Taking Forever to Finish Reading | Sharing My Book Lists from 2022 and for 2023

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Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson

It took me forever to finish reading Walter Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin. Almost 4 months! That's a long time for me because I had set a goal to read 2 books a month. I started reading it by the end of January and I just finished it recently. It's the second book I finished this year and I am still a long way to reading the books on my reading list.

I chose to include it in my reading list for 2023 because I really enjoyed reading Steve Jobs also by Walter Isaacson, and I have read recommendations saying how insightful the life of Benjamin Franklin was. I didn't realize how difficult a read it was. The English was written to match the English during Franklin's time. That meant that I couldn't speed-read it. I also was not very consistent with reading daily, which contributed to the delay in finishing the book.

The book was also quite long, around 600 pages, so my rate of 2 books per month was not very applicable to it. Anyway, I still enjoyed reading the book, especially during Franklin's time in France. Finishing it was so satisfying and reading about the founding father's life offered a better understanding of America.

I think I'll dive deeper into the book by writing a Book Review on it. In this post, I'll share with you the books I've read last year (2022), highlighting some of my favorites. I'll also be sharing my reading list for this year, and I'd gladly accept some recommendations to complete my list.

Let's all share our love of books through our recommendations!

The books I've read in 2022


At the start of 2022, I decided I would be more serious with my journaling. I bought a leatherbound journal and looked for a book to help me with my journaling. Journal to the Self by Kathleen Adamas was an easy read, and it gave me numerous ways to write a journal and how it can help me with my personal growth.


I received a recommendation from @macchiata to read Cal Newport's Digital Minimalism and that's how I discovered Deep Work. This is one of my favorites because it helped me finish my Masters's Degree. It's quite simple but really powerful. I'll definitely write a Book Review on this.


I thought I really liked this book, but months after finishing The Secret, I realized that it was not as helpful as I thought it was going to be. I still believe in the Law of Attraction but I think the book stretches it a bit too much.


This book holds the most practical truths in life, so practical that it's difficult to accept and apply them. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki will make you doubt buying a house or car because they're going to be liabilities. This book forced me to think about what assets I can get that are incoming generating. And it's an extremely difficult thing to think about.


Show Your Work by Austin Kleon was one of my quickest reads. This was a recommendation from one of the popular self-help YouTubers, Ali Abdaal. This book offers really simple and actionable tips to build your online audience.


Atomic Habits is one of my favorite books, so reading The Power of Habit served as a more in-depth learning experience about habits. I was really surprised by the storytelling prowess of the author. I think he would do really well if he wrote fiction or biographies. This book contains very detailed research studies about habits, but Charles Duhigg presents them in a digestible manner.


This book was published during the 1930s, but it's still extremely timely and helpful. I'm a Toastmaster and I struggle with socializing sometimes, so this book gave me a boost in my communication skills.


This is one of my favorite books. In 2022, I decided to read this again. In my second read, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey gave me a deeper understanding of Habit 1 (Be Proactive) and Habit 3 (Put First Things First), and how to better apply them in my life. In the future, I wish to join trainings on The 7 Habits to better immerse myself in it.


In 2021, I read The Handmaid's Tale, and I am so glad that I read it during that time because the sequel to the book (The Testaments) was already available. The Handmaid's Tale was published in 1985 and after more than 30 years, Margaret Atwood decided to write a sequel. Reading The Testaments felt absurd and familiar at the same time. I didn't know that Atwood said that everything he wrote in the book was based on real-life events.


This was a Goodreads recommendation and it's probably the lightest fiction read in the entire list. It's romance, so maybe that's why People We Meet On Vacation just went straight through me.


Another one of my favorites! Crying in H Mart was an instant hit for me. I can't remember how many times I've cried while reading this. Michelle Zauner is such a talented writer. I can't wait for the movie based on this book to come out.


This is also one of my favorites! This was a bit of a long read but I was on edge every time. Patrick Radden Keefe made it feel like I was reading fiction because of how exciting and unbelievable the events in the book were. But it's all true. Everything is true. It amazes me to see the actual faces of the characters in the book by doing a Google search.


The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari is a recommendation from a friend. She was meant to lend me her copy of it, but she relocated before I got the chance to get it. I already read Robin Sharma's The 5 AM Club before, so I was not surprised by his writing style with this one.


John Green made me cry with his fiction books before. I didn't expect that he could do the same to me with his non-fiction book, The Anthropocene Reviewed. Reading this book didn't really require comprehension. I had to feel and imagine the words to fully experience this book. That's why I really like this.


I added this to my book list because I've heard so many good things about this book. My expectations were rightfully met! Start with Why by Simon Sinek can feel repetitive sometimes but as you continue reading it, I realized the necessity of reiterating how important it is to start with your why.


This is a re-read and I think I've already written so many things about why I love this book. I wrote 3 posts about Jim Kwik's Limitless.


I wanted to read at least one of the best classic books, and I thought George Orwell's 1984 would be a good read. And it was! The book was atmospheric even sometimes depressing, but that's what's special about it. While reading it, I felt like I was entering a dark cloud and stayed in there until I stopped reading the book.


Finally, the 18th and last book I read in 2022 was David Allen's Getting Things Done. I can't express how important this book is to me. I have re-designed how I operate my life because of this book. It's that life changing.


My reading list for 2023

For this year, I want to read 24 books. I have put together a reading list based on recommendations from the people in my life, the books I've read, Goodreads, and social media. The list still needs 6 more to be completed, and I'm reserving it for future recommendations.

  1. Make Time by John Knapp and Jake Zertasky
  2. Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson
  3. Nigh Sky With Exit Wounds by Ocean Voung
  4. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Voung
  5. The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner
  6. Let's Talk About Death (Over Dinner) by Michael Hebb
  7. In Search of Identity by Anwar el Sadat
  8. The Element by Ken Robinson
  9. Dune by Frank Herbert
  10. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
  11. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
  12. The Maid by Nita Prose
  13. Book Lovers by Emily Henry
  14. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
  15. Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
  16. How to Live 365 Days a Year by John Schindler
  17. The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz (re-read)
  18. Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins

Book Reviews and Book Content

I've written quite a few of content about books here is Hive. If you want to check them out, I've listed them down here:


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Glebert

He’s a dreamer and a thinker. He tends to sensationalize a lot of things. He got that from his mother. He's also a bit melodramatic. It must be from his father. Bear with him as he shares his thoughts and experiences about his travels, dreams, and the variety of things he's trying to learn and improve (personal development, writing, cryptocurrency, fitness, etc.). If you like this article, please give it an upvote, and if for some reason you're interested in more future content, please don't hesitate to follow.
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This list is top class.
Apart from the classic Benjamin Franklin, anybody that knows Austin Kleon is a true bibliophile.

I read his trilogy.
Best thing ever