You won’t be able to put them down without completing them!
If you don’t do this one thing, you will regret every day you live thereafter.
Sounds a bit melodramatic, but guess what, this one habit of reading will change your life for the better. Books are windows to our soul they say, and the kind of books we read makes us what we are! There is a certain romanticism associated with reading. There are certain books that everyone must read at least once, but the importance of reading has reduced a little over time. A decade back reading helped in so many ways like learning about people, history, language etc. But now you can learn several things through videos which are much more effective. Nevertheless, it still is a great way of learning and will always be. Reading is a sweet addiction and sucks you into itself once you begin to enjoy the many realms of books that are out there.
Prior to indulging in any new habit, you need to understand your taste. People have different emotional maturity levels at different stages of life, hence the preference may change with age. I used to read a lot of fiction earlier but now I am more into non-fiction and very specific genres. The more you mature the more you start liking non-fiction, personality development and finance books. May not be true always though.
The kind of books we spend our time with are the type of people we become. So here is my list of books that will give you a different perspective of life and should be on your must-read list.
1. Ikigai
This book won’t make you go wow because you’d already know about a lot of things that are mentioned in the book. But the way they’ve been portrayed acts like a good refresher. Also, it makes you think how small changes in your life can pile up quickly and make a difference in your life. ‘Ikigai’ is a Japanese concept which means a reason for being; a reason to jump out of bed each morning.
It is very difficult to live a long and happy life without discovering one’s reason for survival. If that reason can help you financially, that’s a win-win! but even if it does not, it will give you peace of mind which is equally important. It also revolves around developing a good relationship with people around you and at the same time avoiding toxic people. So, this book can change your perception of life and will give you the insight to embrace small moments in life which we otherwise ignore.
2. The Alchemist
‘The Alchemist’ by Paul Coehlo is an adventure fiction novel that talks about following your dreams and achieving your destiny. The book is an international bestseller and is appreciated by readers worldwide. It is an inspiration and guides you in keeping faith in yourself and pursuing your destiny. This book sheds light on the importance of the journey and struggles in life in order to achieve life goals and objectives, despite the limited resources we have. Moreover, we find the ways of nature, and how it helps us in reaching our goals by placing various signs and signals in our way; all these signs serve us in understanding the right direction in life and continuing the journey.
It lays emphasis on the importance of optimism, faith, and continuous struggle in the face of all the odds in life. This novel is actually a sort of motivational and self-help that would help us re-ignite the extinguished spark within.
3. Atomic Habits
Atomic Habits by James Clear gives realisation of all the known things. “The effect of small habits compounds over time. If we get better each day by 1%, we’ll end up getting 37 times better by the end of the year“, this fact was enough to give me a push. It is a powerful book for anyone who is looking for improvements in their life. It is a remarkable and exceptionally phenomenal book that effectively conveys how atomic (i.e tiny) changes to one’s daily routine can result in unprecedented results in the long run. But it’s not as simple as just doing something repeatedly for 30 days and hoping it sticks. Rather, this book dissects habit-building methods into more digestible, more achievable milestones—breaking down the behaviours, environments, and perspectives that shape the way we perceive and act-on habits. If a book can transform anyone, this is the one.
4. Rich Dad Poor Dad
The philosophy of Rich dad poor dad is that the rich invest their money and spend what is left. The poor spend their money and invest what is left. The author of this book Robert T Kiyosaki tries to explore the reason, why rich people are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer day by day. The book draws a contrast between a Rich Dad and a Poor Dad and the different mentalities of the two fathers. It highlights how the conventional teaching methodology that we are used to learning at school teaches us to work for money but in today’s time, working for money is not sufficient. Instead, one needs to learn how to make money work for one.
The author tells that there are two minds of revenue generation — one is through normal income while the other is generated in a passive manner through the assets you have and the rich dad’s advice was to build up assets so that one could generate more wealth from their assets and need not work hard for it. Money will make more money for you. The book is really insightful as it not just lectures you with lessons but provides ample examples that the reader can actually relate to.
5. The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A Fuck!
It falls in the category of a self-help book but in a different way. Most authors talk about thinking positive all the time and doing nice things with everyone to succeed in life. However, the reality is different from what is taught in most books. This book is brutally honest about the present-day situations and the mental trauma one goes through unnecessarily, by giving fucks to things which don’t even matter. It speaks out loud about the social media glamour we get attracted to and start getting anxious about the false life of others displayed on social media, only feeling low. The book teaches us to accept the negative flaws and stop running after happiness. The author is blunt and straightforward in regards to the ugliness of life. Shit happens; learn to embrace it.
Unlike the other self-help books, this doesn’t promise you a better and forever happy life. But does teach you that life will be painful no matter what, and one must learn to care less about stuff which is putting one in anguish. Though it is painfully honest, it holds a great message. I would highly recommend everyone to read it.
6. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Reading a Good Book is like taking a Journey. Sapiens, by Israeli historian, Yuval Noah Harari, is about the journey of Homo Sapiens in the last seventy thousand years in a way that grips from the first page itself. Quite frankly this book has the ability to shape your thoughts and debunk a lot of myths about evolution. The book starts by explaining the events that shaped history and how we the ‘homo sapiens’ became the dominant species on the planet and not any other human species like the Neanderthals. Then the book goes on to explain the three revolutions which shaped history – The cognitive revolution, the agricultural revolution and the scientific revolution and how they spread.
It also breaks a lot of myths associated with them. For instance, the agricultural revolution shaped up simultaneously in different parts of the earth at same time, Contrary to the popular belief that it shaped up in a single part and then spread to the other parts of the world. I highly recommend this for those who care about a well-researched history of Homo Sapiens.
7. How To Win Friends And Influence People
Even though this book was first published back in 1936, the principles taught in this book still remain relevant even today. In his book, Carnegie teaches us techniques and strategies to handle people, how to win people over to your way of thinking and how to be a great leader. He talks about techniques that these leaders could use to inspire staff to want to work for them instead. He includes strategies on how to get anyone to listen to you for that matter including your kids, your boss, your friends your staff etc. About how you can fix relationship problems the proper way without either side being offended.
Ultimately this book is about truly working with and through people, their emotions, and their pride. This is a must-read book. Period. Unless your plan to become successful is to fly to the moon and never come back, chances are you will have to deal with other people.