2020 Books I Read

Eric Stolten

Continuing my theme of selective reading as I did in 2019 I read fewer books but tried to only read books that really interested me.

Overall I read 5705 pages from 17 books.

There are no spoilers on this page.

How I rate my books:

  • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Loved it and would read again
  • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Liked it but wouldn’t read again
  • ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh but finished
  • ⭐️⭐️ Didn’t enjoy it but finished
  • ⭐️ Didn’t enjoy it and stopped reading

These books are not presented in any specific order.

Accelerate - Nicole Forsgren PhD, Jez Humble and Gene Kim

288 pages · ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a good book. I wouldn’t say that I would read it again, but it is certainly interesting to investigate as a technology company. It feels good when an organization is already reaching those goals.

Bottom line: The authors have done a ton of research to figure out what helps companies accelerate. Acceleration can help your company win the market or even just stay afloat. As the times change we need every advantage we could get. Find the capabilities online and assess yourself.

An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management - Jez Humble

288 pages · ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I will definitely refer back to this book. He outlines his experiences and learnings from his experience. I took away that I need to learn about Systems Thinking and read a book called Good Strategy / Bad Strategy.

I would spend more time re-reading chapter 3.

I will likely refer back to this book when issues arise.

  • Make a succession plan
  • Size teams rightly
  • Hire right

Hiking Through - Paul Stutzman

336 pages · ⭐️⭐️

I thought this book was meh at best. Every paragraph followed the same formula.

I crossed a peak, did 25 miles, saw someone and slept. Book has heavy doses of faith in the book.

Hillbilly Elegy - J.D. Vance

291 pages · ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was a stark reminder of how things are in different parts of the country. The biggest takeaway is that having an advocate in your life can help you in ways that others could not.

Letters From an Astrophysicist - Neil deGrasse Tyson

272 pages · ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tyson has thoughtful responses to tough questions in life pertaining to the universe.

Bottom line: The purpose of science is not to make people feel good. Too many people start out with an answer in mind and try to steer people towards it. Science is about acknowledging that we do not know the answer and we want to discover it.

Naked Statistics - Charles Wheelan

304 pages · ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I liked this book because it gave me insights to how standard statistics are used and how they are abused. It uses everyday examples which is more helpful than being given a few pages of formulas.

Topics I found particularly useful

  • Normal distribution and errors
  • Median vs mean, think of the example with Bill Gates walking into a bar and raising the income average. Or Bush’s tax cuts (to the ultra rich)
  • Correlation and how it doesn’t matter the units of what we’re measuring
  • Probability with the expected value
  • Monty Hall problem
  • Central limit theorem - The mean of a sample falls within a normal distribution of the real mean of the whole population. This tells us that given a sample we can calculate with a certain probability how likely it is that our sample is both representative or possibly not representative of the whole population
  • Inference, polling, and regression.
    • How likely is it that this thing happened, does the probability say it is an unlikely event to be categorized as another group?
    • How representative of the actual results are my polling results
    • How much does my dependent variables describe my situation

Old Man’s War - John Scalzi

320 pages · ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Quick and entertaining read. I don’t think I’ll invest in the series, though.

Perennial seller - Ryan Holiday

256 pages · ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I would reread this book for sure.

Skyward - Brandon Sanderson

544 pages · ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I thought this was an amazing book. I did the audio book and the acting was top notch!

Starsight - Brandon Sanderson

461 pages · ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I also thought this was an amazing book. I read the physical book and I’m dying to know what happens next.

The Inevitable - Kevin Kelly

336 pages · ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Essentially we are not racing technology but we are running with it. It creates new opportunities that didn’t even exist yesterday. We have no idea what will be available to us in the future.

The Making of a Manager: What to do when Everyone Looks to You - Julie Zhuo

288 pages · ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was an okay book. It was very design-centric but there are better books out there on becoming an Engineering manager. Becoming an Effective Software Engineering Manager comes to min.

The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemmingway

74 pages · ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read this book based on a recommendation. I can’t say that I loved the book that much.

The Wealthy Gardener - John Soforic

431 pages · ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I thought there were a lot of pearls of wisdom in this book. It really got me thinking about a bunch of financial stuffs. There were parts which were a little reminiscent of “The Secret.” I believe that the secret just prepares you to make you ready for what comes next. I need to buy the physical book so that I can follow up on some of the lessons.

Walkable City: How downtown can save America - Jeff Speck

320 pages · ⭐️⭐️⭐️

There were some interesting ideas in this book but I wouldn’t say that I would recommend it to people. There were times when it felt like the author had a pure vendetta against people in the planning community. As a member of a community there wasn’t much actionable advice here. I do feel like I have a better idea of what makes a city walkable, though.

Warbreaker - Brandon Sanderson

592 pages · ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Solid book. Standalone and not part of a series. Not the best Sanderson book I’ve read, but it is better than most fantasy books by miles. I like that Hoyd was part of the book telling stories.

Wherever You Go There You Are - Jon Kabat-Zinn

304 pages · ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I don’t know if this book hit me at the right time or not. I gave it a solid 3 stars. I think the book was way too long. Perhaps I felt this way because there wasn’t much new for me in this book. If this is the first book on mindfulness it would probably shine brighter.