This is my first installment of the best books of 2020. If you’re curious about all the books I’ve read in 2020, see this page.
1. How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Also featured in my Reading Guide to Antiracist Books. A must-read for this moment that we inhabit. Kendi’s parsing of definitions and overlapping concepts brings so much clarity to the complex spheres that race touches.
I love investigative journalism stories. This book is the riveting behind-the-scenes account of Kantor and Twohey’s reporting on sexual harassment and abuse by Harvey Weinstein.
Also an unbelievable story behind Ronan Farrow’s reporting on Weinstein. Incredible reporting that also revealed systems that protect the rich and powerful.
If you want to take a break from current issues and read an entertaining science book that evokes wonder, this is the book for it. This book is highly readable and informative, unveiling the hidden, scientific magic of everyday items like your utensils, chocolate, and more. It reminds me Hope Jahren’s quote in Lab Girl, “Science has taught me that everything is more complicated than we first assume, and that being able to derive happiness from discovery is a recipe for a beautiful life.”
Nate Silver, the man behind FiveThirtyEight.com, outlines fundamental principles on how we should relate to data. It is incredibly insightful, providing lasting lessons as we go deeper into the age of big data. The book is first published in 2012, but its insights become even more relevant now. (It even has a chapter on epidemic and data).
Insightful reflections from a variety of individuals on how the Christian faith can engage culture, more specifically a divided culture.
Often science and faith are pitted against each other. But that is not the only conversation that takes place. The other framing of the relationship between science and faith, one that I connect with more, is the one Tippett presents in this book: the connection between science and spirituality.
Favorite Books Lists
2023: Best Books of 2023 Part 1, Best Books of 2023 Part 2.
2022: Best Books of 2022 Part 1, Best Books of 2022 Part 2.
2021: Best Books of 2021 Part 1, Best Books of 2021 Part 2.
2020: Best Books of 2020 Part 1, Best Books of 2020 Part 2.
2019: Best Books of 2019 Part 1, Best Books of 2019 Part 2.
2018: Best Books of 2018 Part 1, Best Books of 2018 Part 2.
2017: Best Books of 2017 Part 1, Best Books of 2017 Part 2.
2016: Best Books of 2016 Part 1, Best Books of 2016 Part 2.
2015: Best Books of 2015 Part 1, Best Books of 2015 Part 2.
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