Life with Nena

 Cao,  how are you doing? I’m not going to tell you that reading is good for your brain, improves your vocabulary, or helps you live longer—blah blah blah, science stuff. You’ve probably heard all that a thousand times. Instead, I’ll tell you this: read when there’s a storm of thoughts in your mind and absolutely nothing will make it shut up. You know what I mean—that chaotic mental spiral where every idea, worry, and imaginary conversation decides to show up uninvited. In those moments, a book can be the perfect escape. When you find a book that’s interesting enough, it creates a temporary peace treaty with your brain. Suddenly, your mind isn’t obsessively overthinking or spiraling anymore—it’s curious. It wants to know what happens next, what’s on the next page, in the next chapter. That shift? That’s priceless. There’s just something so beautiful about it. Reading gives me access to other worlds, other minds, other timelines. It helps me feel connected to people I’ve neve...