10 Books All Teens Should Read

There's a plethora of sites and blogs which claim to have the most essential books everyone should read at least once in their lives. While most of these are great works of literature, few of them help bring about positive changes in the reader’s life. Come to think about it, the reason for that is pretty simple. These books were written before the modern day problems you face were even conceived in one's wildest imagination.

Modern problems require modern solutions. Here’s a handpicked list of books we believe every teenager must read, they address the issues we face today through anecdotes and theories created for the era we currently live in.

Atomic Habits

When it comes to self-improvement books, a lot of them generalise matters and thus don’t provide anything concrete for you to implement in your daily life. Atomic Habits travels along the ‘road not taken’ and emphasizes on the fact that when one attempts to form new habits, it all boils down to marginal changes and 1% improvements which accumulate in the long run to deliver the desired results.

James Clear chalks out multiple theories/frameworks such as the 4 steps of developing a habit, the law of 1%, the role your surroundings play when you try to change yourself and more. It can take years to tailor your behaviour and Atomic Habits begins by acknowledging this and moves ahead practically.

Want to dive deeper into the world of Atomic Habits? Read our detailed notes from the book or read our Twitter thread for the tl;dr version:

Zero to One

Peter Thiel, the cofounder of PayPal, challenges the basic economic principles we have been taught for ages and advocates the importance of monopolies while also explaining how to build one. Describing competition as a roadblock that hinders innovation, this book has a bold and unorthodox approach to capitalism, which it expresses efficiently and passionately. Theil explains the difference between horizontal and vertical progress and how there are rewards for those who work against gravity and move from zero to one by building something new.

One thing we know about monopolies is that the early birds have the best chance of establishing one and thus it is imperative to understand the functioning of the business world at the earliest.

Deep Work

As attention spans get shorter, the economy starts valuing those who have the long lost skill of focus even in the midst of chaos. We tend to confuse being busy with productivity and that is why our work never seems to end. Ever so frequently we succumb to the pressure of picking our phone for no valid reason and completely losing track of time. That’s why we seem to be working all day long but still don’t feel satisfied.

That’s why Cal Newport’s concept of ‘Deep Work’ is important. The book explains what this means and how to put it into action through a simple-to-understand but difficult-to-implement guide.

Digital Minimalism

And again, a Cal Newport book which brings to light those facts about yourself that you know but don’t want to acknowledge. Social media is addictive and it rewires your brain just as the forbidden substances do. The instant gratification you get by scrolling down the endless stream of great ‘content’ manipulates your brain and gives you these strange urges to check your phone because you can’t really concentrate anymore. Digital minimalism isn’t limited to social media, it is about being mindful of what sort of technology you give in to and learning what leisure time should actually do for you. It is a philosophy that we need now more than ever.

Rich Dad Poor Dad

That purple coloured book you have seen on numerous bookshelves but never read? It’s likely this one. Rich Dad Poor Dad is one of those non-fiction books whose concepts you can’t implement in the short run, but in the long run it can become a turning point in your life. Robert Kiyosaki inflates your ‘financial quotient’ and helps develop the ‘rich dad’ mindset in this short read. The book stresses on the fact that rich dads don’t work for money, but get money to work for them. As pseudo intellectual as that may sound, it is true.

Rich Dad Poor Dad is a classic self-help financial motivation book and even though it’s been over two decades since it was first published, its content only becomes more important with time.

We've written a summary of Rich Dad Poor Dad on our Twitter account too (see what you're missing out on by not following us? 😉):

The Ride of a Lifetime

Who hasn’t dreamt of becoming the CEO of a multinational company that makes movies or something equally exciting? But do we really know what it takes to be responsible for not just the operation but also the success of those large stock market listed businesses? Robert Iger, the former CEO of Disney certainly knows the challenges and pressures of being made the pilot of a plane bound to crash and saving it from destroying millions of dreams and households. In The Ride of a Lifetime, he recalls some of the most crucial moments in his and Disney’s life and shares the 15 years he served as the head of one of the biggest companies on the face of this planet.

If that wasn’t enough to make you pick this book up, here is what Bill Gates had to say for it “Unlike most books on leadership, this one is worth your time.”

Freakonomics

Why do drug dealers still live with their parents? What do teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? You might not have answers to such questions but as it turns out, if you apply basic economic principles, there do seem to exist some underlying reasons for such absurd questions. That's how useful economics is. It's literally a tool one can use anywhere to make informed decisions and understand the hidden nature behind observations. Freakonomics is probably one of the most pleasant reads that makes economics seem fun (for a change) and gives insights into things you wouldn't even think about otherwise. It's a book that sets you on the path of looking at things differently.

When they say economics is a social science, this is probably what they meant.

How Not To Be Wrong

On the verge of sounding like a nerd, I have to point out that maths is the most fascinating field of studies. Just like economics, maybe even more than that, mathematics lies at the core of everything we see, consume and do. In How Not To Be Wrong, Jordan Ellenberg takes you behind the curtains of everything and shows you how it is basic mathematical intuition that drives the world. From Americans designing combat planes effectively in WW2 to Target identifying a customer's pregnancy before she knew it, it's basically all mathematics.The way we were taught maths in school was necessary but incomplete. Jordan Ellenberg makes a gripping attempt to make us realise that mathematics has more to it than calculus.

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

The author of Sapiens and Homo Deus, Yuval Noah Harari, now gives another refreshing book, focusing on the present and all the complications that we are facing today. As technological revolution is picking up speed, political tensions amongst nations are constantly rising and we are all questioning the importance of education, Harari presents his philosophical perspective on 21 topics that we have all been worried about in phases. The book uses historical events from which we can learn while breaking down complex concepts to propose ideas with the potential to solve many of the problems we are currently facing. While these may sound ambitious and unrealistically simple, they highlight the fact that we have been worrying about things to an unjustified degree.

The Fountainhead

The only work of fiction on this list, and the oldest one too, is genuinely one of those books that every teenager needs to read in their life and that too as early as possible. For its characters and plots revolve around the overwhelming themes of passion, perfection, and the trade-off between money and artistic integrity. Ayn Rand is one of the most widely discussed authors as you might not agree with what she says but the quicksand her words create will swallow you completely and make you reassess what it is that you are really chasing. Without giving any spoilers, all we can say is that it’s the story of an architect who is forced to sacrifice his beliefs but withstands the forces of capitalism while his competitors take advantage of him and his ideology that most people can’t even begin to comprehend.

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