The Mind Thing is a 1961 science fiction horror novel by Fredric Brown. The first time I read it was over 30 years ago when I bought this used copy for 75 cents. Recently, I reread it and recommend it to anyone who enjoys Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Twilight Zone. In the story, an alien hijacks animal brains (including people) and uses their bodies as puppets. It must kill the body it is inhabiting at the time in order to jump from one to another. At 150 pages, I found The Mind Thing to be an exciting, fast, and satisfying read. — MF

I have a thing for alternative history or counterfactual stories. You know, what if X did not happen when it did, what would the world be like? These narratives require the longest possible view because the author must be in command of both the past and the future to pull it off. They require uncommon sideways, or lateral thinking. A “Sideways Award” is awarded every year for the best counterfactual book or short story. This Wikipedia list of Sideways Awards is a great way to explore these alternative timelines. — KK

I’ve been sending more and more PDFs to my Oasis Kindle. I used to attach and email the files to my Kindle email address, but I recently discovered there are easier ways! You can download a PC or MAC app called Send to Kindle and then just drag and drop documents into the application. There’s also a Chrome extension and an app for Androids. — CD

In a bit of self-promotion, I’d like to recommend my 50-year passion project, the 3 volumes of Vanishing Asia. In it I photo’d and designed 1,000 pages of old Asia. I am happy that it is finally available on Amazon at a price that is almost as cheap as the original Kickstarter price. In fact with free Prime shipping, it is probably cheaper. (I don’t think Amazon makes any money from selling it.) People who have gotten a set are very happy with the virtual trip it creates. You can easily spend a day or two just paging through all 9,000 images and captions. I can promise a book unlike any other book in the world. — KK

I’m slowly trying out the odd little experiments suggested in this odd, used book I found, Astonish Yourself. The exercises are trivial, maybe even silly, such as following an ant for as long you can, or counting to 1,000, or listening to a recording of your own voice. It shifts your perspective for a small aha. The book offers 101 of these mindfulness moments. It prompted me to invent my own ways to astonish myself. — KK

I’ve sunk into a comfy corner reading books about the age of discovery. A favorite is Over the Edge of the World, about Magellan’s first circumnavigation of the planet. The book is exceptionally good, and the story even better. Expeditions in those days were like today’s startups, with big visions and low likelihood of profit. Everything was falling apart the entire time. It’s not a tale of heroics, but of dire hardship, murder, mutiny, vast ignorance, and the slow awareness of the true scope of the this world. 260 sailors set off; 18 returned; but the world was literally never the same again. Highly recommended. — KK

I’ve worked with Stewart Brand for 40 years, and at nearly every single interaction I’ve learned something important from him. He is a true original, an OG of the first order, who has been at the forefront of countercultures starting with beatniks, then the hippies, and eventually the digital technologists, and beyond. Most know him because of his early Whole Earth Catalog bestseller, but his influence and wisdom go much wider and deeper. Indeed he had a remarkable ability to be present at the beginning of many significant American cultural movements, yet his influence has been unappreciated. To remedy this, legendary New York Times reporter John Markoff has written a compelling biography of Brand, called appropriately Whole Earth: The Many Lives of Stewart Brand. As much as possible Markoff weaves into the story of Brand’s unusual life, his insights, his original approach to creativity and invention, and the methods by which he was able to bend our culture. It’s an easy and fast read. Full disclosure: I am biased and also appear in the book. — KK

A basic survival skill these days is trying to imagine the future. Individually and collectively we can get better at it. Imaginable, by Jane McGonigal, at the Institute for the Future, is the only book I know of that will teach you the proven techniques that futurists use to help them forecast the future. The aim of forecasting is not prediction but to not be surprised – to imagine it. This clear book includes all the methods I use, and more. It’s practical and competent. Do the exercises suggested and you won’t be too surprised by what happens in the future. — KK

The essays of Paul Graham are masterpieces of clear thinking. He writes about the process of making things, from a small idea, to a large company. Known as the co-founder of YCombinator, a high-tech incubator, his advice is eagerly sought by entrepreneurs, but his advice in these essays, posted on his ancient and free blog, is uncommonly useful to individuals who like to make things and make things happen. I learn a tremendous lot from each short essay. — KK

A decade ago I made a huge 470-page book of the best tools available. This Cool Tools book was a catalog of possibilities. Each of the thousands of items featured enable a new possibility that you may have never considered doing before, such as keeping bees, building your own home, or starting a consulting busines. Cool Tools has been long out of print, so I finally made a digital version of it. The full-sized PDF of Cool Tools can be downloaded on Gumroad for $3.99. Good news for those outside the US where the price of the original book plus shipping was discouraging. It also serves as a very searchable version for those with the giant physical book. — KK

To maximize your life enjoyment, you should die with no money left over. Spend your money while you can get the most experiences from it, not when you are old. Give away what you are going to give away (to kids or charity) while you can enjoy and direct it, and when it makes the most difference to the receiver. That’s the well-reasoned, persuasive argument of this book, Die with Zero. (The message is similar to Die Broke, a book that I have recommended in the past, but Die with Zero is much better in its explanation, and practical advice on how to balance your account to zero.) Everyone should consider this positively affirming strategy. It’s been life-changing for me. — KK

This is the most important book I have read in a long while. Humankind: A Hopeful History overturns a belief I held most of my life: that society was a thin veneer that kept bad behavior at bay and had to work hard to elevate good behavior. Humankind brings abundant evidence to show the opposite is true. When left to themselves, in their most elemental state such as in catastrophes and emergencies, humans inherently will do good, and only with effort can be led to the bad. It’s very contrarian, but persuasive, and should be the basis for how we run things. — KK

Someone processed billions of comments to find the books most mentioned on reddit, and I am very grateful. Here are the most mentioned books in 2021 — the top one being “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.” They are also grouped by subreddit which is super helpful. — CD

Although this book is several years old, and has sold millions of copies, and has been recommended by close friends, I am only now coming to appreciate the wisdom of Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s about the science and practice of making good habits and breaking bad ones, and is the best kind of self-help: succinct; clear, valid, and practical. I found it refreshingly useful, and by far the best I’ve seen on habit making. — KK

Claudia (CD here) is too modest to recommend this herself, but she puts out a small poetry zine printed on paper that I enjoy. Phantom Kangaroo is 26 pages of illustrated “esoteric” poetry — celebrating the mystical, paranormal, and the ecstatic — contributed by a network of poets she has cultivated the past decade. Current issue (#25) is $13. — KK

I bookmarked this page of Bert Hubert’s spy book (fiction and non-fiction) reviews, so I can read the books later. My favorite part of the page: “Do not read any Tom Clancy to learn about intelligence agencies. Do however read this CIA-authored spoof of The Hunt for Red October. I was specifically told that ‘you aren’t truly initiated into CIA until you think that The Hunt for Red October: The Untold Story is funny.’” — MF

I am enjoying Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh’s Mindfulness Essentials series of small “How to” books. How to Love is one I revisit often. Right now I am reading How to Eat — short meditations on connecting with the Earth, enjoying your food and eating with others. Below are three excerpts. — CD

• Wait without waiting — Standing in line at grocery store or a restaurant, or waiting for the time to eat, we don’t need to waste our time. We don’t need to “wait” for one second. Instead, we can enjoy breathing in and out for our nourishment and healing. We can use that time to notice that we will soon be able to have food, and we can be happy and grateful during that time. Instead of waiting, we can generate joy.

• Our ancestors are in the soil — In the soil are many people who have died, have been transformed, and have become part of the soil. Maybe in this mouthful of rice are also the bones of hundreds of generations as well as many leaves, worms and animal’s bones. Maybe in a previous life you had been there and died there, and your own bones have disintegrated in that land. During the time of eating, your practice is to look deeply into that grain of rice and enjoy all that has gone into its creation. There are so many things to enjoy and to discover in each bite.

• Eating and smiling — Sitting at the table and eating with other people is a chance to offer an authentic smile of friendship and understanding. The most important part of the practice is to look at each person and smile. Upon finishing your meal, take a few moments to notice that you have finished, that your bowl is now empty, and your hunger is satisfied. This is another opportunity to smile and be grateful that you have had this nourishing food to eat, supporting you on the path of love and understanding.

I’ve been predicting that the next big thing after smart phones are smart glasses at work in a Mirrorworld or a Metaverse. That still has not happened, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen in the next few years. But I’m sticking with my prediction that it will be the next big thing. The best case I’ve seen for how this will be built is this very long technical essay by Matt Ball, which serves as the Metaverse Primer. — KK

Poetry is my true love. The imagery of poetry and abstract concepts ignite new connections in my brain. A creation of mine is Phantom Kangaroo — an online and print poetry journal. Over the last decade I have published 300+ poems by poets who write about the surreal, supernatural and occult. I chose these subjects because the otherworldly is what awakens me. This year, I stitched together issues 1 through 23 and published them in a hardcover anthology that you can thumb through whenever you need to break out of the mundane. Issue 24 is free to read online and features a creepy rhyming poem about cats, canonization of women, and incarnating into a body that feels like kiwi. Check it out here. — CD

My wife and I both devoured a series of graphic novels penned by a French-Arab cartoonist Riad Sattouf. In a five-volume set (so far), called The Arab of the Future, Riad recounts his family’s time in Lybia, Syria, Saudi Arabia and France. A graphic novel is the perfect format for this intimate, yet cinematic, and at times, disturbing story. It superbly conveys the texture and details of everyday life in the Arab world with the unfiltered gaze of a child. And it reads very fast, perfect for my current short attention span. I can’t wait for more volumes. — KK