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3 Books is a completely insane and totally epic 22-year-long quest to uncover and discuss the 1000 most formative books in the world. Each chapter discusses the 3 most formative books of one of the world's most inspiring people. Sample guests include: Brené Brown, David Sedaris, Malcolm Gladwell, Roxane Gay, Cheryl Strayed, Rich Roll, Soyoung the Variety Store Owner, Derek the Hype Man, Kevin the Bookseller, Shirley The Nurse, Vishwas the Uber Driver, Angie Thomas, David Mitchell, Surgeon Ge ...
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Chapter 3: Seth Godin on shifting stories and stretching ourselves
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Happy new moon, everybody! I am going to release a few of my favorite classic chapters of 3 Books. Let's start with Seth Godin! I flew down to New York to uncover and discuss the most formative books of the one and only Seth Godin (@ThisIsSethsBlog) from his Hastings-On-Hudson studio. Seth is the bestselling author of 'Linchpin', 'Purple Cow'…
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Chapter 139: Lewis Mallard valorizes visionary vandalism
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I was at a coffee shop on College Street when the barista Tony yelled “Hey! There’s that duck!” I turned and, sure enough, out the front window was a… duck. A giant pixelated-looking green-headed Mallard set atop a rubber-tire-sized body on top of orange-stockinged legs and a pair of orange Converse. And he was just … walking by. Like some kind of …
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Chapter 138: Maria Popova mines meaning in marginalia
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Maria Popova was born in communist Bulgaria and emigrated to the U.S. six days after her 19th birthday back in 2003. She studied at the University of Pennsylvania after “being sold on the liberal arts promise of being taught how to live.” Did it work? Well, yes and no. She spent her family’s life savings in the first few weeks on textbooks and, des…
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Chapter 137: Jonathan Franzen finds fellow freaks and forges fantastic fiction
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I remember getting the knife. It was near Christmas about 10 years ago and Leslie and I were zipping up a tiny suitcase before a beach trip with her grandparents and extended family. We weren’t married and I was making a desperate last-second plea to stuff a 576-page novel called ‘The Corrections’ by Jonathan Franzen into our bag. “It just won’t fi…
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Chapter 136: 3 St. Louis Uber drivers on bullets, bruises, and babies
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I just got back from St. Louis. It was my first time there and I met a wonderfully rich collection of people who I’m so excited to introduce you to in a special on-the-ground, in-the-street, from-the-backseat Chapter of 3 Books. On the way from the airport to the hotel, the driver regaled me with St. Louis trivia from a deep well of St. Louis pride…
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Chapter 135: Cal Newport severs cell subservience to steep slow success
2:25:54
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Cal Newport is a guide, a visionary, a role model to me and millions of others on living an intentional and productive life amidst our noisy, scatterbrained, tech-drenched world. He’s an MIT-trained computer science professor at Georgetown University and author of 10 books which have collectively sold over 2 million copies including ‘Deep Work,’ ‘D…
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Chapter 134: Susan Orlean on lusty ledes and literary lessons for life
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I got an email from longtime 3 Booker Bo Boswell who told me he found an enticingly-titled thread on reddit called “What’s your field or study (hobbyist or professional) and what’s a cornerstone beginners book for that topic/field?” The most upvoted reply on the thread read: "Librarian here, Susan Orlean’s ‘The Library Book’ is at first glance a tr…
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Chapter 133: Celine Song stitches sumptuous stories from Seoul to soul
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It’s Oscar season! I was so thrilled to see ‘Past Lives’, the astounding slow-moving-yet-somehow-fast-paced debut film from Celine Song nominated for Best Picture. Best Picture! On her very first film. Oh, and no biggie, Best Screenplay, too. This following a slew of other noms like 5 Golden Globes, 3 Critics Choice Awards, 3 BAFTAs, and a recent D…
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Chapter 132: Robin Dunbar on nullifying negativity with numbered natural networks
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Back in Chapter 101 of ‘3 Books’ we had a magical, eve-of-‘Everything-Everywhere-All-At-Once’-coming-out moment-in-time conversation with creative super-geniuses Daniels — who are Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. We were discussing the fascinating book 'Sex At Dawn' and our conversation led to discussing Dunbar’s Number. Dunbar’s Number! Have you …
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Chapter 131: J. Drew Lanham on breaking boundaries to become better birdwatchers
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Buckle up! We are heading down to the fields of Clemson, South Carolina! I got an email from 3 Booker Rumble D. back in February which said “Neil, I have a guest suggestion for you. J Drew Lanham is a 2022 MacArthur fellow and an American ornithologist. I loved his book and would love to hear you interview him (maybe while you guys go birding?)” In…
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The Best of 2023: Neil Pasricha rewinds and reflects on the richness of reading
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Another year around the sun! It is the Winter Solstice which means it is time for our sixth annual "Best Of" episode of 3 Books. 3 Books began back in 2018 with a simple goal of counting down the 1000 most formative books in the world ... 3 books at a time. We wanted this show to help all of us read more and read better and we wanted to do that b…
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Chapter 130: Ralph Nader on corporate crime creating classist chaos
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“Your airbag” by Ralph Nader. “Your seatbelt” by Ralph Nader. “Your cleaner air” by Ralph Nader. “Your safer food” by Ralph Nader. “Your lead protection when you get dental x-rays", “Your warning labels on cigarettes”, “Your right to know if you’re exposed to dangerous chemicals at your job”. By Ralph Nader, by Ralph Nader, by Ralph Nader. We slap …
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Bookmark: Leslie Richardson on practicing peaceful parenting
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Today I'm putting out a special Bookmark episode of 3 Books featuring my incredible wife Leslie Richardson. If you've been listening to 3 Books for a while you've heard Leslie interviewing guests like Brené Brown, Kristen Neff, and Rebecca the Sex Therapist. And, of course, I started the show by interviewing her way back in Chapter 1. But…
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Chapter 129: Sahil Bloom freezes at 4am to find fortune and finish first
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I flew down to New York City and sat in a plush purple corner booth at the pricey and exclusive Core Club in midtown Manhattan. Sahil Bloom is the youngest member they have because, as he says, "If you get into the right rooms, good things start to happen." Sahil Bloom is a fascinating, unconventional, maniacally disciplined, wisdom-distilling writ…
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Chapter 128: Heather McGowan listens to lessons from the Lakota and Legacy of Luna
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I started 3 Books back in 2018. I didn't fully appreciate how big, wide, and deep the core question of this 22-year conversation was at the beginning. "What are your 3 most formative books?" Sounds simple! But as you trace back which books inspired ideals, ignited passions, altered values, slingshotted directions...well, it turns out there's always…
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Chapter 127: Lenore Skenazy on killing coddling to create capable kids
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Early episodes of Sesame Street from the late 1960s show five-year-olds walking streets alone, talking to strangers, and playing on vacant lots, but when those episodes were released on DVD years later a warning was added at the beginning saying “The following is intended for adult viewing only and may not be suitable for young viewers.” I read abo…
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Chapter 126: Jully Black on anthem alterations and attitude absolutions
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I’ve been lucky enough to be invited onto ‘The Social’ (@TheSocialCTV) a few times. Do you know the show? It’s like ‘The View’, but Canadian, with four dynamic hosts sharing fast-paced opinions in a raucous, bombastic, high-energy exchange. Producers hand you the topics of the day about 30 minutes before you go on — formed by that morning’s early h…
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