Perhaps because I’m approaching my mid-50s, but many of the books I want to read in 2021 address preparing for some sort of post-employment life. I deliberately do not use the word, “retirement,” because it means so many different things to so many different people.

To me, retirement still looks very busy, but a busy that I choose all day every day. Books I want to read this year will address financial freedom and how to build a life that allows you to go beyond 8-5.

Consequently, my list will also include books on life outside of the personal-finance realm. I love blogging and am drawn to both video production and podcasting, so you will likely find a few books related to running an online business.

Finally, going back to my undergraduate years as a student of French civilization and European history (especially medieval and military), I will include a book or two I’ve heard about over the years that I’ve been wanting to try.

My 2021 Reading List – In No Particular Order

The Next Millionaire Next Door: Enduring Strategies for Building Wealth (2019) by Thomas J. Stanley and Sarah Stanley Fallaw: Unfortunately, we lost Dr. Stanley to a car accident in 2015, but we are fortunate he was already working on this book with his daughter at the time. Having met Dr. Fallaw at an AFCPE conference in 2017, I know that this book answers the many critics who tried to argue that the ingrained frugality and conscientious spending of those portrayed in Dr. Stanley’s first Millionaire book was either an aberration of the late 1990s or results of poorly selected survey recipients.

Since first reading the first Millionaire book back in the mid-2000s, I have taught the financial values millionaires tend to exhibit as a way of achieving financial success, not because I believe everyone should become a millionaire but because these values lead to financial stability and security, something American society largely lacks in the face of its hyper-consumerist tendencies.

Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence (2018) by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez: Although originally appearing back in 1993, this book often finds itself front and center in discussions among enthusiasts of the FIRE movement (Financial Independence Retire Early) that took off in the mid-2010s. If you want to learn what it takes to escape feeling like a slave to your money and to your job, this book comes with the endorsements you’re looking for. Plus, who wouldn’t want to read a book whose foreword was written by Mr. Money Mustache (yes, he’s a real person and a real influencer in personal finance).

The Simple Path to Wealth: Your Road Map to Financial Independence and a Rich, Free Life (2016) by JL Collins: Mr. Collins has the résumé to back up his book, not just regarding his financial standing but the rich (non-financial) life. I love the ideas he promotes for charitable giving. Plus, anyone who mentions in his or her manifesto the Beanie Babies bubble of the 1990s and the tulip bulb bubble of 1637 in the Netherlands deserves my support (and perhaps my counselor’s phone number).

I Will Teach You to Be Rich: No Guilt, No Excuses, No BS, Just a 6-week Program that Works (2019) by Ramit Sethi: I have read a few of Sethi’s materials over the past few years and much about him on blogs and in other publications. I think it’s time to plunge into first-person materials, especially since this book originally came about in 2009.

The 12 Week Year Field Guide: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months (2018) by Briand P. Moran: Hey, didn’t 2020 only have 12 weeks anyway? It was the end of March when many of us went home to work, right? I think I’ll take the time to figure out how to maximize the rest of the year once we can all come out of the pandemic lockdowns.

The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution (2007) by Alice Waters: I read Fast Food Nation back in the early 2000s. In fact, when I met my wife, I was about three-quarters of the way through the very year I had committed to not eat a single hamburger (which raised more than a few concerned eyebrows at the first backyard BBQ my future in-laws invited me to). I’m not a strict vegetarian. In fact, I would classify myself as more of a chocolatarian, but I know I need to change my relationship with what I eat. Other than counseling, I’m hoping this book will help. Waters has since written Simple Food II, but I want to begin at the beginning.

Empire of Things: How We Became a World of Consumers, from the Fifteenth Century to the Twenty-First (2017) by Frank Trentmann: Seriously? Finance AND history?! I can’t wait to delve into the promises of this book, that it will explore historical trade while also enlightening the reader on ethical shopping, the rise of generational identities, and even stress and inequality. I know, I know. This sounds like a book for nerds and geeks. So true! So, please make way!

Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together (2017) by Erin Lowry: None of our four children fit within the Millennial generation technically (although I don’t know who keeps track of the technical aspects of massive generations). However, two of our four Generation Z kids have already moved out on their own and seem to be enjoying their independence. I’m not reading this book on their behalf. I’m just hoping that by leaving the book laying around, opened to chapters like, “Why Should I Care about Saving?” or “I Shouldn’t Just Pay the Minimum Due on My Credit Card?” some wisdom might somehow transfer to my two youngest by osmosis (or diffusion or whichever seems most appropriate for the passive-aggressive presence of overt, non-pressured suggestions).

Paris to the Past: Traveling through French History by Train (2012) by Ina Caro: Here’s the crazy French history book I promised earlier. Seriously, though, doesn’t train travel sound like a ton of fun? Caro takes her readers on twenty-five separate one-day train trips through French history, all starting in Paris. Now that is one thing I would use financial freedom for!

Roadside History of Idaho (1996) by Betty Derig: Bringing it much closer to home, if I’m going to learn about French history, I had better learn more about my adopted home state. From Native American camps and settlements to nineteenth-century precious metal mining sites, from excruciatingly painful markers of intercultural conflicts to trails of the implausibly successful explorers Lewis and Clark, Idaho is full of fascinating places to visit and experience. This book looks like a fun way to see Idaho’s history.

How I Built This (2020) by Guy Raz: If you haven’t listened to this podcast on NPR, do yourself a favor and buy some tiny earbuds so you can listen to each amazing episode at home, in the car, or at work (just learn to nod at the right times and say, “I can take care of that for you” to anyone who looks like they’re talking to you). The podcast, and this book, contain stories of “regular” people who find a passion for something and create a successful business out of it. I still remember listening to the story of Supergoop! founder Holly Thaggard and how she literally started her business in the kitchen on her kitchen table. Now, it’s a multi-million-dollar brand. Or how about learning how the Chipotle founder got started? Or Eventbrite? Pass the sunscreen and slather the back of my neck with more of these inspiring stories.

Passive Income Aggressive Retirement: The Secret to Freedom, Flexibility, and Financial Independence (and how to get started!) (2019) by Rachel Richards: This book took off in 2020 with nearly 400 five-star Amazon ratings. I know about monetizing blogs and podcasts and even YouTube videos, but I’m looking forward to learning more about off-beat income opportunities like those from book royalties, from coin-operated machines, and especially from the 800-lb Big Foot in the passive income room, rental properties. Rental properties seem out of reach for my wife and me, as it does for many, but the more I read from those who have done it, the more I believe it’s not as daunting as I once thought.

Finally, as we head into a new year following the most remarkable worldwide socially-distanced year we can all recall, I can’t help but add one BONUS book with a relevant-sounding title:

Affluenza: How Overconsumption Is Killing Us – and How to Fight Back (2014) by John De Graaf, David Wann, and Thomas Naylor: If you’ve read the first book on this list (Next Millionaire Next Door) or its predecessors, you have already heard the term, “Affluenza.” However, I want to read this second edition that promises to explain its role in the Great Recession and the subsequent economic recovery. Together with the principle that we take on the traits and habits of those we most associate with, let’s hope we can use social distancing to put affluenza into quarantine for good (if even for just our own household).

Will any of these books make your own annual reading list? What other books would you recommend? Please share your thoughts in our comments section below.