twitter account.

January

She is Yours; trusting God as you raise the girl he gave you, Jonathan and Wynter Pitts (2017)

⭐️⭐️

A town like Alice, Nevil Shute (1950)

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Toxic Charity; how churches and charities hurt those they help, Robert D. Lupton (2011) ⭐️⭐️

February

Out of Africa, Karen Blixen (1937)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 👍🏼

Factfulness, Anna Rosling Rönnlund, Hans Rosling, and Ola Roslin (2018)

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 👍🏼

April

The making of us; who we can become when life doesn’t go as planned, Sheridan Voysey (2019)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 👍🏼

The little book of Hygge; The Danish way to live, Meik Wiking (2016)

⭐️⭐️

Good or God?, why good without God isn’t enough, John Bevere (2015)

⭐️

May

Extreme ownership; How U.S. Navy seals lead and win, Jocko Willnik and Leif Babin (2015)

⭐️

The art of gathering; creating transformative meetings, events and experiences, Priya Parker (2018)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 👍🏼

June

What’s happening to our girls; Too much too soon, Maggie Hamilton (2009)

⭐️⭐️

July

I am Malala; the girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban, Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb (2014).

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The life and Times of Thunderbolt Kid, Bill Bryson (2006)

⭐️⭐️⭐️

August

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, Peter Scazzerio (2017)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 👍🏼

The Road Back to You; An enneagram journey to self-discovery, Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile (2016)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 👍🏼

October

So Good They Can’t Ignore you; Why skills trump passion in the quest for work you love, Cal Newport (2016)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 👍🏼

Talking to Strangers; What we should know about people we don’t know, Malcolm Gladwell (2019)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 👍🏼

November

At Home; A short history of private life, Bill Bryson (2010)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 👍🏼

The Life You Can Save; Acting now to end world poverty, Peter Singer (2009)

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tell me in the comments below which of the above you have read and what you thought! Also, I would love to learn what was your top read in 2019 and what you think I should check out in 2020.

Happy reading.