My 2020 Reading List

Last year, I missed putting my annual reading list up.  Well, I missed a lot of things. I’ve had my head down focusing on some other things.  We’ll be talking about those soon.

But I really do like keeping track of track of my annual reading.  There’s a correlation to the amount a person reads and their success in life. The average American reads one book a year while the average CEO reads more than one book a week. 

In 2020, I set a goal for myself of 52 books. My previous reading plan was one for pleasure and one for self-improvement.  The self-improvement has gotten a bit blurred this year.  I have moved away from business and self-help books and picked up a lot more non-fiction books.  I learned a lot from them, but did they improve me?  I could argue both ways, but one thing is for certain, they were enjoyable to read.

I fell short of my goal, though.  I only read 46 books this year.  But I published seven books. That takes a lot of head space.  I’m not counting them in my goal.  That would be like a running back counting the yards he gained in practice.  It would be neat, but not accurate.  So, 46 books. I’ll try harder next year.

This is something new I’m going to do. I’m going to call out my five favorite books of the past year.  These are not in any particular order.

1.      Every Knee Shall Bow: The Truth and Tragedy of Ruby Ridge and the Randy Weaver Family – Jess Walter – I’ve read other works from Jess Walter, but damn this blew me away.  It also changed the way I looked at the Ruby Ridge incident and Randy Weaver.  What more could you ask for from a book? 

2.      Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Force by Radley Balko – a phenomenal book that traces not only the history of law enforcement. Fascinating.

3.      The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It – Robert B. Reich I would imagine that the majority of Americans are looking at our economic system as difunctional. Robert Reich actually provides some solutions on how to fix it.

4.      The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams – Okay. I may be the last person on Earth to actually read this book.  It made me laugh out loud.  Loved it.

5.      That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea – Marc Randolph - this book was a fascinating look at Netflix.  It’s so prevalent in our lives right now I forgot that it started as a service through the mail.

FICTION 

  1. The Burglar in the Closet – Lawrence Block

  2. The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling – Lawrence Block

  3. Chip Harrison Scores Again – Lawrence Block

  4. In the Heat of the Night: The Original Virgil Tibbs Novel – John Ball

  5. The Big Fix (Moses Wine #1) – Roger L. Simon

  6. In the Cut (SpoCompton Crime Novel #2) – Frank Zafiro

  7. Place of Wrath and Tears (River City #6) – Frank Zafiro

  8. The Seventh (a Parker novel) – Richard Stark

  9. The Jugger (a Parker novel) – Richard Stark

  10. Slayground (a Parker novel) – Richard Stark

  11. The Blackbird (an Alan Grofield novel #3) – Richard Stark

  12. Stone Cold Dead – (Ellie Stone #3) – James W. Ziskin

  13. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

  14. Hard Time (V.I. Warshawski #9) – Sara Paretsky

  15. Pirate (a Sam and Remi Fargo Adventure #8) – Clive Cussler and Robin Burcell

  16. When the Women Come Out to Dance – Elmore Leonard

  17. To Live and Die in L.A. – Gerald Petievich

  18. The Running Man – Richard Bachman

  19. Moody Gets the Blues – Steve Oliver

  20. At What Cost (Detective Penley #1) – James L’Etoile

  21. Class Reunions are Murder (Poppy McAllister #1) – Libby Klein

  22. Throwing Off Sparks (a Riley Reeves mystery) – Michael Pool

  23. The Breadwinner – Deborah Ellis

NON-FICTION (excluding Business/Self-Help)

  1. Business for Authors: Hot to be an Author Entrepreneur – Joanna Penn

  2. Nam – Mark Baker

  3. Every Knee Shall Bow: The Truth and Tragedy of Ruby Ridge and the Randy Weaver Family – Jess Walter

  4. Stranger Beside Me – Ann Rule

  5. The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It – Robert B. Reich

  6. Pity the Billionaire: The Hard-Times Swindle and Unlikely Comeback of the Right – Thomas Frank

  7. Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces – by Radley Balko

  8. Under and Alone: The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America’s Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang – William Queen

  9. The Last of the President’s Men – Bob Woodward

  10. Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life – John McCain

  11. How Not to Get Shot: And Other Advice from White People – D.L. Hughley

  12. Surrender, White People! Our Unconditional Terms for Peace – D.L. Hughley

  13. No Justice:  One White Police Officer, One Black Family and How One Bullet Ripped Us Apart – Robbie Tolan

  14. That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea – Marc Randolph

  15. Running with the Devil: Managing Van Halen Straight to the Top – Noel Monk

  16. Once Upon a Time in Russia: The Rise of the Oligarchs—A True Story of Ambition, Wealth, Betrayal, and Murder – Ben Mezrich

  17. From Russia with Blood: The Kremlin’s Ruthless Assassination Program and Valdimir Putin’s Secret War on the West – Heidi Blake

BUSINESS/SELF-HELP

  1. The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success – Darren Hardy

  2. Let’s Get Digital: How to Self-Publish and Why You Should – David Gaughran

  3. Amazon Decoded: A Marketing Guide to the Kindle Store – David Gaughran

  4. Following: A Marketing Guide to Author Platform – David Gaughran

  5. Real Artists Don’t Starve – Timeless Strategies for Thriving in the New Creative Age – Jeff Goins

  6. Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kinds about Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not – Robert Kiyosaki 

 (This post originally appeared on The Bumbling Millionaire website)

Reading (Books of Others)Colin Conwayreading list