“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.”― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can’t Avoid

You know the feeling?

One of my favorite ways to spend a quiet evening is to read on my Kindle. 

You know the feeling? 

You unwrap a cool facemask from a little plastic bag, breathe in the warm smell of hot herbal tea from your favorite mug, and slip into clean sheets and soft pajamas to then cuddle up with a good book until you turn out the lights. 

This, for me, is an ideal evening, and I have fought hard against the constant pressure of all the other things I could be doing in that time instead. 

Why? Because for me, if I’m too busy to read, I’m just too busy, period. 

While I flit between many different books, I find a special comfort and joy from reading fiction, especially when school requires me to already read other more technical materials. 

But it’s not just about intellectual relief- it’s also emotional. By reading fiction, I get to step into the minds and lives of other people, to witness their heartbreak and victories and know that if it’s possible for them to prevail, it’s also possible for me. 

Right now, I’m reading Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko, which I highly recommend if you like historical fiction and/or K-dramas.  

Me reading on my Kindle with a face mask from 7/11

Plot twist!

However, I’m also an aspiring scientist, eager to get involved in, and learn about, research in fields like materials science and geochemistry. When I have a few minutes to spare, you can even find me on Datacamp, probably trying to master AI before it masters me. 

These aren’t contradictory facts, nor should they be, but I find myself constantly frustrated with the notion that the only books that help you grow as a person are in the personal development section of Barnes & Noble. 

If you want to get ahead in your career, be more content in your personal life, and generally be a better citizen of the world, fiction helps too. In fact, it helps a lot.

Today, I want to tell you why. 

#1: People with hobbies go farther.

There’s a myth I want to bust before anything else, and it’s this: that STEM is not for “creatives”.

I know why this myth exists. People sometimes assume that if you are good at math and/or spend most of your time coding, in a lab, or losing sleep on AutoCAD, that you won’t also be an incredible painter, ballet dancer, poet, or professional trumpet player. 

And maybe for a lot of people in STEM, that’s the case, but I have also personally encountered many exceptions. 

In fact, research by Michele and Robert Root-Bernstein from Michigan State University even supports this. They looked at 773 Nobel Laureates across all fields of academia, and found that among the most successful thinkers, one of the common traits is that they have hobbies outside their work. 

For many, this included creative hobbies like playing an instrument or writing poetry. 

Now, if you don’t know what your quirky hobby might be, I’ll give you a good place to start: pick up a book. 

No, not Atomic Habits or 4 Hour Workweek, for crying out loud. 

Pick up something obscure but cool, intriguing but a little less well-known. Think like you were a little kid, and pick up a book that will just bring you untapped joy to read. 

Call it a “guilty pleasure” if you want. I call it “food for the soul”.

#2: Reading builds cognitive endurance.

Okay, I’m going to be your crunchy-granola aunt for a second, and tell you to get off the dang Instabook. 

Yes, I know you have to check the seventeen reels of cat memes your cousin sent you in the past hour, and that you have to respond to the reel your mom just sent about “Top 4 Study Tips For College Students”. 

I know. I get it. People are counting on you. Life is hard. 

But all that dutiful scrolling you are doing to keep sending your friends the funniest reels in all the land is taking a toll on your ability to actually focus.

My innovative solution is tried and tested, and surprisingly, it is not to just cold-turkey delete all your accounts and throw your phone into a lake. 

Now that you’ve breathed your sigh of relief, what is my solution, anyway?

Read.

Friend, there is no way to escape social media. 

I know because like you, I have grown up with its cold ubiquitous eyes all around me too. So if you don’t want to quit, don’t. 

Try this challenge that I started about a year ago instead: each week, read your social media screen time. 

If it was 10 hours, challenge yourself to read 10 hours that week. If it was 7 hours, try reading an hour daily for a week. 

Spoiler: if you do this for long enough, like I did, you will find your screen time gradually falling to a less existentially-terrifying number. 

It will go from 14 to 10 to 4 to 3. 

And guess what? 

By then, you might actually find yourself at peace when you have to sit still for a few hours to review some journals, do a coding spring, or answer the emails piling up in your inbox.

#3: Reading fiction restores your sense of wonder.

Let’s face it, when you’re a kid, it’s easy to get excited. 

You get excited for lunchtime, for art class, for recess, for PE. Then, when you get home, you get excited to play with your toys and have some ice cream after dinner. 

When it’s Friday, you get excited for the weekend. When it’s Christmas, you get excited for, well, everything. If you go to the park and find a worm wriggling around the dirt, you get excited because you found a worm wriggling around in the dirt and decided he was named Gary.

The thing is, growing up can make us less excited. It can dull that beautiful sense of childlike wonder with a long list of explanations and crushed dreams. 

Then, we learn to make excuses: “I’m not good at math”, “I’m not sporty”, “I’m an awful cook”, “I just can’t draw.”

What I want to know is what happened to that little kid inside of you who did stupid, random stuff just because it was cool and it was fun, and really, deep down, nobody else knew what they were doing either. 

If you’re in STEM, I know there is a little kid inside you whose eyes grew wide when hearing an astronaut talk about space, or who yearned to make something explode in chemistry class.

For me, the way to bring that kid back is by reading fiction. 

Why?

Because when you read fiction, nothing is off the table. 

You can revel in the ridiculous and savor the stupid. It doesn’t have to be intellectual or technical, or about meeting an ever-increasing standard for “good enough”. 

You get to find something cool and exciting that no one else understands. 

What a gift.

Buy the book.

I once heard Ramit Sethi, author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich, talk about his rule when it comes to buying books. It was simple: if you’re thinking of buying it, do. 

Why?

Because the ROI of reading a book is way more valuable than the $20 it might cost to buy it. 

So if you find yourself wandering through a bookstore, don’t stop at the personal development section. 

Wander into the fiction aisles too…you may just strike gold. 

Thought To Action 

1. Upgrade Your Inputs: This week, read one thing that feels above your level—a book, essay, or paper that makes you slow down. Growth hides in friction.
2. Curate Your Feed: Audit your digital spaces—unfollow three accounts that shrink your thinking and replace them with three that expand it.
3. Start a “Curiosity Thread”: Pick one question that won’t leave you alone and spend 15 minutes a day chasing it down. (Here’s how to build a personal learning ritual).
4. Try AI as a Reading Companion: Feed a dense article into an AI tool and ask it to explain it five ways—like a teacher, a friend, a skeptic, a poet, and a child. Notice what each version unlocks.
5. Share a Synthesis: Write a one-paragraph reflection and post it publicly or in your notes—learning cements when shared.

Sources

Cima, Rosie. “The Correlation between Arts and Crafts and a Nobel Prize.” Priceonomics, 11 Sept. 2015, priceonomics.com/the-correlation-between-arts-and-crafts-and-a/. Accessed 12 Oct. 2025.

Varner, Grant. “The Side Hustle of the Nobel Laureates.” Grantvarner.com, Grant Varner, 3 Mar. 2025, www.grantvarner.com/p/the-side-projects-of-nobel-laureates. Accessed 12 Oct. 2025.

The post Why It Would Be Silly Not To Read More Fiction appeared first on Green Also Green.

 “Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.” – Lemony Snicket

How To Get Addicted Reading Books

Since January, I have embarked on the goal of reading 500 hours worth of books in 2025. 

After studying some of the alleged daily habits of men like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey, I identified a commonality among them: They all read several hours daily.

After seeing that my own excuses for not reading enough could usually be chalked up to “I don’t have enough time”, I got real with myself. 

I was spending more time daily on social media than on reading. 

While some might find this depressing, for me it was hopeful- I had enough time after all.

So I decided to gradually wean myself off Instagram and replace that time with reading using a habit-tracking app. 

The result was promising; most weeks now, I average at least an hour a day, if not more. I have gone through several books this year so far, and am actually excited to read more. 

Books have opened my mind, opened doors, and even helped regulate my nervous system and feel more calm. 

Why am I saying this?

Well, it’s as simple as this: I want you to know this is possible for you too, especially if you, like me, have ever found that amount of time for social media every day.

Today, I want to tell you some of the books I have read this year that have completely changed the way I see the world, and the way I design my future. 

This way, you can dive head-first into reading, and finally build the reading habit of champions. 

My Top 4 Favorite Non-Fiction Books This Year So Far

#1: Cradle To Cradle (By: Michael Braungart and US architect William McDonough)

Of all the books in this list, this is the book I have read most recently, and it is an excellent starting point for anyone interested in learning about why we need, and how to build, a circular economy. 

I really enjoyed this book because, firstly, it was written from a fundamentally interdisciplinary perspective. One of the authors is an architect and the other is a chemist, which lends the book a rare nuance. 

As the authors discuss their experiences working with different organizations to turn their “cradle-to-grave” designs into “cradle-to-cradle” ones, you get to go on a journey into many different facets of industry, and see both the particular points where we can improve (with examples), while also seeing the larger web of materials and how they flow throughout their lifetime. 

One of the most striking insights of this book is the emphasis on material invention over material rescue. 

While it’s common for recycling tech to focus on repurposing materials once they’re downstream, Braungart and McDonough explain the importance of designing for circularity right from the start. 

Not only does this approach take away the threat of environmental degradation, but it can also reduce costs and be safer for human health.

Secondly, I was impressed by how the authors explained the importance of giving people room to indulge in new technology without wasting materials. 

They discussed the concept of “product of service”, which I have spent a lot of time thinking about, especially for products with technical materials- think TVs, phones, roasters, and so on. 

This means manufacturers retain ownership of their materials while consumers keep the ability to explore new trends. 

#2: The Creative Act: A Way Of Being (By: Rick Rubin)

I loved reading The Creative Act so much that I decided to reread it the second I reached the back cover. 

Now, I am going through it a second time, and I am still picking up insightful ideas that I didn’t fully absorb the first time around. 

What I love about this book is its variability. It consists of many tiny sections, each acting as a meditation on a particular idea relating to creativity, being an artist, and what it means to not just create art, but to live the life of an artist.  

What I appreciated most was how the book challenged the idea that creativity has to be tied to productivity. 

Rubin reframes the creative process as an act of presence. 

You’re not making something to be useful or impressive—you’re following a thread because it calls to you. 

He also talks about the role of the artist as a channel—someone who doesn’t force ideas, but receives them, like tuning into a frequency. 

It reminded me that making something worthwhile often comes from stillness, not from strain. After each reading session, I walked away from The Creative Act with a renewed trust in creativity and an even deeper commitment to protecting the quiet, slow moments that tend to be the birthplace of my best ideas.

#3: Breaking The Habit Of Being Yourself (By: Dr. Joe Dispenza)

Of all these books, this is one whose lessons I have applied most directly to my daily routine, specifically in my journaling habit. 

 It bridges research from neuroscience, quantum physics, and personal transformation to challenge the way we define reality and change our lives. 

Dispenza argues that most of us live on autopilot, repeating patterns that keep us stuck, not because we lack willpower, but because we’re chemically and neurologically addicted to our current identity. 

By shifting our internal state and mastering our thoughts and emotions, we can literally rewire our brains and recondition our bodies to a new future.

What I loved about this book was how it reframed personal growth. Instead of obsessively chasing goals or endlessly tweaking habits, it invites you to begin with energy and identity. 

It challenged me to stop trying to change my life by force and instead start embodying the type of person who already lives the life I want. It was both grounding and expansive—scientific, yet deeply spiritual.

One of the book’s most mind-bending ideas is that defining your present reality solely through what you can perceive with your senses is the greatest limitation you have. 

At the atomic level, we’re made of only a fraction of actual substance—the rest is just energy. 

So why are we so focused on rearranging the “matter” instead of tuning into the energy?

#4: Essentialism (By: Greg McKeown)

As a lifelong people pleaser, Essentialism finally gave me the tools to identify what to say no to, and highlighted that to say yes to the “essential” parts of life, we inevitably have to say “no”. This is the rubric to know what to say no to, how, and when. 

As someone who has struggled with overcommitting and people-pleasing, Essentialism gave me a much-needed mental rubric for making decisions. 

The biggest shift was emotional: I stopped feeling guilty for wanting white space in my schedule. Instead, I began treating simplicity not just as a lifestyle, but as a path to freedom and fulfillment.

The main insight I got from this book was that simplicity is a crucial but underrated ingredient to happiness. The essentialist knows that less, but better, is the goal.

After all is said and done, how you spend your day is how you spend your life. 

It’s easy to forget this. But Essentialism asks you to zoom out and build a life with intention, not just momentum.

How To Build The Book-Reading Habit

Now that you have my top reads from this year so far, let’s get down to the nuts and bolts.

The million-dollar question: How do you go from scrolling for hours a day to reading for hours a day?

I have an answer for you, but it’s not short. In this post, I will tell you exactly the steps I followed to make this switch, and how you too can become addicted to reading instead of Instagram. 

In the meantime though, I wish you luck. Maybe soon, you will be addicted to reading too…

Thought To Action

1. Start a Curiosity Journal: Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s approach to learning, begin documenting your daily observations and questions. This practice nurtures a habit of inquiry and creativity.
2. Embrace Constraints to Spark Innovation: Challenge yourself with limitations to enhance problem-solving skills.
3. Integrate Artistic Practices into Learning: Incorporate art forms like drawing or music into your study routines to enhance understanding and retention of STEM concepts.
4.  Advocate for Inclusive Design: Engage in conversations and initiatives that promote clothing designs catering to diverse body types and needs.
5. Start A Reading Habit: Check out this post to easily start reading about and enjoying the topics you’ve always wanted to learn more on. 

Sources

Dispenza, J. (2012). Breaking the habit of being yourself: How to lose your mind and create a new one. Hay House.

McKeown, G. (2014). Essentialism: The disciplined pursuit of less. Crown Business.

Rubin, R. (2023). The creative act: A way of being. Penguin Press.

McDonough, W., & Braungart, M. (2002). Cradle to cradle: Remaking the way we make things. North Point Press.

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