The World's Best Book Summaries
What exactly is personality? Is one’s personality fixed for life? Most people think of their personality—the totality of their abilities, preferences, and temperaments—as something innate and unchanging. However, science shows that you can, in fact, change your personality. Moreover, the idea of a fixed personality is unhelpful because it limits what you can achieve. Here’s why the idea of a fixed personality is problematic.
Do you feel like you don’t have enough free time off work and other daily responsibilities? How can you carve more free time out of your day to spend on yourself? Many people complain they don’t have enough free time to rest and enjoy themselves. However, most of us have plenty of free time, but we spend it on mindless, low-value activities that drain instead of energizing us. With this in mind, here’s how to make the most of your free time.
When and where did slavery start? What was life in Africa like for people before they were sold into slavery? Were American slave owners Republicans? According to Candace Owens, slavery must be properly understood before the political progression of Black Americans can be understood. In Blackout, she discusses how Black Africans came to be in America and dispels some of the narratives that surround this history. Keep reading to learn the myths and truths about the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to the 19th centuries.
What can sweetgrass teach us? What do the strands of sweetgrass mean? Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer is a collection of essays that integrate plant relationships, Anishinaabe Indigenous worldviews, and scientific knowledge. These three components represent the strands of a braid of sweetgrass, a sacred plant in the Indigenous Potawatomi culture. Keep reading to learn about sweetgrass teachings from Braiding Sweetgrass.
Should we go vegetarian and drive electric cars? Should we stop having children and flying in airplanes? Climate activists exhort us to make individual sacrifices—like eating less meat, flying less often, and turning off unused lights. Bjorn Lomborg argues that these exhortations are flawed: Individual actions on climate change do nearly nothing. Keep reading to see how Lomborg makes this assessment.
What is IFS therapy? What psychological wounds is IFS used to treat? Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an integrative and evidence-based method of psychotherapy developed by Richard Schwartz. IFS-trained therapists use questions, suggestions, and active listening to guide clients through the process of getting to know their inner family system and healing their wounded parts. To understand IFS therapy, it’s important to first understand the two foundational concepts on which it’s built: multiplicity and systems thinking.
Why did Jeff Bezos ban PowerPoint presentations at Amazon? Was that a good idea? Jeff Bezos famously booted PowerPoint out of the presentation room at Amazon. In The Bezos Blueprint, Carmine Gallo explains why. Keep reading to learn about Jeff Bezos, PowerPoint, and the beauty of stories in communication.
What is Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer about? What are the main takeaways of the book? In Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer explains how three sources of knowledge show us how to flourish through a practice of mutual care. She dives deep into the three sources of knowledge, which are plants, Anishinaabe Indigenous worldviews, and science. Read below for a brief overview of Braiding Sweetgrass.
How can we adapt to climate change? Can we do something practical about rising sea levels and extreme heat? In False Alarm, Bjorn Lomborg discusses several ways to combat climate change head-on. He realizes, though, that some things are beyond our control. To some extent, we just have to adapt to the realities. Continue reading to learn about some practical adaptations that could help us continue to flourish.
What is Internal Family Systems? What are the different parts of the IFS model of psychotherapy? Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a model of psychotherapy developed by psychiatrist Richard Schwartz. In a nutshell, IFS is a form of talk therapy aimed at helping people heal wounded parts of their psyche and end negative patterns within the internal family system. Keep reading for an overview of the Internal Family Systems model, key terms, and a look into what IFS therapy looks like in practice.