Books

Books you should read in 2021

2021 is kicking off again! It was just a while when we published our first post for the year – Things you should do as 2021 begins. Now, January is taking off and before we know it, we would be in middle 2021 and start setting expectations for another year. Meanwhile, during the year, it is extremely important for us to read books.

Books have a way of teaching us things and broadening our outlook in life in a very effective way, or in the case of novels, heightening the sense of our imagination and filling us with sensory delight. It has been impossible to replace them with movies. Therefore, below are our list of books you should read in 2021

Note: The books listed here might have been published several years ago or recently. They made our list because they are just too good to pass up. Number 8 was written by Femi Bakare.

1 THE PARABLE OF DOLLARS

Genre: Finance, Inspirational
Author: Sam Adeyemi

If you read this book before, congratulations! Please tell me your financial hindsight is heightened. If you haven’t, that is why it is making our list.

This book was written as far back but its ideas are valid into the future. It contains proven strategies for your financial independence. It gives you a crucial view of how you need to climb the ladder of success in a thorough way.

I hate reading books about financial success because I feel like most of them are too theoretical. But with ‘Parable of dollars’, it is different. Totally different. Your ideas and finances come to life if you are ready to put in the work.

Most of the praises showered on this book were from CEO of great companies who read the book before starting their companies or to increase the financial outlook of their company. I can’t get over one that said;

‘Practicing the principles of ‘The parable of dollars’ and the teachings of Sam Adeyemi over the years have helped me from doing a menial job to owning a group of multi-million dollar companies’

I know right? It’s that powerful. Someone lent me this book and I am planning not to return it anytime soon. Here are a few quotes from the book:

*Material things cannot change who you are, they only give expression to who you are. The beginning of wealth is in the heart.

*The quality of your life will never appreciate beyond the quality of your heart.

*Take reasonable risks! Try it and face the music, eventually you will conduct the choir

*Why would you settle for a bird in your hand when there are several birds flying around in the bush? You don’t fish in the stream behind your house when you want to catch a whale

Seriously, you’ve been missing out on a lot if you haven’t read this book.

‘The parable of dollars’ is available on Goodreads and Amazon.

2 THE CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE, THE CHILDREN OF VIRTUE AND VENGEANCE

Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Faction.

Author: Tomi Adeyemi

Around last year, Tomi Adeyemi- the author of this book series was featured in Time’s magazine 2019 100 most influential people in the world. The major thing that brought her into limelight was writing ‘Children of blood and bone’ this book has to be one of the best fictional and non-fictional magic story ever written.

Set majorly in West Africa- Nigeria to be precise, the book focusses on racism and issues of brutality of all forms against people of different races. Tomi Adeyemi presents a chilling and thrilling narrative while subtly creating a representation of the issues she wanted to address in a thorough and extremely fascinating way.

In a kingdom, The Majis are the ones with magic and have white hair. Several years ago, a king without magic rose up and brutally killed everyone with white hair or magic because of how powerful and distinct the race was. Suddenly, Magic was making its way back and this led to a series of adventures and enlightenment for the Novel’s protagonist- Zelie Adebola. The king’s own son acquires magic in a mysterious way and the king must battle this while challenging the magic he once crushed and establishing his rule all the same.

The book series are: ‘Children of Blood and Bone’, ‘Children of Vengeance and Virtue’

“Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy” CREDIT: Rovingheight books

You can get the Children of Blood and Bone now on Rovingheights books

You can also get ‘Children of Virtue and Vengeance’ on Rovingheights books

I am suggesting Rovingheights because I think their price of this book is low compared to other stores.

Note: When you get to the site, just search for the book in the search column.

3 Seven Habits of highly effective people

Genre: Personal development, inspirational, motivational.

Author: Stephen Covey

The seven habits of highly effective people has been published since 1989, but a business and self-help book like this never goes out of season. Stephen Covey explains that effectiveness can be expressed in terms of the P/PC ratio; where P refers to getting desired results and PC is caring for that which produces the results.

The 7 habits are:

-Be Proactive
-Begin with the end in mind
-First things first
-Think win-win
-Seek first to understand, then to be understood
-Synergize
-Sharpen the saw: Growth

‘7 habits of highly effective people’ has sold over 30 million copies and is also the first non-fiction audio book to sell more than one million copies.

The book is available on konga at a discount. I think it is sold for #1450. You can click here to buy or go to konga.com

Note: When you get to the site, just search for the book in the search column.

4 Open

Genre: Autobiography, Memoir. Motivational

Author: Andre Agassi

Andre Agassi is a former professional tennis player. He is an eight time Grand Slam champion and former world number 1. ‘Open’ is an autobiography/memoir which chronicles his challenging childhood, his relationship with his father and the difficult situations he faced while being a tennis player. The book reached number one on New York Times bestselling list

Reading “Open” a decade later, I couldn’t help but imagine what Agassi’s experience would have been like in the era of social media and high-definition replay. Maybe the heightened attention would have beaten him down, the echo chamber of headlines and think pieces sinking him into despair. Or, maybe, in some perverse way, our media landscape could have surfaced some of Agassi’s nuance, lending his actions a new frame, deeper context. (Imagine the Instagram captions he could have composed.) He’d have a shot, perhaps, at being seen not just as a punk or a superhero, but as a human. (THE NEWYORKER RECOMMENDS

‘Open’ is available at a discount on Konga It sells at a 30% off discount of #2100

Note: When you get to the site, just search for the book ‘Open By Andre Agassi’ in the search column.

5 Be(com)ing Nigerian

Genre: Satire, faction

It was published by international publishing company- Cassava republic and written by versatile writer- Elnathan John. Elnathan John was a judge for the 2019 Man Booker international prize. ‘Be (com) ing Nigerian is a satire which focuses on the entirety of being Nigerian as well as the financial situations and challenges they face. It also presents how Nigerians react to these situations. Elnathan John got massive attention for his debut novel- Born on a Tuesday. With ‘Be (com) ing Nigerian, he proves he is the wonderful writer whose book you don’t want to miss reading.

Be (com) ing Nigerian is available on: Rovingheights books

Or you can buy it on Konga whichever you prefer. I honestly don’t know what site sells for less between both, you could visit both sites and compare.

6 The personal MBA: Master the art of business

Genre: Finance, Business

Author: Josh Kaufman

The personal MBA is designed to help learn the art of business on your own. Instead of mortgaging your life to go to business school, it is possible to dramatically increase your knowledge of business on your own time and with little cost without setting foot into the classroom.

The entire book is available as a series of blog posts on the blog’s website where you can also buy it if you like. Just click here

The book is also available at a 33% discount on Konga

7 The smart money woman series

Author: Arese Ugwu

Genre: Finance, Fiction.

If someone ever told me that there would be an extremely interesting novel that taught finance like Wall Street, I would dispute without blinking an eye. The book is a series consisting of: ‘The smart money women’, ‘The smart money tribe: An African woman’s guide to making bank’ I have a lot to say about this book, but instead, the reviews I have read say it better and do justice to how brilliant of a work it is. Meanwhile, it isn’t a book for women alone. Even the richest man in Africa read it and had something wonderful to say.

The smart money woman and The Smart Money tribe is available at discount on Konga Books I guess it sells for #2500 or less.

8 Living in the balance between Grace and Faith

Genre: Spiritual

Author: Andrew Womack.

Andrew Womack is one of my favorite writers. He is so good in expatiating things and making it so easy for you to grasp. ‘Living in the balance between Grace and Faith’ is the best spiritual book I have read in my entire life. It is so eye-opening.

A lot of people argue that Faith takes a backseat to Grace and vice versa. However, with this book, Andrew provides a spiritual revelation of the real truths behind grace and faith and how you can live in the balance to live your life the best way you can. The book is very addictive and I had to read it in bits as the content was too rich to be consumed at a time.

The book is available on Goodreads.

9 Fighting corruption is dangerous: The story behind the headlines

Genre: Politics, Memoir

Author: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Printed in 2018, the book focuses on Ngozi Iweala’s second stint as finance minister. It details the kidnap of her mother in an effort to get her to resign. It also includes confrontations by international scammers, shady oil deals and manipulators. It doesn’t end there, she chronicles her experiences with budget twisters, antifeminists and dubious characters in high places at all levels of states and federal government. It provides massive insight into how deeply corrupt and complicated the system is. If you want to change the system one day or want to know how politics really works (Which you should), this book is your go-to.

The book is available on Konga at 28% discount. I guess it sells for #1450. You can click here to buy or visit konga.com

Note: When you get to the site, just search for the book in the search column.

Read also: Omo Ghetto the saga breaks Nollywood record

*Honorable mention(s)

UNFINISHED

Genre: Memoir, Autobiography

Author: Priyanka Chopra Jonas

The book is a memoir expected to be released on February 9, 2021. It centers on Priyanka Chopra’s own journey through filmmaking, acting, modelling and things she faced in life. It is titled ‘Unfinished’ because Priyanka believes she is still a work in progress and doesn’t just want to be remembered as an actress or a filmmaker. It is described as a collection of personal stories, essays and observations.

In an interview, she disclosed that she has made her life very private but now she doesn’t feel as insecure and that there are some things she would want people to know about her life. The book also focuses on her 20 year long career and her work as a UNICEF GOODWILL ambassador. It will be published by Penguin Books and the link is available on Chopra’s instagram bio.

Which one of these books have you read? Let us know in the comment section?

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