Peanuts In My Pocket

Welcome back to Top Ten Tuesdays, my weekly series where I rank personal favorites across music, film, books, and more. This week, I’m turning to the written word, specifically, the books that changed my life. These aren’t just favorites. These are the ones that shaped how I think, work, and live.

The Importance of Reading

In third grade, I transferred from a substandard school in Lynwood, California, to a better one a few miles away in Lakewood. I arrived reading below a first-grade level, behind in every subject, and unable to write in cursive, which, for some reason, mattered in the late ’60s.

At first, nothing improved. I stayed well behind my classmates in most subjects, but reading was the hardest. I simply couldn’t keep up.

Then I met Mr. Martin, later Dr. Martin, when I started fifth grade. He took me under his wing. By the time I finished the year, I was reading at a tenth-grade level. From that point on, reading was everything. It still is.

So here it is, a list of books that helped define my life, personally and professionally.

My Top 10 Life-Changing Books

1. The Boy Who Sailed Around the World Alone by Robin Lee Graham
   My grandmother gave me this book when I was young. I couldn’t read it yet, but I studied the photos for hours. Once I could read, I fell in love with the solitude it described. I still love to be alone. This book captures that feeling.
2. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
   Dr. Martin gave me a copy in fifth grade. Reading it was like opening a window in my mind. It was my first real experience of getting lost in a world that wasn’t mine.
3. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
   Naturally, this came next. I’ve read the trilogy at least 45 times—maybe more. It’s my most treasured read. These books helped me define courage, loyalty, and the weight of burden.
4. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
   A high school teacher named Mrs. Jolliffe used this novel to reach into my skull and wake my mind up. I’ve never forgotten that. This book was my introduction to fiction as social criticism.
5. The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
   No other book had more impact on my professional life. I read it cover-to-cover on a flight to China in 2010, and I started using checklists that same day. It changed how I worked, and how I thought.
6. The Craft of Research by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams
   I read this as a forty-something MBA student surrounded by fresh-faced undergrads. This book taught me how to compete,and how to thrive, in an academic environment that had moved far past my original training.
7. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward R. Tufte
   For someone who thinks in pictures, this was a lifesaver. It helped me learn to tell stories with numbers and make data meaningful. I owe much of my grasp of statistics to this book.
8. Material Requirements Planning by Joseph Orlicky
   When I first read this, I had no idea I’d spend my career implementing MRP systems. This book became a foundation for decades of work. It was both roadmap and reference.
9. Sleepless Nights in the Procrustean Bed: Essays by Harlan Ellison
   Thought-provoking, sharp, and unforgettable. I’ve bought, and given away, more copies of this book than I can count. It’s a collection I return to when I need to think differently.
10. Stand Up Poetry: The Poetry of Los Angeles and Beyond edited by Charles Harper Webb and Suzanne Lummis
    This introduced me to Charles Bukowski and a whole generation of L.A. poets I’d never heard of. I read poetry daily now, largely because of this book.

Closing Thoughts

Reading opened every door in my life. Yes, I’m grateful for the people who helped me get there, but once I had control of my own mind, I was ready for any challenge. These days, I read mostly for pleasure. Fiction. Poetry. Whatever grabs my curiosity.

Books are still my best defense against social media addiction. I don’t want to waste what time I have left on meaningless screen time, but I’ll gladly waste it on a good story.