For the longest time,reading to me was synonymous with novels-be it the gripping Harry Potter series or epic romances like “Wuthering Heights”. Thanks to my Father (who’d always be in the middle of one book or the other),I had inherited a reading habit.

I loved delving into these mysterious worlds of magic and passion that opened my thirteen year old mind to the infinite possibilities of the universe.

Sadly though, after stepping into Medical College,Kottayam as a naive MBBS student, I could hardly find time to read for indulgence. There was always something or the other that kept me occupied-be it the thrill of having a new crush or the dread of an upcoming exam.
Reading now meant something different-it meant getting lost in the pink and purple histopath images of Grandfather Robbins or speed reading hot topics on the previous night of the sessional exam.This kind of reading did get me the degrees I was pursuing- MBBS, MD and a Fellowship.

But this wasn’t the reading that helped me grow.Somewhere along my 2 hour commute to the institute where I was fellow for a year,I started listening to Audible.
I listened to books that changed me inside out;
Books that helped widen my horizon of thought and philosophy;
Books that helped me save money, become a fitter version of myself and made my marriage and friendships sweeter.They even made me a better parent and doctor.It wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that all my mental models of the world are a sum total of everything I’ve read in my life till date.
 
All of us are prone to get stuck in the rut of familiar life as we know it.Most of us even think that it isn’t possible to change radically after having reached a certain stage in life.But this couldn’t be farther from the truth.Simply reading even one or two pages of a good book every night will go a long way in slowly bringing about the positive change one wishes for oneself.
Give yourself a chance to pick up that forgotten book gathering dust on the shelf.We can all do better,if only we knew how to. 
 
Here are a few book suggestions for you who’d enjoy learning and growing-
 
1)The seven principles for making marriage work-John Gottman & Nan Silver
2)Rich Dad Poor Dad-Robert Kiyosaki & Sharon Lechter
3)How not to die-Gene Stone & Michael Greger
4)The Book you wish your Parents had read-Philippa Perry
5)Why has Nobody told me this before?-Julie Smith
6)The Richest man in Babylon-George Samuel Clason
7)When breath becomes air-Paul Kalanithi
8)Becoming-Michelle Obama
9)Atomic habits-James Clear
10)Can’t hurt me-David Goggins