Tha Shyne Reading List -
Reading is an essential activity that should be a part of every healthy daily routine. While the benefits of reading are often associated with enhanced thinking and cognition, reading can also have profound physiological effects as well:
“Studies show that reading can help relax your body by lowering your heart rate and easing the tension in your muscles. Researchers found a reduction in stress of up to 68% in people when silently reading a literary work for only six minutes” (1).
As important as reading can be for our overall mental and physical health, it can be very difficult for many of us to fit this into our daily routine. People have busy lives. If you’re in school, I’m sure the last thing you want to do is spend more time reading after clocking in so many hours reading books that you may have no interest in. If you have children, I am sure that you are hard-pressed to find any time to read. One particular aspect that made reading difficult for me in college was that I had no idea what kind of books I was in to and I wasn’t willing to invest hours into a book just to conclude that it was boring or uninteresting.
The truth is, there is a good chance that you do have the time, it is just the willingness to carve out the allotted time, and a base-level desire to pick up reading. One way I have been able to incorporate reading seamlessly into my everyday life is by carrying a book with me to work. I can read during my lunch break, on the train to work, when there’s downtime, etc. Now Monday-Friday I have around two hours everyday where instead of choosing to tune out and scroll on my phone, I read instead. There’s a good chance there are lots of times you are simply waiting for a meeting, class to start, etc. where you can substitute mindless scrolling on your phone with valuable knowledge from reading.
I do not want to make this a holier than thou lecture. I only provide this personal insight as a means to explain how I got back into reading. It used to take me a year to read a book for pleasure, but with slight changes, I was able to get to a point where now I can finish a book in anywhere between a week and a month. These are some of the books that convinced me that I need to incorporate reading into my routine (I have zero affiliation to any of the books mentioned in this list):
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Aurelius' personal journal entries were never intended to be released to the public. However, they have since become the most essential text in stoic philosophy. This book trains you to let go of the trivial problems that take up so much of your mind’s bandwidth and instead turn your attention to being present in the moment. Also encourages you to get off your ass and follow your dreams because tomorrow isn’t promised (The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman is a great start if Meditations is too intimidating. You literally only need to read one page a day).
In a near-death experience, legendary hip-hop pioneer and producer, Rick Rubin, had two thoughts running through his mind in what could have been his final moments: I am glad that my family made it out okay, and I am glad that I finished the book.
Spanning around 400 pages, this book is unlike anything I have ever read. Split into 70+ areas of thought rather than chapters, Rick Rubin explains what it means to live as an artist in your everyday life, from the process of creation, to finding your voice and defining success. The big takeaway I had from this book was that no matter who you are, whether you’re an athlete, a doctor, an accountant, or a mom, you can find great success in your field by living like an artist or creative being.
I finished this book earlier today and it provided me with some of the insights that have helped my Instagram page grow significantly and some invaluable tips on running a business. This book is not intended to show you how to make a million dollars, but how to generate the most amount of income with as little work as possible so that you can maximize your time doing what you love. Is your goal to retire before you’re too old to enjoy retirement? Read this book.
You. Must. Read. This. Book. This book explains how your identity is the accumulation of a lifetime of habits; both good and bad. This book gives proven and effective ways of breaking any bad habit, and building any good one. This really catalyzed my journey for self-improvement and I know it can do the same for you.
Due to space restrictions, I had to condense this list to include only the most essential books to read. I have specifically chosen these texts over others because the advice given was not intended for one specific audience. I truly believe that these books can help anyone of any intellect in any field or practice.
I hope they provide some benefit to your lives as well.
Citations:
- Ness Labs. “The Benefits of Reading: Why You Should Read Every Day.” Ness Labs, 11 Mar. 2021, https://nesslabs.com/reading-benefits#:~:text=Researchers%20found%20a%20reduction%20in,especially%20when%20reading%20out%20loud.