Video summary
In this segment of his podcast, Tim Ferriss highlights several non-fiction titles he frequently gifts to others, emphasizing their utility for specific life situations or intellectual curiosities. He recommends *Awareness* by Anthony DeMello as a form of "tough love" and good medicine that may not suit everyone but is essential for those seeking spiritual clarity at the right time; Ferriss keeps multiple copies in his guest bedroom specifically for this purpose. For readers interested in poetry, he suggests Gold's Roomy collection featuring new translations by Hala Lia Gori, describing it as a calming "night cap" ideal for escaping tactical or practical obsessions before sleep due to its evocative, mystic-inspired nature. Additionally, Ferriss endorses Michael Pollan's *How to Change Your Mind* as an excellent primer on psychedelics and psychedelic-assisted therapies, noting that the book complements specific episodes of his Netflix series which feature fantastic case studies involving MDMA and psilocybin. Moving into the realm of productivity and effectiveness, Ferriss praises Peter Drucker's classic text *The Effective Executive*, asserting that despite its age—likely over 40 years old—it remains the definitive guide on doing the right things rather than merely being efficient at whatever one is currently doing. On the fiction side, he discusses how certain narratives describe truth more stickily than non-fiction and recommends specific titles for converting purists or exploring leadership themes; *Motherless Brooklyn* by Jonathan Lethem stands out as a detective noir story with an Edward Norton adaptation that features a protagonist with Tourette syndrome, blending humor with deep writing. He also suggests Frank Herbert's *Dune* for studying leadership and Orson Scott Card's *Ender's Game*, noting their particular appeal to younger males while acknowledging they are excellent works regardless of gender. Ferriss then delves into more experimental fiction that challenges the reader's perception of reality, starting with Barry Lopez's non-fiction masterpiece *Of Wolves and Men*, which he credits with breaking categories in naturalistic writing by showcasing what was previously impossible within those genres. He shares a personal anecdote about John Crowley's novel *Little Big* (also known as *The Fairies Parliament*), describing it as the closest literary equivalent to a fever dream or psychedelic experience that alters one's interpretation of time and reality for weeks after reading; he advises readers not to fixate on early confusion but to plow through the first fifty pages until reaching pivotal elements like "the talking fish." He also recommends Milan Kundera's *The Book of Laughter and Forgetting* as a collection of short stories that provides a kaleidoscope of emotions, which helped him during his own training process involving music therapy. Continuing with high-impact recommendations across genres, Ferriss points to Ted Chiang's science fiction collections for fans who have already read the classics like *Dune*, highlighting how works based on or inspired by films such as *Arrival* offer incredible satisfaction despite potentially confusing initial reactions from readers. For an overview of evolutionary psychology and behavioral ecology accessible even to those unfamiliar with complex theories, he suggests Steve Stewart-Williams's *The Ape Who Understood the Universe*, which uses a unique perspective of an alien observing human behavior to explain concepts like sexual selection and brain differences. Finally, Ferriss declares Patrick Rothfuss's fantasy novel *Red Rising* as his highest hit-rate recommendation for fiction, joking that it should carry a warning label because once readers get past the first sixty pages, they become completely locked into the narrative; he notes that while some novellas exist in later books, getting through the initial hook is crucial to enjoying the rest of the series.
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what are the most commonly gifted books
that you have given to other
people awareness by Anthony Dello I
think the subtitle is the promise the
promises and Perils of reality something
like that very short read apocalyptic
yeah it's it's tough love book it's not
for everybody but it's it's good
medicine for the right people at the
right time so Wess by Anthony Dello and
I have a full shelf of this book in my
guest bedroom in my house it's all the
same book yeah fantastic uh I have a few
shelves that are all
independently filled with different
books that are books I gift another one
is gold which is a collection of roomy
poetry new
translations um by Hela Lia Gori I
believe her name is outstanding
collection also very easy to read not
intended to be read front to back
it's just like a little night cap little
night cap before you go to
sleep and I do think the sort of
U Mystic inspired
poetry since it can be so slippery from
the standpoint of language but it's very
evocative from a feeling perspective is
very good for heady people to read
before bed as a way of pulling
themselves out of the Tactical practical
nitpicky [ __ ] that they might obsess
over otherwise
I find it very calming so that's that's
another that I gift a lot how to change
your mind by Michael pollen I have a
number of copies of in part because I
get so many questions about psychedelics
and psychedelic assisted therapies and
the science and that's very very good
primer for people who want an overview
as is the Netflix series minseries how
to change your mind especially the MDMA
and Sil s episodes which have some
fantastic case studies
for a period of time and I could still
do this but it's not the chapter that I
find myself in currently the effective
executive by Peter Ducker think if you
want one book on being effective doing
the right things not just being
efficient doing whatever you're doing
quickly and well the effective executive
as old as it is is how old is that book
now the best that I have found couldn't
even tell you 30 40 50 still holds up oh
yeah still holds up what about
fiction
fiction there are a number of books I've
gifted a
lot motherless
Brooklyn which is uh basically a
detective Noir story that was also
turned into a movie by Edward Norton and
the adaptation was very good there's a
stand in for Robert Moses uh famous from
the book The Power broker I mean famous
for other reasons but uh that was very
well done adaptation it's about a
detective with trette syndrome so there
are a lot of laughs as well uh but
wonderfully written
book uh that's shorter there are many
many fiction books that I could
recommend to folks if I'm trying to
convert a
non-fiction purist into someone who can
who can consider fiction because I think
fiction often
describes truth in a stickier way than
non-fiction completely agreed well look
at what non the best non-fiction tries
to do it uses stories right don't make a
point without the story don't have a
story without a point yeah so even
though it's it's just like the cold
plunge a little a little too much dour
to sound original but I think the first
dune for instance you want to study
leadership the first dune I think Ender
Game is fantastic uh think these appeal
especially to to males who are full of
piss and vinegar but they're both very
good uh I'll give you a number of of
different books that come to mind now
now that I'm thinking of my bookshelves
I have books arranged on my bookshelves
to elicit very particular responses from
me as I see them I'm really methodical
about my bookshelves of wolves and Men
is a non-fiction book by Barry Lopez
beautifully written changed the entire
let's call it genre of naturalistic
writing it just showed what was possible
it broke the category it Incredible Book
of wolves and
Men there is a fiction book that I was
given by my brother I failed to read it
three
times but my brother has 100% hit rate
with me with books and so I assumed it
was a user error meaning I was screwing
up somehow which I was there's a book
nine out of 10 people are going to hate
this book I'm just going to tell you up
front but 10% are going to have their
minds blown wide open it's called Little
Big Little Big by John Crowley I think
the alternate title is the fairies
Parliament let me try that again the
alternate title is the fairies
Parliament and this book is the closest
thing to a fever dream or a psychedelic
experience that I've ever found in terms
of literature John growley is a very
skilled poet who weaves together this
tapestry of time and parallel stories
history and family trees that is unlike
anything I've ever seen
and for literally hours and days after I
would read this book and I'll give a tip
the takeaway from my initial user error
in a second but it would affect my
perception of reality in time not in a
disruptive way for weeks after I
finished this book Ed with ction yeah I
didn't disrupt but it it will really
change how you interpret the world at
least it did for me the recommendation
having gone through this number one take
a photograph of the family tree that is
from the beginning of the book you're
going to need it okay don't fixate on it
because it will have too many spoilers
but at least have it handy if you get
really confused the second is this is
not a book that you can read 10 pages of
put down and pick up four days later you
need to plow through the first50 pages
there are too many plates you need to
spin but if you do that if you get to
the talking fish it'll make sense when
you get there and when you get to the
talking fish you're G be like what the
[ __ ] a talking fish what kind of book is
this
then that's when things really get going
cool and the strangest thing one of the
strangest things about this book to me
is I couldn't really tell you what it's
about it is such a fever dream of a book
it's bizarre beyond words but beautiful
beyond description I'll give one more
and then we can stop there are a lot of
books I can
recommend so Milan kundera has a book
called The Book of laughter and
forgetting which is a collection of
short stories incredible incredible
that's fiction will really take you
through a whole Kaleidoscope of emotions
which was part of me training to get
back on that bike and bring emotions
back online I was also exploring music
for this especially Persian Arabic
azerbaijani music mean you were
listening to music whilst reading I'm
sorry I was listening to music
separately that is not from the Western
Canon because you can make a pretty
compelling argument that certain types
of music have a larger emotional range
than others that's better suited for
some musicologist or m music theorist to
get get into
but uh the book of laughter and
forgetting and then on the fiction side
if you're really interested in sci-fi
and you've already you've already hit
Dune maybe if you're a fantasy nerd
you've already hit the Name of the Wind
which would also be a top W yes yes
phenomenal we could get into fantasy but
I don't to take us too far I do have
other fantasy recommendations the short
story is by Ted Chang c h i a n g his
second collection is exhalation the
first is harder to recall in terms of
the collection name but if you've ever
seen the movie arrival which is a
fantastic movie that was based on one of
his short stories his short
stories
are Beyond incredible is this across
multiple collections one collection
there are two collections that I'm I'm
aware of he may have a new collection
that I haven't seen yet but either
collection will will be incredibly
satisfying I've I've I've yet to
recommend that to a single person who
has not replied with multiple wtfs yeah
oh my God this guy is amazing
yeah I'll give you two I'll give you one
one non-fiction and one fiction so the
non-fiction is the ape who understood
the universe by Steve Stewart Williams
okay uh evolutionary psychologist
currently out in Singapore works at the
University of Nottingham it is the best
overview of evolutionary psychology it's
um in terms of Behavioral ecology it's
also very well informed with how we
interact with the environment sex
differences in the brain uh everything
sexual selection full works it is and
it's so accessible and it begins by uh
an alien looking down on our behavior
from above and trying to work out what
we're doing the ape who understood the
universe uh and from a fiction
perspective my highest hit rate of this
it's I think I'm at 100% for this and
I'm it's my most recommended book Red
Rising by pi Brown that thing it's been
recommended to me should come with a
[ __ ] warning label on it like you
talk about ketamine like no no no no no
Red Rising that's the thing that people
that's the real substance that people
need to be concerned about if you can
get through the
first 60 Pages if you can get out of the
minds which you'll understand if you
read it you are locked in and he's now
up to
book Seven I think and there's some
novellas and blah blah blah that being
said Patrick rothus if you do happen to
be listening two hours into this podcast
please for the love of God we beg you
write the third book write the third
book there's so much to be done yeah in
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