Non-fiction recommendations
A Long Way Gone
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier is a memoir written by Ishmael Beah, an author from Sierra Leone. The book is a firsthand account of Beah's time as a child soldier during the civil war in Sierra Leone.
Chronicles of a Liquid Society
Umberto Eco was an international cultural superstar. A celebrated essayist as well as novelist, in this, his last collection, he explores many aspects of the modern world with irrepressible curiosity and wisdom written in his uniquely ironic voice.
DOPESICK
Beth Macy's definitive account of America's opioid epidemic, from the boardroom to the courtroom and into the living rooms of Americans struggling to save themselves and their families now more than ever.
Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress
If you think the world is coming to an end, think again: people are living longer, healthier, freer, and happier lives, and while our problems are formidable, the solutions lie in the Enlightenment ideal of using reason and science.
21 Lessons for the 21st Century
In a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power. Censorship works not by blocking the flow of information, but rather by flooding people with disinformation and distractions. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century cuts through these muddy waters and confronts some of the most urgent questions on today’s global agenda.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.”
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow examines what might happen to the world when old myths are coupled with new godlike technologies, such as artificial intelligence and genetic engineering.
Freakonomics
Freakonomics is a groundbreaking collaboration between Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning author and journalist. They set out to explore the inner workings of a crack gang, the truth about real estate agents, the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan, and much more.
Limitless Mind: Learn, Lead and Live Without Barriers
When we learn, we change what we believe and how we interact with the world. This changes who we are as people and what we can achieve.
NEUROFITNESS
This fascinating book draws on Dr. Jandial’s broad-spectrum expertise and brings together the best of various fields—surgery, science, brain structure, the conscious mind—all to explain the bigger picture of brain health and rejuvenation.
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World
The New York Times bestselling author examines how people can drive creative, moral, and organisational progress-and how leaders can encourage originality in their organisations.
REWORK
Today, anyone can be in business. Tools that used to be out of reach are now easily accessible. Technology that cost thousands is now just a few bucks or even free. Stuff that was impossible just a few years ago is now simple.That means anyone can start a business.
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Thinking, Fast and Slow was the 2012 winner of the National Academies Communication Award for best creative work that helps the public understanding of topics in behavioral science, engineering and medicine.
Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion
Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion is a 2014 book by Sam Harris that discusses a wide range of topics including secular spirituality, the illusion of the self, psychedelics, and meditation.
Civilized to Death: The Price of Progress
The New York Times bestselling coauthor of Sex at Dawn explores the ways in which “progress” has perverted the way we live: how we eat, learn, feel, mate, parent, communicate, work, and die.
Fiction recommendations
1984
Thematically, Nineteen Eighty-Four centers on the consequences of government over-reach, totalitarianism, mass surveillance, and repressive regimentation of all persons and behaviors within society.
A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange is a dystopian satirical black comedy novel by English writer Anthony Burgess, published in 1962. It is set in a near-future society that has a youth subculture of extreme violence.
EXHALATION
In these nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories, Ted Chiang tackles some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine.
The Overstory
The novel is about nine Americans whose unique life experiences with trees bring them together to address the destruction of forests.
The Road
The Road is a 2006 post-apocalyptic novel by American writer Cormac McCarthy. The book details the journey of a father and his young son over a period of several months, across a landscape blasted by an unspecified cataclysm that has destroyed most of civilization and, in the intervening years, almost all life on Earth.
The Outsiders
The book details the conflict between two rival gangs divided by their socioeconomic status: the working-class "greasers" and the upper-class "Socs".