What’s On Your Summer Reading list – and why you should have one

Warren Buffet, legendary investor with a brilliant mind that has served him well for over 90 years, gave this advice when asked how to be successful in investing: “Read 500 pages every day.” Bill Gates, another legend, reads 50 books per year. And Mark Cuban, a fellow billionaire reads for up to 3 or 4 hours every day! We should all do the same they posit.

Well Marguerite, you are probably saying, they are billionaires, and can afford to spend time reading – no hustle and bustle of the daily grind for them! We miss the point – they all state that reading is the REASON for their success. So, if we want to be successful, we should read every day. And what better time to start this habit than in summer, when life is a little slower, days are longer and some of us take vacations, or at the least, long weekends.

Here are 3 tips to help you to develop a disciplined reading habit:

1. Allocate daily time. We can all spare some time EVERY DAY to read. Try scheduling even 15 minutes in your morning routine, and/or before you go to bed. I always have 2 books (or more) going at a time – I read non-fiction in the morning when my mind is fresh and fiction at night to relax.
2. Make a list of books you plan to read. I suggest a monthly list, so that you can adjust for what you want to learn and focus on, as well as new publications and those you happen to come across. Plus, 4 books per month seems a lot less intimidating than 48 books for the year!
3. Always carry a book with you, so that if you have to wait somewhere, you can read instead of scrolling through your phone or sitting doing nothing except being upset.

I have decided on 6 books this summer – a mix of business books that cater to my desire to increase my knowledge so I can better add value to my clients; books of fiction to relax and just enjoy reading and books to deepen my spiritual practice:

• “Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility” by Patty McCord
  I listened to an interview with Patty on a podcast and knew I had to learn more about how she built the Netflix culture by creating a new way of leading, inspiring and developing people.
• “The Mind of the Leader: How to Lead Yourself, Your People and Your Organization for Extraordinary Results” by Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter
  This book appears to align with my belief that leaders need to lead themselves first, before they can effectively lead others. I can’t wait to delve into the examples of what successful organizations are doing to develop their leaders “from the inside out”
• “August Town” by Kei Miller
  Kei Miller is an acclaimed Jamaican author and a teacher of creative writing at the University of London. I have read glowing reviews by my Facebook friends on this prizewinning book, and am a subscriber to Kei’s blog. He’s a brilliant writer. I feel this will be like a trip home to Jamaica.
• “The Girl Who Smiled Beads” – Clemantine Wamariya
  A friend introduced me to this book. It’s the story of Clemantine Wamariya who escapes the Rwandan genocide at the age of six, and treks across the African continent with her sister for six years before moving to the USA as a refugee. I have started reading the book and am riveted as she shares her experiences and the gamut of emotions, and all I can think is how courageous these two girls were. It’s a book for this time, when crises with the treatment of migrants rage across the globe.
• “Anatomy of The Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing” by Caroline Myss
  This book has sat on my bookshelf for years. Yearning for the world to heal, I was drawn to this treatise on what causes pain and suffering how we can heal ourselves, because that’s where it starts.
• “Free and Laughing: Spiritual Insights in Every Day Moments” by Marguerite Orane
  Yes! ME! In 2007, to celebrate my mother’s 90th birthday, I published this book. I am now in the throes of publishing my second book and realised that I had not read Free and Laughing since I wrote it 10 years ago! What a fascinating journey to read my own words and to reflect on how I have or have not changed. I am actually enjoying it! Do check it out HERE and let me know what you think!

In addition to these books, I intend to catch up on back issues of my two favourite monthly magazines – Harvard Business Review and National Geographic. One will always be in my bag.

So there you have my summer reading list. Do leave a comment and let us know what you are reading this summer. What a wonderful thing it will be for us all to be more knowledgeable, wiser and have developed the discipline of daily reading.

Other blog posts on this topic by Marguerite:

How to Choose Your Summer Reading Books: – click HERE to view article
Your Summer Reading List – How About Business Books? – click HERE to view article