Read before you think. – Fran Lebowitz

Apart from cognitive mental stimulation and brain exercising, reading books exposes you to people, places and ideas you never thought existed. It also makes you more tolerable to differing opinions and ideas and most times provides answers to nagging questions.
Here are five must read non-fictional books to read before 2020.
Africa Rise and Shine by Jim Ovia:
In his first ever published book, Jim Ovia, tells his story, a story that shows that the road to success is rarely straight and never easy. Despite countless setbacks, Jim Ovia, founder of Zenith Bank, was able to achieve what many thought unthinkable. “Africa Rise and Shine” is the story of Ovia’s business and banking success and how as a Nigerian Entrepreneur from humble beginnings grew a business to over $16 Billion. This book is a must read for potential and existing entrepreneurs who wants to build their vision from ground up. Jim Ovia’s auto biography/business manual was launched in 2018.

Crushing by T.D JAKES:
Just after we think we had seen the best of it all in his recently published a book called SOAR!, which was about how to succeed as an entrepreneur without getting your hands dirty, T.D Jakes is back with a new book, Crushing, a book meant for anyone who is going through a rough patch. Although there are stints of religion in it, Crushing will inspire you to have hope, even in your most difficult moments and make you see hard times as a process, a journey than a destination. It is more for the Millennials and Generation Z who would rather get there faster than they should.

Becoming by Michele Obama:
The former FLOTUS with wit and warmth gives an extraordinary candid account of her life inside and outside the White House. Becoming is frequently funny, sometimes indignant, and rawly emotional. The book shows how an ordinary person who found herself on an extraordinary journey shares her story, with the hope to help people find their voices. This book is for everyone, especially young women who want to thrive in politics. Becoming is Michelle Obama’s auto biography with 448 pages. It was published in November 2018.

More Myself: A Journey by Alicia Keys:
This piece of work is an intimate, revealing look at one artist’s journey from self-censorship to full expression. As one of the most celebrated musicians of our time, Alicia Keys has enraptured the hearts of her fans with her heartfelt lyrics, extraordinary vocal range, and soul-stirring piano compositions. Yet away from the spotlight, she has grappled with private heartache—over the challenging and complex relationships, the people-pleasing nature that characterized her early career, the loss of privacy surrounding her romantic relationships, and the oppressive expectations of female perfection. This book is for everyone and especially for those who are considering career paths that puts you in the faces of people all the time. It will make you ask these questions “Who am I, really?” and once you discover that truth, then the next would be how can you become brave enough to embrace it?

The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50 by Jonathan Rauch:
Jonathan Rauch combines evidence and experience, in a warm, wise, and witty way, to show his fellow adults that the best is yet to come. This book questions why does happiness get harder in when one hits the 40s? Why some feel in a slump because they think at that age they’re unsuccessful? Drawing on cutting-edge research, award-winning journalist Jonathan Rauch answers all these questions as he shows that from our 20s into our 40s, happiness follows a U-shaped trajectory, which he termed a “happiness curve,” declining from the optimism of youth into what’s often a long, low slump in middle age, before starting to rise again in our 50s. This book is about shifting priorities away from competition and toward compassion. It equips you with new tools for wisdom and gratitude to win the third period of life. The Happiness Curve was published in May 2018 and is recommended for those who are going through what is popularly termed “Mid-life crisis”.

What other books have you read that is too compelling not to share? Tell us in the comment section.