What book had the greatest impact on Ian? What practice did Ian pick up that changed his life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ian is from Minnesota but has spent the past few months living in Ireland. He’s a writer at Shortform\u2014summarizing books into educational book guides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Here’s what Ian had to say about his favorite books, genres, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My favorite book is probably The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck<\/a><\/em> by Mark Manson. I read it at a very directionless time in my life, and it told me all the things I needed to hear: It doesn’t matter whether or not you’re successful\u2014or if people like you or not\u2014if you find more important things to care about. Also, a lot of my favorite art presents high-brow ideas in an accessible, entertaining way\u2014and Subtle Art <\/em>does this so, so well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since I read so much for work, I mostly save my leisure reading time for pure entertainment! Currently, I’m reading Little, Big<\/em> by John Crowley\u2014it’s fiction\u2014and The Know-It-All <\/em>by A.J. Jacobs\u2014nonfiction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Next up on my fiction list is the short story collection Exhalation<\/em> by Ted Chiang. I know only that it’s high-concept sci-fi stuff, and it’s supposed to be really good. That’s all I need to know to be super excited to read it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n My favorite genre, in fiction anyway, has got to be fantasy. I love unfamiliar worlds and any kind of magic\u2014they’re just plain fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I’m a firm believer in execution over concept\u2014any genre or idea can be thrilling if a story is told well. If you told me your favorite novel was about an insurance claims adjuster who gets into model trains, I’d give it a try for at least a chapter or two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I love reading physical books\u2014ideally in bed, or, like, a hammock or something. But the Kindle app on my phone is so convenient, I find myself doing more of that, especially when I’m out and about. I can’t do audiobooks\u2014the fact that they go on when I get distracted and stop listening is a dealbreaker for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For nonfiction, they’re Mark Manson, Ryan Holiday, Seth Godin, and Tim Ferriss. For fiction, honestly, most of my fiction consumption for the last few years has been movies. My favorite filmmakers right now are Charlie Kaufman, the Coen Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and Edgar Wright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recently <\/em>The Courage to Be Disliked<\/em><\/a> by Fumitake Koga and Ichiro Kishimi has had the greatest lasting impact on me. The idea that chasing external approval requires sacrificing your personal values<\/a> crosses my mind a lot. It\u2019s easier for me to stop people-pleasing<\/a> if I remember that it\u2019s borderline immoral. That was one of my many personal takeaways\u2014this book is honestly life-changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark Manson’s book led me to his blog, which turned me on to meditation<\/a>. By far the best habit I ever picked up. Training myself to question my own thoughts and emotions<\/a> has paid off more than any other skill in my life. I meditate for only 10 to 20 minutes every morning, and it saves me so much unnecessary heartache.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s an excerpt from one of my favorite pieces of writing, the essay “This Is Water” by David Foster Wallace: <\/p>\n\n\n\n “The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day. That is real freedom. That is being educated, and understanding how to think. The alternative is unconsciousness, the default setting, the rat race, the constant gnawing sense of having had, and lost, some infinite thing.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I try to focus on whatever values I share with the writer and use that shared perspective to try to understand where they’re coming from. So far, all of the authors I’ve covered for Shortform have been well-intentioned\u2014if nothing else\u2014and I try to convey their ideas from that point of view. Someone sharing ideas they wholeheartedly believe will help the world. Who am I to argue that they won’t?<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat are you reading these days?<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
What’s your favorite genre?<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Are there any book genres or tropes that you dislike or refuse to read?<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
What’s your favorite way to read a book? <\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Who are your favorite authors? <\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
What’s an interesting fact that you learned from a book recently?<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Have any books you\u2019ve read caused you to make any life changes or to change or develop any habits?<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s your favorite quote from a book or an author?<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
At Shortform, how do you go about working on a book that has viewpoints you don\u2019t agree with?<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Ian’s Book Recommendations<\/h4>\n\n\n\n