But before getting to the lessons, I believe some attention has to be paid to the methodology of how to select 100 books. According to Google there are approximately 130 million books published in modern history. With all those books how can you choose titles or genres? As a proud educator will the focus be on professional readings? Or will this effort be an escape from educational reading? Is it possible to read all the books I was probably supposed to read in HS (Sorry Mrs. Hughes, Mrs. Blizzard, Mr. Miller and Mr. Queener)? Should the focus be on classics? How about a focus on biographies? How to decide?
It was important to me to read a variety of books during the course of this year. I come from a line of strong readers. My grandmother was a voracious reader. My mother always has a book in her hand and can tear through a book quicker than anyone I've known. One of her early jobs was even in a library. Today, she continues to read and purchases many of her books from Costco...if that tells you anything! These women influenced my life and set a positive example for me. However, they almost exclusively read in the "murder-mystery" genre. They shared books back and forth by authors like John Grisham, James Patterson and Dick Frances. The occasional Stephen Covey book or religious writer would occasionally appear in their collection. These were the books they were comfortable with.
In my goal to read #100Books2018 I wanted to make sure to be intentional in selecting books within my comfort zone as well as writing that would push my thinking. I wanted to read a variety of books.
In my goal to read #100Books2018 I wanted to make sure to be intentional in selecting books within my comfort zone as well as writing that would push my thinking. I wanted to read a variety of books.
For me, I payed attention to books recommended friends. Randy Rines and Ryan McLane both gave me many titles throughout the journey to think about. Randy is an Executive Director with JP Morgan Chase and heads Subadvisory Client Services. It was in this capacity that he would share summer reading lists each year (for the 2018 list, click here). A title specifically found here was "Culture Code: Unlock the Secrets of the Most Successful Teams", #Book20.
Ryan is a fellow educator and a distinguished leader who has also written "Your School Rocks; So Tell So Tell People". He would routinely share his thoughts and promote books he was enjoying. And, if the mention of his book prompts anyone to take a "deeper dive", please make sure to check out one of the parents who assisted with the forward of the book! That dude is cool! Ryan recommended so many books in this process that it is hard to account for them all. Some of my favorites have been "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" (#Book35), "Saban: The Making of a Coach" (#Book36) and "The Thank You Economy" (#Book55).
In addition, friends like Charity Dodd (@CharityDodd), Lori Vandeborne (@MsVandeborne) and Jeff Davidson also made outstanding recommendations on this journey. Charity is the inspiration for this blog and is the person who encouraged me to write insights beyond the 280 characters allowed by twitter. She also recommended "Where You Go is NOT Who You'll Be" (#Book22). Lori recommended "The Gift of Failure" (#Book7) and Jeff recommended a book that has become one of my all time favorites, "Ready Player One" (#Book60).
In addition to the recommendations from friends I also payed attention to books being read by leaders, entertainment personalities and business icons. One specific call out is a reading list from Bill Gates (see this list here). I found this list to be particularly impactful and it really stretched much of my thinking. One of my favorites from this list is "Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong about the World-- And Why Things Are Better Than You Think" (#Book17). Thanks Bill!
Books shared by colleagues also gave my reading flavor. I am blessed to work with some really smart, really well-read professionals. I'm pretty certain that many of my colleagues have read many more than 100 books in a year so I really enjoyed their recommendations. By adhering to some of their recommendations I was able to gain some insight into their thinking. I valued the opportunity to then converse with them on these titles.
I left the challenging role of a public school superintendent in the summer. I will absolutely treasure many of the relationships there and am proud of the work accomplished by a small group of committed leaders. And so friends made here naturally would make recommendations which I would take seriously. One such colleague, The Assistant Superintendent, Jennifer Lawson (@ijennylynn) made a fantastic recommendation. She recommended "The Ideal Team Player" (#Book19). We used the learning in that book to converse about many of the situations we experienced together.
I left the superintendency and joined a fantastic organization with some amazing new colleagues. Dr. Karen Garza (@KGarzaBFK), Dr. Mike Nicholson (@mnicholson_mike), Dr. Colon Lewis (@ColonTLewis) and Jamie Meade (@Meade_Jamie) each made specific recommendations to this process. Dr. Garza and Jamie introduced me to books like "What School Could Be" (#Book3), "Coherence" (#Book2), and "Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children" (#Book43). Mike introduced me to another book which is quickly becoming a favorite, "Big Potential: How Transforming the Pursuit of Success Raises our Achievement, Happiness and Well-Being" (#Book65). Colon and I read this one together.
Finally, I tried to make reading a social experience. I forced my wife and a few friends to read one of the books with me (see #Book4, "Beyond Measure: Rescuing an overscheduled, over tested underestimated generation"). We used this novel as a launchpad to discuss the life we want to see for our kids. And speaking of kids, I made sure to read some titles with them. My daughter, Jillian, and I read together for a school assignment (see #Book71, "Of Mice and Men") and my son and I enjoyed reading together (see #Book48 "Fahrenheit451", #Book69 "Crispin: The Cross of Lead", a 2003 Newberry Award Winning YA novel and #Book60 "Ready Player One"). I was also stretched by reading #Book15 "The Hate You Give". This recommendation came from my God son and lead to great conversation.
I will absolutely describe some lessons I gleaned from this books and many others. However, I wanted to share with you the manner in which I tried to curate the #100Books2018. The books through the year ultimately found me. That may seem strange. But it is true and I couldn't be happier with the selections. And I will keep my eyes and heart open to the possibilities that more books will find me.
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