Books I've read in 2019 so far

2019 was a good year for me. I bought more books and actually read more than I did the year before. Little by little, I’ve come to realize how important it is to feed my mind with books. This shift in mindset was partly thanks to some productivity content I found online and a few impactful books I read earlier.

That said, I do have one small regret. I didn’t reach my reading goal. Every January, I aim to read 50 books, but I haven’t quite made it yet. Still, I’m proud of the progress I’ve made. Small steps really do add up, and I can see that I’ve improved compared to last year, which is something to celebrate.

I don’t think reading automatically makes someone successful, but I do believe that most successful people make reading a habit. People like Bill Gates and Barack Obama dedicate time and money to books because they understand the value of learning. I’ve also come across a statistic that says 85 percent of self-made millionaires read at least two books a month. They make the most of their time and use every opportunity to learn something new. It’s easy to overlook how just five minutes wasted each day can turn into over 30 hours lost in a year, time that could have been spent reading. That’s time that could have been used to finish a few books.

So, here’s a list of the books I read in 2019. If I couldn’t find the English title or if the book is by a Vietnamese author, I’ve included the original Vietnamese title instead.

1. Miracle Apples - Takuji Ishikawa
2. Becoming - Michelle Obama
3. Bill Gates - James Wallace & Jim Erickson
4. The little book of Hygge - Meik Wiking
5. Lagom - Niki Brantmark
6. Goodbye Things - Sasaki Fumio
7. Dan Sha Ri - Hideko Yamashita
8. L'art De La Simplicité - Dominique Loreau
9. What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20 - Tina Seelig
10. The Art Of Simple Living - Shunmyo Masuno
11. Let It Be Easy - Tolly Burkan
12. Minimal ni Kurasu with Mujirushi Ryohin - Michelle
13. I've Been Thinking - Maria Shriver
14. Sapiens - Yuval Noah Harari *
15. The Universe In A Nutshell - Stephen Hawking *
16. A Brief History Of Time - Stephen Hawking *
17. George And The Big Bang - Lucy Hawking & Stephan Hawking *
18. Nguoi Toi Gian - Pham Quynh Giang
19. Chuyen Tau Mot Chieu Khong Tro Lai - Kien Tran
20. Duong Ve Nha - Dinh Phuong Linh
21. Toi, Tuong Lai Va The Gioi - Nguyen Phi Van
22. Thuat Noi Chuyen Hang Ngay - Hoang Xuan Viet
23. Beyond Mars and Venus - John Gray
24. A Monk's Guide To A Clean House and Mind - Shoukei Matsumoto
25. Barking Up The Wrong Tree - Eric Barker *
26. Zero Waste Home - Bea Johnson
27. Ikigai - Hector Garcia & Francesc Miralles
28. Bearing The Unbearable - Joanne Cacciatore
29. 我喜欢这个功利的世界 - 咪蒙 (Song Thuc Te Giua Doi Thuc Dung)
30. The Science Of Money - Brian Tracy & Dan Strutzel
31. Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book For Smart People - Ken Watanabe
32. Elon Musk - Ashlee Vance
33. The Rainbow Troops - Andrea Hirata
34. Educated - Tara Westover
35. When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi
36. Khoi Nghiep Ban Le - Tran Thanh Phong
    * I'm still reading and will finish them before 2019 ends.