197 episodes
3 Books With Neil Pasricha Neil Pasricha: Bestselling Author
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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 General Vivek Murthy, Mark Manson, Seth Godin, Judy Blume, and Quentin Tarantino. 3 Books is published on the lunar calendar with each of the 333 chapters dropped on the exact minute of every single full moon all the way up to 10:37 PM EST on April 26, 2040. 3 Books is an Apple "Best Of" award-winning show and is 100% non-profit with no ads, no sponsors, no commercials, and no interruptions. 3 Books has 3 clubs including the End of the Podcast Club, the Cover to Cover Club, and the Secret Club, which operates entirely through the mail and is only accessible by calling 1-833-READ-A-LOT. Each chapter is hosted live and in-person at the guest's preferred location by Neil Pasricha, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Awesome, The Happiness Equation, Two-Minute Mornings, etc.
For more info check out: https://www.3books.co
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Chapter 136: 3 St. Louis Uber drivers on bullets, bruises, and babies
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. “Did you know we hosted the World Fair and the Olympics the same year?” he asked. I knew about the World Fair! “Most do,” he said. “But not many know about the Olympics. 1904 was a banner year here. We were the fourth largest city in the US at the time!”
The next day I had time to explore. I knew there was a local bird species that didn’t exist anywhere else in the country! The Eurasian Tree Sparrow was one of six species of birds brought to St. Louis in 1870 by German immigrants. The other five died that winter, but the Tree Sparrow still lives near Lafayette Park where it was first released. It has thrived without expanding its range or disrupting the local ecology.
After I got an address to try and find the birds, I hailed an Uber and met Jacqueline, who drove a bus in town for 27 years. When I asked her for the best thing about St. Louis she said, “Nothing! Watch your back or somebody gonna put a bullet in your head.” Our raw conversation touches on the erosion of community, the deprioritization of connection, and how we might find new kinds of support in our disconnected world. “My family is whoever loves on me,” Jacqueline said. “Blood makes you kin but it doesn’t make you family.”
I then met Deneane, a 28-year-old single mother of five who does drop-off, pick-up, and evenings solo every day while driving Uber thirty hours a week, working at a cupcake shop, and running a small business online. We went to the Gateway Arch and Left Bank Books together while talking about enduring—after her mom found bruises all over her body, she left her abusive relationship and “found the strength to start over.”
The next morning I gave the talk that sent me down there and then got a final ride to the airport with Albano from Albania, who left his job as a public school teacher in Florida to make more than double as a driver. “Unfortunately,” he said, “if teaching was something others would care about, teachers wouldn’t leave the profession.”
I hope you feel a kinetic pulse listening to stories from people whose stories aren’t often told. Get ready to laugh, cry, and connect hearts as we tether ourselves to the human connection that exists around us every day.
Let’s head down to St. Louis and hang out with Jacqueline, Deneane, and Albano as they share the love and connection we are always searching for on 3 Books.
Let’s flip the page to Chapter 136 now… -
Page 114: A tip from an editor to editors-to-be
Pages are 333-second or less highlights from Chapters of 3 Books.
They are released at 3:33am between Chapters.
Page 114 comes from Chapter 11 with Kerri Kolen, editor of 'The Happiness Equation,' 'Lion,' and 'A Stolen Life.'
Listen to the full chapter: https://www.3books.co/chapters/11
Get the 3 Books email: http://www.3books.co/3mail
Join our community: Follow @neilpasricha on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, & YouTube -
Page 113: Beauty standards, slut-shaming, and suicide...
Pages are 333-second or less highlights from Chapters of 3 Books.
They are released at 3:33am between Chapters.
Page 113 comes from Chapter 11 with Kerri Kolen, editor of 'The Happiness Equation,' 'Lion,' and 'A Stolen Life.'
Listen to the full chapter: https://www.3books.co/chapters/11
Get the 3 Books email: http://www.3books.co/3mail
Join our community: Follow @neilpasricha on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, & YouTube -
Page 112: A diary to help imbue gratitude
Pages are 333-second or less highlights from Chapters of 3 Books.
They are released at 3:33am between Chapters.
Page 112 comes from Chapter 11 with Kerri Kolen, editor of 'The Happiness Equation,' 'Lion,' and 'A Stolen Life.'
Listen to the full chapter: https://www.3books.co/chapters/11
Get the 3 Books email: http://www.3books.co/3mail
Join our community: Follow @neilpasricha on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, & YouTube -
Page 111: A book for kids who want to rule the universe
Pages are 333-second or less pulls from Chapters of 3 Books.
They are released at 3:33am between Chapters.
Page 111 comes from Chapter 11 with Kerri Kolen, editor of 'The Happiness Equation,' 'Lion,' and 'A Stolen Life.'
Listen to the full chapter: https://www.3books.co/chapters/11
Get the 3 Books email: http://www.3books.co/3mail
Join our community: Follow @neilpasricha on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, & YouTube -
Chapter 135: Cal Newport severs cell subservience to steep slow success
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,’ ‘Digital Minimalism,’ and his latest bestseller, ‘Slow Productivity.’
“I sometimes joke that my entire career is built on giving two-word terms to things everyone thinks and knows,” Cal says, but the truth is he’s doing a lot more than that.
Take ‘Slow Productivity.’
He’s boiled this new phrase down into three principles: 1) Do fewer things, 2) Work at a natural pace, and 3) Obsess over quality.
Sounds simple, right? Trite, even! But that’s when you raise your head and realize the world is conspiring against you doing any of these. Doesn’t our world today reward… doing *more* things, working at an *unnatural* pace, and obsessing over *quantity*?
There’s a reason Cal has no social media apps on his phone. Why he has no social media accounts at all…and never has! With his books, and his wonderful podcast ‘Deep Questions,’ he is focused on helping us find our way as we navigate ever-changing technology and work patterns that increasingly feel at odds with our shared quest of living intentional lives.
Cal has a giant mind and it was on full display in this chat as we discuss: how Cal measures success, the neuroscience of reading, Denis Villeneuve, the relationship between rest and work, the ideal age for unrestricted Internet access, The Washington Nationals, leetspeak and productivity pr0n, the role of books today and their future, Andrew Huberman, positive reinforcement theory, Jonathan Haidt and ‘The Anxious Generation,’ technology boundaries for children, and much, much more…
Let’s turn the page to Chapter 135 now…