The Top 10 Books Of 2020

Every year I write up a ranked list of the best books I’ve recently read, and as you’d expect this one feels a bit different.
In 2020 I read about half as many books as normal, probably between 20-25.
On top of that, for the majority of the year I didn’t have the headspace for many non-fiction or heavy topics.
I’ve divided the list into two sections:
Firstly, very decent books that offer what you’d expect.
Secondly, the top four books that were truly great.
All of them are good, but there’s definitely a tier gap.

Numbers 10-5, No Particular Order

Greenlights – Matthew McConaughey
Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter – Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson
Blowing The Bloody Doors Off – Michael Caine
All audiobooks read by the author.

If you think “I’d love to hear Matthew McConaughey narrate stories and lessons from his life”, then you’ll
thoroughly enjoy Greenlights.

If you think “I’d love to hear 50 Cent narrate stories and lessons from his life”, then you’ll thoroughly enjoy Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter.

If you think “I’d love to hear Michael Caine narrate stories and lessons from his life”, then you’ll thoroughly enjoy Blowing The Bloody Doors Off.

If those don’t sound appealing, then they’re not for you.
All three are good, each narrator is refreshingly honest in their reflections, but more importantly they’re nice books to listen to while driving or out for a walk. 
In any other year that would be a weak endorsement, but this year it’s what I needed.

Obviously Awesome – April Dunford
April offers an incredible synopsis of product positioning, a field that most people claim to understand and also get wrong.
It’s a great listen (3.5 hours), full of real-world examples and crystal clear principles.
Highly recommend for anyone working out who their customers are and how to create a compelling Value Proposition.

Sprint – Jake Knapp
Design Sprints are in-vogue at the moment, and this book offers a comprehensive runsheet that you can copy.
It covers the principles behind creative work, how to structure each session, and how to track each milestone.
Personally, I see the real value is in the general facilitation advice, I learned a lot from their insights and you might too.

The Motive – Patrick Lencioni
Another solid contributor to the Lencioni library of business fables.
The Motive is centred around the question: “Are you drawn to what a CEO is, or doing what a CEO does?”.
It’s a great question, and an easy read.
If you already like these sorts of books, you’ll enjoy The Motive.

Now we have the top four…

4. 101 Things I Learned In Product Design School – Sung Jang and Martin Thaler
I already loved the 101 Things I Learned In ____ School series, and this most recent addition is probably my favourite.
Brilliant insights in an elegant, easily digested book, you’ll learn so much and in under 90 minutes.

3. Passion, Purpose, Profit – Fiona Killackey
I found this book after enjoying Fiona’s work at My Daily Business Coach, her podcast is excellent.
This is a practical guide for designing and building a business you’ll be proud of, in plain English, with really interesting case studies.
My recommendation is to start with 1-2 of the podcast episodes, if you find them valuable then this is the book for you.

2. Against All Odds – Richard Harris and Craig Challen
Not a business or design book as such, but any time you finish a book in a day you know you’re onto something special.
Richard Harris and Craig Challen are the two Australians who were brought into the 2018 Thai Cave Rescue, since they had two rare skillsets: cave diving and anaesthesia.
The story of how they came up with the plan to rescue that young soccer team is unbelievable, and the details of how they pulled it off will give you goosebumps.

1. The Practice – Seth Godin
A collection of insights, anecdotes and encouragements for developing and growing your creative practices.
I can’t believe they don’t teach this stuff at universities or design schools, it’s essential for anyone who produces creative work to serve an audience.
If you enjoyed The War Of Art or any of Seth’s other writings, this is the book for you.
The best book I’ve read all year, I can’t recommend it enough.