As a kid I was a huge reader. I had so many books that I had multiple book cases in my room. One of them was built into the headboard of my bed, so I didn't have to get out of bed to get a book. I read things like "The Boxcar Children" to "Goosebumps" to anything I could find on the RMS Titanic. As I grew, my fascination with history grew and I read everything I could around the American Revolution up to World War 2. Sadly though, when high school made me read through certain books my interest in reading waned. This was around the time we got the internet, so I read web pages instead of books.

This year, when I was talking to my boss at my old job, he mentioned a few books he really enjoyed on Audible. I had heard of Audible but never got into it. On his recommendation, I grabbed one book and I was hooked. It was as if a spark was reignited in me. I went out to a book store soon after and bought books both old and new. I hope this type of post becomes a tradition for as long as I blog.

Without further ado, here is what I read and listened to in 2019.

All the books will a link to buy them in book/audio form, however none of the links are ref links. I do not make any money if you choose to buy one.

Audio Books

Personal Improvement

• "Power Moves: Lessons from Davos" by Adam Grant.

In it, he interviews a lot of powerful people about leadership.

• "Lessons From a Thrid Grade Dropout" by Rick Rigsby.

Stumbled on him via Youtube, he recounts tales and lessons his father, a third grade dropout, gave him up until his father's death.

• "Principles" by Ray Dalio

Super long, but an interesting look at how Ray Dalio rose to the level he is at.

• "The 4 Hour Work Week" by Tim Ferriss

This book was interesting. Tim dives into ideas of automation and passive income generation so that you can work less and enjoy a more fulfilling life.

• "Digital Minimalism" by Cal Newport

Cal Newport, notorious for a lack of social media presence, dives into the idea that it's ok to live life without a social media account and how you can fill that time instead.

• "Deep Work" by Cal Newport

Another hit from Cal, he talks about regaining things like determination, concentration, and dedication to the work we do every day.

• "Atomic Habits" by James Clear (still listening to this one).

Ever wonder why a habit doesn't stick? This book covers tips and tricks about making them stick and how to change your thinking when it comes to a new habit.

• "Make Your Bed" by Admiral William McRaven (this one had a huge impact).

Inspired by his commencement address at the University of Texas, Admiral McRaven delivers short but powerful lessons for a successful life, starting with making your bed every single day.

Others

• "Doing Justice" by Preet Bharara

Famously fired by Trump, Preet has had a stellar career with podcasting, and this book dives into the life of the line prosecutors, assistant attorneys generals and what it's like to the district attorny for the southern distract of NY.

• "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer (a personal favorite).

One of my favorites, this book details the 1996 disaster on Everest when teams were stuck at the summit in the middle of a storm.

• "Utopia For Realists" by Rutger Bregman (the dude who lit up the world at Davos).

I loved this guy from the minute he lit the world on fire at Davos with his statement about taxing the rich. His book delves into ideas of what a utopia could look like.

• "American Kingpin" by Nick Bilton

Im relistening to this now. This covers the start of the Silk Road and how they eventually captured all the major players.

• "The Little Book of Lykke" by Meik Wiking

A fun little book about how the Danes create happiness from the little things in life.

• "Draft Animals" by Phil Gaimon

Former pro cyclist Phil Gaimon talks life on the road, the challenges he faced as a domestique on a big European Tour Team and giving up.

• "Permanent Record" by Edward Snowdem

Im not sure this book needs much, we all know what Snowden did. However I'm disappointed that the government gets to have his earnings from this.

• "Paddle Your Own Canoe" by Nick Offerman

Utterly not safe for work, Nick just lays out how to work hard and win at life.

• "Modern Romance" by Aziz Ansari

Swiping and dating is huge for most people now. Aziz wanted to figure out what made people swipe right or left on certain people.

• "Medium Raw" by Anthony Bourdain

An ode to the people who run the restaurants across the world. Bourdain doesn't hold back. This was performed by him too, so its weird to hear his voice. I still miss him.

• Passion For Nature: The Life of John Muir by Donald Worster (still listening because it is 19 hours long).

This is an epic look at the man who fathered our National Parks system.

Paper Books

Financial

• "The Richest Man In Babylon" by George Clason.

Old English aside, this is a seminal book for anyone starting with personal finance. It's not long, but its packed with great tips that still hold up today.

• "The Simple Path to Wealth" by JL Collins

One of my favorites, JL Collins breaks down the notion that investing is hard, and examines the most tried and true way to growing wealth: index funds. (Note: Index Funds are a moral quandry to deal with, because the main on JL talks about, VTSAX, has every single stock on the NYSE in it... private prisons and all.)

• "Playing With Fire" by Scott Rieckens (also a movie!)

A lot of FIRE books cover the how, but this is a personal story of the why. With cameos of popular FIRE bloggers, this is a nice tale and gives you a lot to think about.

• Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez

After reading this, I couldn't stop thinking about my life in dollars. Every single action has a dollar amount correlation, and they explore it in this book.

Inspirational

• "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch

Foudn on Youtube, this book is both a lesson for his kids and anyone who reads the book. If you get any book, get this one. I shed a tear watching the Youtube vid.

• "Unfuck Yourself" by Gary John Bishop

I spent the last year or so being so in my head I had to do something. This book gave me some tools and tips to getting out of my own head.

• "How To Break Up With Your Phone" by Catherine Price

• "The Little Book of Hygge" by Meik Wiking

Like "The Little Book of Lykke", this covers things the Danes do, and why they are so damn happy.

• "The World According to Mister Rogers" by Fred Rogers

If you want to know that someone is proud of you, open this book.

• "Daring Greatly" by Brene Brown

Brene made waves at a TED Talk, and because of that this book was another I had to get. It pairs well with "Digital Minimalism"

Cook Books

• "In The Kitchen With Antoni" by Antoni Porowski

I love the Queer Eye series on Netflix, and I've enjoyed watching Antoni inspire people to cook more.

Leadership

• "The Phoenix Project" by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford

This was recommended to me by a guy I met who was in town doing some AWS consulting. I couldn't put it down. It's now something we make product owners and software team leaders at work read.

• The Unicorn Project by Gene Kim (Still reading this.)

This is the second book in the series, and looks at the development side of the Phoenix project, instead of the ops side.

Society

• "Strong Towns" by Charles Marohn Jr.

Charles talks about how can we take what we have now with cities (sprawling layouts) and improve them incremently to make them more livable, walkable and enjoyable.

• "Blue Highways" by William Lease Heat Moon

William was out of a job, and losing his marriage so he decided to take a trip across the country, only using the state highway systems, the blue roads on old school atlases and maps.

Fiction

• "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I think everyone knows this book.

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There may be more but this seems to be a very good list based on what I read and listened too. As I mentioned above, each is a link to Amazon for you to buy any of these books. I highly recommend them all.

If you are trying to avoid amazon or want to buy used, this looks like a wonderful serrvice. I plan on using them a lot in 2020.

What did you read this year?