Your 5 must-read books this summer!

George R. R. Martin once said: “A reader lives a thousand lives. The man who never reads lives one”. With many successful people connecting reading to their good fortune, people who read books live for around two years longer than those who don’t, irrespective of gender, wealth, education or health, according to a Yale University study. While a similar association was found among readers of newspapers, it was weaker. “Book reading contributed to a survival advantage that was significantly greater than that observed for reading newspapers or magazines,” the authors of the study wrote. “Compared to non-book readers, book readers had a 23-month survival advantage,” they noted. Deep reading promotes empathy and emotional intelligence - cognitive processes that can lead to greater chance of survival, the report explained.

In my series of articles published recently telling our readers what to read, here comes yet another suggested list that helps you pick good books to be read during the lockdown:

1. You Can Negotiate Anything - by: Herb Cohen

From mergers to marriages, from loans to lovemaking, the #1 bestseller You Can Negotiate Anything proves that “money, justice, prestige, love—it’s all negotiable.” Hailed by such publications as Time, People, and Newsweek, Cohen has advised presidents on everything from domestic policy to hostage crises to combating internal terrorism. His advice: “Be patient, be personal, be informed—and you can bargain successfully for anything.”

The author happens to be one of the greatest negotiators in the world. He had the privilege to negotiate so many big deals even for nations and this book is all about how to get what you want from people and this is significantly important because you are going to negotiate your way through life, especially if you want to achieve great success in life. Remember: “Life won’t give you what you deserve, but you negotiate.” 

Inside, you’ll learn the keys to using Herb Cohen’s proven strategy for dealing with your mate, your boss, your credit card company, your children, your lawyer, your best friends, and even yourself.

2. The Millionaire Next Door - by: Thomas J. Stanly & William D. Danko

In this book, you would learn that most of the millionaires in this world literally came from nowhere. We all may have excuses about our past, background, country or existing circumstances. Reading this book will open our eyes to a new reality about life because we will discover that 80% of people who actually made it to the success and richness in life came from very humble backgrounds. 

In this book, the authors describe the results from their research to who the average millionaire really is. After years of research, they conclude the millionaire next door is someone who doesn't stand out, doesn't show he's rich, and hangs out with people that are less wealthy than himself. Some of the tips that this book sheds light on are: How not to look rich but to stay rich. 

3. Predictably Irrational - by: Dan Ariely

This book deals with human phycology and if you understand human phycology better then you are probably going to learn how to deal with your colleagues and others better and if you learn to art of dealing with people, then rate of your success in life increases.  

Dan Ariely shares an updated and enhanced account of a series of experiments that demonstrate how we have little control over our irrational behaviours and how this impacts on our ability to make decisions. Ariely wrote Predictably Irrational: the Hidden Forces that shape our decisions after recovering as a patient in the burn department. His original aim was to better understand our irrational quirks in the hopes of retraining ourselves to make better decisions.

4. Tough times never last but tough people do - by: Robert Schuller

The book mainly discusses how individuals can overcome obstacles. It gives us faith during hard times, and makes us stop worrying about our problems. The powerful lessons that have been extracted are as follows:

1. People who overcome obstacles never stop believing.
2. Every problem has a limited lifespan.
3. Every problem will change you.
4. Ask God/Infinite Intelligence to help you solve your problems.
5. Problems disappear if we dedicate all our efforts to solving them.
6. Never discard an idea because there is something wrong with it.

5. Why you act the way you do? - by: Tim Lahaye

Ever wondered why some people are hyper active and others are not or that shy person beside you? Then this book is one you might want to read. Published in the US in 1984 by Living books publishers, the book has sold about 250,000 copies worldwide. 

Tim argues that our behavior and actions are determined by a complex network of traits which we inherited from our parents. this he called "temperaments". He classified them into 4 dominant temperament. Each of which belong to an upper class of extroverts or introverts. Lahaye also noted that these temperaments are not absolute in determining why we act the way we do, however, holding other things like education, parental upbringing etc. Constant, they go-along way in explaining our actions.

Last Word

Why is reading good for you?Books are amazing things that can be both entertaining and beneficial to your health. They are almost like tools to a healthy lifestyle. The books that you choose to read is your preference, which can range from literary fiction to romance to non-fiction. Whatever you choose to read, you can count on the multiple benefits of reading to help both your mind and body.

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Learn how sometimes smaller things in our lives make huge impact and you can take some learnings on a personal and professional level by following me on LinkedIn and Evolve HR’s website.

Muhammad Sajwani is the Founder and Managing Director of Evolve HR which aims at transforming, enriching and evolving Human Capital of Pakistan. Evolve HR thrives in challenging assumptions that hinder organisational aspirations, by creating innovative solutions that yield maximum impact, scalability & benefit to a wider base of stakeholders. As a Business Coach and Organisational Consultant, Sajwani knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.