Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks

This is a wonderful book about not only how to tell better stories, but how to better see the stories in your life. As a speaker and teacher, telling stories is one of the most important skills to be interesting and effective. However, even in our personal relationships and conversations, being able to tell stories well is valuable. This is a definite recommendation.

 

Procrastination Proof by Jon Acuff

This is Jon Acuff’s newest book, and it is a good one. Like all of Jon’s books, it is insightful, practical, and hilarious. He is also a master at saying things in memorable ways, and this book is full of gems. One of the more powerful ones came near the end when he mentions that he can sometimes be a “success voyeur,” always reading, watching, and listening to others talk about success. He doesn’t want to get stuck there. He wants to get busy working toward his own success. (And his readers, too!)

I also like Jon’s Dream, Plan, Do, Review framework. It is simple and memorable and hits the primary areas needed to set and achieve goals. I highly recommend this book.

 

Simplicity in Preaching by JC Ryle

This is a small pamphlet. 22 pages total. You can read it in one brief sitting. JC Ryle was an English Christian preacher and writer in the 1800s. This was originally a lecture to a group of seminary students that was later turned into a small pamphlet. It is immensely practical, stressing the importance of being simple, clear, and direct in preaching. I would argue that the principles are true for all public communication. He provides both positive and negative examples. I would highly recommend this for anyone who preaches or teaches. If you are a preacher, this will be the best $3 (yes, it is only $3) you spend this month. Maybe this year.

 

Don’t Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen — Did Not Finish

I don’t have to agree with everything in a book to learn something and find value in it. I can sift through and discard a lot and still think the time reading was well spent. This is not an example of one of those books.

I really liked the title. I think the title itself is a good reminder. We shouldn’t believe everything we think. Our thoughts are often wrong, unkind, and/or unhelpful. We should evaluate our own thoughts. After that, I found little value in the book. I skimmed much of it. I do not recommend this book.

 

The Road Less Stupid by Keith J. Cunningham

I think this book was a recommendation from Jon Acuff. It was a good one. It is aimed at business owners. Cunningham, apparently, built and lost several companies and fortunes in his younger years, learned very painful lessons, and then built and retained several companies and fortunes in his later years. These are his lessons and admonitions to business owners on not trying to be brilliant but simply trying to be less stupid. I enjoyed it. If you are a business owner, there is value here, but I am not sure if there is much value for others.

 

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

I ended the month on a fantastic note. Last month, I decided to begin re-reading some of my favorite fiction books. I re-read CS Lewis’s Space Trilogy. This month, I decided to begin re-reading Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) series. It was so nice to be back in Middle Earth. If you have never read The Hobbit, add it to your list. It is one of my all-time favorites. It is a prequel to the three LOTR books. It is the story of Bilbo Baggins, the uncle to Frodo Baggins, who will be the main character in the LOTR books, and how he finds the ring that will be the centerpiece of the story in the other books.

 

BONUS: Wouldn’t it be cool if you could find out what books your favorite celebrity recommends? Or get a list of the most recommended books in a certain category? Yeah, that would be really cool. Well, that is what you can do at Most Recommended Books. I remember running across this website a few years ago and thought it was great. I then forgot about it until I ran across it again this week. I thought I would share it. CAUTION: It is easy to spend a lot of time browsing this site and accumulating a ton of books to read.

 

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