Mohamad-Ali Salloum is a Pharmacist and science writer. He loves simplifying science to the general public and healthcare students through words and illustrations. When he's not working, you can usually find him in the gym, reading a book, or learning a new skill.
7 books that will change your life
Mohamad-Ali Salloum, PharmD • December 17, 2022
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When I was a teenager, reading was not the thing for me. I always thought that I will never be able to concentrate and read like 500-pages book.
Nowadays, I read 4-5 books per year, which is impressive for me because I work full-time in Clinical Research, manage a website, shoot and edit YouTube videos, and go to the gym.
The point here is, YOU CAN ALSO MANAGE TO READ SOME BOOKS :)
The books I read are not novels, but they are self-help books, neuroscience books, etc.. these types of books, usually take time to read and comprehend in contrast to novels that can be finished easily and fast.
In this article, I will provide you with 7 books that will certainly change your life because they did for mine. The videos are summaries I collected from YouTube from different creators to show you a brief about the book.
I encourage you to watch all of the videos and buy
AT LEAST
one of the below mentioned books and learn from it!
1) 12 Brain Rules, By John Medina
2) Eat move sleep, by Tom Rath
3) The Art of Thinking Clearly, by Rolf Dobelli:
4) The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**ck, by Mark Manson:
5) 5 AM Club, by Robin Sharma:
6) The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg
7) Atomic Habits, by James Clear:
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mohamad-Ali Salloum, PharmD
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References: Karimpourvazifehkhorani A, Hekmati I. Habit loop in addictive behaviors formation among adolescents: The mediating role of impulsivity. Curr Psychol. 2025;44:4313–4325. Simón Márquez MM, Fernández Gea S, Molero Jurado MM, et al. Addictions and risk behaviors in adolescence: A systematic review. Front Psychol. 2025;16. Legends Recovery. The Science Behind Habit Formation and Breaking Addictive Patterns. 2025. Buabang EK, Donegan KR, Rafei P, Gillan CM. Leveraging cognitive neuroscience for making and breaking real-world habits. Trends Cogn Sci. 2025;29(1):41–59. Aguilar-Yamuza B, Trenados Y, Herruzo C, et al. A systematic review of treatment for impulsivity and compulsivity. Front Psychiatry. 2024;15. Science News Today. Why Habits Stick: The Hidden Psychology of Habit Formation. 2025.
References: Peng Z, Jia Q, Mao J, et al. Neurotransmitters crosstalk and regulation in the reward circuit of subjects with behavioral addiction . Front Psychiatry. 2024;15. 2 Walid R. The Impact of Addiction on the Brain’s Reward Circuitry, And How This Affects the Motivation and Decision-Making Processes . 2025. 3 Parra-Abarca J, Palacios-Pérez HB, Baldivia-Noyola P, et al. The relation between the dopaminergic system, drug addiction, and brain structures related to reward behaviors and decision-making . Rev Mex Neurocienc. 2025. 4 Penn LPS Online. Neuroscience and addiction: Unraveling the brain's reward system . 2025. 1 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Hijacking the Brain’s Reward System: The Neuroscience Behind Addiction . 2025.
References: Aggarwal D, Naik J, Lindquist DH. Biphasic Model of Addiction: Neurobehavioral Adaptations . Curr Behav Neurosci Rep. 2025;12:25. 1 Blithikioti C, Fried EI, Albanese E, Field M, Cristea IA. Reevaluating the brain disease model of addiction . Lancet Psychiatry. 2025;12(6):469–474. 2 Blithikioti C, Fried EI, Albanese E, Field M, Cristea IA. Reevaluating the BrainDisease Model of Addiction (Accepted Version). University of Sheffield; 2025. Unterrainer HF. Addiction, attachment, and the brain: a focused review of empirical findings and future directions . Front Hum Neurosci. 2025;19. 3 Vaswani M. Neurobiology of Addiction . Addiction Behavioral Conference 2025. Magnus Group.
