Here are 4 great books to read in self isolation! These books will expand your mind and help your cognitive processes.
“I think with regards book reading, the easiest part is reading the book. Letting what we learn change the way we think is the hard bit.” – Kehinde Pitan
In a previous blog post, I wrote about how cognition can decline in later years if we don’t do something about it. Thinking Fast And Slow provides great insight into how the mind works. Read my book reviews below.
The Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
“Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not have meaning” Malcolm Gladwell
I’ve had this book on my book shelf since 2015 but never opened it. I also have on my book shelf, books that I bought 10yrs ago and have never opened. A 2020 goal is to read some of those books. I started with Outliers.
Malcolm Gladwell gives us a new perspective and fascinating insights into success. Being a journalist, he’s obviously done quite a lot of research into the different fields outlined in this book. He reveals that the story of success is not quite what we think it is. He dives into the bits about success that motivational speakers leave out. Outliers is a thought provoking book that’s an enjoyable easy read.
Everything is Figureoutable – Marie Forleo
One of my performance goals this year is not to say the words, “I’ve heard it before” with regards the areas of my life that I’m looking for growth. There are always new things to learn. Or, sometimes it’s something we missed or ignored or weren’t ready to receive at the time it came our way and sometimes it will be something we’ve not heard before. Because I’ve learnt (from fitness) the importance of repetition and how it’s key to success, I keep feeding on certain types of material over and over again and not think, “I’ve read this before”.
I’ve been following Marie Forleo for a few years and did her Copycure course a couple of years ago to improve my blogging and content creation skills. I guess it was a no brainier to buy her book when it came out. I smiled when I read the words below in the first chapter,
“The first destructive thought to watch out for is, “I know this already.”
Marie Forleo is down to earth, honest, fun and engaging and you will love Everything is Figureoutable!
Thinking Fast And Slow – Nobel Prize Winner Daniel Kahneman
I bought this book after reading Nudge, a book I borrowed from Kash by behavioural economists Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein last year. Prof Kahneman’s work has been cited in many books I’ve read, I guess I wanted to know more about his research.
If you’re looking for a quick easy read, Thinking Fast And Slow is not for you. However, if you want to know more about how the human mind works with a “making better decisions” aim then, Professor Kahneman’s book is great. Thinking Fast And Slow covers Professor Kahneman’s research into human reasoning and decision making – the theory of choice, judgments and biases. I found it fascinating and insightful. It has completely changed the way I think.
“The spontaneous search for an intuitive solution sometimes fails, neither an expert solution nor a heuristic answer comes to mind. In such cases we often find ourselves switching to a slower, more deliberate and effortful form of thinking.”
This is a book I will reference over and over again.
Buy the paper back here or download the kindle edition here.
Smart Women Finish Rich – David Bach.
I decided to read 4 books about money this year with the aim of being a better steward of what God blesses me with. The days of my living in ignorance are well and truly over.
A belief that has stayed with me for many years is, not many people are rich is the Godly sense. The rich man or woman does not need to go to great lengths to convince the world that he/she is wealthy. It will be natural and not obviously showy. I believe that, if a person is truly rich, physically, mentally and spiritually, that person won’t need to shout about it. Smart Women Finish Rich by David Bach is a book that will take you out of darkness into light about wealth creation.
“Don’t get booted down by all the stuff you suddenly feel you should have done years ago but didn’t. If I bring up something you didn’t know or wish you had known sooner, don’t get down about it. What you are not doing right now is not the issue. The issue is what you will be doing with your newfound knowledge.”
Who would not, after reading the above in the first few pages, be encouraged to read further? What I love about David’s teaching is, he shows us how we can start with very little and with lots of discipline, finish rich or in a better financial position. David shows us that we don’t have to beg, borrow, chase after anyone, or steal to create wealth, we just have to be smart and diligent.
Buy the paperback here or download the kindle edition here.
PS.
I recently joined the Amazon affiliate program. If you would like to purchase the paperback or kindle version of any of the books, the links are all provided below the reviews. Many thanks! ❤️