ISO books/videos that are intellectually stimulating

amother

Pumpkin

Thu, Feb 08 2018, 10:35 pm

How's this for a start?

The Numerati - Stephen L. Baker
Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes - Mark Penn
Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance - Atul Gawande
Emperor of All Maladies - Siddhartha Mukherjee
Outliers : The Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell
Freakonomics - - A Rogue Economist Explores The Hidden Side Of Everything -Stephen J. Dubner and Steven Levitt

DrMom

Fri, Feb 09 2018, 9:27 am

amother wrote:

Either.
Why are classics intellectually stimulating? They're just harder to read because of the old English Wink

The Great Gatsby isn't written in Old English.
How about One Hundred Years of Solitude? That was written in Spanish.
Pride and Prejudice?

Try reading one and see.

http://thegreatestbooks.org/

crystal

Fri, Feb 09 2018, 11:53 am

I don't particularly enjoy the classics. Jodi Picoult's books are great in my opinion, she writes novels on controversial topics, serious dilemmas etc, so real because they're issues we live with in our world. For me that's simulating and it's practical ideas I can relate to in every day life.

wife2

Fri, Feb 09 2018, 12:04 pm

crystal wrote:

I second Jodi Picoult. You can always look at highest rated books on goodreads or other sites. I often like to check reviews so I don't waste time with books that aren't interesting. Why don't you start with a list of bestsellers and then read the synopsis of books to find ones that interest you? It saves time and you can order them to your local library.

amother

Lemon

Sat, Feb 10 2018, 4:17 pm

You can watch TED talks online - videos between 5-20 minutes on all sorts of topics.

I like to read science fiction, because it makes me think. Obviously, not all science fiction will do this, and you'll have to find writers and types of science fiction you like. Dystopias are often a good place to start.

amother

Orchid

Sat, Feb 10 2018, 6:34 pm

You had me thinking about this all Shabbos! Anyway, here's the list I came up with-

Non-fiction:
The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollen – about food systems. If you like it, there’s also a Netflix series you could watch called Cooked. His works get kind of repetitive, though, so I don’t think it’s worth picking up multiple books by him.

Debt: the first 5,000 years by David Graeber. Equally hated by libertarians and communists, this will certainly give you something to think about!

The Child Catchers by Kathryn Joyce will give you a totally new perspective on adoption.

American Judaism: A History by Jonathan Sarna is exactly what it says on the tin.

Fiction:
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. le Guin – it’s a very short sci-fi novel with political themes. It’s been a while since I read it, but I believe it’s sff. Some of her other stories aren’t.

Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky – it has some explicit xtian themes, but really is thought-provoking.

Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones – it’s a children’s fantasy novel, but it does have some interesting political themes. There's also a sequel if you like it.

If you want to read nsff sci-fi:
Dune by Frank Herbert – don’t read any of the books by his son

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

Pretty much everything by Ursula K. le Guin

Documentaries:
Cooked (2016)

J-sus Camp (2006)

Happy (2011)

oliveoil

Sat, Feb 10 2018, 6:42 pm

There's clearly a huge range. For example I consider Jodi picoult enjoyable but "trash" type reading. Not to say I don't read it occasionally, but I would hardly consider it intellectually stimulating.

Why not go to the library and see what catches your eye and interest?