Best book you read in 2020?

I'd nominate "The biggest bluff" - Maria Konnikova. The book details Maria's journey to becoming a world-class poker player. Though the book is really about how to make better decisions, thinking probabilistically, and a good dose of philosophy along the way.

In his Critique of Pure Reason, the German philosopher Immanuel Kant proposes betting as an antidote to one of the great ills of society: false confidence bred from an ignorance of the probabilistic nature of the world, from a desire to see black and white where we should rightly see gray. From a misplaced faith in certainty, the fact that to our minds, 99 percent, even 90 percent, basically means 100 percent—even though it doesn’t, not really.

How to take smart notes by Sonke Ahrens.

He explains a german scholar Luhmann and his great little note taking framework called zettlekasten which really is mind blowing. It is a must read for any knowledge worker.

I'm rereading it in January again to improve my current setup.

Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World, by Fareed Zakaria.

Zakaria's a renowned thinker and his books make complicated World Affairs Things like economic policy and econometrics accessible to anyone. This book is probably his best effort ever in that area, and that's a high bar.

It has two key ingredients:

1. Predictions for the "new normal," little of which will surprise techies - ever-increasing inequality, software eating more things more quickly
2. Centrist policy suggestions that are likely to leave both left and right happy, with titles like "What Matters is not the Quantity of Government but the Quality" and "People Should Listen to the Experts, and Experts Should Listen to the People".

I'd consider the book a key to what are good and bad policy recommendations coming out of the western world as we enter 2021. It's a key book to being a good citizen in the near future, but specific to this world it would probably also benefit folks in media-adjacent businesses like newsletter authors.

Read in 2020 or published in 2020?

Attention merchants, by Tim Wu. It tells the story of my industry (media) in a very insightful and entertaining manner.

It has helped me find new more accesible language to talk about my business and to uncover new business opportunities.

I finally read the "Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you" by Rob Fitzpatrick. I have a fair amount of experience leading user research efforts and still found this book insightful, a fast read, and super useful for anyone validating the problem space. Especially in the early stages of the process when you're defining your problem to solve, the simple user interview techniques covered will save you sweat and tears.

I have two:
Skin in the Game by Nassim Taleb - has me thinking about the concepts in there since then. Especially the Lindy Effect, which I think is really interesting.

Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel - he is one of my favorite writers and I love this book about psychological fallacies and pitfalls in the context of money. It’s such an easy yet profound read!

Atomic Habits by James Clear.

This really changed my perception on learning and how to approach new skills.

Since then I really learned a lot and managed to stick to hard things like daily meditation for 120+ days or daily learning hours besides a fulltime job.

Deep Work by Cal Newport

Helped me build a healthier relationship to technology and social media in particular. I noticed I do not need all social platforms and if I use one, I use it mindfully.

"INSPIRED" by Marty Cagan. Best product focused book I have ever read. Love it!

Creation: Life and how to make it by Steve Grand. It is about building a game, "Creatures", back in the 90s. Basically, he has a whole theory about what life actually is and how we can simulate it on computers.
Also, How Innovation Works by Matt Ridley. A game changer for anyone in technology and anyone interested in building a better world/society. He dispels many common misconceptions about how innovation actually works (eg the legendary man myth). And he explains how it really works, particularly showing how it is the result of a process very similar to evolution by natural selection.