The 52books Challenge challenges you to read 52 books in 2010 or a book a week.
Julien Smith had a great explanation on his blog on why you would want to do this. From How to Read a Book a Week in 2010
It feels awesome. It gives you an amazing amount of ideas. It helps you think more thoroughly. It’s better than TV and even the internet. It makes you understand the world more. It is a building block towards a habit of completion. Did I mention it feels awesome?
Julien who co-authored the great book Trust Agents, gave some excellent tips like it’s okay to cheat by reading some short books, and don’t fall behind, and make sure to make it part of your routine to read a certain number of pages every day.
Tip: Listen to Books on Audible
I would add another tip: listen to books on audible. Some people may say that it’s not really reading because you are listening to the text, but I think it is just as good as reading a physical book, and in many ways it is better. This allows you to knock out a bit of reading when you are standing in line at the coffee shop or sitting in traffic. There is also an awesome deal if you go to audible.com/twit2 where you can get 2 free audible books absolutely free (you could cancel your subscription before 30 days and not have to pay for the subscription if you want).
Tip: Use the Kindle App on iPhone or iPod Touch
Also if you can get an iPhone or iPod touch, use the Kindle application. It will allow you to pull a book out of your pocket when you have a few minutes to read.
If you want to join the challenge, you still have time. You can also see how others are doing by searching for the hash tag #52books on Twitter.
I only have read 7 books so far this year so I need a major rally to achieve the challenge this year.
So far I’ve read:
-What the Dog Saw
-Crush It
-The Blind Side
-Linchpin
-The Road
-The Next Evolution of Marketing
-The Lost Symbol
-Switch (added 4-12)