Episodes
April 14, 2021
Good to Great, by James C. Collin (entrepreneurship, company management, business)
If you want your enterprise to go farther, you should not be satisfied with being “good” but should make continuous efforts to achieve “greatness”, so that your company can be more dynamic, more competitive, and last for a really long time. So, how can enterprises break through the bottleneck of being just good? And how do we build an excellent management team? This book puts forward a set of ideas that, if implemented carefully, will enable most companies to improve their operations significant...
April 14, 2021
Nudge, by Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein (behavioral economics, decision making, nudging, psychology)
Invariably, life presents us with many choices, ranging from what do we have for dinner to where to invest our savings. Each alternative has the potential to bring about significant change. But people often make wrong decisions because of prejudice and irrationality. We need to learn a little behavioral economics to help us make better choices. This book will empower you to understand how a government uses behavioral economics to optimize its policies and encourage people to make wise, healthy, ...
April 14, 2021
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, by Edwin LeFevre, Jesse Livermore (grow from 5 dollars to 100 million dollars)
This book is a “novel-style biography” written by American financial journalist Edwin LeFevre. It’s based on the first-person account of the life story of Jesse Livermore, once known as "The Boy Plunger.” Livermore was in his final years when he was interviewed for the book, and he shared his trading stories and insights with extreme candor and no reservation. The book has influenced generations of investors, including legends like Buffett, Peter Lynch, Soros and others. It has become one of the...
April 14, 2021
Rice, Noodle, Fish, by Matt Goulding (Asian food, sushi, ramen, sashimi)
Among all countries, Japan has the highest number of Michelin-starred restaurants, making it a mecca for diners worldwide. Its numerous small independent restaurants are places of constant innovation. Ingredients underpin Japanese food culture; these aren't luxuries. Instead, the most common items, such as rice, noodles, and fish, are the soul of Japanese cuisine. Seduced by Japanese cuisine's international reputation, America’s bestselling writer, gastronome Matt Goulding embarks on an explorat...
April 14, 2021
Sitting Still Like a Frog, by Eline Snel (how to teach your kids mediatation; education; mindfulness)
Certain skills are very important for a child. Namely, how to deal with difficult feelings, get along with other people, and concentrate. After ten or perhaps twenty years, the knowledge they acquired at a young age may be outdated as science progresses, but these skills will accompany them throughout their lives. So how are we supposed to improve a child's concentration and ability to handle difficult emotions? The answer that this book gives is: by teaching them to practice mindfulness. This w...
April 14, 2021
Techniques of the Selling Writer, by Dwight V. Swain
Novice writers have doubts when starting a novel: where to begin? Experienced writers might wonder why their finished novels aren’t selling? The book Techniques of the Selling Writer summarizes the experience of professional writers, systematically introduces steps to make stories more appealing to readers and provides practical methods for writers who want to create a best-selling novel. This book is a guide to turn rejection letters into checks.
April 14, 2021
The Anatomy of Story, by John Truby (storytelling techniques, writing)
This amazing book, serving as a core to John Truby's 30-year experience in teaching story creation and writing, has continuously been on sale for more than a decade. It contains a collection of secrets in story writing that help storytellers in their pursuit to finding accurate ways to create fascinating stories. Simultaneously, it also dissects multiple story writing techniques that have been portrayed in classical movies and novels in an easily understandable manner for the consumption of all ...
April 14, 2021
The Art of Learning, by Josh Waitzkin (chess prodigy and Tai Chi world champion)
In this book, Josh Waitzkin, a famous former chess prodigy and later Tai Chi world champion, uses life stories to share his unique insights into the art of learning. He offers a series of principles for improving performance in any field, including “making small circles,” “repeating the moments,” and “creating chunks.” If you are looking for highly efficient learning methods or are eager to improve your learning skills, this is the book for you.
April 14, 2021
The Better Angels of Our Nature, by Steven Pinker (good and evil, violence and peace)
Because you often see and hear about violent occurrences in the news, are you anxious? Do you think we live in a violent era? In this book, Steven Pinker points out that continuous historical development has led to reductions in slavery, torture, and use of the death penalty. Wars have become sporadic; rape, domestic violence, and hate crimes have also declined. The likelihood of violent incidents has declined. In fact, we are living through the most peaceful era in human history. Bill Gates sai...
April 14, 2021
The Bullet Journal Method, by Ryder Carroll (note-taking, ADD, attention-deficit disorder)
If you've never found a time management tool or method that works for you, try Bullet Journaling, an amazing note-taking technique that is used and shared by more than 10 million people around the world. All you need to restart your productive life is a pen and a notebook. Bullet Journals will allow you to track the past, order the present, and design the future all at once with the simplest symbols and methods possible.
April 14, 2021
The Conscious Parent, by Shefali Tsabary (education, parenting)
What is the conscious way of parenting? When raising children, parents should accept their child’s essential self with an open and respectful mind, allowing them to enjoy the right to be themselves. At the same time, parents need to have enough courage to face their true selves, maintaining good physical and mental health. Only then can parents achieve awakening and transformation while building a meaningful, spiritual partnership with their children. Thus helping them grow into well-rounded hum...
April 14, 2021
The Gene, by Siddhartha Mukherjee (genetics, biology, evolution)
Thanks to today's rapid development of gene sequencing, cloning, and other genetic technologies, the Human Genome Project has completed the sequencing of all human genes. The quest to decipher the human genetic code seems to have been achieved. However, for many people, the term “gene” is still a mysterious concept. This popular science book about genes not only digs into the past, present, and future of genetic research, but also reveals how genes work and sheds light on the mysteries of life.
April 14, 2021
The Hot Zone, by Richard Preston (Ebola, virus, pandemic)
What is Ebola? Where did it come from? How can humans fight it? This nonfiction book is full of real stories, as the author truthfully tells the tale of Ebola virus. After publication, the book has been at the top of the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list for 61 weeks. As one of the most influential nonfiction classics about Ebola, it’s been translated into more than 30 languages and sold all over the world.
April 14, 2021
What I Know for Sure, by Oprah Winfrey (autography)
This book is a selection of pieces from a column written by talk show queen, Oprah Winfrey, in The Oprah Magazine. In the book, Winfrey looks back on her decades of struggling and searching. While doing this, she honestly asks and answers herself, “After all the ups, downs, and achievements, what do I truly believe? What will I always stick to?” She confronts her inner sensitivities and vulnerabilities, recalls tumultuous past events, and remembers the details of her happiness and growth, hoping...
April 14, 2021
Triumph of the City, by Edward L. Claeser
When you think of cities, what comes to mind? Is it the high cost of living, traffic congestion, or air pollution? This book navigates through human history to dispel the misconceptions about urban life. Using specific cities as examples, it demonstrates the strengths of growing cities and analyzes the problems they face in their pursuit for development.
April 13, 2021
Natasha's Dance, by Orlando Figes
Natasha's Dance is a study of Russian culture and the origins of the national character. The book explores the difference between European civilization and folk elements in Russian culture, the confrontation between "civilized" and "native" Russia, and the divide between the aristocratic elite and the rural underclass. It reveals the formation and development of Russian culture, presenting a brilliant and dazzling scroll of culture.
April 13, 2021
Civilization and Its Discontents, by Sigmund Freud
Unlike earlier approaches, in this major work Freud considers sociology through the lens of psychoanalysis. He identifies a connection between the foundation of civilization and human’s most basic instincts. Civilization brings misfortune to human beings because its effect is to suppress our primary drives, the sex drive and death drive. In a comprehensive programme he interweaves other important theoretical perspectives, such as the theories of the unconscious, libido, and the super-ego.
April 13, 2021
The Choice: Embrace the Possible, by Edith Eva Eger
We always have a choice. They determine our survival. As an Auschwitz survivor, Edith Eva Eger, author of The Choice: Embrace the Possible, tells us that everyone still has a choice even when imprisoned in that horrendous death factory. When facing fear and hopelessness, you can choose to give up and live like a zombie, or to hope and persevere to give your life a different meaning.
April 13, 2021
The Consolations of Philosophy, by Alain de Botton
When we usually think of philosophy as a problematic and impractical field of study. However, philosophy isn't only the way intellectuals play games with words in their ivory-towers. Philosophers are fully aware of life's practicalities, dilemmas, and problems. In this book, the author interprets the thought of six philosophers and present us with an enticingly simplified account of how philosophy can lead us to resolve six common spiritual ills.
April 13, 2021
Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-lived, Joyful Life, by Bill Burnett, Dave Evans (Stanford University)
How to build a well-lived, joyful life? You can find the answer in one of the most popular courses at Stanford University––the life design class. The life design class teaches you to make career plans using design thinking, and also to find a suitable job and live a happy life. The course also offers a lot of specific instructions, helping many students find the direction of their life and career. This book is a summary of the life design class.
April 13, 2021
How Children Learn, by John C. Holt (education, parenting, homeschooling))
This book emphasizes on describing effective learning rather than explaining it or giving a theory about it. Children have a unique way of learning that fits their condition. It blends in with each of their game and experiment, and also, with each of their learning processes. This includes learning to speak and read, the mastery of sports, art, math, and the acquisition of any other knowledge. This way of learning may be a little strange for adults but is actually the most effective way of learn...
April 13, 2021
Solitude: A Return To The Self, by Anthony Storr (perpective)
In life, solitude is seemingly a negative state that many people criticize and fear. Solitary people are regarded as misfits. In fact, in many situations, solitude has a very positive aspect. It can help us be introspective and lead a fulfilled life. At critical moments in people’s lives, and for those gifted with creativity, solitude has an even greater value than intimate interpersonal relationships.
April 13, 2021
The Power of Full Engagement: managing energy, not time, is the key to high performance and personal renewal, by Jim Loehr, Tony Schwartz (American Psychological Assocation & The Energy Project)
Nowadays, almost everyone's goal is to deal efficiently with all the many matters in a healthy work-life balance. We are all always working against the clock, absorbing different methods of time management, and hoping to squeeze more into fewer hours. Yet, this book tells us that managing energy, not time, is the key to optimum performance. Skillful energy management is the key to achieving efficiency, health, and happiness.
April 13, 2021
The Real Happy Pill Power Up Your Brain by Moving Your Body, by Anders Hansen (psychiatry specialist from Sweden's Karolinska Institute)
While traditional gyms make us physically fit, Brain Gym solves problems involving anxiety, stress, depression, concentration, memory, creativity, and other issues on a case-by-case basis. In this book, the author introduces us to the significant impact that scientifically proven physical exercises have on the brain and its mechanisms. Our stress extinguisher, happy pill, memory boost, inspiration engine, and anti-aging device can all be found at Brain Gym.