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

  1. May 16

    Chapter 46: Dr. Laura Markham on prioritizing presence to parent peacefully

    Nestled into a beautiful century-old brownstone in Park Slope, Brooklyn, I spoke with the amazing Dr. Laura Markham—a preacher of love, letting love in, sending love out, and using that as a way to deepen our connection with ourselves and our children. Who is Dr. Laura Markham? She's a Columbia-trained clinical psychologist, founder and editor at PeacefulParentHappyKids.com, author of six parenting books including my favorite, Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids, a parenting expert, and a life-changer for many, many families—including mine. (You'll hear what my wife Leslie thinks at the beginning of this chapter!) Dr. Laura Markham translates proven science into practical and simple solutions for living an intentional life.   So in Chapter 46, let's pause and choose how we respond to help drive a movement toward love and compassion. I deeply resonate with Dr. Laura Markham's work because I feel like the higher place she leads us toward is the same place I want 3 Books to lead us toward. In this chapter, we chat about the complexities of parenting and how we can be more present as parents. Dr. Laura Markham shares many valuable insights, from communicating through play, navigating our own traumas, mastering the skill of sending love to strangers, and how we need to develop a closer relationship with death.   And, of course, we talk about Dr. Laura Markham's 3 most formative books. Let's flip back to Chapter 46 now....

    1h 9m

  2. May 1

    Chapter 160: Nita Prose on mastering manuscripts and making Molly the Maid

    Happy ​Flower Moon​, everyone! Up in Toronto we're experiencing a wonderful blooming, a beautiful ​bird migration​, and lots of slowly-getting-warmer days as we inch towards summer. With this warm spring breeze I'm thrilled to welcome our latest 3 Books guest: a luminous force in publishing, a powerhouse editor-turned-author, and a wonderful storyteller ... the one and only ​Nita​​ Prose​! Today Nita is best known for her ​Molly the Maid​ mystery series which features three main titles and a holiday edition—'​The Maid​,' '​The​​ ​​Mystery Guest​,' '​The Mistletoe Mystery​,' and '​The Maid's Secret​'—which have collectively sold over 2 million copies. Raised in Ontario's Simcoe County, Nita began her career by contributing to literary magazines, became a production editor with HarperCollins, and then became a Senior Editor at Doubleday. She then held the lofty publishing position of Vice President and Editorial Director at Simon & Schuster Canada and oversaw titles by authors like Rupi Kaur (​@rupikaur_​), Kate Morton (​@katemortonauthor​), Iain Reid (​@tidydissolve​), and... me! Nita was the editor of my book on resilience '​You Are Awesome: How To Navigate Change, Wrestle with Failure, and Live an Intentional Life​' which came out in 2019 and my book on gratitude and community '​Our Book Of Awesome​,' which came out in 2022. Nita has since left publishing to write full-time and today her phenomenal career and perspectives offer a true publishing and writing masterclass. Tune in as we discuss: What does an editor actually do? How do you get a job in publishing? What writing routines structure Nita's stories? Why might you keep the novel you're writing a secret from your long-term partner? How do you write an allegory? And (of course!) which 3 books most shaped her life? We talk about creating characters grounded in emotional truths, measuring success within the labyrinth-like writing industry, the importance of reading across genres, and much, much more. Let's flip the page to Chapter 160 now...

    1h 47m

  3. Apr 17

    Chapter 45: Rich Roll on wrestling with recovery and running to redemption

    Happy new moon, everybody! Today we fly down to the hills of Calabasas, California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, where I sat behind a microphone at a walnut desk across from the one and only Rich Roll. Rich went to Stanford and Cornell and was a national athlete in swimming before his career was cut short by a decade-long struggle with alcohol—eventually landing him in jail and rehab. On the eve of his 40th birthday, as he walked up the stairs he was left totally winded… and decided it was time to make a change. The next day, Rich overhauled his life. He switched to a 100% vegan, plant-based diet, grabbed his running shoes, jumped back into the pool, and two years later, fueled only by plants and after losing 50 pounds, he became the first vegan to ever compete in the 320-mile ultra-marathon and finished as the 3rd fastest American in the race. Are you kidding me?? He then went on to complete five Ironman Triathlons on five islands of Hawaii in one week! In 2012, he wrote his inspirational memoir ​'Finding Ultra: Rejecting Middle Age, Becoming One of the World's Fittest Men, and Discovering Myself'​, which became a bestseller upon its release. It's a fantastic book and memoir. I've read it. I loved it and can't recommend it enough. In 2013, he launched ​The Rich Roll Podcast​ which is honestly my favorite podcast on the planet. Rich hangs out at the edge of personal growth and development and offers deep exploration—what he calls "a weekly aural dance"— with guests like ​Yuval Noah​​ Harari​, ​Malala Yousafzai​, and, yes, ​even me​! If you know Rich this classic chat is a way to see him from a new side by learning about which books make him tick ... and if you don't know him yet, well, you're in for a treat. He's a gem and I think after the chat you'll want to keep hanging out with him on ​YouTube​ or ​Instagram​. Pull up an extra chair and grab a seat at our table!

    1h 39m

  4. Apr 2

    Chapter 159: Eve Harlow on bolstering bibliophilia and boosting bookish brains

    We welcome global gallivant and raging bibliophile Eve Harlow on 3 Books! Born in Russia, raised in Israel, living in Canada and the U.S., Eve Harlow is a talented actress best known for roles in The 100, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Night Agent, and her current star turn as Dr. Ingrid Derian in Watson, the medical-mystery thriller inspired by stories of Sherlock Holmes. Somehow between her busy acting schedule, Eve finds time to read a book a week. She's a library junkie, a reading phenom, and posts stacks of her latest reads @eveharlow between red carpet shots and behind-the-scenes clips from her shows.  This is a conversation for all of us who aspire to grow our love of reading books amidst the digital deluge. We live in worlds designed to tease our brains into shallow skimming. So how does Eve do it? What systems does she use? How does she think about her reading life? And (of course!) which 3 books shaped her more than any others?  We talk about reading habits, magic realism, identity in a politically robust and privacy-eroded world, deliberate daydreaming, building resilience, and much, much more.  Pull up a chair and join us in this bookish conversation. Let's flip the page to Chapter 159 now...

    1h 28m

  5. Mar 19

    Chapter 42: Molly Bloom on poker princess privileges and pushing past pomposity

    Join me on the couch in Molly Bloom's hotel room at the Four Seasons in downtown Toronto.  Molly began her career as a world-class skier, but while training as a pre-teen was diagnosed with severe scoliosis. Her doctor told her she could never ski again, but even as a pre-teen Molly had incredible strength of mind and she ended up back on the slopes only a year after her surgery.    By age 21, she was ranked #3 in North America. She then took off to LA and began running one of the most exclusive, high-stakes, underground poker games in the world, featuring players like Alex Rodriguez, Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, and was raking in millions of dollars per year. Then what happened? The feds went after her! The mafia went after her! And there was a dramatic takedown. While awaiting sentencing, she wrote her life's story in her memoir, Molly's Game. That book became a bestseller and was turned into a movie written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, writer of The West Wing and The Social Network, starring Jessica Chastain (as Molly), Idris Elba, and Kevin Costner.   Molly has been featured on Ellen, NPR, LA Times, VICE, and many more. But beneath the surface is a story that, as she says in this chapter, has never been shared before.    There was a journey happening inside Molly that forced her to look at the downsides of her ambition and addictive personality.    So get into something comfy, grab a seat between us, and let's talk about life altering public defeat, how a memoir transforms into an action-packed Hollywood feature, the liberty in losing everything, finding the 'monetizable asset' in your life, and Molly's 3 most formative books.    Let's flip the page back to Chapter 42 now....

    55 min

  6. Mar 3

    Chapter 158: Sonja Lyubomirsky helps harness happiness by honing hearty habits

    ​Sonja Lyubomirsky​ is one of the most influential happiness researchers of our time. Sonja moved to the United States from Moscow at age 9 in the 70s. She went to Harvard and Stanford in the 80s and began studying happiness in 1989 ... longer than almost anyone else alive! Positive psychology wasn't "founded" by ​Martin Seligman​ and ​Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi​ for another decade. Sonja has published hundreds of papers including her ​Most Cited 2005 paper​ which defined the field by flipping a long-held assumption on its head: That happiness doesn't follow success but causes it. Sonja is now following up her bestsellers '​The How of Happiness​' and '​The Myths Of Happiness​' with a new book called '​How to Feel Loved​', a joint effort co-written with relationship expert ​Dr. Harry Reis​, which is a culmination of 30 years of research that all point to one central truth: that feeling loved (not just being loved!) is a crucial ingredient of happiness. In this conversation we talk about the four horsemen that can ruin a marriage, what MDMA does to our brains, why small talk doesn't build connection, the best advice for dating, how our brains respond to love, the single best way to feel happier today, and, of course, the eminent Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky's 3 most formative books. Let's flip the page to Chapter 158 now...

    1h 28m

  7. Feb 17

    Chapter 40: Comedian Pete Holmes on infinite infinities and the insanity of is-ness

    A few years ago I was in LA and I went with my friend Chad to a "Judd Apatow and friends" comedy show where I was blown away by the lineup he brought out. Ray Romano! Zach Galifianakis! And, of course, the incredible Pete Holmes. Pete was my favorite comic that night. I have loved his comedy for years! And his book '​Comedy Sex God​' was a wonderful read. My parents are Hindu but I grew up in the secular suburbs of Toronto being exposed to many different religions. Pete was very religious, and then wasn't, and now is again ... in this thoughtful, examining, spiritual way. His book, which is essentially his memoir, chronicles his journey through faith with lots of laughs and his trademark mind-expanding insights along the way. Pete's podcast ​You Made It Weird​ is a comedic exploration of the meaning of life, with guests ranging from ​Ryan Holiday​ to ​Mayim Bialik​ to ​Ben Stiller​. Pete also starred in the HBO show ​Crashing​ which he executive produced with Judd Apatow. And, big news, he is currently touring! He's in ​Miami​, ​LA​, ​Royal Oaks​, ​Irving​, ​Madison​, and ​Denver​ before the summer. Check out his comedy specials: ​Impregnated with Wonder​ (2011), ​Nice Try, The Devil​ (2013), ​Faces and Sounds​ (2016), ​Dirty Clean​ (2018), and ​I Am Not For Everyone​ (2023). So flip the page back to Chapter 40 of 3 Books and talk about why we withhold love, why myths are always true and sometimes really happen, why our brains want certainty but our hearts are comfortable with mystery, the salty sweet conundrum of life, and, of course, Pete's 3 most formative books. I hope you enjoy this classic chapter with Pete Holmes.

    1h 12m

  8. Feb 1

    Chapter 157: Paul Hawken junks jargon to jolt generations

    Paul Hawken is a brilliant thinker, author, activist, and elder who masterfully distills wisdom about our planetary home. I remember hearing Paul's 2009 commencement speech called "​You Are Brilliant and The Earth is Hiring​" where he said "You are going to have to figure out what it means to be a human being on Earth at a time when every living system is declining and the rate of decline is accelerating."  Paul is the author of nine bestselling books including '​Drawdown​', '​Regeneration​', and his latest book '​Carbon, The Book of Life​'—an incredible book that came out in 2025 and masterfully distills endless planetary wisdom into simple truths we all need to hear. (I included it in '​The Very Best Books I Read in 2025​.')  Grab a seat between us and let's talk about how nature cooperates, why fighting climate change is the wrong metaphor, why the climate crisis is a human crisis, how jargon disconnects, and what decades of activism have taught Paul about being human. This conversation with a sage of sages stuck with me and I think it'll stick with you. Let's flip the page into Chapter 157 now ...

    2h 17m
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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

Information

  • Creator
    Neil Pasricha: Bestselling Author
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    211
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 3 Books
  • Show Website
    3 Books With Neil Pasricha

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