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Kalen Bruce

Jesus Follower · Husband · Father · Writer · Learner

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Reading Goals for 2021

I set a goal to read 80 books in 2020. I read 81. Nailed it!

Also, I re-designed this site so check out my homepage. 🙂

The Books I Read in 2020

Yes, I added both of my own books. I actually read them many times in editing, but only counted them once. I read a few of these twice. That’s why the numbers are a little off.

Book TitleAuthor
10 Branches of Growth: Real-Life Productivity for a Fruitful LifeKalen Bruce
10 Ways to Kickstart Your Financial Coaching Business!: How I went from part time to full time in just 1 yearCraig Dacy
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My LifeDonald Miller
Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You ThinkPeter H. Diamandis
All Things New: Heaven, Earth, and the Restoration of Everything You LoveJohn Eldredge
Born to Win: Find Your Success CodeZig Ziglar
Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America’s YouthBen Shapiro
Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping by and Get Your Financial Life TogetherErin Lowry
Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will ListenDonald  Miller
Courtship After Marriage: Romance Can Last a LifetimeZig Ziglar
Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are HighKerry Patterson
Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with StuffDana K. White
Dollars and Sense: How We Misthink Money and How to Spend SmarterDan Ariely
Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We’ve Made UpFrancis Chan
Every Man’s Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a TimeStephen Arterburn
Every Man’s Marriage: An Every Man’s Guide to Winning the Heart of a WomanStephen Arterburn
Everything is F*cked: A Book About HopeMark Manson
Evil and the Justice of GodN.T. Wright
Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy SpiritFrancis Chan
Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing LessMichael Hyatt
Get Your Life Back: Everyday Practices for a World Gone MadJohn Eldredge
Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to SuccessAdam M. Grant
GreenlightsMatthew McConaughey
Growing Money: A Complete Investing Guide for KidsGail Karlitz
How the Bible Actually Works: In Which I Explain How An Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answers‚Äîand Why That’s Great NewsPeter Enns
How to Be Rich: It’s Not What You Have. It’s What You Do With What You Have.Andy Stanley
Intentional Children: Raising Money-Smart, Mindful Kids of Intention and PurposeKalen Bruce
Intermittent Fasting: Lose Weight, Heal Your Body, and Live a Healthy Life!Amanda Walker
Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual KnowledgeDallas Willard
Lead… for God’s Sake!Todd Gongwer
Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your LifeMartin E.P. Seligman
Letters to the ChurchFrancis Chan
Living in Christ’s Presence: Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of GodDallas Willard
Master Successful Personal Habits: Zig Ziglar Success Legacy LibraryZig Ziglar
MinimalismJoshua Bell
Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk: How to Have Essential Conversations with Your Parents about Their FinancesCameron Huddleston
Multiply: Disciples Making DisciplesFrancis Chan
One Meal A Day: Improved Health, More Time, More Money With One Meal A DayPong Lizardo
Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to GenerosityRonald J. Sider
Romance That Lasts a LifetimeZig Ziglar
Scary Close: Dropping the Act and Finding True IntimacyDonald Miller
Searching for God Knows WhatDonald Miller
Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters ChristianityNabeel Qureshi
Sifted: Pursuing Growth Through Trials, Challenges, and DisappointmentsWayne Cordeiro
Small Faith–Great God: Biblical Faith for Today’s ChristiansN.T. Wright
Spiritual Parenting: An Awakening for Today’s FamiliesMichelle Anthony
Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the ChurchN.T. Wright
The $500 Cup of Coffee: A Lifestyle Approach to Financial IndependenceSteven Lome
The Art of Public SpeakingDale Carnegie
The Bible Jesus ReadPhilip Yancey
The Bogleheads’ Guide to InvestingTaylor Larimore
The Case for Hope: Looking Ahead With Confidence and CourageLee Strobel
The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and IsN.T. Wright
The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All TimeWill Durant
The Illusion of Money: How Chasing Money Is Stopping You from LivingKyle Cease
The Laws of Lifetime Growth: Always Make Your Future Bigger Than Your PastDan Sullivan
The Logic of God: 52 Christian Essentials for the Heart and MindRavi Zacharias
The Minimalist Way: Minimalism Strategies to Declutter Your Life and Make Room for JoyErica Layne
The New Raising Positive Kids in a Negative WorldZig Ziglar
The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About MoneyRon Lieber
The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes LivesDallas Willard
The Warrior DietOri Hofmekler
The Wealthy Gardener: Life Lessons on Prosperity between Father and SonJohn Soforic
The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a StoreCait Flanders
Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change EverythingB.J. Fogg
Trust First: A True Story About the Power of Giving People Second ChancesBruce Deel
Unfollow: A Journey from Hatred to HopeMegan Phelps-Roper
Victory Over the DarknessNeil T. Anderson
Virtual Freedom: How to Work with Virtual Staff to Buy More Time, Become More Productive, and Build Your Dream BusinessChris C. Ducker
Waiting On GodFrancis Chan
Who Was Jesus?N.T. Wright
With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to GodSkye Jethani
Worthy of Her Trust: What You Need to Do to Rebuild Sexual Integrity and Win Her BackStephen Arterburn
Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important GoalsMichael Hyatt

For 2021, I’m going back to the basics.

Instead of constantly trying to read all I can — reading every minute I have free and listening to audiobooks at 2x the speed — I’m going to re-read some classics I haven’t opened in a while.

While I’m still going to keep track of all the books I read — I am still a nerd after all — I am not setting a reading goal for this year.

The idea is absorption, not quantity.

So these are some of the books I’m going to start with and some of the new books I really want to slowly take in.

I tried to keep it small. I was thinking like 20 books, but it quickly turned into 32. If I only read 10 books, that’s fine. If I read 80 again, so be it. Again, I have no set goal for 2021. Here’s my plan…

Books I Plan to Re-read

These are mostly classics, but it also includes some “classics-to-me”…

  1. A Praying Life by Paul Miller
  2. A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel
  3. After You Believe by NT Wright
  4. Atomic Habits by James Clear
  5. Better Than Good by Zig Ziglar
  6. Debt Free for Life by David Bach
  7. How to Have Confidence and Power in Dealing With People by Les Giblin
  8. Intentional Living by John Maxwell
  9. Mere Christianity by CS Lewis
  10. No Excuses by Brian Tracy
  11. Procrastinate on Purpose by Rory Vaden
  12. Smart Money Smart Kids by Dave Ramsey
  13. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
  14. The 5 Levels of Leadership by John Maxwell
  15. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
  16. The Cost of Discipleship by Bonhoeffer
  17. The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey
  18. The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz
  19. The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
  20. The Power of Purpose by Les Brown
  21. The Present Perfect by Greg Boyd
  22. The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins
  23. The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
  24. The Ultimate Jim Rohn Library by Jim Rohn
  25. Walking With God by John Eldredge

Seeing now how many of those books started with “The,” I should’ve alphabetized them with the “The.”

Books I Haven’t Read

These are some of the books I really want to go through and get as much as I can out of…

  1. All You Need to Know About the Music Business by Donald Passman (I know this may seem random, but I’ve been in a lot of bands and still plan to pursue music)
  2. Biblical Minimalism by Cheryl Smith
  3. The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous
  4. The Economics Book by DK
  5. University of Berkshire Hathaway by lots of people (Warren Buffett’s letters to shareholders for the last several decades)
  6. Willpower Doesn’t Work by Benjamin Hardy

Again, I’m Trying Fiction

I still haven’t been able to get into fiction. I enjoy fiction when I read it, but I always want to read non-fiction instead. This year I’m going to try one to start with. The story is based in Arkansas and Texas where I grew up, but written by a guy from the UK, so that’s weird… and intriguing!

  1. The Dark Inside by Rod Reynolds

I’m looking forward to slowly going through these books and getting as much as possible out of them.

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