2020 Reading List

As 2019 ended, I realized I didn’t have an accessible list of everything I read throughout the year. I wanted to make sure that at the end of 2020, I knew exactly what I read throughout the year. I hope you find some reading inspiration from my literary journey.

Notes:

  • All links below are affiliate-free.
  • My goal is to read 120 books in 2020.
  • Some of these books were started in 2019 and finished in 2020.

January (10)

  1. Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell
  2. Disrupt-Her: A Manifesto for the Modern Woman by Miki Agrawal
  3. Do the F*cking Work: Lowbrow Advice for High-Level Creativity by Jason Bacher, Brian Buirge, and Jason Richburg
  4. The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates
  5. It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
  6. The Testaments: The Sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
  7. How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell
  8. Naked by David Sedaris
  9. The Collaborative Habit: Life Lessons for Working Together by Twyla Tharp with Jesse Kornbluth
  10. We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates

February (7)

  1. Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
  2. This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett
  3. Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It by Kamal Ravikant
  4. Conquest of the Useless: Reflections from the Making of Fitzcarraldo by Werner Herzog
  5. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Translated by Richard Howard
  6. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
  7. Let’s Make Ramen!: A Comic Book Cookbook by Hugh Amano and Sarah Becan

March (8)

  1. Keep It Moving: Lessons for the Rest of Your Life by Twyla Tharp
  2. Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders (1st Edition) by Joshua Foer, Dylan Thuras, and Ella Morton
  3. WOLFPACK: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power, and Change the Game by Abby Wambach
  4. Fierce Conversations: Achieve Success at Work and in Life, One Conversation at a Time by Susan Scott
  5. When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink
  6. Comics Sketchbooks: The Private Worlds of Today’s Most Creative Talents by Steven Heller
  7. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
  8. Stories That Stick: How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences, and Transform Your Business by Kindra Hall

April (8)

  1. The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Part 1) by J.R.R. Tolkien
  2. Broken Places & Outer Spaces: Finding Creativity in the Unexpected by Nnedi Okorafor
  3. Evil Thoughts: Wicked Deeds by Kris Mohandie, Ph.D. ABPP with Brian Skoloff
  4. The School of Greatness: A Real-World Guide to Living Bigger, Loving Deeper, and Leaving a Legacy by Lewis Howes
  5. Change or Die: The Three Keys to Change at Work and in Life by Alan Deutschman
  6. The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander
  7. Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career by Scott Young
  8. Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott

May (13)

  1. Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts by Ryan Holiday
  2. How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence by Michael Pollan
  3. Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss with Tahl Raz
  4. Get Out of Your Own Way: A Skeptic’s Guide to Growth and Fulfillment by Dave Hollis
  5. The Business of Expertise: How Entrepreneurial Experts Convert Insight to Impact + Wealth by David C. Baker
  6. Becoming by Michelle Obama
  7. The Source: Open Your Mind, Change Your Life by Dr. Tara Swart
  8. The Power of Bad: How the Negativity Effect Rules Us and How We Can Rule It by John Tierney and Roy F. Baumeister
  9. For Small Creatures Such As We: Rituals and Reflections for Finding Wonder by Sasha Sagan
  10. JAY-Z: Made in America by Michael Eric Dyson
  11. The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage by Mel Robbins
  12. Officer Clemmons: A Memoir by Dr.  François S. Clemmons
  13. Inferno by Dan Brown

June (14)

  1. Origin by Dan Brown
  2. How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
  3. So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
  4. Your Best Work: Create the Working Life That’s Right for You by Tom Morin
  5. The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier
  6. The Promise of Paradox: A Celebration of Contradictions in the Christian Life by Parker J. Palmer
  7. Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson
  8. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan
  9. The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Robert Iger
  10. Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America by Michael Eric Dyson
  11. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran (Free eBook on Project Gutenberg)
  12. Your Music and People by Derek Sivers
  13. It’s About Damn Time: How to Turn Being Underestimated into Your Greatest Advantage by Arlan Hamilton with Rachel L. Nelson
  14. The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off!: Thoughts on Life, Love and Rebellion by Gloria Steinem

July (17)

  1. The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, with Douglas Abrams
  2. What Truth Sounds Like: Robert F. Kennedy, James Baldwin, and Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America by Michael Eric Dyson
  3. How to Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide by Crystal M. Fleming
  4. Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl: A Memoir by Carrie Brownstein
  5. You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters by Kate Murphy
  6. The Art of Communicating by Thich Nhat Hanh
  7. Hell Yeah or No: What’s Worth Doing by Derek Sivers
  8. Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday
  9. The Power of Onlyness: Make Your Wild Ideas Mighty Enough to Dent the World by Nilofer Merchant
  10. Acceptance and Commitment Coaching: Distinctive Features by Jon Hill and Joe Oliver
  11. Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age by Sherry Turkle
  12. Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson
  13. Creative Calling: Establish a Daily Practice, Infuse Your World with Meaning, and Succeed in Work + Life by Chase Jarvis
  14. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice by Shunryu Suzuki
  15. Create and Orchestrate: The Path to Claiming Your Creative Power from an Unlikely Entrepreneur by Marcus Whitney
  16. Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis
  17. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

August (11)

  1. How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen with James Allworth & Karen Dillon
  2. Leading Without Authority: How the New Poster of Co-Elevation Can Break Down Silos, Transform Teams, and Reinvent Collaboration by Keith Ferrazzi with Noel Weyrich
  3. Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day by Todd Henry
  4. Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection by Jia Jiang (Audio Book)
  5. The Library Book by Susan Orlean
  6. Wait, What?: And Life’s Other Essential Questions by James E. Ryan
  7. Almost Everything: Notes on Hope by Anne Lamott
  8. The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How.by Daniel Coyle
  9. How to Be Here: A Guide to Creating a Life Worth Living by Rob Bell
  10. Uncanny Valley: A Memoir by Anna Wiener
  11. #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso

September (11)

  1. Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy by Anne Lamott
  2. Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and into Your Life by Gary John Bishop
  3. Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving by Celeste Headlee
  4. The Power of the Other: The startling effect other people have on you, from the boardroom to the bedroom and beyond—and what to do about it by Dr. Henry Cloud
  5. This Is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See by Seth Godin
  6. The Innovation Delusion: How Our Obsession with the New Has Disrupted the Work That Matters Most by Lee Vinsel and Andrew L. Russell
  7. The Art of Creative Rebellion: How to champion creativity, change culture and save your soul by John S. Couch
  8. Learning to Walk in the Dark: Because Sometimes God Shows Up at Night by Barbara Brown Taylor
  9. Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier
  10. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
  11. How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs by Guy Raz

October (8)

  1. Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion by Pema Chödrön
  2. Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace with Your Money by Ken Honda
  3. Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World by Scott Harrison with Lisa Sweetingham
  4. Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distractionby Derek Thompson
  5. Medallion Status: True Stories from Secret Rooms by John Hodgman
  6. The End Is Always Near: Apocalyptic Moments from the Bronze Age Collapse to Nuclear Near Misses by Dan Carlin
  7. A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert “Believe It or Not!” Ripley by Neal Thompson
  8. Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

November (6)

  1. The Stand by Stephen King
  2. The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life by David Brooks
  3. Testimony by Neal Morse with Paul Braoudakis
  4. A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas by Warren Berger
  5. March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
  6. March: Book Two by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

December (8)

  1. Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
  2. 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week by Tiffany Shlain
  3. March: Book Three by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
  4. Wise as Fu*k: Simple Truths to Guide You Through the Sh*tstorms of Life by Gary John Bishop
  5. Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling by Michael Port
  6. The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
  7. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert M. Pirsig
  8. The Chief Reinvention Officer Handbook: How to Thrive in Chaos by Nadya Zhexembayeva

Updated December 31, 2020