Whew, what an awesome year for reading is was. The focus was quality over quantity but still ended up with more read than last year. One of my goals was to get fiction bumped up in quantity, which is hard with great books everywhere. Pay attention to the books in bold, they made a significant impact on my life this year. All worth a read!
Skip the list and see my Top 5 Most Impactful Books Read in 2019:
Losterthink - Scott Adams
Crucibles of Leadership: How to Learn from Experience to Become a Great Leader - Thomas, Robert J.
Chop Wood Carry Water: How to Fall In Love With the Process of Becoming Great - Medcalf, Joshua
The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload - Levitin, Daniel J.
The Power of Agency: The 7 Principles to Conquer Obstacles, Make Effective Decisions, and Create a Life on Your Own Terms - Paul Napper
Business/Innovation
The Eureka Factore: Aha Moments, Creative Insight, and the Brain - John Kounios
Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation - Johnson, Steven
Good book, but not amazing. Read to fuel my quest to understand how ideas are connected and made.
Business/Leadership
Crucibles of Leadership: How to Learn from Experience to Become a Great Leader - Thomas, Robert J.
This book was quite life changing. Or perspective changing. How will you learn when you are ripped from the fabric of reality? Because we all experience it.
Chop Wood Carry Water: How to Fall In Love With the Process of Becoming Great - Medcalf, Joshua
This will be on my bookshelf a long time. One of those books I have my son read. Not to worry, he’s getting an education on it already.
Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World - Buckingham, Marcus
Business/Operations
Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business - Wickman, Gino
An operating system for a company. Very good tools.
Business/Strategy
Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance - Porter, Michael E.
A classic that should be on ay businessperson’s bookshelf, after they have read and digested it into practice.
Playing to win: How strategy really works - Lafley, A.G.
One of the best books on business strategy I’ve ever read.
Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters - Rumelt, Richard P.
Understanding Michael Porter: The Essential Guide to Competition and Strategy - Magretta, Joan
Porter's Five Forces: Stay ahead of the competition (Management & Marketing Book 1) - Michaux, Stéphanie
Not a classic but a commentary on a classic, Michael Porter’s Five Forces.
Momentum; How Companies Decide What to do Next - Marc Emmer
Cooking
The Unofficial Big Green Egg Cookbook: The Art of Smoking Meat with Your Ceramic Smoker, Ultimate Smoker Cookbook with Irresistible BBQ Recipes - Jones, Adam
Churrasco: Grilling the Brazilian Way - Caregnato, Evandro
Amazing recipes and equal parts history of Churraso.
Critical Thinking
Losterthink - Scott Adams
I can’t stop recommending this book! Learn how we put ourselves into mental prisons made of poor thinking. And what you can do about it and see it in others.
Neuroscience
The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload - Levitin, Daniel J.
One of several read on the brain this year, excellent survey of current research and tools for performing better.
Your Brain at Work - Rock, David
Like “The Organized Mind,” a great read on the effects on us due to stress, lack of focus, etc. Well worth a read.
Philosophy
Wind, Sand and Stars - Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de
Sci-Fi
Dauntless (The Lost Fleet, #1) - Campbell, Jack
Fearless (The Lost Fleet, #2) - Campbell, Jack
Courageous (The Lost Fleet, #3) - Campbell, Jack
Southlands (Lee Harden, #2) - Molles, D.J.
The Last Astronaut - Wellington, David
The Hellbreakers - James N Cook
Science
How to Read Water: Clues & Patterns from Puddles to the Sea - Tristan Gooley
Buddhism
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment - Robert Wright
Storytelling
Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences - Duarte, Nancy
Vision/Focus
Juliet's School of Possibilities: A Little Story About the Power of Priorities - Vanderkam, Laura
Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day - Knapp, Jake
I suspect we all struggle with
On Confidence - Life, The School of Life
Principles: Life and Work - Ray Dalio
Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less - Hyatt, Michael
Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals - Hyatt, Michael
The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future - Carroll, Ryder
How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking – for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers - Ahrens, Sönke
This is going to be way over the top for most, but I highly recommend it. I have been working on an effective way to connect things I’ve read and ideas I’ve had. Imagine a card catalog for your acquired knowledge in life.
To-Do List Formula: A Stress-Free Guide To Creating To-Do Lists That Work! - Zahariades, Damon
The Founder and The Force Multiplier - Adam Hergenrother
Think Out of The Box: Generate Ideas on Demand, Improve Problem Solving, Make Better Decisions, and Start Thinking Your Way to the Top (Power-Up Your Brain Series Book 3) - Bathla, Som
The Power of Agency: The 7 Principles to Conquer Obstacles, Make Effective Decisions, and Create a Life on Your Own Terms - Paul Napper
Hands down, one of the best and most beneficial books I’ve read in my life.
Misc
Technician Class 2018-2022 (EasyWayHamBooks Book 6) - K4IA, Buck, Som