My 2020 Books and 12 you should read in 2021
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When 2020 started, I set out to read 45 books. This would be more books than I have ever read in a single year… ever. It seemed ambitious. Then COVID-19. One of my coping mechanisms was to turn off screens and get lost in a different world or dig deeper into complex issues.
In some cases, it was either re-living experiences (Billion Dollar Loser: The Epic Rise and Spectacular Fall of Adam Neumann and WeWork by Reeves Wiedeman) or going deep into the weeds of pop culture (Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow). Like many others, I was inspired to do better and motivated to learn more about racial equity. While I read a lot, that learning requires so much more than keeping my nose in a book.
I want to share with you my top 12 favorite books of the year (in no particular order) and why I hope you will read them. Some might ask why 12. Simply, I went through the list and asked, which books do I want to talk to other people about. There were roughly 12 books on that list (I cheated a little). There was no magic or reason.
Top 12(ish) Books of 2020 (in no order)
The Three-Body Problem (trilogy) — Liu Cixin
This has not been an uplifting series. It is fascinating. The world constructed and the discussion on race, faith, science, philosophy, and nationalism is detailed, nuanced, and complicated. Cixin is a Chinese novelist and the perspective he brings made President Obama say it is, “fun to read, partly because my day-to-day problems with Congress seem fairly petty”. Each book tackles a different issue whether it be the understanding of the alien race, deterrence, or co-existence.
How Much of These Hills Is Gold — C. Pam Zhang
This is a novel that sticks with you. Zhang weaves the myth and the history of the gold rush together and contrasts it with the plight of the working class in the area and at that time. This is a debut novel for Zhang. When I first finished it, I could not stop thinking about the lyrical nature and tone of the writing. The ending is something you can revisit and discuss for days.
The Nickel Boys — Colson Whitehead
Coloson Whitehead has become of my favorite authors and I will read anything he writes. The Nickel Boys is a trauma filled novel based on the very true story of the Dozier School — a “reform school” in Florida that operated for 111 years and brutally terrorized young black men. Whitehead is a master of his craft and The Nickel Boys is an essential read.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle — Haruki Murakami
Murakami is currently my favorite author. He is imaginative and takes readers on curious journeys. This book likes to play with tensions. The tension between losing something, or someone, and finding what you need when the moment is right. How moments of fear can be infused with comedy or joy. This is a dense read and like most Murakami books, it is filled to the brim with history, creativity, and a completely fulfilling third act.
The Yellow House — Sarah M. Broom
Sarah Broom could have written a memoir about her life, career, and journey and nobody would have been surprised. She is accomplished and has been witness to multiple books worth of moments. In the Yellow House, she uses her childhood home as the anchor of a story about life, family, and New Orleans — both pre and post-Katrina.
The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir — Samantha Power
Samantha Power is the current nominee for USAID in the Biden administration and has a storied history of civic engagement, working to document and end genocide, and working on political campaigns and for elected officials. Her story moved and motivated me. Too often we criticize government and bureaucrats and Power shows why we need to honor these unsung heroes and tell their stories.
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America & How to be an Anti-Racist — Ibram X. Kendi
When the Black Lives Matter vigils happened this summer, I read these books. Read them. Seriously. Do the work. Be an anti-racist. Know the history so you can be a co-conspirator. Ibram X. Kendi is brilliant and these two books are necessary to read if you are white and consider yourself to be an ally in any way. Please note, there are two books suggested here. I hope you will read them both.
Are Prisons Obsolete? — Angela Davis
Prisons are not normal. The proliferation of prisons is not normal. Davis uses facts to show the explosive growth of the prison industrial complex and the classroom to prison pipeline. Davis asks questions to push us to think beyond prisons and how the criminal justice system breaks as we breakdown the social safety net.
The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. — Peniel E. Joseph
Joseph is a professor at the University of Texas LBJ school. In this incredible read, we not only get a history of both Malcolm X and King, and we also get a deeper understanding of how the two men approached race in America and evolved through their fight for racial equity. Malcolm X bend toward non-violence and understanding of community activation throughout the world served as the sword to MLK’s bend toward radicalism and acted as Malcolm X’s shield. You leave this book with a fuller picture. You also finish this book wondering how much better our world would have been if both men had not been assassinated.
The Washington War: FDR’s Inner Circle and the Politics of Power That Won World War II — James Lacey
Some have described this as Team of Rivals for World War 2. This book describes the political journey, the military readiness, and the public relations machine that built up the United States of America’s capacity and prepared for the second great war. It chronicles the tension to launch military operations in the Pacific after Pearl Harbor and the desire to bring peace to Europe with a country opposed to international engagement. This is a book about policy, politics, media, leadership, and bungling.
The End of October — Lawrence Wright
This is a dark read. A book written before the pandemic and a book that pontificates what would happen if a global, flu-like virus became a global pandemic. While fiction, it foreshadows the reality we ended up with and shows how things could be so much worse. This was a hard read for sure. Wright’s superior writing ability and deep research makes the struggle worth it.
The full list is below. It is broken out between fiction, non-fiction, and books I read (or re-read) for class. If any book is interesting to you, please shop local and support your bookstore. I would love your recommendations for 2021 and beyond!
Fiction
The Dutch House — Ann Patchett
Artemis — Andy Weir
Hamnet — Maggie O’Farrell
Leave the World Behind — Rumaan Alam
The Glass Hotel — Emily St. John Mandel
Axiom’s End — Lindsay Ellis
The End of October — Lawrence Wright
Rosemary’s Baby — Ira Levin
The Three-Body Problem — Liu Cixin
The Dark Forest — Liu Cixin
How Much of These Hills Is Gold — C. Pam Zhang
French Exit — Patrick deWitt
American Gods — Neil Gaiman
The Nickel Boys — Colson Whitehead
We Wish You Luck — Caroline Zancan
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle — Haruki Murakami
Non-fiction
The Yellow House — Sarah M. Broom
Principles — Ray Dalio
Anything you Want — Derek Sivers
A Promised Land — President Barak Obama
Billion Dollar Loser: The Epic Rise and Spectacular Fall of Adam Neumann and WeWork — Reeves Wiedeman
No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention — Reed Hastings, Erin Meyer
Leadership: In Turbulent Times — Doris Kearns Goodwin
Alexander Hamilton — Ron Chernow
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis — J.D. Vance
The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. — Peniel E. Joseph
Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day — Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky
The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir — Samantha Power
Petty: The Biography — Warren Zanes
The Fire Next Time — James Baldwin
Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators — Ronan Farrow
Lifescale: How to Live a More Creative, Productive, and Happy Life — Brian Solis
The Washington War: FDR’s Inner Circle and the Politics of Power That Won World War II — James Lacey
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure — Jonathan Haidt, Greg Lukianoff
Why We’re Polarized — Ezra Klein
How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy — Jenny Odell
21 Lessons for the 21st Century — Yuval Noah Harari
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry — Neil deGrasse Tyson
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind — Yuval Noah Harari
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City — Matthew Desmond
How to be an Anti-Racist — Ibram X. Kendi
How to be an Anti-Racist — Ibram X. Kendi
Are Prisons Obsolete? — Angela Davis
I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness — Austin Channing Brown
So You Want to Talk About Race — Ijeoma Oluo
Are Prisons Obsolete? — Angela Davis
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America — Ibram X. Kendi
Teaching
The Long-Distance Leader — Kevin Eikenberry & Wayne Turmel
Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach — Heidi M. Neck, Patricia G. Greene, Candida G. Brush
The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future — Chris Guillebeau
Running Lean: Iterate from Plan A to a Plan That Works — Ash Maurya
Get Backed: Craft Your Story, Build the Perfect Pitch Deck, and Launch the Venture of Your Dreams — Evan Baehr, Evan Loomis
Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days — Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, Brad Kowitz
