How I Plan to Select Books in 2022
And, 3 steps I follow to analyze reader’s ratings
I don’t expect to read over 4000 books in my life.
It’s barely a drop in front of a sea with 130 million books.
Therefore, I strive to invest time in the books, which would develop and entertain me.
To keep a balance in thoughts, I usually read novels and nonfictions in parallel. The only exception is when a novel is too compelling and sweeps me along with every page. I couldn’t focus on motivational books at that time. In such stories, I live with the characters every moment and want to finish the novel as quickly as possible.
In contrast, reading good nonfiction takes time because you can’t read it like a novel. You’ve to underline passages, re-read them, create your own mental summary to take in the concepts and apply them to your life.
What Happens When I can’t Finish a Book
Some books I drag on for a month waiting for them to spark interest, but no, they don’t, and at the end of my patience I give up on the book. It breaks my reading streak and costs me a lot of time.
Such books give me the Monday blues every time, and I struggle to pick up another one.
For 2022 and beyond, I plan to give up my dragging habit and use my time to read interesting books.
How I Plan to Select Nonfiction Books in 2022
This year, I’ll focus on reading books that will benefit me personally, financially, and emotionally.
I want to develop the following skills:
- Money Management and Stock Trading Techniques:
I need to learn about money management and investment opportunities.
“Money makes more money,” I wish to harness this mantra.
Therefore, I’d read the following books:
Please post suggestions for other books in the comments.
2) Communication skills.
While I’m a confident speaker, I want to become an influential one. I wish to make an impact with just a few words. But I can’t achieve that by reading a few books. That’s why every quarter I aspire to read a book on communication skills.
That way, the concepts always stay fresh in my mind.
After reading 3–4 books, I expect to follow them subconsciously.
The books I plan to read are:
3) Writing skills
Since I want to keep writing, I must improve my writing skills. I will read the following book:
4) Other Nonfiction Books
I also look forward to the reading list of CEOs, influential people, and celebrities. My experience of picking books from their lists has been wonderful.
How I Plan to Choose Fiction Books
I plan to read at least one book of Fredrik Backman, Mitch Albom and Katherine Heiny.
I will select other novels from recommendations in the BAOS- medium pub, Readers Forever Facebook group, recommendations from a few Insta-influencers, and nominated books in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2021.
How I use Reader’s Ratings to Select Books
Even if a book is recommended by Book Clubs or CEOs, I also filter through these 3 steps before buying it:
- Look at the amazon and goodreads ratings. If it is less than 4, my expectations go down. I skip it.
- Look deeply in the stats, if over 20% of ratings is below 4 stars, again I drop it.
- If stats are favorable, I look at the plot, read a few positive and negative comments, and pay attention if the similar emotions are repeated in reviews. I do this to check if the reviews are fake or genuine.
A positive feeling prompts me to download the Kindle sample.
We get 10% of the book for free with the Kindle sample. I read it, and check if author’s writing style captivates me.
If everything goes well, I buy the book.
From 2022 onward, I wish to only choose books I will complete.
Do suggest me your favorite books in the comments.
Gratitude to all.
Have fun reading in 2022
Check out my other stories as well
