My Favorite Books From 2021

I have kept an Excel log of the books I have read since 2000, or 22 years and counting. In total, I have read 732, or an average of 33 books per year. In 2020, I read exactly 33 books. In 2021, I also read exactly 33 books! This was a bit of a cheat because I realized during the last week of the year that I had just 32 books, so I plowed through one just to get to 33. I had an erratic reading schedule last year so would probably have finished with just 32.

In addition to not reading as regularly as in previous years, I didn’t enjoy the books as much. I may need to be more proactive about selecting books. Currently, I get a lot of books referred to me because I write a column on Forbes (and authors want coverage!). I also browse NetGalley for new books in my favorite categories – business, personal finance, personal development – and pick based on the blurb or the author. Finally, I have gotten good recommendations in the past from Hay House, so many of my books from this year are published by Hay House.

My Top 10 Books for 2021

1 – Take More Vacations by Scott Keyes

Maybe it’s my wanderlust that makes me select a travel book as my favorite from 2021, but it’s also an excellent book. Scott Keyes is the founder of travel newsletter, Scott’s Cheap Flights, and he has put together a well-written primer on how to find cheap flights. As a surprising but very welcome bonus, the book is a passionate argument for travel – the benefits of travel and some fun facts about travel in general. Some of my favorite takeaways from the book:

• Finding cheap flights is about strategy. It’s about rethinking how you search
• Well-being peaked on Day 8 and declined thereafter….Three one-week vacations may do us more good than one three-week vacation
• Flexibility Is A Currency – it’s the single most important factor in boosting your cheap flight odds
• We can’t control what the airlines charge, but we can control what we pay

2 – Third Shift Entrepreneur by Todd Connor

I recommended this book to multiple entrepreneurs I know, which is the highest review you can give a book. Excellent business-building book with advice unfolding in a story about a burned out executive who longs for something new in his career, probably a business, but is too busy, too risk-averse and too overwhelmed to make any moves. Third Shift Entrepreneur does a great job of laying out how to move forward, how to test a business idea without risking capital and how to start a business organically. One of the earliest books I read in 2021, I knew it would be one of my favorite books of 2021. Some of my favorite takeaways from the book:

• Do not allow yourself to be limited by your career story to date. Most people aren’t stuck in misery, they’re stuck in mediocrity. Write your own story.
• The third shift is what you do in the nooks and crannies of your day – in the waning hours, at 5:00 in the morning or 1:00 in the morning when normal and less ambitious people are sleeping. It’s the
• 30 minutes you sit in your car during a lunch break on your laptop building a plan instead of sitting and mindlessly scrolling social media with your co-workers. The third shift is the staging ground where you build your future, start a business or launch your thing, and pursue your dreams.
• You can slide sideways for years, thinking that you are making progress. Other people will create urgency in your life for their problems. Expect it at work and at home and on social media and everywhere you aren’t looking for it. The question for you is: How will you create urgency in your own life for your dreams?
• Doing is the new resume. There is no other qualification for entrepreneurs that matters other than whether or not you demonstrate your ability to solve the problem or build the solution.
• You need to fall passionately in love with the problem, but not in love with the solution…Some entrepreneurs think the key to being successful is never taking no for an answer and being persistent. That’s only partly true. You need to be persistent, but only toward finding a solution to a real problem that exists. If you focus on one solution that no one wants, you might miss the larger opportunity.

3 – We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers

This is a rah-rah motivational book with some practical tough love about reaching for more in your financial life and tips on starting and growing a business. The advice is suitable to all, though Rodgers is clearly writing for women and even more specifically women of color. I found her no-nonsense voice endearing, and her personal stories about growing up in NYC inspiring and entertaining. Some of my favorite takeaways from the book:

• The money stories that shaped you may be keeping you broke.
• If this thing in my environment could talk, what would it be saying to me? If it’s saying “you are broke,” toss it, donate it, or otherwise make it disappear, and replace it with something that makes you feel rich
• How will this decision or direction lead to more for you?….Remember to focus on the more, rather than the cost.
• Instead of trying to be cheap and accessible to all, focus on being wealthy and influential to many
• Scarcity begets scarcity
• Plan for the financial life you want, not the one you have. Plan to be big. In fact, plan to be huge. When you believe that you are headed for big things, you’ll see the value in taking care of the financial and legal needs of your future piles of cash

4 – Limitless by Jim Kwik

The personal stories of Jim Kwik’s brain injury and recovery really make this book. It goes long in the middle where he meanders around mindset – an important topic for sure, but much of what he covers has been written before. The meat of the book – how to memorize more easily, read faster and other learning strategies – comes towards the end, and it’s helpful but not as engaging as the beginning. Still, learning how to learn is an important topic, and this is a well-written book. Some of my favorite takeaways from the book:

• If an egg is broken by an outside force, life ends. If broken by an inside force, life begins. Great things always begin from the inside
• If knowledge is power, then learning is our superpower.
• If you are not learning or living at your full potential….there is a limit that must be released and replaced in one of three areas: Mindset; Motivation; Methods
• One of the reasons children learn rapidly is because they are empty vessels; they know they don’t know. Some people who claim to have twenty years of experience have one year of experience that they’ve repeated twenty times.
• These are your three magic questions: How can I use this? Why must I use this? When will I use this?
• Here’s the truth: It’s not how smart you are; it’s how you are smart.
• A big part of self-love is being protective of your time and energy
• There’s no such thing as a good memory or a bad memory; there is only a trained memory and an untrained memory

5 – How To Prepare For Climate Change by David Pogue

The title is a true summary of the book. Pogue covers various subjects from growing a survival garden to constructing an environmentally sound and sustainable house to insuring your home and contents properly to escaping from various natural disasters.

This book is great for the reference shelf because you’ll need to refer to specific passages later – there’s just too much information to remember. It’s a dense book. I read the e-reader version at the library, which came in at almost 900 pages, and I paced 30-40 pages every 30 minutes. That’s a 15-hour read! Yes, it’s worth it for such an important topic, and Pogue’s writing is accessible and friendly (enough jokes to be conversational but not too many to become annoying). That said, the deluge of information was like drinking from a fire hose. I was exhausted, more than inspired into action.

6 – The One Book Millions Method by Mike Shreeve

This book is the literary equivalent of an informercial in that its purpose is to drive you to buy Shreeve’s program. That said, it’s a really well-done informercial – the kind that makes you feel like you have worked out if it’s an exercise informercial or that you whipped up a delicious meal if it’s a cooking show. Shreeve lays out a convincing argument, and I agreed with a lot of his business approach. You will get value from reading this book, even if you don’t buy the program (I did not), and therefore I do recommend this book. I didn’t mind the sales pitch – you get good value in exchange – but I know some readers get turned off by that.

7 – Humankind: Changing the World One Small Act At a Time by Brad Aronson

This is a particularly refreshing book to read post-pandemic when you’re starved for good news and when you might be overwhelmed by anxiety or a feeling of helplessness given all that’s going on in the world. Aronson shares countless stories of small acts of kindness that led to big, impactful results. Several of the stories showed multiple ripples from a single act, like when a teacher showed a one-handed child how to tie his shoes with just the one hand and then that child grew up to be a professional baseball player (Jim Abbott!) who in turn inspired another one-handed athlete, this time a wrestler, to turn professional fighter. Most of the stories are everyday people, but occasionally you get the surprise big name, like Jim Abbott – and a touching story about Art Garfinkle (which I won’t spoil, you’ll just have to read the book). I bookmarked a lot of inspirational stories, as well as names of organizations that you can support – Aronson provides a long list at the end of non-profits representing a wide variety of causes.

8 – Nudge: The Final Edition by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein

I read and enjoyed Nudge when it first came out, and I enjoyed this go-round as well. I had forgotten how funny the authors are – and not just funny for economists, but genuinely, endearingly jokey. The book revolves around the importance of conscious design in making good choices and how the designer can encourage (or discourage) good choices, habits and decisions based on design. It’s an important topic and exhaustively covered by the authors. This book is important reading to better understand complex social issues, but also everyday decisions like whether or not to work out or practice guitar.

9 – 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace by Wayne Dyer

My favorite Wayne Dyer book since The Power of Intention, 10 Secrets does what Dyer does best – motivate and inspire. The secrets are mostly common sense, but Dyer is a gifted writer.

10 – Intimacies by Katie Kitamura

One of the first fiction books I have read in years, it was an opportunistic choice but a good one. The writing was lyrical and expressive. The lead character was fully drawn. Sone of the ancillary characters were just outlined, like sidekicks in a romcom but they were descriptive enough that I could picture them. The plot kept me interested enough to read attentively, and I found myself wanting to know what happened. The ending felt realistic – there wasn’t so much a resolution but an organic next step for the characters. I enjoyed that the book felt like real people experiencing everyday things.

Short Summaries Of The Other 23 Books

Power Moms by Joann Lublin

I received this book as an advance copy in consideration for possible inclusion in my Forbes column, and I liked it enough to give it a shout-out. Power Moms by Joann S. Lublin features dozens of real-life examples of working moms with satisfying careers and full family lives, and the stories all differ in how each mom came to her balance point. Multiple career paths can work. The stories are inspiring and informative, if you are an aspiring executive, as the examples are corporate-focused.

The Exceptionals by Kumar Mehta

Mehta outlines how you can become exceptional – the one in ten thousand. It’s not clear how he comes up with his thesis, which is essentially that you need to devote a lot of time to mastery, on top of having natural ability. It was fun to read examples of exceptional people (e.g., runner Usain Bolt) but it wasn’t relatable, and there wasn’t much actionable advice for the everyday person. One helpful takeaway was to focus on process over results:  If you focus on the routine or daily method you go through on your way to achieving your goals, the outcome takes care of itself.

Plan A Never Happens by Gary Westphalen

If you want to vicariously live through a move abroad, Westphalen delivers a funny, anxiety-inducing firsthand account of his and his wife Carmen’s journey from the Washington, DC area to Tamarindo, Costa Rica. On one hand, the book is a handy checklist of things to think about – buying abroad and selling your current place, moving with pets, downsizing but still moving with a lifetime of contents, getting the necessary paperwork in order (if you don’t yet know what an Apostille is, you will after reading this book!), weighing the costs of a private jet to multiple trips back and forth and juggling all of these multi-step workstreams amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

On the other hand, this book is a uniquely personal account of Westphalen’s story. He even shares his bout with identity theft – sadly, wile he was arranging all of the above! The book opens with the Westphalen’s visiting and falling for Costa Rica, and then lucking their way into the perfect retirement condo for them. You get introduced to their longtime pets, their jobs, their daughters. You cheer when a required document arrives on time, and lament when a new setback is introduced. I was exhausted just reading along, and with the benefit of their hindsight, have definitely decided to make our move slowly over time, if we make the transition to full-time expats.

Effortless by Greg McKeown

The premise of this book is so tantalizing: how to make the most important things you need to get done effortless. “Essentialism was about doing the right things; Effortless is about doing them in the right way,” promises McKeown, referencing his widely popular book, “Essentialism. The latest book, Effortless, does summarize some helpful tips I have read elsewhere – e.g., attach a new good habit to an old established habit to make the new habit easier to automate – but I didn’t feel like I got anything new. I do appreciate the reminders to take breaks and to focus on eliminating and not just making efficient things you shouldn’t be doing at all. But if you’re looking for an a-ha moment, you won’t find it here.

How To Make Good Things Happen by Marian Rojas Estape

Estape is a psychiatrist who offers neuroscience-based advice and insights on how to be happier and more optimistic. There are some interesting patient stories, which I find particularly instructional for taking theory into practice. Estape has an accessible way of writing that is encouraging and not lecturing. What was missing for me was a structure that tied it all together – I recall reading through a number of seemingly disparate tips and ideas, and I would have a hard time summarizing a specific program of action or point of view.

Happy and Free On Purpose by Lauren Powers

Happy and Free On Purpose is an enjoyably paced and accessible primer on the Law of Attraction. If you’re already a Law of Attraction fan, this will be a welcome review. If you’re new to the material, Foster provides a solid introduction. The summary at the end with proposed exercises that you could do with a book club or accountability group is particularly helpful. My favorite takeaway and a good summary of the essence of this book:  “happiness is not something you find. I finally let life teach me that happiness is something you choose, create, and generate.” – Lauren Foster

100 Tips To Becoming A Successful Entrepreneur by Sabrina Truscott

This is a Cliff Notes guide to becoming a business owner. By Tip 55, Truscott was already hiring managers of managers – i.e., you’re running an expanding business! But even if the tips are overly simplistic, it’s a breezy overview and good for a motivational pick me up.

Heart Thoughts by Louise Hay

If you’re already a fan of Louise Hay, you’ll love this book which is a collection of affirmations, meditative prose and other observations from Louise. If you’re not familiar with Louise Hay, she founded Hay House publishing, a juggernaut in the self-help and personal development space. I have discovered many interesting authors and experts via the annual summit that Hay House runs each year. I’m not a practitioner of every subject Hay House covers (there is a wide range from the airy fairy like angels and crystals to the left-brain targeted like business success and personal finance). However, I admire what Louise has built and find her writing to be uplifting and inspiring. I found this book to be a calming read – perfect for a pandemic pick-me-up.

The Astonishing Power of Emotions by Abraham Hicks

If you’re an Abraham Hicks fan, this book is a good read for the many examples that show exactly how to apply the different AH techniques, such as reaching for the better feeling thought or going more general. If you’re not already used to the material, it’s a good primer, though I find the many free videos on YouTube more helpful in getting a feel for what the AH approach is and how to apply it.

Write Your Book on the Side by Brad Aronson

A quick read that will make you think that you too can write a book.

Risk Forward by Victoria Labalme

Labalme has an impressive background as a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame and a longtime performance coach after an early career as a film theatre and events producer. I was excited to read this book and resonated with the premise about taking chances and making bold changes. I wish Labalme had included more about her background and more case studies. Instead, the book had cliché motivational tips and not much substance. I was left wanting more but not trusting the author would deliver.

A Minute To Think by Juliet Funt

Funt covers an important premise – that we’re overcommitted and would benefit from doing less, resting more and reflecting more. Though she provides some helpful statistics on how just one individual can change the dynamics of a group, there isn’t enough on how to build in that beneficial time (to do less, rest more and reflect more). Examples that Bill Gates or Jack Welch manage to do it fall flat to the everyday professional….That said, after a slow start, more useful paradigms and tips are introduced. Reflective questions at the end of each chapter are helpful summaries. The four Simplification Questions she repeats throughout the book are particularly helpful: Is there anything I can let go of? Where is “good enough” good enough? What do I truly need to know? What deserves my attention?

The Black Girl’s Guide To Financial Freedom by Paris Woods

Like a motivational big sister, Paris Woods delivers tough love advice on developing strong money habits — to get out of debt (or avoid it in the first place), save more money, invest more prudently and earn what you’re worth. The reflective questions at the end of each chapter provide a structure that encourages and enables readers to put the lessons learned into practice right away. Throughout the book, Woods shares her personal experiences, including digging out of thousands of dollars in debt, how she creatively funded a high school trip to France that cost $2,000 and how she trimmed her budget by more than half in order to reach financial independence faster. The book is written as a rallying cry to black women, but is a solid financial primer for all.

Who Will Take Care Of Me When I’m Old by Joy Loverde

Exhaustive tips and list of resources for taking care of yourself as you grow older. Comprehensive covering financial, physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual aspects of aging.

Proactive Twelve Steps by Serge Prengel

I’m already a Serge Prengel fan, having briefly coached with him when I was considering my move from employee to entrepreneur and then following his blog posts and other books. This book is not my favorite of his but it’s a solid paradigm for how to approach change, modeled after the 12 Steps from Alcoholics Anonymous.

Wayward by Dana Spiotta

I don’t read a lot of fiction so I don’t have anything to compare this to, but I was disappointed after a promising start. This should have been a book I liked – the lead is my age (50’s), having an identity crisis I’m all about career change!) and decides to move into and renovate an old house in the urban party of Syracuse (real estate!). She even tries stand up comedy! The book moved pretty quickly in the beginning, and I was initially curious to know how all the twists and turns would work out – her teenage daughter with the inappropriately older boyfriend, the on again – off again marriage, the weird people she meets in online communities and Facebook groups. But then the book became what I remember of Karate Kid 2 – just when you think it can’t pack anymore issues in, there’s a hurricane! Actually, the hurricane was in Karate Kid 2; this book just had a mini-stroke, an unarmed black teen shot by cops, a state fair rife with angry Trumpers, a grandma with cancer, even a treatise on libertarianism…How many issues can you pack into one book? Wayward tries to pack them all in.

Happiness Is The Way by Wayne Dyer

An uneven book by Wayne Dyer, Happiness Is The Way starts strong with a focus on how you choose happiness internal, rather than from some external motivation or reward, and how this choice sets you up for success, peace and essentially the rewards you are seeking in the first place. However, the book devolves into scolding the reader for not taking personal responsibility. Normally, Dyer has a much more inspirational tone, but this one seems like it was written after coaching an exasperating client! Dyer continually contradicts himself between exhorting how unlimited you are and how it’s never too late to change, while giving a lot of references to people who never change (and clearly never giving them the benefit of the doubt that they could change). I continue to read Dyer’s work because these are breezy reads, quite motivational and you will find gems sprinkled in there. You do find gems in Happiness, but my favorite is still The Power of Intention, and I could have skipped this one.

You Are What You Think: 365 Meditations for Extraordinary Living by Wayne Dyer

A nice collection of quotes from Wayne Dyer for the die-hard fan. This quote a day pulls from Dyer’s many books. I had just read a couple of his books so I recognized some of the quotes – a great example of repurposing previous material! Still, I enjoyed and bookmarked many of the quotes.

It’s Not Your Money by Tosha Silver

This book is a step-by-step guide through Silver’s 8-week challenge to relieve yourself of money anxiety. Steps include decluttering, repeating original money-related prayers and other rituals, such as breaking coconuts (or eggs or dishes) as part of cutting the cord with unhealthy relationships and beliefs. Being predominately a left-brain thinker, I would never have picked up a book like this, except it was highly recommend by a coaching colleague I highly regard. The book is well-written and provides an interesting counterpoint to Law of Attraction in its focus on the the Law of Prarabdha Karma, the idea that “in each lifetime, a soul is born for a distinct curriculum. Every desire might not be meant to occur, not matter how many vision boards you make”. The book is interesting enough that I actually want to try the challenge, which is quite the compliment given how many coaching books and programs I get pitched.

Gratitude: A Way of Life, edited by Michelle Gold

This anthology of essays on gratitude is uneven, with some beautiful musings and some that just fall flat. For a feel-good read or antidote to all the bad news, I like keeping books like this on regular rotation. I would recommend Humankind over this one if you’re looking for something in this genre. Gratitude has a lot of essays that are platitudes and preaching, whereas Humankind makes its point through stories. That said, I loved Murray Salem’s entry about his Syrian grandmother who gave thanks for everything, even the bad stuff, which enabled Salem to get through a difficult childhood of constant bullying to become an actor and screenwriter (Kindergarten Cop was one of his).

Financial Fives by Gary Grewal

Gary Grewal covers a comprehensive list of topics (65 in all!) and not just the familiar personal finance mass media, like how to save on car insurance or improve your credit. Topics for everyday life for everyday people include: how to save money on party hosting or dating; what to rent v. buy; or how to cheer up besides impulse shopping. For each topic, Grewal gives five tips or actions (hence the title, Financial Fives) to help you optimize that topic. It makes for an easy read, though the downside is you’ll get a cursory look at the topic, especially if it’s complex (e.g., starting a business). I really wish Grewal shared more of his own story:  I achieved a net worth of over $400,000 by my late 20’s without making six figures or even owning real estate. How did he do that? Now there’s a book I would read!

Sh#t Your Ego Says by James McCrae

I finished this book and forgot to write down my thoughts right away. Then one month later, I saw it on my Kindle and thought I hadn’t read it. I couldn’t remember what it was about without reviewing my bookmarked pages. That said, as I reviewed my bookmarks, there were lots of nice motivational quotes to add to my list. My favorites were irreverent word plays: The key to success is to pick the lock. In case of emergency, break routine. Following your dreams is hard in a world that follows the leader

The High 5 Habit by Mel Robbins

Mel Robbins is the most-booked female motivational speaker, and The High 5 Habit was the biggest seller in 2021 for Hay House publishing. I bought this book because I wanted to see firsthand what all the fuss is about. Robbins certainly has an accessible, encouraging voice. The advice – give yourself a high 5 in the mirror first thing in the morning – is simple to understand and follow. Given how much speaking and coaching she has done, I was hoping for more real-life examples, other than from her own story, but that’s my personal preference. If you’re looking for a breezy, rah-rah read, this book is a good fit.

What did you read in 2021? What would you recommend?