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  • A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson.

    I loved Bryson's travel books when I was a teenager, so when this history of science popped up I devoured it just based on author recognition alone.

    Amazing book. No regrets. He's just as hilarious as always.

    I'd read it on my lunch break at my call centre job, and I remember reading about all these amazing scientific breakthroughs that happened mostly by accident, just because someone basically took an interest in the world around them. And what was I doing? Working in a call centre hassling people to do surveys?

    Long story short the book helped steer me down a different path, one where I've learned interesting things and met fantastic people and, yes, generally taken an interest in the world around me.

    It just made me realise what humanity can be, as cheesy as that sounds.

    Of course, being a science book from 2003 I'm sure it's now incredibly out of date. But I'd recommend it anyway, the author's awe for the subject is timeless.

  • The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Every time there was an experiential experiment in the book, I put it down and tried it for myself. I possibly changed more over the course of reading that book than at any other period in my life.

  • The Conspiracy Against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror (2010) by Thomas Ligotti was referenced heavily in writing Rust Cohle's character in True Detective season one. After falling in love with the series, I picked up the book and... wow. If you're into some misanthropic nihilism written by a succinct fiction author and not an unnecessarily verbose philosopher, it's a good read.

    Currently also reading Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars from 4chan and Tumblr to Trump and the Alt-Right (2017) by Angela Nagle. I just started last night but it's changed a lot about how I see the current alt-right, where they came from, and how to effectively counter their arguments (and why conventional counterarguments don't work).

  • The Zhuangzi.
    I tried a few times to describe why but I’m having a hard time of it. I guess it made me accept that I can’t control everything and that there’s a natural ebb and flow in most things. Not in a defeatist kind of way. But more like you ride out the bad and find joy where you can. You never know if the alternative could have been worse.
    Basically it made me appreciate the weird and little things in life and not overthink the big.
    There’s a lot more to it, but it’s one of the lasting benefits it gave me.

  • When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World's Most Powerful Consulting Firm by Michael Forsyth and Walt Bogdanich. A cutting expose into the forces that are shaping our society that most don't see.

    The Man Who Broke Capitalism: How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America—and How to Undo His Legacy by David Gelles. Gives you a better understanding of the philosophies that shaped corporate offshoring, outsourcing and sell offs from the 70s to today.

    Currowan: A Story of Fire and Community During Australia's Worst Summer by Bronwyn Adcock. A revealing firsthand account of what it's like to live through the catastrophic real life effects of climate change.

    A Good Place on the Banks of the Euphrates: Stories from the War Against ISIS by Warren Stoddard II. A frightening and inspiring collection of short stories and diary entries from the perspective of an internationalist fighter on the ground.

    The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton. A digestible collection of reassuring practical tactics to understanding personal attitudes and behaviours as framed by some of history's most influential philosophers.

  • I read Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain at some point during the First World War centenary. I'm also roughly 100 years younger than Vera Brittain, so I was very close to her age during WW1. I knew the facts of WW1 before, but it hit me really hard to think about a whole generation of young people (of the countries involved) having their youth drowned in a war. And the pointlessness of it all. It made me really grateful for the circumstances I was lucky enough to grow up in.

  • Finding The Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard. Completely changed my understanding of woodlands, nature itself, and the world in general.

  • I have the feeling a Sapiens might be a worthy member of such a list. I haven't read it yet though. I'd love to hear someone's opinion who has.

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