How to Solve the Problem of too Many Books to Read

I have a problem.

I have too many books to read.

Right now I've got 12 books out of the library and at least 500 books on my shelves and another 500 pdf books on my computer.

The answer is pretty simple. I can only read one book at a time, so I should read the book that's most useful to help me reach my goals.  So the question is:

What are my goals?

Once I know what my goals are I need to know what's my most important goal.

Another problem is that after I read a book what do I do with the information. I need to add tasks to my to-do list and other items that help me reach my goals.

The current book I'm reading is Cialdini's Pre-suasion.

I've also just finished listening to Leil Lowndes' book How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships (H2T2A).

Another thing is that the books I have are an insight into what my goals are. Each book's title persuaded me to put down my hard earned money for the promise that the title and sub-title.

I've identified 3 goals that I have and believe everyone else has:

1. $ecurity
2. Longevity
3. Fun

So the Pre-suasion book relates to $ecurity and Fun and the H2T2A has $,F. 

The hardest thing about picking which book to read is assess how well it will bring me closer to my goals. 

Now, library books have an increased value as they have a deadline to read. So it pays to prioritize these. But at the same time I can take library books out that aren't aligned with my goals.

Books to Goals

1. Pre-suasion - Cialdini
2. The Small Big: Small Changes that Spark Big Influence - Cialdini
3. TED talks:the official TED guide to public speaking 
4. Invisible Influence - Jonah Burger
5. Smarter, Faster Better: Secrets of productivity in life and in business
6. Stand Out: How to find your breakthrough idea and build a following around it
7. The Idea Hunter
8. Dilbert and the way of the Weasel
9. Small is the new big - Seth Godin
10. Why diets make us fat
11. The age fix:Plastic surgeon reveals how to really look 10 years younger

So these books tell me my goals are:

1. Become a master persuader - $, F (3)
2. Improve Public speaking - $ (1)
3. Be more productive - $, F (1)
4. Idea success - $, F (2)
5. Fun 
6. Health - dieting
7. Looks - $, F (1)

Goals to Books

I'll continue to talk about my Goals in a future blog post.