BOOKS ARE FUN! BOOKS ARE FOR EVERYONE!
Sure, Bill Gates is worth a measly $90 BILLION DOLLARS.
He’s the world’s 2nd richest person and instead of being less busy than most people, Gates is far busier with traveling, speaking engagements, diving Scrooge McDuck-style into mountains of gold coins and more.
Despite his intense schedule, Bill Gates still manages to read at least 50 books per year.
That may not sound like alot, but it is. 50 books per year is an average of 4 books per month. Now, Gates reads mostly non-fiction.
Non-fiction averages around 200 pages (ie: 55,000 words). So, Bill Gates reads over 9,000 pages per year, which is an incredible accomplishment and inspiring example for anyone.
Gates says, “One of the things I love about reading is each book opens up new avenues of knowledge to explore.”
We here at Detroit Festival of Books (aka: Detroit Bookfest) encourage you to explore your willpower and limits and READ MORE BOOKS! You can do it!
Ryan’s strategy to read more books:
1.) Create a Book Log for notes (and subsequent Book Fund to purchase books). Over time, you’ll find the money in the Book Fund does not keep pace with the # of books you want to read in your Book Log! This is a good thing. It means your curiosity is flourishing. Keep moving.
2.) Make some lists: books you want to read, books you have read, your favorite books, etc.
3.) Prioritize the books you want to read and try reading at least one book per month. Since we are all insanely hyper-busy nowadays, this will not be as easy as it sounds. But it can be done and sometimes book planning helps.
4.) Schedule some Designated Reading Time for yourself either daily, nightly or weekly. For myself personally, I read at night, usually for 1-2 hours before bedtime. Nighttime is when I find that my mind is most relaxed and perceptive. Morning is for coffee and busywork.
5.) There are thousands of genres of books out there. Yes, something for everyone. Once you find a genre (or genres) you really like, and you stick to your reading schedule, you’ll find yourself reading more and more books in less and less time. You will find that books are not boring cures for insomnia, but fascinating, wonderful, mind-expanding resources that can help you in your daily life.
Ryan’s fun book recommendations to get you started (these are just personal suggestions):
1.) Tao Te Ching (500 BC) Lao Tzu
2.) Man’s Search for Meaning (1946) Viktor Frankl
3.) Bleak House (1853) Charles Dickens
4.) Ubik (1969) Philip K. Dick
5.) Meditations (180 AD) Marcus Aurelius
6.) Hamlet (1600) Shakespeare
7.) The Rose of Paracelsus: On Secrets & Sacraments (2015) William Leonard Pickard
8.) Jane Eyre (1847) Charlotte Bronte
9.) Smiley’s People (1979) John Le Carre
10.) The Haunting of Hill House (1959) Shirley Jackson
If the successful billionaire co-founder of Microsoft can read 50 books per year, you can read at least one book per month or more. We believe in you! Don’t dream it, do it!
I don’t care who you are, where you live in the world, how old you are, etc, just remember BOOKS ARE FUN, BOOKS ARE FOR EVERYONE!
GatesNotes (Bill Gates reading blog)
$90 bil and counting
https://www.forbes.com/profile/bill-gates/?list=billionaires
The Giving PledgeÂ
https://givingpledge.org/Pledger.aspx?id=199
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
https://www.gatesfoundation.org/
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