--- title: Books in 2020 date: "2020-12-03T03:56:14Z" lastmod: "2020-12-27T14:34:20Z" categories: - how-i-do-things - top-10-lists wp_id: 2951 tags: - book excerpt: I read 40 books this year (so far). Here's the list, in order of interesting & useful books. --- My [Goodreads 2020 Reading Challenge](https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/11621) target is 50 books. I'm at 45/50, with little hope of getting to 50. (I managed [25/24 in 2019](https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/15183844).) The 10 non-fiction books I read (most useful first) are below. 1. [The Lean Startup](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10127019-the-lean-startup) by Eric Reis.\ The principle of Build - Measure - Learn is useful everywhere in life too, not just in startups. 2. [Never Split The Difference](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26156469-never-split-the-difference) by Chriss Voss.\ Shares principle-driven strategies to convince people. 3. [The 4 Disciplines of Execution](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13260184-the-4-disciplines-of-execution) by McChesney, Covey & Huling.\ Teaches how to build execution rigor in an organization. A bit long at the end, but the first section is excellent. 4. [Sprint](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25814544-sprint) by Jake Knapp.\ A detailed step-by-step guide to running product development sprints that you can follow blindly. 5. [How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17859574-how-to-fail-at-almost-everything-and-still-win-big) by Scott Adams.\ Dilbert's author shares his strategies for life. Very readable, intelligent, and slightly provocative, but always interesting. 6. [The Five Dysfunctions of a Team](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21343.The_Five_Dysfunctions_of_a_Team) by Patrick Lencioni.\ Written as a story (like [The Goal](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/113934.The_Goal)). Talks about the 5 problems in teams and how to overcome them. 7. [The Culture Code](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33517721-the-culture-code) by Daniel Coyle.\ Explains the elements of strong cultures - belongingness, shared vulnerability, and shared purpose. 8. [Data-Driven Storytelling](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34498367-data-driven-storytelling) by Nathalie Henry Riche et al.\ Shares the latest points of view on telling data stories. My team and I read these chapters as a group. 9. [Leaders Eat Last](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16144853-leaders-eat-last) by Simon Sinek.\ Inspiring when I read it, but I don't remember what it said. 10. [Deep Work](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25744928-deep-work) by Cal Newport.\ Shares tactics to focus. Practical and useful. I also started, by haven't finished these four: 1. [Hacking Growth](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31625067-hacking-growth) by Sean Ellis & Morgan Brown 2. [The Laws of Human Nature](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39330937-the-laws-of-human-nature) by Robert Greene 3. [How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17859574-how-to-fail-at-almost-everything-and-still-win-big) by Scott Adams 4. [Stories at Work](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41588342-stories-at-work) by Indranil Chakraborty I read these 25 works of fiction -- mostly by [Brandon Sanderson](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31176804-snapshot) (my current favorite author) and [Brent Weeks](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1370283.Brent_Weeks). 1. [Lightbringer](https://www.goodreads.com/series/291662-lightbringer) (Books 1-5) by Brent Weeks.\ In a world where color is woven as magic, the most powerful man is caught in politics. This series had enough twists and turns to keep me hooked till the end. 2. [Skyward](https://www.goodreads.com/series/247635-skyward) (Books 1-2) by Brandon Sanderson.\ An outcast girl on an outcast planet becomes a fighter pilot with an alien spaceship. I love the way this is developing. 3. [The Wheel of Time](https://www.goodreads.com/series/41526-the-wheel-of-time) (Books 1-6) by Robert Jordan.\ I picked it up again mainly because Brandon Sanderson wrote the last 3 books. It was great up to book 4 but has started dragging. 4. [Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians](https://www.goodreads.com/series/45320-alcatraz-versus-the-evil-librarians) (Books 1-4) by Brandon Sanderson.\ The author lies to you. Literally. And tells you that he will, in almost every other paragraph. Great book for kids to laugh over. 5. [Night Angel](https://www.goodreads.com/series/45765-night-angel) (Books 1-3) by Brent Weeks.\ An assassin in a story that spans centuries of the history of magic. 6. [Legion](https://www.goodreads.com/series/123080-legion) (Books 1-3) by Brandon Sanderson.\ A detective who has multiple split-personalities in him -- that help him solve cases. 7. [Snapshot](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31176804-snapshot) by Brandon Sanderson.\ What if you could create a snapshot of the world, enter it, interact with it, and solve crimes? 8. [The Art of Letting Go: Poetry for the Seekers](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43179703-the-art-of-letting-go) by Sanhita Baruah.\ It's my first poetry book. (I hate poetry.) I took this up to see if I could survive it, and get a fresh perspective. I survived. ... and these 10 comic books/series. 1. [Batman, Volume 1](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13223349-batman-volume-1): The Court of Owls 2. [Batman, Volume 2](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15752115-batman-volume-2): The City of Owls 3. [World War Hulk](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1878831.World_War_Hulk) (1-5) 4. [Superman: Red Son](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/154798.Superman) (1-3) 5. [Flashpoint](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11501608-flashpoint) (1-5) 6. [Batman - The Long Halloween](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/106069.Batman) (1-13) 7. [Batman - The Killing Joke](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/96358.Batman) 8. [Kingdom Come](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16992.Kingdom_Come) (Vol 1-4) 9. [Spiderman: Ends of the Earth](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13528745-spider-man) 10. [Amazing Spiderman, Vol. 1](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20898012-amazing-spider-man-vol-1) At the moment, I'm at 45 books, with little hope of completing 5 more this month unless I pick up comics. So that's exactly what I'm going to do 😉 --- ## Comments - **Kalpana Behara** _5 Dec 2020 6:10 pm_: I am so glad you are still writing. I stumbled upon your site some 15 odd years ago and read your Illayaraja articles. They were very technical for me to understand but I remember completely being mesmerized by the technicalities. I come back every few years to read those articles and listen to the songs you reference. I did that again today and realized you continue to blog! This is one of my favorite blogs on Internet. Thanks for sharing. - **Deepan Chithambaranadhan** _6 Jun 2021 1:32 pm_: Please also read the Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman ;if you havenot read. Very happy to See your updated website it was down for a few weeks some time ago. I recommend to my mentees your website for insights on interviews and your popular analysis on birth dates and 12th standard grades. I wish you could write more on Object oriented programming and Clean code. - **Samrat Sen** _28 Dec 2020 6:58 am_: I have read some of these - The Lean Startup, Stories At Work and quite a few of the Batman comics (Superman - The Red Son is now on Prime). Hadn't heard of Brandon Sanderson but looks promising. Currently reading Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. Inspiring! - **[Books in 2023 - S Anand](/blog/books-in-2023/)** _4 Jan 2024 4:46 pm_ _(pingback)_: […] read 52 books in 2023 (about the same as in 2022, 2021 and 2020.) Here’s what I read (best books […] - **[S Anand](http://www.s-anand.net/)** _8 Dec 2020 3:52 pm_: Thanks, Kalpana! I've been away for many years now, but am back regularly 😊 - **[Books in 2024 - S Anand](/blog/books-in-2024/)** _31 Dec 2024 6:31 pm_ _(pingback)_: […] read 51 new books in 2024 (about the same as in 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020.) But slightly […]