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Category Archives: Non-fiction
Election Time
It’s been a year like no other with a devastating global pandemic, heightening racial tension, growing climate catastrophes and political upheaval. To top it all off it is also an election year for a few countries so this week we are having a closer look at the leadership options facing both New Zealand and the United States as their countries head to the polls.
The two countries have leaders that both capture the world’s attention, albeit for very different reasons and with very different agendas. Let’s take a closer look at the lives behind the cameras and what we read in the newspapers.
Let’s start with New Zealand:
Jacinda Ardern by Michelle Duff
Michelle Duff delves into Ardern’s beginnings in small-town New Zealand, discovering a nose-ringed teen fighting for equality and her own identity in a devout Mormon family. Duff tracks Ardern’s political career, from being dismissed as a ‘show pony’ to her compassion during one of New Zealand’s biggest tragedies, the Christchurch mosque terror attack of 2019. In its aftermath, Ardern has become a global icon for her strength and decisiveness while uniting a country in shock and mourning. Ardern attracted international headlines for being the second world leader to give birth while in office. But why was having a baby so meaningful, and what does it say about the continued struggle for gender equality? Has Ardern really been a transcendent leader, and what enduring mark might she leave on the political landscape? This is an engrossing and powerful exploration of one of the most intriguing political stories of our time, telling us as much about one young woman’s ascendancy as it does about the country that elected her.
Pull No Punches by Judith Collins
This is a frank account from the National Member of Parliament Judith Collins sharing the highs and lows of a political life. From her humble beginnings as the youngest daughter of Labour-voting farming parents, Judith Collins has carved a path to almost the very top of New Zealand politics. Collins grew up in rural Walton, Waikato, on a dairy farm. At the age of 10 she entered politics, running for class president. She won. After a successful career as a lawyer, Collins became the MP for Papakura in 2002, alongside fellow new recruit John Key. When Key and National won office in 2008, Collins became the Minister for Police, Corrections and Veterans. Pull No Punches is the candid story of a determined Minister at the centre of New Zealand political life and of a woman who is resilient in the face of adversity. Funny, forthright and fearless, Collins reveals what it is like to survive -and thrive- for two decades as a senior female politician.
Women, Equality, Power by Helen Clarke
Helen Clark has been a world leader for 35 years from first entering parliament in 1982 as a 31-year-old to being Prime Minister of New Zealand for nine years, to serving as Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme for eight years. One of her key focuses throughout this time has been the empowerment of women and she has paved the way for other women to step up and lead. With a foreword by the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, this is a timely and important book. An analysis of Helen’s speeches shows that while the position of women has improved over time, this change is very fragile and that we need to keep working towards equality for women in many crucial areas. Women, Equality, Power also serves as a celebration of an outstanding leader who continues to strive and work for change.
And now to the United States:
Promises to Keep by Joe Biden
As a United States senator from Delaware since 1973, Joe Biden has been an intimate witness to the major events of the past four decades and a relentless actor in trying to shape recent American history. He has seen up close the tragic mistake of the Vietnam War, the Watergate and Iran-contra scandals, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of Germany, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, a presidential impeachment, a presidential resignation, and a presidential election decided by the Supreme Court. He’s observed Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and two Bushes wrestling with the presidency; he’s traveled to war zones in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and seen firsthand the devastation of genocide. He played a vital role by standing up to Ronald Reagan’s effort to seat Judge Robert Bork on the Supreme Court, fighting for legislation that protects women against domestic violence, and galvanising America’s response (and the world’s) to Slobodan Milosevic’s genocidal march in the Balkans.
In Promises to Keep, Biden reveals what these experiences taught him about himself, his colleagues, and the institutions of government. With his customary candour, Biden movingly recounts growing up in a staunchly Catholic multigenerational household in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware; overcoming a demoralising stutter; marriage, fatherhood, and the tragic death of his wife Neilia and infant daughter Naomi; remarriage and re-forming a family with his second wife, Jill; success and failure in the Senate and on the campaign trail; two life-threatening aneurysms; his relations with fellow lawmakers on both sides of the aisle; and his leadership of powerful Senate committees. Through these and other recollections, Biden shows us how the guiding principles he learned early in life – the obligation to work to make people’s lives better, to honour family and faith, to get up and do the right thing no matter how hard you’ve been knocked down, to be honest and straightforward, and, above all, to keep your promises – are the foundations on which he has based his life’s work as husband, father, and public servant.
Promises to Keep is the story of a man who faced down personal challenges and tragedy to become one of our most effective leaders. It is also an intimate series of reflections from a public servant who refuses to be cynical about political leadership, and a testament to the promise of the United States.
Too Much and Never Enough by Mary L. Trump
The NY Times shared some amazing statistics recently: “Since it was released in May, the latest book in the Hunger Games series, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, has sold 1.3 million copies, a home run of a best seller by publishing’s standards. Mary L. Trump’s memoir about her uncle, Too Much and Never Enough, outsold it in its first week”. So we thought, we’d better pop it on this list for you.
Mary L. Trump, a trained clinical psychologist and Donald’s only niece, shines a bright light on the dark history of their family in order to explain how her uncle became the man who now threatens the world’s health, economic security, and social fabric.
Mary Trump spent much of her childhood in her grandparents’ large, imposing house in the heart of Queens, where Donald and his four siblings grew up. She describes a nightmare of traumas, destructive relationships, and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse. She explains how specific events and general family patterns created the damaged man who currently occupies the Oval Office, including the strange and harmful relationship between Fred Trump and his two oldest sons, Fred Jr. and Donald. A firsthand witness to countless holiday meals and family interactions, Mary brings an incisive wit and unexpected humour to sometimes grim, often confounding family events. She recounts in unsparing detail everything from her uncle Donald’s place in the family spotlight and Ivana’s penchant for regifting to her grandmother’s frequent injuries and illnesses and the appalling way Donald, Fred Trump’s favourite son, dismissed and derided him when he began to succumb to Alzheimer’s. Numerous pundits, armchair psychologists, and journalists have sought to parse Donald J. Trump’s lethal flaws. Mary L. Trump has the education, insight, and intimate familiarity needed to reveal what makes Donald, and the rest of her clan, tick. She alone can recount this fascinating, unnerving saga, not just because of her insider’s perspective but also because she is the only Trump willing to tell the truth about one of the world’s most powerful and dysfunctional families.
Rage by Bob Woodward
Rage goes behind the scenes like never before, with stunning new details about early national security decisions and operations and Trump’s moves as he faces a global pandemic, economic disaster and racial unrest. Woodward, the No 1 internationally bestselling author of 13 No 1 bestsellers, including Fear: Trump in the White House, shows Trump up close in his entirety before the 2020 presidential election. President Trump has said publicly that Woodward has interviewed him. What is not known is that Trump provided Woodward a window into his mind through a series of exclusive interviews. At key decision points, Rage shows how Trump’s responses to the crises of 2020 were rooted in the instincts, habits and style he developed during his first three years as president. Rage draws from hundreds of hours of interviews with first-hand witnesses, as well as participants’ notes, emails, diaries, calendars and confidential documents. Woodward obtained 25 personal letters exchanged between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that have not been public before. Kim describes the bond between the two leaders as out of a ‘fantasy film’, as the two leaders engage in an extraordinary diplomatic minuet. Rage will be the foundational account of the Trump presidency, its turmoil, contradictions and risks. It is an essential document for anyone seeking an accurate inside view of the Trump years – volatile and vivid.
Enjoy!
Women in Politics
Politics has long been a career dominated by males but in recent years we have seen a growing number of amazing women rise to power seizing the opportunity to influence our world. We have gathered a few of our favourite books on the market which explore the values, skills, personalities and drive that each of these women have.
Prepare to be inspired as we explore the careers of some of the greatest women in politics; some are sadly no longer with us, others are facing elections this year.
The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris
Known for bringing a voice to the voiceless, Senator Kamala Harris is committed to speaking the truth. The daughter of immigrants, she was raised in a community that cared deeply about social justice and, growing up, Harris herself never hid her passion for doing what is right. Throughout her career, from starting out as a prosecutor right up to her position as California’s Attorney General, and now as a US Senator, her hallmarks have been applying a holistic, data-driven approach to the thorniest issues, whether it’s taking on the big banks or rejecting stale ‘tough on crime’ rhetoric as presenting a series of false choices. Neither ‘tough’ nor ‘soft’ but smart on crime became her mantra. Being smart means learning the truths that can make us better as a community, and supporting those truths with all our might. Through the arc of her own life, Harris communicates a vision of shared struggle, shared purpose, and shared values and grapples with complex issues that affect America and the world at large, from health care and the new economy to immigration, national security, the opioid crisis, and accelerating inequality. By reckoning with the big challenges we face together, drawing on the hard-won wisdom and insight from her own career and the work of those who have most inspired her, Kamala Harris offers in The Truths We Hold a master class in problem solving, in crisis management, and leadership in challenging times.
Jacinda Ardern by Madeleine Chapman
Jacinda Ardern is a progressive and a social democrat. A millennial woman in leadership. Only the second elected leader in the world to give birth while in office. But who is the real Jacinda Ardern? And why does she inspire such global admiration? New Zealand’s Prime Minister has been hailed as a leader for a new generation, tired of inaction in the face of issues such as climate change and far-right terrorism. Her grace and compassion following the Christchurch mosque shooting captured the world’s attention. Oprah Winfrey invited us to ‘channel our inner Jacindas’ as praise for Ardern flooded headlines and social media. The ruler of this remote country even made the cover of Time. In this revealing biography, journalist Madeleine Chapman discovers the woman behind the headlines. Always politically engaged and passionate, Ardern is uncompromising and astute. She has encountered her fair share of sexism, but rather than let that harden her, she advocates ‘rising above’ disparagers. In her first press conference, she announced an election campaign of ‘relentless positivity’. The tactic was a resounding success donations poured in and Labour rebounded in the polls.
The Book of Gutsy Women by Hilary and Chelsea Clinton
Ensuring the rights and opportunities of women and girls remains a big piece of the unfinished business of the twenty-first century. While there’s a lot of work to do, we know that throughout history and around the globe women have overcome the toughest resistance imaginable to win victories that have made progress possible for all of us. That is the achievement of each of the women in this book. So how did they do it? The answers are as unique as the women themselves. Civil rights activist Dorothy Height, LGBTQ trailblazer Edie Windsor, and swimmer Diana Nyad kept pushing forward, no matter what. Writers like Rachel Carson and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie named something no one had dared talk about before. Historian Mary Beard used wit to open doors that were once closed, and Wangari Maathai, who sparked a movement to plant trees, understood the power of role modeling. Harriet Tubman and Malala Yousafzai looked fear in the face and persevered. Nearly every single one of these women was fiercely optimistic—they had faith that their actions could make a difference. And they were right.
They are all gutsy women — leaders with the courage to stand up to the status quo, ask hard questions, and get the job done. So in the moments when the long haul seems awfully long, we hope you will draw strength from these stories. We do. Because if history shows one thing, it’s that the world needs gutsy women.
My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg
In My Own Words the late Justice Ginsburg discusses gender equality, the workings of the Supreme Court, being Jewish, law and lawyers in opera, and the value of looking beyond US shores when interpreting the US Constitution. Throughout her life Justice Ginsburg was a prolific writer and public speaker. This book’s sampling is selected by Justice Ginsburg and her authorised biographers Mary Hartnett and Wendy W. Williams, who introduce each chapter and provide biographical context and quotes gleaned from hundreds of interviews they have conducted. Witty, engaging, serious, and playful, My Own Words is a fascinating glimpse into the life of one of America’s most influential women.
Women and Leadership by Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
From their broad experience on the world stage in politics, economics and global not-for-profits, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Julia Gillard have some strong ideas about the impact of gender on the treatment of leaders. Women and Leadership takes a consistent and comprehensive approach to teasing out what is different for women leaders. Almost every year new findings are published about the way people see women leaders compared with their male counterparts. The authors have taken that academic work and tested it in the real world. The same set of interview questions were put to each leader in frank face-to-face interviews. Their responses were then used to examine each woman’s journey in leadership and whether their lived experiences were in line with or different from what the research would predict. Women and Leadership presents a lively and readable analysis of the influence of gender on women’s access to positions of leadership, the perceptions of them as leaders, the trajectory of their leadership and the circumstances in which it comes to an end. By presenting the lessons that can be learned from women leaders, Julia and Ngozi provide a road map of essential knowledge to inspire us all, and an action agenda for change that allows women to take control and combat gender bias. Featuring Jacinda Ardern, Hillary Clinton, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Theresa May, Michelle Bachelet, Joyce Banda, Erna Solberg, Christine Lagarde and more.
A Seat at the Table by Kelly Dittmar, Kira Sanbonmatsu, Susan J. Carroll
The presence of women in Congress is at an all-time high and record numbers of women are running for public office. At the same time, Congress is more polarized than ever, and little research exists on how women in Congress view their experiences and contributions to American politics today. Drawing on personal interviews the authors analyse how these women navigate today’s stark partisan divisions, and whether they feel effective in their jobs. Through first-person perspectives, A Seat at the Table looks at what motivates these women’s legislative priorities and behaviour, details the ways in which women experience service within a male-dominated institution, and highlights why it matters that women sit in the nation’s federal legislative chambers. It describes the strategies women employ to overcome any challenges they confront as well as the opportunities available to them. The book examines how gender interacts with political party, race and ethnicity, seniority, chamber, and district characteristics to shape women’s representational influence and behaviour, finding that party and race and ethnicity are the two most complicating factors to a singular narrative of women’s congressional representation.
Enjoy!
Booko Picks – Popular Science Books
We live in a golden age for Popular Science writing. Gone are the days when books about topics such as astronomy, neuroscience, and maths (and engineering as well) were mostly written by experts for other experts – informative but daunting. These days, popular science titles combine expert knowledge with great storytelling, so we can be informed and entertained at the same time. Here are some of the delights currently on offer:
Humble Pi: a Comedy of Maths Errors by Matt Parker
“Stand-up Mathematician” Matt Parker uses his maths background to great effect, as the basis of very funny performances and books. In Humble Pi, he uncovers the sorts of disasters that can happen when you get maths wrong. The stories range from trivial and quirky (such as advertising images of interlocking gears that can’t possibly turn) to deadly and expensive (wobbling bridges, Y2K and aeroplane disasters). The wide range of examples he uses underscore the message that maths can be found anywhere and everywhere, and that it may be more important to everyday life than many people realise.
Calling Bullshit: the Art of Scepticism in a Data-driven World by Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West
How do you separate bullshit from the truth, when every side in an argument uses data to support their claims? Calling Bullshit is a very timely book that looks at how to spot misused data, and how to refute it persuasively. Based on the popular university course that the authors teach jointly, Calling Bullshit describes how data can be manipulated deliberately, or through false assumptions (such as confirmation bias or false equivalencies) or even due to carelessness or laziness. Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West also describe tools that debunk bullshit constructively, because effective bullshit detection is essential for the healthy functioning of democracy and society. This eye-opening and empowering book is essential for anyone sick of the proliferation of Fake News and Conspiracy Theories.
Infinite Powers: the Story of Calculus, the Language of the Universe by Steven Strogatz
In Infinite Powers, Steven Strogatz takes on the challenge of making calculus accessible and entertaining. He explains the history and development of calculus (which originated in ancient Greece, and involved many big-name mathematicians including Archimedes, Newton, and Descartes); he also highlights how, as a tool to understand constant change, it underlies most modern technologies including radio, television, GPS navigation, and MRI imaging; and it informs fields as varied as meteorology, economics, and medicine. You don’t need to know any calculus to enjoy Infinite Powers; but as someone who understood the How but not the Why of calculus, this book gave me valuable context to help me appreciate the history, value and meaning of what I was doing.
Letters from an Astrophysicist by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Not your usual science book, but Letters from an Astrophysicist is all the more profound because of it. This is a selection of letters to Neil DeGrasse Tyson, since he came into the public eye over two decades ago. Topics cover anything and everything, from taxes to aliens to God; the questions are from friends and strangers alike – some ask for advice, some point out mistakes and some proclaim opposing beliefs. His replies are wise and funny, candid but uncompromising. Even in the face of “hate mail”, he stands his ground and defends the importance of science. Letters from an Astrophysicist is not just a glimpse into one brilliant mind, but also a reflection of how space has inspired curiosity, learning and passion in many of us.
Why We Sleep: the New Science of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker
Why We Sleep received a positive review from none other than Bill Gates – no mean feat, considering he’s a prolific and discerning reader whose recommendations attract a lot of attention. Why We Sleep aims to create cultural change by highlighting the significant health, social and economic value of sleep. Using statistics, anecdotes, and well-researched studies, Matthew Walker, an expert sleep scientist, explains how neglecting sleep can reduce creativity, decision-making and memory, and can even damage heart-, brain- and mental-health. Luckily, he also offers us helpful tips on how to change bad sleep habits and improve sleep hygiene. And don’t worry if you end up reading this book slowly, because you have become inspired to take naps; the author will be delighted, rather than offended by such a change.
We have No Idea: a Guide to the Unknown Universe by Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson
Engineer-turned-cartoonist Jorge Cham has partnered with particle physicist Daniel Whiteson to create this lighthearted look at the biggest unsolved questions about the universe. From the Big Bang to time travel to extraterrestrial life to dark matter, Jorge and Daniel describe what we don’t know (as well as the bits we do know), and why it’s really exciting to keep exploring at the edge of these unknowns. You’ll also meet hamsters, evil twins, Doctor Who, Pi charts, pop culture, and Lego philosophy in these entertaining yet deep explanations for some of the most complex concepts in astrophysics.
Grow your general knowledge with Booko: General Knowledge Genuis
Can you name the most famous rivers worldwide? Do you know your cranium from your clavicle, or do you need to bone up on the parts of the human skeleton? General Knowledge Genius can help.
Amazing Books Discussed in Recent Podcasts
Oh how we love a good podcast, and we know you do too so imagine our crazy exciting geeking out levels when our favourite podcasts recommend a book! We have rounded up six must read books that have all been mentioned in recent episodes of some of our top podcasts.
Buckle yourself in because once you’ve had a read you’ll want to pop your headphones on and have a good old podcast binge.
From Will Anderson’s Wilosophy: Women and Leadership by Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
From their broad experience on the world stage in politics, economics and global not-for-profits, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Julia Gillard have some strong ideas about the impact of gender on the treatment of leaders. Women and Leadership takes a consistent and comprehensive approach to teasing out what is different for women leaders. Almost every year new findings are published about the way people see women leaders compared with their male counterparts. The authors have taken that academic work and tested it in the real world. The same set of interview questions were put to each leader in frank face-to-face interviews. Their responses were then used to examine each woman’s journey in leadership and whether their lived experiences were in line with or different from what the research would predict. Women and Leadership presents a lively and readable analysis of the influence of gender on women’s access to positions of leadership, the perceptions of them as leaders, the trajectory of their leadership and the circumstances in which it comes to an end. By presenting the lessons that can be learned from women leaders, Julia and Ngozi provide a road map of essential knowledge to inspire us all, and an action agenda for change that allows women to take control and combat gender bias. Featuring Jacinda Ardern, Hillary Clinton, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Theresa May, Michelle Bachelet, Joyce Banda, Erna Solberg, Christine Lagarde and more.
From No Such Thing as a Fish: The Book of the Year 2019 by No Such Thing As A Fish
In a year when South Korea announced that its new robotics museum will be built by robots, and French cheese terrorists put a camembert through every French MP’s letterbox, The Book of the Year returns with another dose of barely believable yet bona fide facts and stories from the past twelve months. Each week for the past five years, Dan, James, Anna and Andy, the creators of the award-winning, chart-topping comedy podcast No Such Thing as a Fish, have wowed each other and millions of listeners with the most astonishing trivia they have learned over the previous seven days. Now, once again, they have scoured the newspapers for hidden gems, and transformed another year’s worth of weird and wonderful happenings into one uplifting book that you won’t be able to put down. Discover how TV channel Hallmark has so many new Christmas movies that it will now start airing them from July. Be amused to learn that a thousand people were hired to attend a rally in Kiev to protest against the practice of hiring people to attend rallies. Share the excitement of the scientists who discovered that more attractive monkeys have smaller testicles. Revel in the news that Carlsberg launched a new advertising campaign admitting it is ‘probably not the best beer in the world’. Feel a little sympathy for Ariana Grande, who got a Japanese tattoo she intended to say ‘Seven Rings’ but that actually ended up reading ‘small charcoal grill’. From ecologically minded Birmingham drug dealers to dodgy Belgian petanque players, The Book of the Year 2019 is an eye-opening tour of yet another incredible year you didn’t know you’d lived through. Imagine what the 2020 version will be like!
From No Such Thing As A Fish: Between the Stops by Sandi Toksvig
This long-awaited memoir from one of Britain’s best-loved celebrities (a writer, broadcaster, activist, comic on stage, screen and radio for nearly forty years, presenter of QI and Great British Bake Off star) is an autobiography with a difference: as only Sandi Toksvig can tell it. ‘Between the Stops is a sort of a memoir, my sort. It’s about a bus trip really, because it’s my view from the Number 12 bus (mostly top deck, the seat at the front on the right), a double-decker that plies its way from Dulwich, in South East London, where I was living, to where I sometimes work – at the BBC, in the heart of the capital. It’s not a sensible way to write a memoir at all, probably, but it’s the way things pop into your head as you travel, so it’s my way’. From London facts including where to find the blue plaque for Una Marson, ‘The first black woman programme maker at the BBC’, to discovering the best Spanish coffee under Southwark’s railway arches; from a brief history of lady gangsters at Elephant and Castle to memories of climbing Mount Sinai and, at the request of a fellow traveller, reading aloud the Ten Commandments; from the story behind Pissarro’s painting of Dulwich Station to performing in Footlights with Emma Thompson; from painful memoires of being sent to Coventry while at a British boarding school to thinking about how Wombells Travelling Circus of 1864 haunts Peckham Rye; from anecdotes about meeting Prince Charles, Monica Lewinsky and Grayson Perry to Bake-Off antics; from stories of a real and lasting friendship with John McCarthy to the importance of family and the daunting navigation of the Zambezi River in her father’s canoe, this Sandi Toksvig-style memoir is, as one would expect and hope, packed full of surprises. A funny and moving trip through memories, musings and the many delights on the Number 12 route, Between the Stops is also an inspiration to us all to get off our phones, look up and to talk to each other because as Sandi says: ‘some of the greatest trips lie on our own doorstep’.
From The Bill Simmons Podcast: Super Forecasting by Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner
What if we could improve our ability to predict the future? Everything we do involves forecasts about how the future will unfold. Whether buying a new house or changing job, designing a new product or getting married, our decisions are governed by implicit predictions of how things are likely to turn out. The problem is, we’re not very good at it. In a landmark, twenty-year study, Wharton professor Philip Tetlock showed that the average expert was only slightly better at predicting the future than a layperson using random guesswork. Tetlock’s latest project – an unprecedented, government-funded forecasting tournament involving over a million individual predictions – has since shown that there are, however, some people with real, demonstrable foresight. These are ordinary people, from former ballroom dancers to retired computer programmers, who have an extraordinary ability to predict the future with a degree of accuracy 60% greater than average. They are superforecasters. In Superforecasting, Tetlock and his co-author Dan Gardner offer a fascinating insight into what we can learn from this elite group. They show the methods used by these superforecasters which enable them to outperform even professional intelligence analysts with access to classified data. And they offer practical advice on how we can all use these methods for our own benefit – whether in business, in international affairs, or in everyday life.
From Revisionist History: Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
In July 2015, a young black woman named Sandra Bland was pulled over for a minor traffic violation in rural Texas. Minutes later she was arrested and jailed. Three days later, she committed suicide in her cell. What went wrong? Talking to Strangers is all about what happens when we encounter people we don’t know, why it often goes awry, and what it says about us. How do we make sense of the unfamiliar? Why are we so bad at judging someone, reading a face, or detecting a lie? Why do we so often fail to ‘get’ other people? Through a series of puzzles, encounters and misunderstandings, from little-known stories to infamous legal cases, Gladwell takes us on a journey through the unexpected. You will read about the spy who spent years undetected at the highest levels of the Pentagon, the man who saw through the fraudster Bernie Madoff, the suicide of the poet Sylvia Plath and the false conviction of Amanda Knox. You will discover that strangers are never simple. No one shows us who we are like Malcolm Gladwell. Here he sets out to understand why we act the way we do, and how we all might know a little more about those we don’t.
From The Emma Guns Show: How to Survive the End of the World (When it’s in Your Own Head) by Aaron Gilles
There are plenty of books out there on how to survive a zombie apocalypse, all-out nuclear war, or Armageddon. But what happens when it feels like the world is ending every single time you wake up? That’s what having anxiety is like – and How to Survive the End of the World is here to help. Or at least make you feel like you’re not so alone. From helping readers identify the enemy, to safeguarding the vulnerable areas of their lives, Aaron Gillies examines the impact of anxiety, and gives readers some tools to fight back, whether with medication, therapy, CBT, coping techniques, or simply with a dark sense of humour.
And as promised…here’s your list of podcasts to happily binge.
Will Anderson’s Wilosophy
Enjoy!
Grow your general knowledge with Booko: I Shit You Not
What a weird and wonderful world we live in. Countries banning letters of the alphabet, the accidental teabag, and have you ever wondered how many horsepower a horse actually has? You can read about these fascinating facts in I Shit You Not.
How much does a video weigh?
What color is a mirror? How much does a video weigh? Michael Stevens, creator of the popular educational YouTube channel Vsauce, spends his day asking quirky questions like these. In this talk he shows how asking the right, seemingly silly, questions can make incredibly effective lessons.
Grow your general knowledge with Booko: 1423 QI Facts to Bowl You Over
Bees can play football. Books used to be put on shelves with their spines facing inwards. A German airline allows an extra kilo of hand luggage, provided it’s books. Who knew? QI knew and you can too in 1423 QI Facts to Bowl You Over.
Grow your general knowledge with Booko: How Food Works
How Food Works brings the science of food to life. Through a highly visual approach that uses bold infographics, explore the good, the bad, the confusing, and the trending world of food.
