The Best Books I Read In 2020
2020 was an insightful year for me. I had to learn to appreciate a life at home with far less travel, with abundant down time to follow my curiosity. Looking back, it was a year of inner growth: I built a deeper connection with my wife, started doing yoga, and found a bit more stilness, accepting the fact that not every day is a work day.
Photography-wise, it was surprisingly a year of development where I crossed Montana on a gravel bike, walked the length of the Cevennes range in France, launched wildist, released two workshops, and joined 66 North ambassador team.
None of this would have been possible if I didnt carve out time to find some inspiration and to read the right things. Here are my favorite books of the year:
1. How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton M. Christensen
My brother gifted me this one last Christmas when he visited us in Montana. We've always had long conversations about what is truly essential in life, how should we spend it, and how should we know we're on track. This book helped him and has helped me as well. It made me reflect on the sources of satisfaction in life: relationships, career, integrity. It's not written as a manual but more the authors story intertwined with examples from business owners and thinkers.
“It's easier to hold your principles 100 percent of the time than it is to hold them 98 percent of the time.” - Clayton M. Christensen
2. The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday
I heard about this book listening to Tim Ferris's podcast and couldn't resist the idea of diving into thousand year old topics and discover that they're still very relevant. Highlights the fact that there are things that don't change. So now, Ryan Holiday's compilation of stoic writings and meditations is on my repeat list. I've read it two times and always find new insights to guide me through whatever challenges I'm facing. There are 366 meditations and the premise is that you should read one per day. I'll admit that I haven't stuck to the unspoken rule and read a few more per day.
“It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own.” – Marcus Aurelius
3. The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees by Robert Penn
Perhaps one of my favorites books the year. It is the story of a man who cuts a dead ash tree and takes its wood to a host of wood-workers to find out that their techniques are far from dead. I enjoyed it because it reminded me of our historical connection to wood. It is the sort of book who makes you question everything you do and even consider retreating to a small wood-shop on a remote corner of Wales.
4. Travels With A Donkey In The Cevennes by Robert Louis Stevenson
It its maddedning that this book came so late into my life. I grew up near the very trail, The Stevenson Trail in Southern France, where the author's journey travels through. I found it so well written and even funny that I read it in two sittings this spring. It even inspired one my latest photo projects: In Search Of The Cevennes where I travelled my homeland on foot in search for remains of its past. I loved it because on top of making me nostalgic about my geographical roots it also reminded me that adventure can be simple: One man, one donkey and a map. This is arguably one of the first adventure novels ever written and it deserves a spot in the shelf of any wandering nature lover.
"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." — R.L Stevenson
5. In Praise of Paths by Torbjørn Ekelund
After being diagnosed with epilepsy, Torbjørn Ekelund could no longer drive. He started walking everywhere: to the school he teaches at, around the Swedish Islands, and to the cabin where he grew up. In Torbjørn's walking explorations I learned to revisit the way I look at things and that is a special thing to do for anyone in photography.
6. Wind Sand And Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
One of my all time favorite books, and my favorite from Saint-Exupéry. I bought this book after finishing Night Flight which was thrilling. After flying in WWII, Saint-Exupéry became an aviation pioneer in the 'Aéropostale' opening mail routes between Europe and Africa and the U.S and Patagonia. In this autobiographical account he tells the stories of his crashed in the Sahara desert, The Andes and how he tricked death on each occasion. What I enjoyed even more than the mad stories was Saint-Exupéry's perspective on a life worth living and friendship — Highly relevant now more than ever.
“Nothing can match the treasure of common memories, of trials endured together, of quarrels and reconciliations and generous emotions. It is idle, having planted an acorn in the morning, to expect that afternoon to sit in the shade of the oak.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
7. Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss
Heard about this on my friend Isaac Johnston's newsletter. From my experience, a lot of negociation books are quite predictable, full of misguiding information and lacking the psychologic aspect of negociation. In Voss's book I found exactly what I was after: a good story - the author has quite the past working for the FBI as a international hostage negociator - and a set of rules based on his successes and failures, not theories. Enjoyed it so much that I read it twice.
“If you approach a negotiation thinking the other guy thinks like you, you are wrong. That's not empathy, that's a projection.” — Chris Voss
8. West With The Night by Beryl Markham
I like books that transport me in time and in new places. This memoir took me to the Kenya of the 1900's where Beryl Markham began her life as one of Africa's first female pilots. Similar to Wind Sand And Stars there are crazy stories about flying at night over the Namib desert, getting clawd by a lion and being the first female to fly solo over the Atlantic. I also thought the writing was very colorful and quite hilarious.
9. The Tiger by John Vaillant
This book was also recommended by Isaac Johnston. He even raved about it. It's a rivetting true story about a Siberian Tiger who's developed a taste for tracking and hunting humans. Just like any book I love, it transported me to an unknown corner of the world: The Russian far eastern corner of Premorye. I found it hard to pause while reading it as the stakes keep getting higher and things go from bad to terrible.
The impact of an attacking tiger can be compared to that of a piano falling on you from a second story window. But unlike the piano, the tiger is designed to do this, and the impact is only the beginning. — John Vaillant
