black woman reading.

Read and Carry On – The Reintroduction

The #1 Habit

How many books did you read last year? Did you read any books that had a major impact on a part of your life?

They say that the number 1 habit of self-made millionaires and CEOs is reading. And on average they read over 30 books a year.

For me, my love of reading didn’t start because of millionaire ambitions. Growing up in Jamaica, books were expensive and there was a scarcity associated with that. Living in the US gave me access to books that I always wanted to read but didn’t have the resources to acquire. Today, I have lots of physical books and ebooks – thanks Nook! And now audio books offer me a new and exciting reading experience.

books on shelves

All about the variety

When I started the blog, I would regularly post about books to read or one’s currently I’m reading. I can’t quite pinpoint why I took a break from those posts. It could very well be me doing too much or feeling overwhelmed with doing book reviews. Although I haven’t written about any books since 2015, I’ve read or listened to over 30 books combined!

Now don’t give me too much credit, I realized that I was consuming books, devouring the knowledge like a mad woman and each was the last book on earth. What I wasn’t doing was savoring the books for the knowledge they provided and the resulting wisdom from things I’ve learned within.

Some of us (myself included) read lots of business or career books but reading memoirs, autobiographies and fiction should be included on our reading lists.

I will do my best to include a variety of subjects in my book selections as well as focus on books by Caribbean American authors. It’s important for me feature books by Caribbean or Caribbean American authors because they highlight our Caribbean culture and allow us find representations of ourselves/stories in their books.Book

Going forward

So for 2017, I’m re-committing to providing suggested books to read (or listen). “Carry On Reads” will be published bimonthly with suggestions that round out a variety of topics. I’m not doing a traditional book review – that’s why I fell off. I felt I needed to do a review but how could I do that without giving away the whole book? A book lover like me gets so excited about a book and could give away the whole thing. So going forward, I’m focusing on offering a brief summary of each book and will include what I liked about the book and what I didn’t like. I might even include who this book is best suited for.

I’m also going to include a “Community Pick” which is the book our audience most recommends for the month – so be sure to send your suggestions.

Whether you read one book a month or one book each quarter, I highly suggest you commit to reading more in 2017.  I suggest that this year you read a book that speaks to some part of you; whether it’s parenting, marriage, faith, personal development, professional development or just for fun.

 

ICYMI – Some Recommendations

Before we get started on new books for the year – ICYMI here’s a recap of books we’ve recommended:

books The Alchemist Daring Greatly How the world sees you

  1. How the World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination
  2. Rework
  3. Play Like A Man Win Like A Woman
  4. Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
  5. The Alchemist
  6. Not for Everyday Use: A Memoir
  7. Somerset Grove
  8. The Roving Tree
  9. An Untamed State
  10. Til the Well Runs Dry

 

Name Your Pick

What’s your “Community Pick” book suggestion?

Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook #cofreads

We’ll publish our next list of suggested books in February.

 

Kerry-Ann

Kerry-Ann Reid-Brown is Founder & host of Carry On Friends one of the first podcasts dedicated to the Caribbean American Experience. She is leading the way for Caribbean Podcast as the founder of Breadfruit Media, the first Caribbean podcast production company; and founder of the Caribbean Podcast Directory a place to discover podcasts by people of Caribbean Heritage.