Peg Cheng

Something remarkable happened with my reading this year.

I read 45 books.

That’s not the remarkable thing.

What’s remarkable is that instead of picking my Top 10 books from the list to recommend to you as I do every year, this year–this unbelievable, strange, and tragic year of 2020–I couldn’t do that because nearly every book I read this year was one that I would recommend.

This has never happened to me…ever.

What changed?

I listened to my intuition.

If after reading the first chapter or two of a book I didn’t feel engaged with the story or the content, I let it go. In the past, I’d read 30, 50, 100 pages, sometimes even the whole book, before stopping. I’d keep rationalizing to myself and thinking, maybe the next chapter will be better?

Can you relate?

This year, I let my intuition guide me. If I wasn’t engaged within the first 5-10 pages, I no longer rationalized why I should keep reading. I allowed myself to realize the book wasn’t for me and I let the book go. That gave me more time to find other books that I might like better.

Doing that one simple thing led me to having the best year of reading I’ve probably had in my life.

Here’s what I read in 2020.

1. Dead is Good by Jo Perry
2. Lucky Bitch by Denise Duffield-Thomas
3. Tough Without a Gun: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of Humphrey Bogart by Stefan Kanfer
4. Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
5. Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
6. Soulful Simplicity by Courtney Carver
7. Dark Horse by Todd Rose & Ogi Ogas
8. Get Rich, Lucky Bitch by Denise Duffield-Thomas
9. Chillpreneur by Denise Duffield-Thomas
10. Goodbye, Things by Fumio Sasaki
11. The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson
12. Seattle Walk Report by Susanna Ryan
13. The Empath’s Journey by Ritu Kaushal
14. Figgs & Phantoms by Ellen Raskin *
15. The Carry-On Traveler by Erin McNeany
16. E-Squared by Pam Grout
17. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
18. Late Bloomers by Rich Karlgaard
19. The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer
20. The Year of Less by Cait Flanders
21. Educated by Tara Westover
22. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
23. Penny Nichols by MK Reed & Greg Means & Matt Wiegle
24. My Town by David Lee
25. A Glorious Freedom by Lisa Congdon
26. The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom by Suze Orman *
27. All That You Leave Behind by Erin Lee Carr
28. Daily Rituals: Women at Work by Mason Currey
29. You Were Born For This by Chani Nicholas
30. Adventures of a Pangopup by Terri Tatchell & Ivan Sulima
31. Living Color: Angie Rubio Stories by Donna Miscolta
32. Conscious Creativity by Philippa Stanton
33. Tarot: No Questions Asked by Theresa Reed
34. The Art of Stillness by Pico Iyer
35. Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien
36. Broken Places by Tracy Clark
37. Forest Bathing by Dr. Qing Li
38. Witch: Unleashed. Untamed. Unapologetic. by Lisa Lister
39. Odessa by Jonathan Hill
40. Bloodline by Jess Lourey
41. Camp by Kayla Miller
42. Anne of Green Gables: a graphic novel by Mariah Marsden & Brenna Thummler
43. The Bad Seed by Jory John & Pete Oswald
44. Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah
45. The Astrologer’s Daughter by Rebecca Lim

* = I’ve read this book before

While I enjoyed almost every book I read this year and would recommend close to 90% of them, there are a few that changed my life in substantial and beneficial ways that I’d like to say a few words about. They are…

Dark Horse by Todd Rose & Ogi Ogas. Dark Horse inspired me so much I decided to open a career coaching practice so that I could work with the dark horses of the world.

Get Rich, Lucky Bitch by Denise Duffield-Thomas. Get Rich, Lucky Bitch helped me unearth money blocks that I didn’t even know I had, some as far back as when I was six years old. I’m now recognizing them when they come up and doing my best to acknowledge and heal them.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up is a popular book about decluttering and organizing that’s also a brilliantly subversive book about developing one’s intuition. This book helped my husband and I to declutter our house from top to bottom. (And no, I didn’t force my hubs to do it! I just read the book myself and started decluttering, my closet, desk, and papers. Marcus was intrigued and read the book on his own. Then, on his own volition, he slowly and steadily decluttered and organized his closet, desk, and the entire garage over the span of six months.)

You Were Born For This by Chani Nicholas. You Were Born For This helped me dissect and understand my astrological natal chart in amazingly accurate and heartfelt ways. I felt seen and understood in ways that I’ve never felt before.

Forest Bathing by Dr. Qing Li. Forest Bathing set my husband and I on the path of using trees and nature to heal ourselves and boost our immune systems. Since reading this book, we’ve now wandered through the forest more in the last three months than we have in the 13 years we’ve been together.

If you’re looking for suspenseful reads for the new year, I highly recommend the mysteries Broken Places by Tracy Clark and Bloodline by Jess Lourey; and the memoir Educated by Tara Westover. All are excellent, page-turning reads!

I hope this list gives you some good ideas for books to read in 2021, and also hope that my experience this year encourages you to use your intuition when deciding whether you want to keep reading a book or not.

Wishing you good health and a new year full of enriching reading!

Peg Cheng is the author of Rebel Millionaire, a guide for how to retire as a millionaire even if you make a modest income, co-owner of Plaid Frog Press, and a career coach combining intellect with intuition. Born in Southern California to Taiwanese parents, Peg lives in Seattle.