Books I Read in 2020

Here is a list of books I read in the year 2020. Some were good, some were bad yet all of them taught me something. Don't miss the list. You can visit the Amazon & can directly from there.
Hard Thing About Hard Things is a book by Ben Horowitz. He started his company during the dot com boom & manages to stay afloat when the market crashed. How he manages to do stay alive during the bloodbath? This is the core of the book; he explains all the tips & tricks that he used to survive & thrive. Although everyone has his/her way of solving a thing; he has his. This book will teach you about the different aspects of management & how you can behave in each situation. This should not be treated as a playbook but as a guide book that will help you maneuver through rough terrains. This book has a special mention of legends like Andy Grove & Ben Campbell, both of which have books on their style of management.
How often one has heard the phrase believing is becoming. This book is one such book that doubles down on the concept. A self-help book will pour positivity inside you & will plead you to think big. A book which will help you to cover all the aspects of life & how to deal with each situation. There are so many magical lessons to be learned from this book, not only to learn but also to implement it. If one can read this book with concentration, they will surely be able to differentiate between the person who achieves his/her goals & a person who doesn't.
Blockchain revolution talks about blockchain technology which is shaping many other industries. Some predict that it is the most important innovation after the internet & everyone knows how the internet has flared up the world. Till few decades back, communicating with a person living on the other end of the world was impossible. But, the internet vanished that boundary. Blockchain's primary example is Bitcoin, a peer to peer currency that allows you to transact without any third party overlooking it. A trustless system is pretty much required at this time when top people don't behave the way they meant to. Read this book to learn about fascinating things this technology can do.
Bitcoin billionaires is a book on Winkelvoss twins, who sued Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. Everyone knows how Facebook started, there were some controversial points & one of those controversial points is, the role of twins on Facebook. After settling with Mark, they moved ahead. Bitcoin was still in its earlier phases when twins dived deep down into the topic. After a bold prediction that it will change the financial sector for good, they went all in. So, read in this book about how they become first-ever Bitcoin Billionaires.
Anything you want is a book about a journey of a start-up, without any heavy words. By heavy words, I mean ROI, IRR, valuation, etc. The book is written in simple words & with this simple language tries to explain the process of a startup. What all thoughts occur during a different time of the journey. How the decisions should be made & what all parameters govern. It is a very short book with lots of valuable lessons. This book doesn't showcase any tips & tricks to start a company, but an overview of different conditions & what pushes one to pursue this difficult journey.
Anything you want is a book about a journey of a start-up, without any heavy words. By heavy words, I mean ROI, IRR, valuation, etc. The book is written in simple words & with this simple language tries to explain the process of a startup. What all thoughts occur during a different time of the journey. How the decisions should be made & what all parameters govern. It is a very short book with lots of valuable lessons. This book doesn't showcase any tips & tricks to start a company, but an overview of different conditions & what pushes one to pursue this difficult journey.
Anything you want is a book about a journey of a start-up, without any heavy words. By heavy words, I mean ROI, IRR, valuation, etc. The book is written in simple words & with this simple language tries to explain the process of a startup. What all thoughts occur during a different time of the journey. How the decisions should be made & what all parameters govern. It is a very short book with lots of valuable lessons. This book doesn't showcase any tips & tricks to start a company, but an overview of different conditions & what pushes one to pursue this difficult journey.
Fountainhead is the story of an architect who is too bored to design regular buildings. He wants to build something which has soul, attitude, the impression of its owner. But, this world is too cruel for his imaginations. Many people are jealous of his guts, thinking & lack of facade. Yet, few of the lot help him in bits to give wind to his wings & he somehow manages to fly. Read about the story of a boy who broke every rule & still flew high. How some people want him to fail & quit. Yet, a small warrior inside him gives him the strength to fight it out. Many philosophical lessons to be learned from this book & it is one of the classics to read.
The E Myth is a book about small businesses that vanishes within 5 years after the start of the operation & this figure is more than 80% which is astonishing. A person starts a company being a technician(a person who is good at building things) but this is not enough. To start a successful business, the person should be an entrepreneur (vision for the company) & manager (how to interconnect different stages of the business efficiently). Once a person can figure out the difference & work on it. He or she can move to the next step which is setting up of different processes that can help you to operate it without flaws & also replicate it anywhere. I think most of the lessons will be available online. However, if you want to get to specific examples can read this book.
Wars are fought on many fronts & with everyone capable of one nuclear bomb, bombing & vanishing in the thin air of hydrogen is not a solution. However, another front is an economic one. The battle of economies & taking steps to win over other powerful nations. Whomsoever is having healthy currency will rule the world's economy. US dollar is in the front since world war II. However, countries like China, Russia are planning something big. US dollar condition is on a ventilator & the world is thinking to go back to Gold standards. It is interesting to read about the current scenario of various currencies. A very interesting book that will teach about the world's financial system & how it is being manipulated.
Elon Musk is a nerd's superstar & with mass innovations behind him, he has become someone who is changing the world each day. The story of a man behind PayPal, Tesla, SpaceX, hyperloop, SolarCity & whatnot. He is a real-life iron man in a true sense. Nobody has covered his journey in the true sense. Elon Musk finally agreed to tell his side of the story after rejecting it several times. This book will drive you through his struggles, his highs, his lows & his vision. It is not normal for a human being to earn millions of dollars & spend all on some new company whose success rate is pretty low. But, he is that man, he is on a mission to change the world with his innovations & visions. Some say he is not human & the way he works add up to this fact. The book will inspire you to do something big & monumental. Don't miss it at any cost.
Blockchain might be witnessing a watershed moment in the year 2020 & knowing about this technology is more than essential. Just like the internet in the 1990s; blockchain is in that position. It is here to disrupt most of the industries if not all. Bitcoin has already made a name for itself in the financial world. But, there is more to this technology. This book is a summary of the basics of blockchain. Everything you need to know about this technology & also what all industries will change soon. A fantastic way to understand the basics of blockchain.
An unraveling of the events from a point of view of Draupadi in the folktale "Mahabharat." Many books have depicted this masterpiece from different points of view, but none have shown the point of view of Draupadi. What it felt to be one of the factors of starting one of the most dreaded wars in the history of humankind. What it felt when a person tries to disrobe her in front of many wise men. What it felt face all the hardships while traveling through the forest & leaving behind luxury. It a thought-provoking book that will make so much sense & will hard hit you.
Awareness is one of the most gifted books. This book is about getting aware of the surroundings & your present self. Though the book is a short one, yet it contains lessons for a lifetime. We are not aware that we are sleepwalking life & hence we are not able to do anything to wake up from this situation. The first step to start anything, knowing that we can do it. The book contains various thoughts that tie us to unhappiness, things like labels, our perception about others & things, self-observation, happiness, wisdom, etc. Short essays on different topics are one of the best things you will ever read.
Why Shiva sit's in a particular way & what is represented by his stature? Also, what are the stories behind his different names. There are so many interesting stories about him, that one is always attached to it directly or indirectly. This book will cover all the important aspects of Shiva. A new way to show why he is the "God". Shiva is one of the prime foundations of Hindu mythology & learning about him is surely is one of the blisses of being hindu. Short & gripping storytelling makes this a must-read book.
Being Hindu is a modern take on the Hindu culture. The book doesn't talk about ancient history but about its evidence in the present time & how it is perceived by the western world. The book is short & simple to read & will cover topics which are hardly covered anywhere else. In short, it showcases the current situation & practices of Hindus & their scientific beliefs. A great book to read, if one is interested in knowing about the Hindu's situation. However, there are hardly any ancient stories which is usually the case in every religious book.
Randomness is a book written by Nassim Taleb. His books are known to be one of the most intelligent people in the world & is highly followed by all the top brains. He wrote this book to show, how luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decision-making work together to influence our actions & how luck or chance plays important than we usually make it out to be a role in. Some of the best lessons in this book are life is nonlinear, which makes the rewards of big, irrational emotions are the big factor in making a decision & embrace randomness in your life.
Scott Adams is a cartoonist & the brain behind Dilbert. He was an average person with an average success rate in various fields. He started his career as a management trainee program. But, his inclination was towards animation. Thus, he started working on his side hustle during the early hours of the morning. He successfully created Dilbert thereafter. It is one of the most-read comic strips in the world. This book depicts his experiences & what is his outlook towards different aspects of life like diet, health, happiness, money, etc. A lighthearted book to read & so many lessons to gulp.