My Favourite Reads of 2020
“Reading is a means of thinking with another person’s mind; it forces you to stretch your own.”
-Charles Scribner Jnr.
Within the first five months of this year, I was able to cover eleven books. Not my usual number but hey, I’m just going to use the pandemic as an excuse.
So, in this article, I’m going to summarize by talking a bit about the other books I read for the remainder of the year. Excluding the plethora of books, I started but didn’t finish.
Here we go:
Reluctant Genius: The Passionate Life and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell by Charlotte Gray
“A man’s own judgement should be the final appeal in all that relates to himself. Many men do this or that because someone else thought it right.”
I read David Senra’s notes about this book in my email because I signed up to the mailing list of his amazing podcast, Founders. If you use Google Podcasts, you can check it out here. I highly recommend it if you’re a fan of biographies of fascinating people, he leaves impressive insights and I love how he connects these stories. I was immediately hooked.
Alexander Graham Bell was quite an interesting man and it was marvellous following his story from a little boy who grew up in Scotland, would lose his brothers to tuberculosis and his relationship with his deaf mother. You could see how he took his interactions with his mother, teaching the deaf and applied that to his work on the telephone.
“He has the advantage over me in being a practical electrician-but I have reason to believe that I am better acquainted with the phenomena of sound than he is-so that I have an advantage here. The very opposition seems to nerve me to work and I feel with the facilities I have now I may succeed.”
He was a man of various interests and it was really interesting to see him move from being a teacher of the deaf to the man who would invent the first telephone and then go on to try his hands on other things such as genetics and aeronautics.
“When will this thing be finished? I am sick and tired of the nature of my work and the little profit that arises from it. Other men work their five or six hours a day, and have their thousands a year, while I slave from morning to night and night to morning and accomplish nothing but to wear myself out.”
He was no stranger to struggle as well. I think this was what made the book really relatable. And it was nice seeing that in the end, everything paid off and he actually got a happily ever after with his amazing, supportive wife, who was also deaf like his mother.
This has to be my favourite book this year!
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Atomic Habits is one of those popular books, (in fact someone close to me recommended it) that a lot of people seem to have several varying opinions about. Personally, as a young adult trying to figure out what life is about much like everyone else, I think there are no strict rules to life because everyone is different.
Genetics, environment and opportunities vary in diverse ways and so rules that work a certain group might not work the exact same way for another. I didn’t take a lot of notes while going through the book but here are a few quotes I liked:
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.”
“Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.”
“All the big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger. Roots entrench themselves and branches grow. The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us. And the task of building a good habit is like cultivating a delicate flower one day at a time.”
“We imitate the habits of three groups in particular: The close. The many. The powerful.”
In summary, the author leaves great tips for forming healthy habits and how to let go of bad ones. It’s a great, quick read and I also recommend it because it’s worth the hype.
The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles
Aaaah, yes!
This book!
I should’ve saved this for last. A friend recommended this one and I was really excited to come across its title in Jen Sincero’s book included in this article. This isn’t one of those popular money books like let’s say the Richest Man in Babylon (again, highly recommend) and people have varying views on it because it’s rare for humans to agree on anything obviously.
This is a book I plan to read again to properly understand the message the writer was trying to convey.
“The more gratefully we fix our minds on the Supreme when good things come to us, the more good things we receive, and the more rapidly they will come; and the reason simply is that the mental attitude of gratitude draws the mind into closer touch with the source from which the blessings come.”
The part of the book that interested me the most revolved around this statement:
“The competitive mind is not the creative one.”
In summary, I think the book emphasizes most on being an original thinker and not just following popular trends. When I do go over this book again, I might write an article just for it (well, because I think it’s that good).
Hacking Darwin by James Metzl
This would be a good follow up read to books like She Has Her Mother’s Laugh by Carl Zimmer and Regenesis by George Church & Ed Regis.
“Scientists are also now using CRISPR not just to change the genes but also to alter the epigenetic marks dictating how the genes are expressed.5 Although early skeptics of human gene editing correctly warned that epigenetic influences on the expression of genes made effective gene editing a lot more complicated than first understood, recent advances have made clear that epigenetic editing is “on the verge of reprogramming gene expression at will.”
It’s a great read for anyone interested in learning about genetic engineering without too much scientific jargon thrown at them as the author excellently explains terms in a manner that’s easy to understand.
It’s a light read that gives you insight on the beauty of our genetic studies and what the future could look like as we further our pursuits in genetic engineering and other crazy things like AI.
You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero
“Opportunity is in the eye of the beholder.”
After reading You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero, I was definitely excited when I came across this book. Jen Sincero is a witty writer with an amazing sense of humour who leaves you wanting more.
“The walls of your comfort zone are lovingly decorated with your lifelong collection of favorite excuses.”
Considering I was kind of going through a period where I wasn’t reading books as much and I wanted something on finances, this was a good pick that got me enthusiastic again.
It might not be the go-to book if you want to learn about how to invest or the right places to put your money but it’s enough to get you motivated to put your best foot forward, take risks, embrace opportunities and remain grateful.
“What you focus on you create more of, so if the plan is to get rich, you’re gonna want to focus on abundance as much as possible. Give as much as you can as often as you can, receive with gratitude and joy, think of money as your pal, raise your frequency and get in the flow, yo.”
Yup, definitely not what you’re looking for if you need something Warren Buffet-y or Robert Kiyosaki-ish but it’s enough to get you motivated though.
Other books I read:
- Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell: I think this book is a reminder that directly comparing yourself to another person is only insulting yourself. Really great book if you want to learn about what makes successful people different.
- This blog over here
- Last year’s (2019) list
If you made it this far, thank you for reading!
See you in my next post!
