My favorite reads (and listens) of 2020
One of the rare bright spots in this crazy year has been my healthy reading (and listening) output. While my podcast consumption dropped significantly due to lack of commuting, I continued to listen to audiobooks on my long walks when I was not dialed into work meetings. In this post, I am sharing some of my favorite books this year.
Fiction
The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells: I started reading Martha Wells' tales of a future where MurderBots are all too common and one MurderBot that thinks otherwise. These are more novella sized and are super fun. The first book, "All Systems Red" is a $3.99 way to give it a try.
Books by David Ignatius , Books by Daniel Silva , Books by Jack Higgins
One of the things that I really doubled down on 2020 is escapist fiction. I wanted to see the good guys win. And for that, I went back to some favorites and some new authors. New for this year - David Ignatius, who specializes in US intelligence stories. I read "The Paladin" and "The Quantum Spy" and while they are not necessarily best in any way, I enjoyed them. Continuing from past few years, books by Daniel Silva featuring super-spy Gabriel Allon (The Order, The English Assassin, The Confessor, The Defector) continue to be some of my biggest guilty pleasures. Finally, Jack Higgins' anti-hero Sean Dillon novels never ceases to give me a good time.
Non-Fiction
I use Audible to listen to books. When available, I use Libby and borrow audiobooks from my local library. I listened to some really good books this year. Here are my recommendations.
A Promised Land by Barack Obama (bonus - narrated by Barack Obama which given the ~30 hours, is alone worth the price of admission) - this is a great book. It is great because it is introspective. Because it doesnt talk about how great him/they were but rather, why things were what they were. I am 2/3rds done with the book but its easily one of the best reads for this year.
The Economist's Hour by Binyamin Appelbaum, Money by Jacob Goldstein - if money and economics fascinates you, here are two great books. The Economist's Hour tackles how our monetary policy is what it is. Jacob Goldstein, host of the super fun Planet Money podcast weaves a tale about the evolution of money involving some rather fascinating people over the past 1500 years.
Coders by Clive Thompson - As someone who enjoys the Wired magazine, I have been a fan of Clive's work and this book does not disappoint. A tale about programmers and programming and why many believe software is eating the world.
Trust by Pete Buttigieg - This is a short and crisp read by Democratic Mayor of South Bend, IN and Democratic primary star. I picked this up on a whim because Pete was narrating it and it did not disappoint. I enjoyed the 4 hours or so the book lasted and continue to be impressed by Pete and think he has a bright future ahead.
The Man who Solved the Market by Gregory Zuckerman - This biography of Jim Simons, the founder of Renaissance Technologies and the famed Medallion Fund that pioneered the quant revolution is a fantastic book. Beyond the obvious, it also delves into the interesting relationship between Jim, a Democrat and his partner at Renaissance, Robert Mercer, a big funder of Breitbart and other right-wing organizations.
While I would much prefer 2021 to be very unlike 2020 in almost all regards, I do think that this year allowed me to read/listen to more books and that is one trend I would like to see continue into the new year.