The first quarter of this year was good when it came to reading, despite being busy with my own book release. Ever since my girlfriend moved in with me I’ve been reading a lot more. She reads so much, that every time I see her read, I get the urge to read. It does show on my Goodreads account too!

Goodreads even says I’m one book ahead of schedule! What do you know… The only book cover not properly showing in the above screenshot is YES! By Daniel Bryan, which I really liked and rated four stars!

Currently reading: The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe

I’m 86 pages in and loving this book already! It’s a bit of a thick volume, at 494 pages (including the appendix, etc), but it’s filled with to the brim with knowledge, and the aim of the book is to give you a toolbox for critical thinking in an age where we are constantly being misled by the media, fake news, and people who are biased (including yourself, but you’ll learn how to recognise that). I would already recommend the book based on what I’ve read thus far. I know I won’t be leaving my house again without putting my critical thinking cap on, at least! 😉

Up next!

So what am I going to read next? Well, here’s my current selection of books that I’m going to read next:

It’s a bit of a mix of non-fiction (Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe, The Subtle Art of not Giving a Fuck and Ikigai) and fiction (Thrawn, Een Rijk in Verval and Pogingen iets van het leven te maken). I picked these, because they all seem like good reads and some of them are research for my next novel. 🙂

The Subtle Art of not Giving a Fuck

I’ve heard a lot about this book. The thing is, I already don’t give many fucks about a great deal of things, so I’m curious if I’m going to learn anything from this book. I’m kind of sceptical about it, but at the same it’s not an overly thick book, so it should be a quick read. If anything, I’m kind of expecting this book to hold some sort of stoic life philosophy, but I guess I’ll see for myself soon. This book also serves as research for my own non-fiction book, which I’m working on passively. I’m collecting data and writing down my own philosophies every now and then, but that book is coming, that’s for sure. 🙂

Ikigai

This was a lovely find in a bookstore in Amstelveen that I visited with Bren. It’s about finding your Ikigai, or “reason for existence”, as the blurb explains. I love the Japanese and their culture, so I’m certain I will learn a thing or two from this book. Same thing applies to this book as did to The Subtle Art of not Giving a Fuck, I’m using this book partly as research as well, but mostly to incorporate some of its content into my everyday life.

Star Wars: Thrawn

Thrawn is one of my favourite villains from the extended Star Wars universe. When Disney announced the old Thrawn trilogy to be no longer canon, I was quite displeased. Later I learned that Thrawn had been incorporated into the new animated series Rebels and I was so glad they finally gave him a good place in the new canon.

Timothy Zahn is back for a new trilogy with Thrawn! I’m so eager to get started on this book! I already have the sequel to it in my TBR pile, and when the last part releases later this year, I’ll pick it up without a doubt. Zahn’s books are among my favourite Star Wars reads, so I’m expecting big things from this book. I’m also very happy I have it in hardcover! ^_^

Pogingen iets van het leven te maken

I’ve heard so much about this book, mostly good things. Since my next project is going to be a fantasy/comedy story I want to do some research into what makes other books funny and this one seems like a good example. It’s about a secret diary from an old man named Hendrik Groen. This is the first book. Two more followed after this one, but I’m most curious about this one, since it got so much critical acclaim.

I can’t say I like the cover that much and I don’t think I ever would have considered picking it up if it weren’t such a popular book, but I need to know what it’s success is, so I can learn from it. 🙂

Een Rijk in Verval

This book was written by a colleague of mine, Sebastiaan Koen. We’ve become more acquainted lately and he was going to read my trilogy. If Bren wasn’t so enthusiastic about it, I wouldn’t have bothered picking it up. The problem is that there’s so many books by my colleagues in the genre that it’s hard to read all of them, so I’m extremely picky when it comes to reading their books. From what I heard this fantasy story is great, and I can’t wait to get started! 🙂

So, there you have it, my current TBR pile! What are you reading? Please leave a message below in the comments! 🙂

Happy reading!

-Jeffrey