My Top Five Books in 2020
By: Bauer Johannes
Tags: 2020, Book Recommendations, Books, Book Review, Writing

2020 was a very extraordinary year, which we will not forget as quickly as Covid-19 with the associated lockdowns, the US election, to name two big Events. Nevertheless I had a lot of books on my Todo-list this year, of which I would like to share the five best books with you.

1. The five love languages by Gary Chapman

Love is something you do for someone else, not something you do for yourself.

My first book, which I would like to show you, was recommended to me by a very good friend. Because of this he has an even more fulfilling relationship with his wife, whom I admire every time.

The Book “The five love languages” was written by Gary Chapman 1992 who defines five different ways to express and experience love. The five love languages are:

1. words of affirmation

2. quality time

3. receiving gifts

4. acts fo service

5. pyhsical touch

According to Gary Chapman, each person has one primary and one secondray love language. To discover the love language of another person helps to respond to the needs and wishes of the other person and thus strengthen the relationship.

2. QualityLand by Marc-Uwe Kling

QualityLand is a fun dystopia plays in a near future. In QualityLand alomst everything are optimized by algortihms. The autonomous cars knows where you want to go, QualityPartner knows who is the best suited to you. It isn’t necessary to order something, because TheShop knows the products you want and order them automatic.

Moreover, no one has to make difficult decisions anymore, because the best answer to every question in QualityLand is: OK.

It is an astonishing futuristic satire about the promises and pitfalls of digitisation. Visionary, profound and very, very funny.

I would definitely listen to the book as an audio book.

3. The ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger

The ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger tells the story of the former CEO of Disney over 20 years. During his career, he had to struggle with many ups and downs, whose experience and learnings he wants to share with his book.

My personal key takeaways from the book are:

Good leaders are optimistic

Be authentic

How to learn

How to respond to bad news

Don’t play it safe

Help others

Have clear priorities

Empathy is critical

4. The richest man in Babylon by George Samuel Clason

The book “The Richest Man of Babylon” is a classic when it comes to basics in the field of financial education.

Babylon was the wealthiest city of antiquity. With simple lessons about camel and sheep traders Clason 1926 manages to learn how to handle money. The methods and tips are not really new secrets, on the contrary, they are over 1,000 years old.

5. Blackout by Marc Eisberg

Blackout is a thriller set in the near future. The novel tells the catastrophic effects of a large-scale power blackout in Europe over a period of two weeks.

On a cold February day, all the power grids in Europe collapse. The total blackout. Italian computer scientist Piero Manzano suspects a hacker attack and tries to warn the authorities without success. When Europol commissioner Bollard finally listens to him, dubious emails turn up in Manzano’s computer that cast suspicion on himself. He has become the target of an adversary who is as cunning as he is merciless. Meanwhile, all of Europe is in the dark, and the fight for survival begins …

With 10 hours, the audiobook isn’t short, but i would still advise anyone to listen to it.