BOOKS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE...*worth it?* 📚

Book recommendations & reading tips (why she reads / how she started)

• Her reading habit began in 9th grade, heavily influenced by friends and group discussions.
• She discovered Wattpad around that time (after she’d already read some books).
• She calls her video a “museum” of books that shaped how she thinks, talks, and interprets things.

Part 1: Beginner-friendly books (with what they’re about)

1. The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)

   • A diary/journal from Anne Frank, a Jewish teenager in hiding during World War II in Amsterdam.
   • Emphasizes relatability: insecurities, crushes, self-awareness, family tensions—then the reality of being hidden from Nazis.
   • Her entries stop after she’s betrayed, but her father later publishes the journal.

2. A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini)

   • Story of Mariam and Leila, two women in Afghanistan, sharing the life under one abusive husband.
   • Themes: female friendship, sacrifice, endurance, love, and what women “quietly endure.”

3. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)

   • Centers on Amir, who witnesses something terrible to his best friend and does nothing.
   • Themes: guilt, redemption, introspection, and repairing what’s been wrong.

4. The Secret (Rhonda Byrne)

   • Core idea: law of attraction / manifestation (“thoughts become things,” “like attracts like”).
   • Includes the belief that you can attract not only situations but even illnesses, and that mindset can help turn things around and support healing.

5. Better Than the Movies (Lynn Painter)

   • PG, high-school romance with Wes and Liz (next-door neighbors; childhood friends to lovers; grumpy/sunshine vibes).
   • She highlights it as swoony and “viral” with a famous dialogue.

6. Nothing Like the Movies (Lynn Painter) (sequel)

   • PG sequel where Wes and Liz are now in college, dealing with miscommunications while feelings remain.

Bonus authors she credits for helping her read more

• In her library during that time, books by were especially common:
  • Sydney Sheldon
  • Agatha Christie
  • John Green
• She references favorites from John Green such as The Fault in Our Stars (her first romance book), plus others like Looking for Alaska and Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and mentions Let It Snow.

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Part 2: Self-help books (how she reads them + key takeaways)

How she approaches self-help

• She reads slowly: if she reads a few pages, she thinks/reflects for days.
• She highlights so she can “soak” knowledge in instead of rushing.

Self-help recommendations

1. The Courage to Be Disliked (Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga)

   • For people who people-please or feel life has been unfair (“Why me?” mindset).
   • Key points she mentions:
     • You stop blaming others once you understand how you let things bother you.
     • “Traumas” and the past don’t control you the way you think.
     • You can choose to change at any moment.
     • A person is described as “a set of choices,” not a fixed personality.

2. The Art of Not Overthinking (Shara Kapoor)

   • Thin and calming; she describes it as affirmations-like and grounding—“peaceful” and reassuring.

3. Atomic Habits (James Clear)

   • Teaches breaking patterns through tiny habits and building self-respect.
   • She says it’s viral for a reason and something she’s still benefiting from.

4. Karma (Sadhguru)

   • Presented as logical and experience-based rather than “blind faith.”
   • She emphasizes:
     • Karma isn’t framed as punishment from the outside.
     • Karma is more about your own actions and thoughts and the relationship between what you think vs. what you do.

5. The Laws of the Spirit World (she describes it as “heavy”)

   • She reads it slowly (small amounts, long processing).
   • Based on accounts from a mother whose sons died in a car accident, who says she received communications about spirit-world laws.

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Part 3: Romance & “book talk” (viral favorites she genuinely liked)

She gives an “adult” disclaimer

• She recommends mainly books she enjoyed; she also mentions a romance highlight she posts on Instagram.

Romance recommendations

1. Windy City Series (Liz Tomford)

   • A standout sports romance series with interconnected characters and “found family” energy.
   • Books she lists:
     • Mile High
     • The Right Move
     • Caught Up
     • Play Along
     • Rewind It Back
     • In Her Own League (spin-off)
   • Her highlighted favorites:
     • The Right Move: grumpy/ex sunshine, thoughtful book boyfriend, NBA basketball player vibe; she says it can make you cry.
     • Rewind It Back: described as another level.
   • Advice she gives:
     • Read the series in order (she notes you can start with The Right Move).

2. The Love Hypothesis (Ali Hazelwood)

   • Two scientists: Adam (professor/older) and her (grad student).
   • She loves the depth of characters and mentions getting into a “flow” state while listening to music.

3. The Mistake (L. Kennedy) (Off-Campus series)

   • Sports romance; John Logan is a hockey player.
   • Mentions pairing/soft-launch vibes with Logan and Grace for the next season.

4. Fake Skating (Lynn Painter)

   • Childhood friends reconnecting as adults; “fluffy and cute.”
   • She rates it 9.5/10 and recommends adding it to a “2B read list.”

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Notable products / locations / people mentioned

• Platforms & products: Wattpad; Kindle; AirPods
• Locations & historical setting:
  • Amsterdam; World War II (Anne Frank)
  • Afghanistan / Kabul (Hosseini novels)
• Notable speakers/authors referenced:
  • Mika (creator)
  • Rhonda Byrne
  • Khaled Hosseini
  • Lynn Painter
  • Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga (Courage to Be Disliked)
  • James Clear
  • Sadhguru
  • Ali Hazelwood
  • L. Kennedy
  • Sydney Sheldon
  • Agatha Christie
  • John Green
• Series/books referenced by name:
  • Windy City Series (Liz Tomford)
  • Off-Campus Series (L. Kennedy)
  • Better Than the Movies / Nothing Like the Movies (Lynn Painter)
• Meetup info:
  • 30th August is presented as the final date for her 500k meetup (with an application form and random slot selection; ~150 slots mentioned).