David Wylie

It feels a bit like cheating, but my 2014 reading list includes books that I’ve started in the past.

In fact, one of them (Green Mars) I started reading as far back as 2011 and just never finished. It just stares at me from my bookshelf like an abandoned puppy, making me feel guilty.

I’ve always juggled books. Any more than three at a time and I find myself dropping them. By that observation, I may already be setting myself up to fail because I have more than that already open at the same time.

Here’s what I’m currently reading:

1. The 4-Hour Chef by Timothy Ferriss — Not so much a cook book as a manifesto for learning to learn. I’m pretty excited about this one. I like that this book takes my interest in becoming a better cook and applying it to the bigger picture of education.

2. Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson — I only have about 70 pages left, but finishing this book (which I started years ago) would be a major accomplishment. Anyone interested in the ever-hot topic of occupying Mars should read the first book in this trilogy, Red Mars.

3. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell — I’m really skeptical of this book. I read about a dozen pages of Gladwell’s book Blink and was like “Seriously? People buy this hokey stuff?” But my boss recommended it, so I’ll give it a chance.

4. Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham — When I asked my boss for a great book that would help me in my communications training, he let me borrow his copy of this book. I was expecting something a bit more training-ish rather than something on finding your inherent talents. But this book has so far changed the way I see myself.

5. How to talk so kids will listen and listen so they will talk by Adele Faber — This is one I’ve been meaning to tackle for a while. I’ve never been big into parenting books, but I’m thinking I could use all the help I can get while herding three little ones by myself. Parenting with empathy has always been a guiding philosophy for me.