Hello, friends! Today I’m sharing my Favorite Books 2024: January – June edition. When I share favorite books, I always receive emails asking me to share more frequently. While I often include book recommendations in my Saturday Seven Lifestyle and monthly favorites posts, I am trying to share quarterly or half-yearly (as is the case this year) with a roundup of recent reads. Keep reading for my non-fiction favorites I’ve read so far this year.
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Favorite Books 2024: January – June
Most of my non-fiction reading during the first half of this year focused on time management and productivity. I also did some reading on mindfulness and aging. Here are my very favorite reads on these topics with my brief summary and thoughts for each one.
UpTime by Laura Mae Martin
If I had to choose a favorite read for the first half of this year, I would definitely pick UpTime. Martin is a Google employee who created her path to become Google’s productivity expert, and she shares a ton of personal productivity tips and ideas. Her ideas are actionable and easily adaptable. I love that the subtitle of her book is “A Practical Guide to Personal Productivity and Wellbeing” because after all, there is only so much one can do in a day. I’ve got this on my stack to re-read and take more notes.
Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
Readers of the blog will recognize this author since I regularly recommend podcast episodes from Georgetown University professor Cal Newport. Slow Productivity focuses on three fundamental ideas: Do Fewer Things, Work at a Natural Pace, and Obsess over Quality. Newport illustrates each of these principles with examples from the lives of a variety of creatives in many different fields. This was another of my favorites this year.
Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal
Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal was another of my favorite reads on personal productivity. Abdaal is a medical doctor who now focuses full-time on his work on high performance and productivity. Like Martin, Abdaal shares practical ideas for being productive–but not at the expense of feeling good. Another five-star book on this subject.
The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
Although this book was originally published several years ago, I read the updated and expanded 2023 edition and absolutely loved all of the ideas shared–no wonder this book is an international bestseller! Elrod shares examples from his life and the lives of others with sound ways to get your morning and your day off to a great start, practically ensuring success later in the day. I don’t consider myself a morning person and still loved this book. Additionally, his ideas are easily adaptable for any life/work scenario.
From Strength to Strength by Arthur C. Brooks
I read this book right at the beginning of the year. It was a terrific way to begin the year learning about both the strength and the limitations of those in the second half of life (over 50). The examples and research were fascinating, and this book truly inspires one to seek to give back to the world around them.
Peak Mind by Amishi P. Jha
This book focuses on the benefits of mindfulness especially as it relates to focus. There are also a lot of stress-reducing benefits to mindfulness, but the true center of the book is really to help us own our attention and create our best life by staying in tune and in focus. There are also a variety of helpful techniques and exercises, and I love Jha’s clear style. the author is also a wife and mother and uses a lot of real-life examples mixed with examples from clients and studies particularly from the military’s use of these ideas.
More Favorite Books Posts
Below you’ll find my favorite way to keep track of the books I read along with my 2022 and 2023 favorite books read:
I’ll have another post near the end of the year with my third and fourth quarter reads–and hopefully I’ll even have a non-fiction book or two to share then as well! Thanks so much for stopping by for today’s Favorite Books 2024 post.
Happy quilting!
Linda Casias says
The book Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal is one of my favorite books this year too! And I really like his YouTube channel. Although I am retired, I still want to make good use of my time and to be productive. I have caught myself using the phrase “I can just do it tomorrow” only to find I didn’t get to that thing I really wanted to do. Thanks to your tips, tricks and inspiration and Ali’s book, I can enjoy my retirement and be productive while doing the important things I want to accomplish.
I will certainly add a few more of your recommendations to my must read list.