With 2018 in the books (no pun intended), I want to take a minute to look back at my literature goals of 2018. I challenged myself to read a book of non-fiction a month and as much fiction as I wanted. I ended up reading 11 books of non-fiction and 8 books of fiction. Even though I missed my goal, I am still happy with the progress that I’ve made and wanted to make a quick note of all the books I’ve read.

The Art of Intelligence: Lessons from a Life in the CIA’s Clandestine Service by Henry A. Crumpton. This was the first book I read, so the details are a little fuzzy, but I appreciated a behind-the-curtain look I got into parts of the American Intelligence apparatus and learned a great deal about the CIA and its massive involvement in GWOT.

Churchill’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: The Mavericks Who Plotted Hitler’s Defeat by Giles Milton. This was a really interesting bit of history that I looked into because of a podcast I listened to from “Stuff You Missed In History Class.” This was a nice follow-up to the previous month’s reading since I provided a bit of historical context for the CIA and Post-WWII intelligence.

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell. This was the first “leadership” book that I read for the year. I think everyone in a leadership position should read this. The 21 Laws are clearly outlined and there is a lot of great context. Its very easy to read and makes a lot of sense.

Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World’s First Digital Weapon by Kim Zetter. I started reading this book because I am interested in cybersecurity. All I can say about this book is that it terrified me. I took a good, hard look at how our everyday lives are tied to services that are easily broken into of destroyed by a few lines of code. At the time, Stuxnet was cutting edge. However, this was over 10 years ago and I cannot fathom what is possible now.

No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State by Glenn Greenwald. In line with my quest to understand cybersecurity, this book let me look at the effects of digital surveillance and what it drove a man to do. There are many opinions about Edward Snowden. Regardless, he shed light onto domestic spying and showed the world what signals intelligence is capable of doing.

The New Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins. I’ll be honest, I picked this book up purely because of the title. I wasn’t disappointed. While I’m not totally sure that the government was explicitly conducting these “economic hits” on countries, the reality is hard to argue with. Economics can be a powerful tool to shift the world order.

The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld by Jaime Bartlett. I had heard of the dark net, but really didn’t know any details. This book was a great introduction and showed me some of the great and horrible things that can be done on the internet.

The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli. I listened to this on Audible and it was dense. The relationship between quantum physics and time was very tough to get my head around, but the material was presented in a beautiful way. I learned that time is not static and that time really is a perspective.

American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road by Nick Bilton. More dark net stuff! I listened to this on my drive from Alaska to the lower 48 and it was awesome. It reads like a crime drama and grips you the entire way through. From humble beginnings, a man, almost completely by himself, rules the online drug market. What I thought was most interesting is how fast power can get away from a person and that we must check ourselves constantly and remember that we are only men.

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff. I also listened to this during my drive. This was a little look into Taoism and a different attitude towards life and how we go about it. Using Winnie the Pooh as the vessel was brilliant and relatable, since I was a big fan as a child.

The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John C. Bogle. I’m obsessed over my financial future and this subject fascinates me. The stock and bond market is a great tool to prepare yourself for the future and it can be done almost entirely without professional help. Invest in index fund markets and your portfolio will follow the stock and bond markets as it takes its natural course. There hasn’t been, and will never be, a person that can always beat the market, so why bother trying?

I also read 8 books of fiction which all helped me to unwind and read for pleasure instead of just for education. Still though, fiction can teach us a lot of leadership, power, and relationships. We just have to be willing to find them. The books I read are:

Artemis by Andy Weir
Star Wars The Labyrinth of Evil, Star Wars The Revenge of the Sith, and Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (Books 1, 2, 3 of The Dark Lord Trilogy) by James Luceno
Star Wars The Darth Bane Series by Drew Karpyshyn (3 Books)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

I started two books, but didn’t get a chance to finish them: Radical Inclusion and Once an Eagle. I intend to finish those off first in 2019. I read 19 books in 2018, my goal for 2019 is 25 books or more. I am going to look into Goodreads to help document my journey a little bit and try to publish a few essays along the way. I’ve bought many books so I have quite a library to get through. I will likely try to adjust my reading habits a little bit. Usually, I read a single book until completion. This time, I’m going to try and read a few books at a time, something dense and something light, and have an audiobook going as well. I hope that this will help with increasing the volume without taking away from the analysis of what I’m reading. My big goal is to start chipping through “On War” by Karl Von Clausewitz. I know it will be tough, but I think it can be done. On top of my literature goals, I will be studying and taking my GRE and starting my KD time as a Captain. I know it will be challenging, but I am looking forward to it. Here’s to 2019!