20 Books in 2020 Review

My 20 Books in 2020 Review! This is my breakdown of every book I read with brief explanations on how I found each, and at the end, my Top 3 books of 2020!

In looking at the entire list, there are some clear themes. I can tell how my book choices reflected my mood, where I was at mentally during the year, and how my interests changed.

It's clear that early in the year I was dealing with some stress and was using books to help me solve some of the problems I was dealing with (Stress Proof and How to Heal Yourself From Anxiety). It makes sense, because the job I was working at this time did get stressful occasionally since I did a lot of driving and teaching courses in different areas. Also, it is interesting that I was simultaneously reading a few young adult fantasy and adventure novels (The Sword of Summer, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, and Quidditch Throughout the Ages) - clearly I like to escape to another world when this one gets too "real"! I remember reading each of these before Quarantine 2020 had started, and even one of them I listened to the audiobook in the car while I was driving for work.

During Quarantine, my local library shut down, so I wasn't able to pick up books anymore. But someone told me about the app Libby, which I accessed through its website Libbyapp.com - it's a site where you can type in your library card number and read library books online. Because it doesn't have every library book available, I was forced to find new ones such as Resilient and Things My Son Should Know About the World. Both of these choices were easy, enjoyable reads that allowed me to get my mind off of the more stressful aspects of that period.

In order to stay busy in spring during quarantine while being furloughed, I joined a group called The Strenuous Life which encouraged me to read different books in order to earn "badges" as part of the skill building portion of the program. The group led me to the books The Voice of Knowledge, The Road, and Shop Class as Soul Craft. During quarantine, while I was furloughed and had a lot of extra time in between applying for jobs, I spent a lot of time learning new skills, buildings things, and thinking - which is why these books fit in nicely.

In summer, I finally read a novel and a memoir that I had been meaning to read for a while. The first, Hatchet, was one that I vaguely remembered reading in Elementary school. I didn't remember much of it from back then, but I did like it a lot this time! The second, Educated, was given to me for my birthday, and I sped through it and then gave it to my mom to read. We both loved it and are hoping each of us can write our own memoirs in a similar style one day.

Another theme that sticks out in my list of books are the ones about families, parenting, and fatherhood. I spent a lot of time thinking about these, as I always do, because when I eventually reach that point, I want to already have been reading, rather than rush to grab the "how to" manual to figure it out on the fly. In short, I want to be educated ahead of time so I can do it right. Some of these were suggested by my Strenuous Life group, including The Secret of Happy Families and The Power of Showing Up. I liked how each of these had great strategies for building quality emotional connection and positive memories with family members.

As summer ended, I went through a lot of change and stress and I chose The Stranger in the Woods to read. It was timely, because I went on a three day camping trip with friends, and had been badly craving quiet time alone in the woods to get away from the noise of life. I thought it was a perfect fit for where I was at and what I was feeling and led me to two more books which were among my favorites for the year. First, Iron John was an incredible read for me because of how it united so many of my interests (manhood, mythology, history, literature, etc.) into one book. Secondly, I found a book called The Last American Man, that continued my focus on nature/learning from the outdoors. This one made me want to fully get away from society and learn how to live off the land completely alone.

Toward the end of the year, I've been really introspective - asking big questions like - Do I want to work in corporate America anymore? Do I feel like I fit in? Where am I at on my journey? and luckily I found two books that helped me answer some of those questions. My Mom suggested the book, The Wayseers, because it fits well for someone like me who is entrepreneurial, an out of the box thinker, someone who thrives more on having multiple duties instead of performing a singular constant function. It helped me to feel like although I am different from most people, there are other like me. The final book I read, The Hero Within answered more questions for me. I liked how the book spoke my language - it combined concepts from history and literature and was similar the the overall ideas I took from Iron John. The book allowed me to get a good sense of where I'm at on my journey professionally and personally and has given me a ton of enthusiasm for working on some of my big ideas.

Looking forward to next year, I think I'm going to reduce my goal to somewhere around 12-15 books. 21 for 2021 would be doable, but I have other several other goals I want to focus on, so a book per month seems like a good pace.

My top 3 books of 2020!

Each of these earned 5 stars and are listed in no particular order...

Iron John - I don't know if I've every had a book stir up more ideas in me. I love how it took a fairy tale story analyzed it, and applied it to the way it affects modern society and modern men.

The Secrets of Happy Families - I love the strategies in this book for bringing families and relationships together. I've been using them and they have helped build better connection in my relationship and better memories in my family overall. Also, after I posted my review on LinkedIn, the author, Bruce Feiler commented on my article! That felt great!

The Amber Spyglass - I am a sucker for fantasy and adventure novels, and this one is so unique because of the questions it produces in the reader's mind - what is consciousness? do angels exist? if they do, are they good? I'm also enjoying watching the His Dark Materials HBO series and can't wait until they get to season 3, based on this book.

Thanks for reading! Next year, my goal is a book per month and I already have 5 picked out. Let me know if you have any to suggest for me, any questions about any of the books, or if you need a book suggestion!