Books I read in 2020

It’s been almost two years since my 2020 reading list came to a close, which seems like a good time to look back at it—both because 2022 is days away, and because it’s a unique perspective to see which books really stuck with me.

It was also a particularly interesting year, not in the least because of COVID-19. It was also the year I left my corporate job and starting running my video production company full time. As has happened in the past, the content of what I read shifted dramatically.

So without further ado, here is what I read in 2020.

4/3/18-6/9/20: Oathbringer, by Brandon Sanderson (ebook)
10/22/19-2/4/20: Deep Work, by Cal Newport (ebook)
12/15/19-1/18/20: Write a Novel Outline from Scratch, by Andrew Butcher (ebook)
1/2-10: Play The Man, by Mark Batterson (audiobook)
1/10-13: Praying Circles Around Your Children, by Mark Batterson
1/14-22: Manage Your Day to Day, edited by Jocelyn Glei (audiobook)
1/18-2/9: Writing Wonder, by David Farland
1/22-: What’s Best Next, by Matthew Perman (didn’t finish)
2/20-3/29: Praying Circles Around Your Marriage, by Joel and Nina Schmidgall with Mark Batterson (audiobook)
2/21-8/7: The Perfect Dad, by Rob Stennett (ebook)
2/21-4/3: This is Marketing, by Seth Godin (ebook) – didn’t finish but got good points
2/29: The Four Laws of Financial Prosperity, by Blaine Harris (audiobook)
2/29-3/5: The Emperor’s Soul, by Brandon Sanderson (audiobook
3/4-3:12: Growth Hacker Marketing, by Ryan Holiday (audiobook)
3/10-: The Montessori Toddler, by Simone Davies (audiobook, didn’t finish)
3/10-: Atomic Habits, by James Clear (print, didn’t finish)
3/18-4/3: Digital Minimalism, by Cal Newport (ebook) – didn’t finish but got good points
4/1-4/24: Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki (audiobook)
PAUSED – 4/4-: Free to Focus, by Michael Hyatt (ebook)
4/13-5/4: The Oath, by Frank Peretti (audiobook)
5/8-: Save The Cat, by Blake Snyder (didn’t finish)
6/17-:White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo (didn’t finish)
7/16: Infinity Blade: Awakening, by Brandon Sanderson
7/29: Profit First, by Mike Michalowicz
8/14: Failing Forward, by John C. Maxwell
9/3: The Great Degeneration, by Niall Ferguson
9/15: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling
9/20: The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brene Brown
10/4: The Collapsing Empire, by John Scalzi
10/5: The Codex, by Douglas Preston
10/9: The 4 Habits of Joy-Filled Marriages, by Marcus Warner and Chris Coursey
10/9: Bookkeeping: Step by Step Guide to Bookkeeping Principles & Basic Bookkeeping for Small Businesses, by Mark Smith
Get to the Point, by Joel Schwartzberg (audiobook)

Retrospect

First, I’m amazed I read this many books in such a crazy year. I think the only reason that happened is we sold our house and I did a lot of painting. (Hence the many audiobooks.)

Second, the content shifted away from management books (I was previously a manager) to business books. When I start something new my go-to is read any book I can find on the subject, and being a business owner was no exception.

Third, I stopped tracking the date I started a book. I had done this for the past decade, mostly to see how fast I read a book. However, I’ve started then stopped several books lately and it became to cumbersome to write down when I started. So I’ve moved to just recording the finish date. I also am trying to be okay with not finishing books, so you saw a few of those on the list.

Lastly, looking back at this list I notice one big thing: two years later, I have forgotten most of these books. I remember that I read them (mostly), but for most of them I couldn’t tell you the important points or what I learned from it. This strikes me as not great. I’ll talk about this later.

So in all these books, which ones did stand out?

Favorite Books

FICTION

I don’t remember a thing about Douglas Preston’s The Codex. John Scalzi’s The Collapsing Empire is the second book of his I’ve read and it had the same trademark snark and inventive world. Brandon Sanderson is still a perennial favorite. Finally finishing the Harry Potter series was a long time coming and, no surprise, satisfying for the series. The highlight, however, was The Oath by Frank Peretti. I hadn’t read it since high school, but it still thrilled and gripped me just as much as the first time I read it over 20 years ago.

NON-FICTION

A spattering of non-fiction filled 2020’s list, from productivity to finance. My favorite by far was Deep Work by Cal Newport. It inspired me to focus and want to work at a deeper level creatively than I had in the past. It was also my first time reading such a data- and study-heavy topic, and man I loved it.

BUSINESS

Since I started running my video business full-time, I immediately started trying to find books on the subject. Get To The Point by Joel Schwartzberg was an appropriately short book on being a better speaker. The tips were practical and easily applicable.

The top book for me was Profit First by Mike Michalowicz. It’s a simple budgeting approach to making sure your business is operating in the black from the get-go. I also appreciated his focus on sustainable growth, rather than paying off past spending with promise of future revenue. (Setting the system in motion proved to be a nightmare of bank accounts, though. I don’t recommend that part.)

MARRIAGE/FAMILY

Praying Circles Around Your Children was an excellent book by Mark Patterson, as was The Perfect Dad by Rob Stennett. I’m sad to see I only read three family books in 2020, so I hope to increase that percentage.

Wrap-up

As I mentioned earlier, I’m surprised at how many books I read in the crazy year of 2020—and I’m saddened at how little I retained. The point of reading for me (non-fiction at least) is to learn and grow. Quantity over retention doesn’t help that. If I can’t remember what I read, or if it doesn’t tangibly affect my life going forward, what’s the point?

It’s a bit hypocritical to write this as 2021 comes to a close. Any course correction I could recommend here for 2020 would be too late to apply to 2021. But since I’m already here, this is what I would like to change:

Re-read the most meaningful books
Write a blog post about each book when I finish, recapping top points and summarizing in my own words what I learned
Decide practical steps to insert what I’ve learned into my daily life

Looking back at 2019 Action Points

One main thing I wanted to do in 2019’s post was to read certain books in particular quarters. I did not do this. It’s always been hard for me to retread ground I’ve already gone over. Here’s hoping I can change that for next year. (Well, 2022 at this point. Boy I shouldn’t wait two years to write these.)

I hope you find some of these books useful, and that you are able to read and grow in the coming year!

Jesse Koepke