15 min read ⌚ Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living Want to live a better life? Well, Massimo Pigliucci is too. And he’s interested in teaching you one and one thing only: How to Be a Stoic. Who Should Read “How to Be a Stoic”? And Why? How to Be a Stoic is a book which everyone […]
South and West Summary
11 min read ⌚ Have you ever gone on a trip around the Gulf South for no apparent reason? Do you want to go on one? How about having Joan Didion for a companion? If the answer to both of the questions above is “yes” then – hop on: South and West. Who Should Read “South […]
Through the Language Glass Summary
15 min read ⌚ Quick Summary: “Through the Language Glass” by Guy Deutscher separates fact from fiction in a burgeoning, but rather controversial field: linguistic relativity. In addition to sketching out a brief history of the research done in the area, Deutscher’s book recalls hundreds of experiments which show why, how and to what extent language […]
The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty Summary
12 min read ⌚ Quick Summary: “Amusing Ourselves to Death” explores whether Aldous Huxley’s fictional and dystopian vision of the future described in Brave New World hasn’t already turned into the reality of our TV-dominated and image-centered present. Spoiler alert: it has, and TV and reality shows are our pleasure drugs, our very own soma. Who […]
Amusing Ourselves to Death Summary
13 min read ⌚ Quick Summary: “Amusing Ourselves to Death” explores whether Aldous Huxley’s fictional and dystopian vision of the future described in “Brave New World” hasn’t already turned into the reality of our TV-dominated and image-centered present. Spoiler alert: it has, and reality shows and Netflix are our pleasure drugs, our very own soma. Who […]
The Wisdom of Life Summary
13 min read ⌚ Quick Summary: The Wisdom of Life is a short philosophical essay by Arthur Schopenhauer in which the most famous philosophical pessimist in history explores the nature of human happiness and tries to understand how one should order his life so as to obtain the greatest possible amount of pleasure and success. Who […]
The Sunflower Summary
14 min read ⌚ Quick Summary: The Sunflower by Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal is a two-part book which explores the limits of forgiveness. In the first part, Wiesenthal recounts how he got to be asked for forgiveness by a Nazi soldier; in the second, he shares the opinions of 53 people on whether he should have […]
How We Learn Summary
14 min read ⌚ Quick Summary: How We Learn by Benedict Carey uses the newest findings related to the nature and biology of our brains as a springboard for a fun-to-read exploration of our learning habits and a sort of operational manual on how to tweak them so that you can harness the full power of […]
Doughnut Economics Summary
13 min read ⌚ Quick Summary: Doughnut Economics by Oxford academic Kate Raworth deconstructs the character of the rational economic man and challenges the necessity for never-ending economic growth by identifying seven critical ways in which mainstream economics has misled us, while sketching out an alternative plan on how we can satisfy humanity’s needs without overshooting […]
The Upside of Irrationality Summary
Quick Summary: The Upside of Irrationality is the second book by social scientist Dan Ariely, and it is a fitting follow-up to his first book, Predictably Irrational: if in his debut Ariely revealed the preprogrammed biases which instigate us to make unwise choices, here he shows the unexpected benefits (and, sometimes, downsides) of these decisions.
