In 2016, I read more books in a single year than I had probably read my entire life.

That sentence is about 42% hyperbole.

Now that I think about it, it is possible that I read more than 26 books in the first thirty years I lived, but I’m pretty sure the true number isn’t too far off from that calculation.

My goal for 2017 was to read far more than 26 books; by the end of the first month, I was on pace to read roughly 60 books.

And by the time of the publishing of this article, I ended up finishing 37 different books from all sorts of genres.

That’s an average of three books a month, an increase of one book per month versus my 2016 average.

Most of these were fiction. Because as much as I love self-help books, the biggest and most impactful lessons you’ll ever discover about life are not in a Tony Robbins book—they’re found in fiction.

So, here’s a rundown of what I’ve read over the last year with a brief sentence or two about what I learned from each book. I highly suggest picking any of these up for 2018. And yes, the links to do that are below.

*Note: some of what I learned are sentences directly taken from said books because the author said it better than I could summarize.*

I’m a Book Slut, So What?

Being decisive is a choice. Decisiveness is a way of behaving, not an inherited trait. It allows us to make brave and confident choices, not because we know we’ll be right but because it’s better to try and fail than to delay and regret.

Jimmy V is great. And his ESPY speech is one of the five things that will unequivocally cause every man to cry. But this book gave a massive handjob to Coach K and needed to focus more on the great Dean Smith. (Fuck Coach K)

People with OCD sometimes feel like they can’t escape the spinning tornado they find themselves trapped in.

102 letters and wicked awesome imagination are all you need sometimes to tell an amazing story.

Courage is a vital piece of a well-lived life.

You can love yourself no matter what expectations society tries to place on you.

Write what you like, then imbue it with life and make it unique by blending in your own personal knowledge of life, friendships, relationships, sex, and work.

[Confession: this is the first King book I ever read. (oops)]

Technology has made the ability to remember things irrelevant.

If you want to take over the world, learn these crucial 48 laws and slowly implement them in your arsenal. (Or at least learn them and then be able to understand when someone is trying to manipulate you.)

Concise language is best.

The bad guy is more intriguing to me, not because they have a better story, but because I’m afraid I am a villainous person.

…..if you live long enough, it’s probably impossible to avoid seeming crazy

I’m probably more racist than I want to believe or even realize. So, I need to work on that.

Choose to be true to yourself, that’s the only way to live an authentic and happy life.

Batman has been one of the most symbolic figures of the time and place our lives reside in and nearly no one (Glen Weldon did) has noticed it.

Everyone who is married or single or dating should read this. Because it could save your relationship when the hard times come rolling.

(PS: if you’re like me and your love language is the opposite of your spouse, learn some goddamn patience and take a course [this book] on how to speak their language better.)

Men: go get your testosterone levels checked. Then buy this book and keep it as a resource.

[And yes, someday I will go on TRT because I refuse to live a sub-par life due to my T-levels.]

What turned around crime in NYC in the 80s? Washing away all the graffiti on subway cars. After that was done, crime decreased. So it’s not the BIG things that we usually need to tackle, it’s the little things that make a huge difference.

This dude loves colons as much as I do. And the story is good, but I like him as a songwriter better. (Darnielle is the lead singer of The Mountain Goats)

This is the non-video game version of The Last of Us. But with higher stakes.

I’m glad that one time I went deep seas fishing that I had a rod that could bring the fish in.

Some endings need to be crafted thirty plus times to be just right.

Math can be used to show you many truths. But the truth is only true if the math is right.

Get your clients on the phone, shut the fuck up, and listen to them. Then change their lives.

Stop being dumb. Eat carbs.

There’s always more to a story about an abortion than what any politically charged article or Facebook status will tell you. And there are thousands of voices who remain silent who’ve had abortions and don’t regret them, but still don’t know how to deal with the all the emotions that come before, during, and after the procedure.

Leia and Han got it on in real life pretty much during all of A New Hope.

Listening is better than speaking when someone you know or love is going through something terrible. So, uh, shut up and let them talk.

Embracing our fears and vulnerability is what will allow us to live the life we want to live; don’t be afraid to talk about the things people say you shouldn’t talk about.

We can’t give people what we don’t have. Who we are matters immeasurably more than what we know or who we want to be.

Liars are people who think they are telling the truth, but who really have no idea what the truth is.
Football allows the intellectual part of my brain to evolve, and the it allows the emotional part to remain unchanged.

We (human beings) don’t connect, we compete to connect.

Life is an adventure, and I hope someday to have a tale like Kvothe’s to tell.

This is still canon and Luke still married Mara Jade. The end. Fuck off, Disney.

Getting jacked can still be done with this book. There’s a reason it’s called The Bible.

If you’re gonna read about marathons, make sure it’s a book written by a writer from The Simpsons; then interview him on your podcast.

The words in this book will touch a place in your soul that hasn’t been touched since the days we were but a shard of stardust erupting from genesis of time. (And that’s why I’m reading it a second time this year to close out 2017.)

And since Amazon allows me to build lists, if you wanna pick up any of these books—and you totally should—you can check out my list with all these books here: Robbie’s 2017 Books He Suggests You Read in 2018.