Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

If I were to choose a character from history whom I would meet, learn from, and take long walks with, I would place Marcus Aurelius high up. I love his book. The book contains observations and notes written as reminders to himself, as a human and an emperor. I found his advice to be thoughtful. To me, this book is way better than a lot of the leadership books common these days. It speaks to the importance of inward reflection, self and other- awareness, ethics and virtue, and being present and focused.

Quote: “You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

The Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About the Good Life

The author, Prof. Michael Puett, teaches the third most famous course for Harvard undergrads. The book presents the perspective of different Chinese philosophers on some of the most profound questions: What does it mean to be a good person? Why is there so much disconnect between what we say we believe and what we actually do? Is there anything we can learn from Chinese philosophers about how we should live life (yes)? I took Prof. Puett’s class as an undergraduate and deeply enjoyed it, and I appreciate that the book summarizes the key learnings.

Quote: “Don't ignore the small. Don't forget the "pleases" and "thank yous." Change doesn't happen until people alter their behavior, and they don't alter their behavior unless they start with the small.”

When Breath Becomes Air

During his last year of medical residency at Stanford, Paul Kalanithi learned that he had terminal cancer. With less than 2 years left to him, and despite being so debilitated by cancer, Paul wrote this moving and thoughtful memoir. I read the book a few years ago, and it continued to stay with me, grounding me more times than I can remember.

The book is partly a story of relentless ambition, with Paul receiving a degree after another, working hard and long hours, and delaying “living” because he was so focused on neurosurgery and completing his residency. As he chronicled his career path, he felt alive to me — like one of my many friends who work hard and care deeply about their impact. It is also a story of a brilliant man who searched for meaning in books, degrees, philosophy, medicine, and writing — and I feel lucky that I got to see a glimpse of his mind.

For a few years now, this book served as a reality check, reminding me of how uncertain futures can be. When I forget to live because I’m working all the freaking time, or when I take my healthy body for granted, or when I ignore my deep desire to write, or when I feel impatient with my parents — Paul’s words have kept me in check, reminding me of how ephemeral life is.

Quote: “Human knowledge is never contained in one person. It grows from the relationships we create between each other and the world, and still, it is never complete.”

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

After losing her mother to cancer in her early twenties, Cheryl Strayed lost her inner sense of direction and purpose. She tried to keep the rest of her family together, but failed and ended up engaging in many self-destructive behaviors. She felt lost, broken, scared, and lonely! After years, she decided to hike up the Pacific Crest Trail alone and to survive in the wilderness for 100 days hoping it would help her remember who she was before her mother’s death. She was probably the first female to hike up the trail, and the only female on the trail at the time. Her journey was that of overcoming fears and of searching for a lost and broken identity. One of my favorite quotes is “I knew that if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave”.

Quote: “What if I forgave myself? I thought. What if I forgave myself even though I'd done something I shouldn't have? What if I was a liar and a cheat and there was no excuse for what I'd done other than because it was what I wanted and needed to do? What if I was sorry, but if I could go back in time I wouldn't do anything differently than I had done? What if I'd actually wanted to fuck every one of those men? What if heroin taught me something? What if yes was the right answer instead of no? What if what made me do all those things everyone thought I shouldn't have done was what also had got me here? What if I was never redeemed? What if I already was?”

The Namesake

This is a warm and profound novel about the experience of an Indian family who immigrated to America. What is it like for parents who grew up in India to raise “American” kids? What does it mean to be part of two cultures?

Quote: “They were things for which it was impossible to prepare but which one spent a lifetime looking back at, trying to accept, interpret, comprehend. Things that should never have happened, that seemed out of place and wrong, these were what prevailed, what endured, in the end.”

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Cannot Stop Talking

Our society nowadays revolves around the “extravert” ideal — someone who can network, speak up in class, and is generally outspoken. How did extraversion become the ideal throughout the 20th century, and what is wrong with that? What is introversion, and how can we design a world that leverages the strength of everyone across the introversion — extraversion spectrum.

Quote: “Don't think of introversion as something that needs to be cured.”

Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason and the Gap Between Us and Them

Read this book if you’re interested in the following questions: How do we come to make moral decisions? Why do you believe what you believe? What can psychology and neuroscience tell us about how people behave morally?