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)
- Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell
- Disrupt-Her: A Manifesto for the Modern Woman by Miki Agrawal
- Do the F*cking Work: Lowbrow Advice for High-Level Creativity by Jason Bacher, Brian Buirge, and Jason Richburg
- The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates
- It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
- The Testaments: The Sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell
- Naked by David Sedaris
- The Collaborative Habit: Life Lessons for Working Together by Twyla Tharp with Jesse Kornbluth
- We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates
February (7)
- Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
- This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett
- Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It by Kamal Ravikant
- Conquest of the Useless: Reflections from the Making of Fitzcarraldo by Werner Herzog
- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Translated by Richard Howard
- Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
- Let’s Make Ramen!: A Comic Book Cookbook by Hugh Amano and Sarah Becan
March (8)
- Keep It Moving: Lessons for the Rest of Your Life by Twyla Tharp
- Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders (1st Edition) by Joshua Foer, Dylan Thuras, and Ella Morton
- WOLFPACK: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power, and Change the Game by Abby Wambach
- Fierce Conversations: Achieve Success at Work and in Life, One Conversation at a Time by Susan Scott
- When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink
- Comics Sketchbooks: The Private Worlds of Today’s Most Creative Talents by Steven Heller
- The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
- Stories That Stick: How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences, and Transform Your Business by Kindra Hall
April (8)
- The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Part 1) by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Broken Places & Outer Spaces: Finding Creativity in the Unexpected by Nnedi Okorafor
- Evil Thoughts: Wicked Deeds by Kris Mohandie, Ph.D. ABPP with Brian Skoloff
- The School of Greatness: A Real-World Guide to Living Bigger, Loving Deeper, and Leaving a Legacy by Lewis Howes
- Change or Die: The Three Keys to Change at Work and in Life by Alan Deutschman
- The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander
- Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career by Scott Young
- Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott
May (13)
- Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts by Ryan Holiday
- How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence by Michael Pollan
- Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss with Tahl Raz
- Get Out of Your Own Way: A Skeptic’s Guide to Growth and Fulfillment by Dave Hollis
- The Business of Expertise: How Entrepreneurial Experts Convert Insight to Impact + Wealth by David C. Baker
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- The Source: Open Your Mind, Change Your Life by Dr. Tara Swart
- The Power of Bad: How the Negativity Effect Rules Us and How We Can Rule It by John Tierney and Roy F. Baumeister
- For Small Creatures Such As We: Rituals and Reflections for Finding Wonder by Sasha Sagan
- JAY-Z: Made in America by Michael Eric Dyson
- The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage by Mel Robbins
- Officer Clemmons: A Memoir by Dr. François S. Clemmons
- Inferno by Dan Brown
June (14)
- Origin by Dan Brown
- How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
- Your Best Work: Create the Working Life That’s Right for You by Tom Morin
- The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by Michael Bungay Stanier
- The Promise of Paradox: A Celebration of Contradictions in the Christian Life by Parker J. Palmer
- Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson
- The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan
- The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Robert Iger
- Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America by Michael Eric Dyson
- The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran (Free eBook on Project Gutenberg)
- Your Music and People by Derek Sivers
- It’s About Damn Time: How to Turn Being Underestimated into Your Greatest Advantage by Arlan Hamilton with Rachel L. Nelson
- The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off!: Thoughts on Life, Love and Rebellion by Gloria Steinem
July (17)
- The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, with Douglas Abrams
- What Truth Sounds Like: Robert F. Kennedy, James Baldwin, and Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America by Michael Eric Dyson
- How to Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide by Crystal M. Fleming
- Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl: A Memoir by Carrie Brownstein
- You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters by Kate Murphy
- The Art of Communicating by Thich Nhat Hanh
- Hell Yeah or No: What’s Worth Doing by Derek Sivers
- Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday
- The Power of Onlyness: Make Your Wild Ideas Mighty Enough to Dent the World by Nilofer Merchant
- Acceptance and Commitment Coaching: Distinctive Features by Jon Hill and Joe Oliver
- Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age by Sherry Turkle
- Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson
- Creative Calling: Establish a Daily Practice, Infuse Your World with Meaning, and Succeed in Work + Life by Chase Jarvis
- Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice by Shunryu Suzuki
- Create and Orchestrate: The Path to Claiming Your Creative Power from an Unlikely Entrepreneur by Marcus Whitney
- Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis
- Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
August (11)
- How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen with James Allworth & Karen Dillon
- 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
- Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day by Todd Henry
- Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection by Jia Jiang (Audio Book)
- The Library Book by Susan Orlean
- Wait, What?: And Life’s Other Essential Questions by James E. Ryan
- Almost Everything: Notes on Hope by Anne Lamott
- The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How.by Daniel Coyle
- How to Be Here: A Guide to Creating a Life Worth Living by Rob Bell
- Uncanny Valley: A Memoir by Anna Wiener
- #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso
September (11)
- Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy by Anne Lamott
- Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and into Your Life by Gary John Bishop
- Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving by Celeste Headlee
- 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
- This Is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See by Seth Godin
- The Innovation Delusion: How Our Obsession with the New Has Disrupted the Work That Matters Most by Lee Vinsel and Andrew L. Russell
- The Art of Creative Rebellion: How to champion creativity, change culture and save your soul by John S. Couch
- Learning to Walk in the Dark: Because Sometimes God Shows Up at Night by Barbara Brown Taylor
- Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier
- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
- How I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World’s Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs by Guy Raz
October (8)
- Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion by Pema Chödrön
- Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace with Your Money by Ken Honda
- Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World by Scott Harrison with Lisa Sweetingham
- Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distractionby Derek Thompson
- Medallion Status: True Stories from Secret Rooms by John Hodgman
- The End Is Always Near: Apocalyptic Moments from the Bronze Age Collapse to Nuclear Near Misses by Dan Carlin
- A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert “Believe It or Not!” Ripley by Neal Thompson
- Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
November (6)
- The Stand by Stephen King
- The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life by David Brooks
- Testimony by Neal Morse with Paul Braoudakis
- A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas by Warren Berger
- March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
- March: Book Two by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
December (8)
- Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
- 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week by Tiffany Shlain
- March: Book Three by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
- Wise as Fu*k: Simple Truths to Guide You Through the Sh*tstorms of Life by Gary John Bishop
- 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
- The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert M. Pirsig
- The Chief Reinvention Officer Handbook: How to Thrive in Chaos by Nadya Zhexembayeva
Updated December 31, 2020