5 Reasons you should reading
Hello Friends,
Today I just wanted to bring home you should be reading – somehow. What do I mean? Either by Audio book, actual reading, summaries or podcast, you should be picking up relevant books to your industry – as well as some fun ones – and learning still. Reading has always been one of my favorite past times, and I’ll be honest, until about 4 years ago I did not really read at all. Sometime around 2014 I got into the productivity vibes and I just started trying to absorb all the things.
The number one thing they preached, read.
Ugh I hated reading, there were very few books that could keep my attention – I got off the reading train when I started being able to predict the crime endings to one of my favorite novels by J.D. Robbs. I still love this series and I had SO MANY of them. I think I got to 32 and then I got to being able to predict the writing style and endings, and it turned me off reading. I really hadn’t ready since then, which was college-ish.
So 2014 me, was like ew. I wrote the books down in an attempt to get there, suggested by a podcast and people I listened to – my two favorite Podcasts from the time are The Productivity Show & College Info Geeks – which I highly recommend if you are looking for a starting point.
5 Reasons you should be reading
- Mental Stimulation
- Stress Reduction
- Expands your knowledge
- Vocabulary increase
- Memory Improvement
5 More reasons you should be reading
- Increases Thinking Skills
- Improved Focus and Concentration
- Better Writing Skills
- Tranquility
- It’s cheap or free
I actually started reading in 2016 when I started Real Estate work and needed to really learn more about it. I picked up 7 levels of communication – which I highly recommend for anyone in sales or marketing. It’s a little old now but so many people do not follow the type of advice it gives – and it’s still pretty accurate.
Now I try to read for fun/pleasure every week – and I count manga – and focus my productivity books on reviews and summaries. There is so much to consume out there for improving your life and work style, you could probably read a book every day and never finish the ones that were published just this year.
I watch a few youtube summaries, keep a suggested booklist (I go through it and clean it up, this has both fun and productive books on it), and try to keep my actual reading time for fun stories. I think this has improved my outlook on reading and made it easier to consume content. There are so many people out there who will do a podcast or a book summary, it’s a good idea to Google it before you commit – if it’s an educational book and you know you are not going to read that. Be honest with yourself.
I love this guy: Nathan Lozeron for summaries in PDF + videos right to my email.
As for book suggestions, I keep my booklist updated, but I really love Brandon Sanderson right now, I am reading Mistborn and I’ve read all of the Stormlight Archives. I bet you have a friend who is reading something who would love to tell you about it. There is also always the classics – which can be fun as you can read them – then watch a movie (Harry Potter, Pride & Prejudice, etc).
I also read this younger audience book a good friend suggested, The Girl who drank the Moon, that I just loved and I have started participating in Booktube – did you know this was a thing?
I didn’t. So I have been picking up debut novels from YouTubers and other young indie writers. It’s amazing. I cannot recommend checking it out enough. I love supporting artists. It’s a great feeling. I’ve always wanted to write a book and this community has made me feel like I can. The books are great and you might find a series to fall in love with again. On the darker side I also discovered there is an indie adult section on Amazon, so there is also that. Expanding horizons all around!
If you are interested in picking up Manga to read, let me know and I can gush over some of my favorites. I am a sucker for romance novels of almost any kind! Tropes are such great therapy, no matter how unrealistic.
Happy reading!