Towards the end of the year, most people are working on new year resolutions and for those that are like us, personal development is on top of that list. If you have been struggling with choosing books to read in 2020, worry no more. We have compiled a list of 30 books that did so well in 2019 in sales. From finance, to mental health, to improving your overall well-being, your business and to just laugh, we have got great reads that can accompany the new you in 2020. Below are the books that made top of the selling list in 2019 in no particular order.
Please note; these are not our picks, you asked and we delivered.
- Born a crime by Trevor Noah
Popular by Young Adults
Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother — his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.
2. The power of your subconscious mind by Joseph Murphy
Popular by Men
Dr Joseph Murphy explains that life events are actually the result of the workings of your conscious and subconscious minds. He suggests practical techniques through which one can change one’s destiny, principally by focusing and redirecting this miraculous energy. It is one of the most brilliant and beloved spiritual self-help works of all time which can help you heal yourself, banish your fears, sleep better, enjoy better relationships and just feel happier. The techniques are simple and results come quickly. You can improve your relationships, your finances, your physical well-being.
3. The smart money tribe by Arese Ugwu
Popular by Women
Getting to grips with financial literacy and the art of managing and growing money can be hard for many women in Africa. But author award-winning author Arese Ugwu is about to change all that. Her latest novel, The Smart Money Tribe, aims to change the narrative around making money, using the experiences of women characters found in her first successful novel. In this latest story, Arese encourages having a circle of trusted friends with whom you talk about money. She encourages her readers to learn how to earn more, create multiple streams of income, invest together, and keep each other accountable on spending habits.
With Smart Money Tribe, Arese Ugwu will show you how to assess investment
4. Inflammable Mindset by Gilda Given
Popular by Men and Young Adults
Your purpose is not something you need to make up; it’s already there. You have to uncover it in order to create the life you want. And when you uncover your purpose, amazing things happen, opportunities present themselves, doors open and you become so incredibly focused on achieving your dreams. The inflammable mindset book will help you to critically think about your purpose in life and how to achieve your dreams.
5. Becoming by Michelle Obama
Popular by Women
In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her — from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it — in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations — and whose story inspires us to do the same.
6. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Popular by Men
Paulo Coelho’s enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world. This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and soul-stirring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried near the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles in his path. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery of the treasure found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.
7. Start with why by Simon Sinek
Popular by Men
Any organization can explain what it does; some can explain how they do it; but very few can clearly articulate why. WHY is not money or profit — those are always results. WHY does your organization exist? WHY does it do the things it does? WHY do customers really buy from one company or another? WHY are people loyal to some leaders, but not others?
Starting with WHY works in big business and small business, in the nonprofit world and in politics. Those who start with WHY never manipulate, they inspire. And the people who follow them don’t do so because they have to; they follow because they want to. This book is for anyone who wants to inspire others or who wants to find someone to inspire them.
8. The subtle art of not giving a fuck by Mark Manson
Popular by Men and Women
Manson makes the argument, backed both by academic research and well-timed poop jokes, that improving our lives hinges not on our ability to turn lemons into lemonade, but on learning to stomach lemons better. Human beings are flawed and limited — “not everybody can be extraordinary, there are winners and losers in society, and some of it is not fair or your fault.” Manson advises us to get to know our limitations and accept them. Once we embrace our fears, faults, and uncertainties, once we stop running and avoiding and start confronting painful truths, we can begin to find the courage, perseverance, honesty, responsibility, curiosity, and forgiveness we seek.
There are only so many things we can give a f**k about so we need to figure out which ones really matter. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is a refreshing slap for a generation to help them lead contented, grounded lives.
9. Lean in by Sheryl Sandberg and Nell Scovell
Popular by Young Adults
Ask most women whether they have the right to equality at work and the answer will be a resounding yes, but ask the same women whether they’d feel confident asking for a raise, a promotion, or equal pay, and some reticence creeps in. The statistics, although an improvement on previous decades, are certainly not in women’s favour — of 197 heads of state, only twenty-two are women. Women hold just 20 percent of seats in parliaments globally, and in the world of big business, a meagre eighteen of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women. In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg — Facebook COO and one of Fortune magazine’s Most Powerful Women in Business — draws on her own experience of working in some of the world’s most successful businesses and looks at what women can do to help themselves, and make the small changes in their life that can effect change on a more universal scale.
10. The leader who had no title by Robin Sharma
Popular by Men
Regardless of what you do within your organization and the current circumstances of your life, the single most important fact is that you have the power to show leadership. Wherever you are in your career or life, you should always play to your peak abilities. This book shows you how to claim that staggering power, as well as transform your life and the world around you in the process.
11. Eat that frog by Brian Tracy
Popular by Men and Women
The legendary Eat That Frog! (more than 450,000 copies sold and translated into 23 languages) provides the 21 most effective methods for conquering procrastination and accomplishing more. The key premise is that if we ate a live frog first thing in the morning, everything else would be easy compared to that. It’s a good reminder to concentrate on the most important task instead of getting mired down in the smaller, unimportant ones.
12. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Popular by Men
Dale Carnegie’s first book is a timeless bestseller, packed with rock-solid advice that has carried thousands of now famous people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives.
As relevant as ever before, Dale Carnegie’s principles endure, and will help you achieve your maximum potential in the complex and competitive modern age.
Learn the six ways to make people like you, the twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking, and the nine ways to change people without arousing resentment.
13. Zero to one by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters
Popular by Start — up founders
If you want to build a better future, you must believe in secrets.
The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One, legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things. Zero to One presents at once an optimistic view of the future of progress and a new way of thinking about innovation: it starts by learning to ask the questions that lead you to find value in unexpected places.
14. I can I must I will by Reginald Abraham Mengi
Popular by Adults
Like Africa itself, Dr. Mengi is a person of humble origins. But his character and personality were shaped by a family history that imbued in him a sense of self-confidence and commitment to setting goals and seeking to accomplish them. In addition to these personal values, the book also reveals a self-driven person with unflinching commitment to duty. Nothing seems to stand in the way of Dr. Mengi in his determination to reaffirm his self-worth through the pursuit of excellence.
15. The 5 am club by Robin Sharma
Popular by Men and Women
Legendary leadership and elite performance expert Robin Sharma introduced The 5am Club concept over twenty years ago, based on a revolutionary morning routine that has helped his clients maximize their productivity, activate their best health and bulletproof their serenity in this age of overwhelming complexity. The book has a step-by-step method to protect the quietest hours of daybreak so you have time for exercise, self-renewal and personal growth.
A neuroscience-based practice proven to help make it easy to rise while most people are sleeping, giving you precious time for yourself to think, express your creativity and begin the day peacefully instead of being rushed.
16. When breath becomes air by Paul Kalanithi
Popular by Men and Women
At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student “possessed,” as he wrote, “by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life” into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality.
17. The CEO next door by Tahl Raz, Elena L. Botelho and Kim R. Powell
Popular by Men
Drawing on the biggest dataset of CEOs in the world — in-depth analysis of 2,600 leaders, drawn from a database of 17,000 CEOs, as well as 13,000 hours of interviews — The CEO Next Door is crammed full of myth-busting and counter-intuitive insights in what it really takes to get ahead. Discover the way actual CEOs of top companies think and behave, and the kind of traits to develop if you want to make your ambitions a reality and take your career right to the top.
18. Leaders eat last by Simon Sinek
Popular by Men
Determining a company’s WHY is crucial, but only the beginning. The next step is how do you get people on board with your WHY? How do you inspire deep trust and commitment to the company and one another? He cites the Marine Corps for having found a way to build a culture in which men and women are willing to risk their lives, because they know others would do the same for them. It’s not brainwashing; it’s actually based on the biology of how and when people are naturally at their best. If businesses could adopt this supportive mentality, employees would be more motivated to take bigger risks, because they’d know their colleagues and company would back them up, no matter what. Drawing on powerful and inspiring stories, Sinek shows how to sustain an organization’s WHY while continually adding people to the mix.
19. The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Popular by Women
Falling in love is easy. Staying in love — that’s the challenge! How can you keep your relationship fresh and growing amid the demands, conflicts, and just plain boredom of everyday life?. In the #1 New York Times bestseller The 5 Love Languages, you’ll discover the secret that has transformed millions of relationships worldwide. Whether your relationship is flourishing or failing, Dr. Gary Chapman’s proven approach to showing and receiving love will help you experience deeper and richer levels of intimacy with your partner — starting today.
20. 48 laws of power by Robert Greene
Popular by Men
When it comes to morality and ethics, people are used to thinking in terms of black and white. Conversely, “The 48 Laws of Power” deals primarily with the gray areas. At the risk of sounding melodramatic and trite, most of the Laws covered in this book can be used for great evil or for great good. It depends on the reader. The book separates the behaviors and tactics of people in history who have succeeded and failed into the 48 “Laws”. It is an explanation of power in the only way it can be expressed. It also uncovers the seedy underbelly of how powerful people interact with one another.
21. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Popular by Men
In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands. Knight details the many risks and daunting setbacks that stood between him and his dream — along with his early triumphs. Above all, he recalls the formative relationships with his first partners and employees, a ragtag group of misfits and seekers who became a tight-knit band of brothers. Together, harnessing the transcendent power of a shared mission, and a deep belief in the spirit of sport, they built a brand that changed everything.
22. The power of now by Eckhart Tolle
Popular by Women
Eckhart Tolle’s message is simple: living in the now is the truest path to happiness and enlightenment. And while this message may not seem stunningly original or fresh, Tolle’s clear writing, supportive voice and enthusiasm make this an excellent manual for anyone who’s ever wondered what exactly “living in the now” means. Foremost, Tolle is a world-class teacher, able to explain complicated concepts in concrete language. More importantly, within a chapter of reading this book, readers are already holding the world in a different container — more conscious of how thoughts and emotions get in the way of their ability to live in genuine peace and happiness.
23. The productive Muslim by Faris Mohammad
Popular by Men and Women
Ever wondered if there’s a practical way to lead a productive lifestyle that combines the best of Islamic tradition and modern psychology and science? In “The Productive Muslim” Mohammed Faris, the founder of ProductiveMuslim[dot]com, provides this practical framework that helps urban global Muslims lead a productive lifestyle Spiritually, Physically, and Socially.
24. My life my purpose by Benjamin William Mkapa
Popular by Adults
His Excellency Benjamin Mkapa was Tanzanian’s third president, elected under the first multi-party general election in Tanzania. His memoirs range from his childhood, time as president, and his continuing post-retirement involvement on the international stage of development and peace mediation. This book will appeal to readers interested in: an African’s personal experiences of colonialism in East Africa; the struggle for independence by the liberation movements of several African countries; how war helped unify the diverse citizens of a young nation; fostering nationalism and addressing ethnic and religious differences; the economic and social aspects of transition to socialism and then to a free market environment; the political transition from a single party state to multi-partyism; and relations with international organisations and development partners.
25. Side hustle by Chris Guillebeau
Popular by Young Adults
For some people, the thought of quitting their day job to pursue the entrepreneurial life is exhilarating. For many others, it’s terrifying. After all, a stable job that delivers a regular paycheck is a blessing. And not everyone has the means or the desire to take on the risks and responsibilities of working for themselves.
But what if we could quickly and easily create an additional stream of income without giving up the security of a full-time job? Enter the side hustle. Chris Gullibeau is no stranger to this world, having launched more than a dozen side hustles over his career. Here, he offers a step-by-step guide that takes you from idea to income in just 27 days.
26. The Monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma
Popular by Men
This inspiring tale provides a step-by-step approach to living with greater courage, balance, abundance, and joy. A wonderfully crafted fable, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari tells the extraordinary story of Julian Mantle, a lawyer forced to confront the spiritual crisis of his out-of-balance life. On a life-changing odyssey to an ancient culture, he discovers powerful, wise, and practical lessons that teach us to: Develop Joyful Thoughts, Follow Our Life’s Mission and Calling, Cultivate Self-Discipline and Act Courageously, Value Time as Our Most Important Commodity, Nourish Our Relationships, and Live Fully, One Day at a Time.
27. Girl boss by Sophia Amoruso
Popular by Women
Amoruso spent her teens hitchhiking, committing petty theft, and scrounging in dumpsters for leftover bagels. By age twenty-two she had dropped out of school, and was broke, directionless, and checking IDs in the lobby of an art school — a job she’d taken for the health insurance. It was in that lobby that Sophia decided to start selling vintage clothes on eBay.
Flash forward to today, and she’s the founder of Nasty Gal and the founder and CEO of Girlboss. Sophia was never a typical CEO, or a typical anything, and she’s written #GIRLBOSS for other girls like her: outsiders (and insiders) seeking a unique path to success, even when that path is windy as all hell and lined with naysayers.
28. Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
Popular by Women
Everyone knows that high IQ is no guarantee of success, happiness, or virtue, but until Emotional Intelligence, we could only guess why. Daniel Goleman’s brilliant report from the frontiers of psychology and neuroscience offers startling new insight into our “two minds” — the rational and the emotional — and how they together shape our destiny.
Through vivid examples, Goleman delineates the five crucial skills of emotional intelligence, and shows how they determine our success in relationships, work, and even our physical well-being. What emerges is an entirely new way to talk about being smart.
29. The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Popular by Men
Twenty-Five Hundred years ago, Sun Tzu wrote this classic book of military strategy based on Chinese warfare and military thought. Since that time, all levels of military have used the teaching on Sun Tzu to warfare and civilization have adapted these teachings for use in politics, business and everyday life. The Art of War is a book which should be used to gain advantage of opponents in the boardroom and battlefield alike.
30. Dear Founder by Maynard Webb, and Carlye Adler
Popular by Start-up founders
Wise, practical, and profitable letters to entrepreneurs, leaders, managers, and business owners in every field; from a leading executive, investor, and business founder. Featuring more than eighty inspiring, informative, and instructive letters, Dear Founder is rich with sound advice on an array of business topics, from turning your idea into a reality to building a culture, to reaching key financial goals. This book is an indispensable guide to navigating the realities, risks, and rewards of being your own boss — and founding the company of your dreams.
There you have it. Which one of these have you read or looking forward to read in 2020? Did you read a better book? share with us.
