5 Books for Your 2020 Reading List
For 2019, I had a goal to read 30 books. This was aggressive, but after steadily increasing my annual reading list since 2016, I decided to go for it. As 2019 winds down, I’m sitting at 28 books down with several still in progress, hoping to still cross that goal off my list.
From my reading list this year, here are my favorites and ones I would highly recommend.
Beartown, by Fredrick Backman. Mr. Backman is a simple, yet effective storyteller. Centered around a small-town hockey team, the characters are so likable (even the antagonists) while the conflicts are real and heartbreaking. I rarely ugly cry while reading a book and this one really hit me HARD. The sequel Us Against Them was just as good and there is a book #3 expected soon. Get to know these characters as soon as you can.
Indistractable, by Nir Eyal. There are some serious productivity and goal accountability gems in this book. My favorite has been strict self-imposed scheduling of my day to make sure all my work and personal tasks get accomplished. Mr. Eyal also writes extensively on one of my favorite behavioral concepts for sticky consumer technology - the Hook model. Check it out!
Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens. Imagining myself in the Carolina wetlands was so easy with Ms. Owens’ vivid writing. This part love story, part mystery was a quick read with a snappy and satisfying ending.
Endurance, by Alfred Lansing. As you read about the twists and turns of this Arctic voyage, it becomes hard to believe this is a true story where all the crew members survived. It’s inspiring and captivating. Certainly a great read for business leaders and history buffs alike.
The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood. Ms. Atwood is one of my favorite authors and The Handmaid’s Tale, one of my favorite books of all time. When this sequel, set 15 years after the original story ended, was announced I set a calendar reminder and eagerly awaited its release. In the end, I wasn’t sure if I was just so happy to read another story in Gilead or if it was actually a great read, but it doesn’t matter. I highly recommend reading both books and anything else by this author.
Happy reading in 2020! To compare with another top 5 list, see Bill Gates’ recommendations.
