I am a creature of habit. I have favorites (authors, foods, directors, friends, family members, books—not necessarily in that order) that I like to revisit every so often. This is particularly true when I’m stressed out. I reread The Hobbit and Siddhartha every few years, and, of course, I have my annual So I Married an Axe Murderer movie festival.

I have to admit that although I will willingly reread a novel or watch a movie several times, I’m not so good at rereading nonfiction works. I suspect most people are the same way. It’s easy to watch a fun movie every few months or years, but reread a business book or a textbook?

If you’re like me, your reading falls into two categories: want-to read and have-to read. I want to read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo; I have to read Getting Things Done. Because I’m an editor and publisher (and I just love to read), I read a lot, and I read very fast.

I realized a few years ago that my want-to reading list was always a lot longer and had a lot more fiction on it than my have-to reading list, which really doesn’t have any fiction on it. I also realized that I was missing out on a lot of really good stuff that was not only “good for me” but also enjoyable on a different level than the latest murder mystery. So, I resolved to read one nonfiction book for every fiction book that I read.

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