2020 Book List
2020 offered more than enough opportunity to spend time reading. Unfortunately, my attention span was pretty short during the lockdown and I spent more time doom scrolling than I care to admit! I was lucky that I had a very high hit rate with books this year. My recommended reading list this year has some really wonderful books that I think you’ll enjoy.
The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness by Morgan Housel
The word of mouth buzz about this book was off the charts when it was released in the Fall. In finance circles, everyone was posting on Twitter when they received their copies from Amazon. I was excited to read it but also nervous that it might not live up to the hype. Thankfully, it exceeded my expectations.
Morgan Housel did a fantastic job weaving real life stories into 20 quickly readable chapters unlocking why we do things or look at money, investing, and habits in different ways. This should be required reading in any personal finance class and I have added it to our 7 Books to Read To Increase Your Financial Literacy List as well. There are so many terrific nuggets in the book. One of my favorites is “Less ego, more wealth. Saving money is the gap between your ego and your income, and wealth is what you don’t see.” Morgan’s book is probably the book I have highlighted the most in many years.
The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Robert Iger
This is Bob Iger’s memoir of his time in business and while leading Disney. He led Disney through its transformational deals with Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and Fox. If you are a business geek, it is interesting to hear his thoughts on these company shifting deals and how he managed the transition of becoming CEO from his long time boss Michael Eisner. I would be fascinated to see him add a chapter about leading Disney during 2020. He is no longer the CEO but remains Chairman.
American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road by Nick Bilton
Each year there is one crime nonfiction book that makes my list. American Kingpin follows Silk Road’s origin story, the Amazon of everything illegal drugs, and investigators’ painstaking work to catch its founder. This book was a page-turner for me and I recommend it for anyone who likes true crime books.
Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Year at Lockheed by Ben R. Rich
Walking into the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum outside of Washington DC, you can’t help but be blown away when you see the SRI 71 Blackbird up close, it is such a cool plane. Skunk Works tells the story of how some of the US’s most iconic planes were developed. The efficiency and creativity that the Skunk Works had to reach their goals is almost unimaginable when thinking about how things are done today. The first-hand origin stories of the U2 spy plane and the SRI 71 Blackbird made this one of my favorite reads this year.
The MVP Machine: How Baseball’s New Nonconformists Are Using Data to Build Better Players by Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchik
Moneyball is almost 20 years old and it revolutionized the way players were valued in baseball. Using analytics to value and build your team has become the table stakes in the major leagues. With most organizations embracing analytics, the true edge in baseball is now in development. MVP Machine brought me up to speed on many new terms in baseball for both pitching and hitting. It follows Trevor Bauer and Justin Turner on how they embraced technology and advanced their development using unconventional techniques. Bauer just won the Cy Young and Justin Turner was on the Dodgers that just won the World Series. I took away several lessons that apply to investing in this book. A key takeaway was not to focus just on getting value but also on investing in businesses that create long term value.
Other Books I Enjoyed
The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution by Gregory Zuckerman
The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 by David McCullough
My Holiday Reading List
Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson
The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order by Samuel Huntington
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
I would love to hear the best book you read in 2020. I am always looking for great reads and recommendations are where I find most of my book ideas. If you are interested in my previous years’ lists, you can find the previous six years below.
Andrew Comstock, CFA