I now mostly ignore the self-help shelves at bookstores after a brief stint with them as a school-boy. I used to have copies of them all, Robin Sharma, Rhonda Byrne, Tony Buzan and the many others I cannot recall. Most of these books present arguments which are unfalsifiable and frankly their preaching difficult to digest. But in some recent months I have come to possess some books which might seem like self-help but do not quite fit the stereotypical mold this genre has generated:

1. Cal Newport’s Deep Work: Came across this book on Amazon and bought it from a bookstore in Juhu. I was increasingly pondering on my work ethic for some time then and this book brought all things to a full circle. Newport mostly argues about a form of work we all subconsciously come to sooner or later recognize as the only kind of work that matters but which we increasingly fail to do in these days and nights of digital saturation. He calls it deep work, a concentrated block of time, distraction-free, with singular attention towards a specific task at hand which one is trying to master. I have written on the issues of disciplined, quotidian work before on this blog and one can assume that many of my own ideas became calcified after having read this book.

2. George Samuel Clason’s The Richest Man In Babylon: Bought this one really cheap off Amazon. I am yet to finish it, deciding not to consume it wholesome but progressing further as soon as I manage to catch up with what the initial chapters of the book tell me to do. The book is a parable set in ancient Babylon on how to manage your wealth and let it grow multifold and was writ back in 1926. Zero bullshit, full of wisdom and aha! moments, I read the first two chapters at one upstairs food court cafe at one of the malls of Phoenix City while waiting and was blown away by it.

3. Jordan B. Peterson’s 12 Rules For Life: The cheesiest title of them all, and a book I still haven’t received in courier yet. Frankly, I just ordered it yesterday and after listening to Peterson at EconTalk. So while I cannot guarantee its authenticity and no-bullshit factor I am pretty confident about this one. Peterson’s a phenomenon right now and a very good one at that. The intellectual of our age, the one who will be remembered hundred years from now. His ideas as articulated in the podcast were fascinating as hell. I first encountered (and ignored) him after Clifford Lee Sargent of Better Than Food: Book Reviews posted an interview with him over his channel. Looking to talk more of him soon on this blog.

See you tomorrow,
Avi.