10 books to read instead of checking instagram
When’s the last time you picked up your phone to swipe through a feed filled with athletes, celebrities, and friends all seemingly having the time of their lives? Now, when’s the last time you picked up a book? You can stop thinking now, we both know it’s been too long.
Swiping through apps like Instagram and Twitter is fun and entertaining, but they both can prevent us from being present and mindful of what’s in front of us (you know, real life). Reading stimulates the mind in a much healthier way than social media and if you’re convinced that scrolling through the feed helps you fall asleep at night, science suggests you might want to reconsider. The blue light emitted from your phone alerts your brain that sleep is not the goal while reading before bed tells the muscles to relax and your heart to slow down, queuing the body to get ready for some Z’s. To help make this transition from scrolling through the feed to flipping through pages easier, we've got 10 books you can read instead of checking Instagram.
1. The Daily Stoic // by Ryan Holiday
This book consists of 365 meditations on wisdom, perseverance, and the art of living. Holiday explains how Stoicism is a ‘tool’ for living a good life. Focusing on the three critical Stoic disciplines; perception, action and will, this book is designed to help you reset your perspective and live a peaceful, present life. Try reading one meditation when you wake up in the morning to reset your perspective on the day ahead.
2. American Kingpin // by Nick Bilton
Everyone loves getting in the know about the juiciest crime history in America, but using Instagram as a news source is guaranteed to leave you misinformed. If you’re a true crime buff, get out your library card from the depths of your wallet and pick up American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road. This New York Times Bestseller examines the unbelievable true story of the man who built a billion dollar online drug empire from his bedroom--and almost got away with it.
3. The Guest List // by Lucy Foley
This wicked and climatic New York Times Bestseller, and Best Thriller of 2020, will leave you thinking, “Instagram who?” Lucy Foley’s, The Guest List tells the tale of a wedding turned dark and deadly off the coast of Ireland. When guests begin to mingle with one another, resentments and petty jealousies start to mingle as well.
4. The Sun Also Rises // by Ernest Hemingway
Ah, a timeless classic is always good for the soul. Escape to a world that follows a group of young American and British expatriates as they wander through Europe in the mid- 1920s. All members of the cynical and disillusioned population who came of age during World War I, this book will leave you wondering if you pity or envy the Lost Generation.
5. The Art of Eating // by MFK Fisher
If you’re someone who looks to social media for food inspiration and imagery, don’t worry, we got you. Taking a break from social media doesn’t mean you have to lose the positive content that keeps you moving Forever Forward. This book is written by one of the greatest American food writers and filled with recipes, resources, and an insightful history on American eating.
6. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars // by Chris Paolini
For all of you Sci-Fans out there, this book is for you. Xenobiologist Kira Navarez, becomes humanity's greatest and final hope after a war amongst the galaxies threatens to annihilate planet Earth and its colonies. This gripping sci-fi thriller is guaranteed to transport you to a whole new world.
7. Grit // by Angela Duckworth
Anyone with a beating heart knows how powerful the human mind can be. Sometimes it can be difficult to remember not to believe everything our mind tells us regarding who we are or what we should be doing. Grit, by Angela Duckworth, dives into the idea that talent and overall status aren’t the best indicators of personal success.
8. Homeland Elegies // by Ayad Akhtar
One of the New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year, author Ayad Akhtar blends fact and fiction to tell the epic story of an immigrant father and his son’s search for belonging in a post 9/11 world. Part family drama, part social essay, part picaresque novel, the author attempts to make sense of a nation’s unhealed wounds through the lens of one family.
9. A New Earth // by Eckhart Tolle
This self-improvement book encourages readers to live their lives in the present moment and create happiness for themselves, without emphasizing material possessions ( like the new golf clubs you saw on your feed this morning). Author, Eckhard Tolle asserts that everyone can find “The freedom and joy of life” if they live in the present moment.
10. All the Light We Cannot See // by Anthony Doerr
For our history buffs, or anyone interested in reading a captivating best seller, make sure to pick up your copy of All of the Lights We Cannot See. Taking place during the peak of World War II, a blind French girl and a German boy cross paths in occupied France, and attempt to survive the devastation of the war together.
All sources from Google