21 Bite-Sized Lessons from 21 Books I Read until
With short quotes and takeaways for you.
I’m typing this post-midnight after I’d already set the newsletter to be sent to you on Sunday. I felt this is important for you to know.
A lot can change in a year. Your entire life can change in a year.
A year ago, I was learning how to code. I wanted a change, I didn’t know what it was, but I wanted more from life. I’ll be honest, I wanted more money than what an institution decides and a greater sense of life purpose. While my corporate job paid me well, there was an itch to do and get more.
I thought coding will take me to that lifestyle I want. You know, sitting in Bali and sipping margaritas while I earn $$$$.
But I sucked at it. I thought I’d get better, but I couldn’t solve the simplest of Python code (and python is the simplest language to learn).
And then with my phone getting screwed over, I let go of my Instagram account with 11k+ followers that I built over 5 years. Literally, everything I did was documented there.
I then went underground for a few months where I spent time reading and exploring stuff online. That ‘exploring stuff’ led me to:
Research heavily on ill effects of social media and scrolling, and quit it for good
Tap back into my creative potential that was numbed
Become more mindful and self-aware
Let go of my self-doubt and thrive with confidence
Pursue a side hustle
Today, a lot has changed. It’s the life I couldn’t imagine a year ago. No, I’m still not sipping margaritas in Bali even though I’ve quit my 9-5. And to be honest, I’m scared. I’m really nervous about how the coming few months will be, and if my plans will work out.
But there’s one choice I’ll have through the ups and lows - and that will be to have an absolute ball. Choose fun no matter what and embrace the ups and downs of what comes ahead of me.
I don’t know about you, but for the longest time, I’ve indulged in self-doubt. I just didn’t feel good or capable enough, and I wanted more from life. Something was missing, and I didn’t know what it was. Travelling solo helped me come closer to my ‘purpose’ (big and scary word, I know), but that eventually ended.
But what I did for 6 months last year completely turned my life around in ways I never imagined.
I don’t know what you do and where you’re from, but I just want to take this chance to tell you that a lot can change over a year and you have more control over your life than you think you do.
And I hope with my upcoming ebook I can help you with it because I’ll reveal a lot of things I haven’t before. As promised, you will be the first ones to know.
It’s nearly 1 am now, and I’m sorry for the overly long newsletter. And now, let’s pretend like nobody got a little crazy post-midnight.
Fun fact: We grew from a family of 393 to 866 this month!
Hi!
I can’t believe July is over already. This month has been a huge transition for me, from half of my family migrating to the US to leaving my super safe and (kinda) glamourous corporate job.
I’d be lying if I said it was easy, but I’m trying to embrace change through uncertainty. As humans, we’re wired to seek security and comfort. But I shall befriend uncertainty with time.
There have also been some huge ups that I shared with you. And for those who’re new, my July newsletter links are shared at the end.
I hope you’re having a lovely Sunday and I want to tell you this every time - I am so, so grateful to have you here.
21 Bite-Sized Lessons from 21 Books I Read until
I completed 21 books at the end of June’21. Some enlightened me and left me in awe, some took me to a different world, and some weren’t as good as I thought they’d be.
The issue I face with reading is,
“So many books, so little time.”― Frank Zappa
I hope this post helps you decide your next book or delights you with a quick snippet. So let’s dive straight into it!
1. The Greatest Secret by Rhonda Byrne
Read this if you’re into the Law of Attraction and want to deepen your practice. This book emphasises on awareness as the key to change how you feel and subsequently change the surrounding environment.
All that really exists is this present moment. Past and future exist only in the form of thought.
2. Spoon-Fed by Tim Spector
If you could just read one book about health, read this. It busts many myths from keto diets to caffeine to eating for two during pregnancy. We live in a time when bloggers and celebs advocating food and habits are more popular than science. Tim’s researched extensively and will lead you to the simplest way to become healthier.
Key takeaway: Unhealthy foods marketed as ‘healthy’ is a market worth billions. From cornflakes to healthy bars, they’re terrible for your health but have funded enough research to prove otherwise.
3. The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
If you want to learn about personal finance without falling asleep with boredom, this one’s for you. Even if you aren’t a reader, the brief chapters will make reading interesting for you.
“Use money to gain control over your time, because not having control of your time is such a powerful and universal drag on happiness. The ability to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, for as long as you want to, pays the highest dividend that exists in finance.”
4. 2050 AD by Harshit Poddar
I was a beta-reader for this book as it’s yet to release in mid-July. This book covers climate change in the easiest possible way. It also has comparative instances of past vs present and present vs expected future.
Key takeaway: You probably don’t care about climate change because you don’t know your a$$ is on fire. But we really can turn this around by doing simple things. Just start with an eco-friendly toothbrush!
5. Hippie by Paulo Coelho
This will take you through Paulo’s solo travel days during the 1970s. From getting kidnapped in one country to almost going to jail in another, it’s an enthusiastic account of his travel diaries. The 1970s was when the hippie movement was booming so his interaction with them gives an insight into the freedom and life they stood for.
“As though everything truly had to be faced without fear, as a mere fact of life — we don’t choose the things that happen to us, but we can choose how we react to them.”
6. Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult
Read this if you like love, mystery, and history.
This is a story of a woman who left her PhD in Egyptology mid-way to become a death doula (people who assist those dying). Her patient encouraged her to get back to an excavation in Egypt and cross paths with the love she left behind. While everything felt like butterflies, there’s also her husband back home who’s her best friend. So what happens?
Key takeaway: You can plan out your entire life and it’ll change. It’ll surprise you in ways you don’t expect it to, and getting close to death changes a lot about how you’ll feel about the life you left behind. There will be love and regrets, but mostly, forgiveness.
7. Missed Translations by Sopan Deb
If you want to cry and laugh, this is your book. It’s a story of how Sopan reconnected with his parents after his rough childhood. A lighthearted and fun read that will also fluster you with emotions.
Key takeaway: As a South Asian, a lot of it was relatable because we live in a culture where we blanket our emotions and mental health is taboo. Parents are humans first, and then a husband/wife and mum/dad. It's time we forgive our childhood.
8. Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella
A typical chick-flick about summer romance when two people meet in a writer's retreat in Italy. They stay anonymous and don’t exchange names, but fall in love. They meet back in London and but now are entirely different, so is that love to stay? Because it’s written by Sophie, there’s a mandatory dose of humour as you read along.
Key takeaway: Effective communication in a relationship is everything.
9. The Practice: Shipping Creative Work by Seth Godin
This one really helped me get confident as a writer and quit my 9–5.
If you’re a creative, you can’t miss this. It will inspire you to produce your work regardless of what others think. From building a tribe, forming a routine, and putting out quality work consistently– it’s an easy read with short chapters. It’ll encourage you to follow what’s in your heart.
It’s difficult to pull one quote because there are so many awesome insights.
“Writers write. Runners run. Establish your identity by doing your work.”
10. This is Marketing by Seth Godin
Not as amazing as the previous one, this book is an easy guide to learn marketing for a newbie.
“If you can bring someone belonging, connection, peace of mind, status, or one of the other most desired emotions, you’ve done something worthwhile. The thing you sell is simply a road to achieve those emotions, and we let everyone down when we focus on the tactics, not the outcomes. Who’s it for and what’s it for are the two questions that guide all of our decisions.”
11. This Is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay
I promise this will disgust you if you’re weak-hearted like me because it talks deeply about the human anatomy. It’ll also take you through moments of sympathy for doctors because of the things will deal with. But you will not finish this book without multiple giggles.
Key takeaway: Common sense can prevent a lot of hospital visits, compassion can make a doctor’s day who missed their birthdays and anniversaries and sleep to sit here in front of you.
12. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
Angela has collected and conducted impeccable studies that prove how work done efficiently can beat talent and lead to greatness. Whether it’s bringing up your child to be successful or changing your own environment to get on a path to excellence, you can do all of it. Read to know how.
“The main thing is that greatness is doable. Greatness is many, many individual feats, and each of them is doable.”
13. Win Your Inner Battles by Darius Foroux
A short and simple read, this book is something you can use to get inspired when you’re flustered. Darius Foroux has streamlined information instead of beating around the bush reciting a long story which leads to a quick takeaway.
Key takeaway: Sometimes your inner enemy stays between your two ears, it can go away if you replace it with a motivator.
14. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
If you want to build wealth, you cannot miss out on this book and execute the strategies it has. Execute being the keyword. There’s a reason this book has been a bestseller for decades, and it explains how different the rich are from not-so-rich and what can we do to get there.
This book has golden nuggets of mindset shifts. A book not just to grow your wealth, but something that will shape you all around as a leader.
Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve.
15. Permanent Record by Edward Snowden
He’s the man who leaked about the US intelligence tracking everybody and got exiled from the country for it.
I didn’t expect such beautiful storytelling, a book that’s a complete page-turner. Ed takes you through his childhood intrigued with computers and his entire family that served the country. He reveals all inside secrets of the US intelligence, this time in his own detailed words instead of the press.
Key takeaway: values and ethics > success
16. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson
Eric has done a fabulous job to accumulate pieces of wisdom from Naval’s interviews and tweets. Wealth, happiness, success, and health — Naval has a unique philosophy that is concise and meaningful. Short sentences that will provoke you to think deep thoughts.
“Memory and identity are burdens from the past preventing us from living freely in the present.”
17. Atomic Habits by James Clear
Do you know that feeling when you decide on a fitness goal and don’t achieve it? Happened to me for years. If you’re struggling to achieve your goals in any field or want to improve your productivity, this book has the simplest strategies for you to get closer to them.
Key takeaway: Habits are daily processes that help us get closer to where we want to be. The good thing is, we can always shape them to ace our goals.
18. Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami
A book where a man falls in love with a woman who falls in love with another woman who exists in a parallel universe. The rest is a mystery for you to find out. A typical magical Murakami fiction.
“In the world we live in, what we know and what we don’t know are like Siamese twins, inseparable, existing in a state of confusion.”
19. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Another book for fellow creatives. You don’t have to be a full-time artist to enjoy this, but just enjoy an art form. This book calls creativity a magic we all have, a magic that finds us, and how we can cultivate it to put out more magic in the world.
“If you’re alive, you’re a creative person.”
20. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Steven emphasises on resistance — the enemy between our art and us. Resistance makes us fearful of taking bold steps and worry about what others will think of us. It makes us stop working if we don’t get fame or money when we put our art in the world. But once you beat resistance, you’ll be an unstoppable creator.
This is a quick and easy read, you could finish it in less than 3 hours.
“The sign of the amateur is over-glorification of and preoccupation with the mystery. The professional shuts up. She doesn’t talk about it. She does her work.”
21. Death by Sadhguru
This is undoubtedly one book that moved me. It talks about death pleasantly and the importance of accepting it, because it’s going to happen no matter what. It’s a fact and there’s no running away from it.
If there’s just one book you could read from this entire list, read this. Maybe we’d all start living with more life if we accept death.
“If you understand there is nothing to lose, because anyway you came with nothing and there is nothing to lose, the fear of death will not be relevant.”
Conclusion
I hope the rest of 2021 fills you up with books that make you think, laugh, cry, and bring in all weird emotions in your tummy. While a part of the world has moved on and another part is struggling with the pandemic, I hope books give you the solace your soul deserves.
July Recap
Here’s what we discussed about this month:
I've been hearing a lot about Haruki Murakami. Will definitely check out the book
Really it's helpful narration of books. Surely it will help to choose the books.... Thank you for sharing.