Happy New Year, friends! And happy Valentine’s day
celebration too. As always, I’ve really missed you guys. You know what? No more
long breaks this year. I mean that. How are you celebrating valentine at your
end? Hope you are sharing something sha? It’s a season to share, you know. Don’t
wait for givers biko. Be a giver yourself!
So, in this post, I’ll be sharing the books that have
impacted me tremendously in the past two years. It seems to be a season of sharing
one’s top kini kan number of books. I never knew people do that during
Valentine (Valentine o!) until yesterday when I saw this.
And it’s really nice.
Prompted by a Facebook post
of my brother, Bode-Badaki Olufemi, some of my other friends have been sharing books
that have been helpful over the years, predominantly Christian and self-development
books in the past few days. Truth is, my love for books has always been
restricted to the literary circle and if I love a book, kai, we must do book
review o. Thanks to a friend like Joseph Omotayo of Critical Literature Review for providing the platform to share some of such reviews. If I don’t love the
book nko? I don’t know about that one o but I know little of what it is to be
called an evil book reviewer.
#rollsevileyes#
What was I saying? Yes, I was actually about saying that I’ll
follow my friends’ model by providing my top-ten list of most impacting christian
and self-development books though I’ll be doing mine in two posts.
Here we go, bookworms!
#1. FINISHING
STRONG by
Steve Farrar
The
first among the many book gifts I got in my service year. You should get this
book if you haven’t read it. Farrar writes with such ease that you find it
difficult to drop his book until you have read to the last letter. I have read
more than two and half times (the half accounting for the times I had to return
to just a chapter or two of the book as a result of some situations I found
myself in). And I should say that this wonderful book taught me to appreciate
accountability in relationships. This has made me appreciate those God has
placed in and over my life the more.
I recommend
Finishing Strong to Christian leaders who know or don’t know what it means to
finish well.
#2. THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE by RICK WARREN
Abuse
is the surest prospect for a thing or being whose purpose is unknown. I had a
very bleak perspective of purpose until I read Warren. The Purpose Driven Life is a thick book (my hard copy has 334
pages) so I found it hard to finish the first time I picked it. I re-read it
last December and it was quite easy as I followed the author’s one day one
chapter instruction. That way, it was easier plus it made more meaning. See why
it’s good to follow instructions. By the time I reached the middle, I could
take three, sometimes four chapters per day. I think it’s a book that’s worth
reading early in life.
I got The Purpose Driven Life as a gift from a
great great friend. This is me saying I am grateful.
#3. THE RICHEST MAN IN BABYLON by George S. Classon
Saving.
That’s the greatest lesson I picked from Classon’s classic. I really don’t do
books on finance. Ignorance oshi! I
tried reading Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad early in life and, kai, it was a
struggle. Why? I still can’t figure it
out. I was kinda small then sha. Maybe I’ll try again. But Classon clicked like
I-don’t-know-what.
The Richest Man in Babylon was
recommended to me at a time when I really needed it. I was fresh out of NYSC and
had just got a job. It helped me settle down fast when it comes to managing my
income. Like The Purpose Driven Life,
this ought to be read early in life too. I wish I had read this while in uni.
You can download the PDF format for free. Don't ask me how. Ask Google.
#4. BOY MEETS GIRL by Joshua Harris
If you
know what it means for one’s heart to begin to do this gish gish dance step concerning
relationship matters when it should be relaxed, you will understand what pushed
me to get this book. Menh! This quote from the book is one of the many that did
the mind-reset magic:
Patience
is an expression of trust that God, the Master Chef, can serve up an exquisite
relationship. This lets us enjoy each part of our love story. We can be
faithful and content right where we are – whether it’s in friendship or courtship
or engagement – and not try steal the
privileges God has reserved for a later season…time is God’s way of keeping
everything from happening all at once. If you’re not ready to get married, don’t
grab at a relationship. Patiently wait for the right time to start one that can
eventually lead to marriage. If you’re ready for marriage and you’re in a relationship,
don’t let impatience cause you to rush. Take
your time. Enjoy where God has the two of you right now. Savor each course. Don’t
settle for mishmash.
Boy
Meets Girl is a good Valentine’s day gift. #justsaying#
#5. LIVING BEYOND YOUR FEELINGS by Joyce Meyer
I love
Joyce like kilode! Sorry. The book Living
Beyond your Feelings is special. Really special. I remember being asked, ‘How
far? Are you ok?’ when a friend saw this book with me. Dealing with one’s
emotion is what the book is about. Everyone needs to read this.
***
You’ve
read any of these books? What’s your view on them? Or you want to share your
top (any number) list of books, let’s talk in the comments section. I’ll really
love to hear from you. Thanks for reading and watch out for the second part.
2 comments:
Sir, you are definately right. I have read a couple of those you mentioned and they were impactful and worth the time spent. Thank u for sharing. Happy Vals
You are welcome, Dooshima. Thanks for reading too.
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