A Need To Read

This episode is a review of novels I’ve read recently that you might enjoy over the summer. I also discuss; why you should read classics, the trouble with falling asleep when you’re reading, remembering what you’ve read, thinking you’re insane, reading nihilist novels, and finding comfort in characters.

Books discussed

A Little Life - Hanya Yangaihara 

Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse

Siddartha by Herman Hesse

Damned by Chuck Palahniuk 

Confederacy of Dunces by John O’Toole

A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut 

Faking Friends by Jane Fallon

Worst Idea Ever by Jane Fallon

Adults by Emma Jane Umbridge 

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Life For Sale by Yukio Mishima 

Animal Farm by George Orwell (on Audible)

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

BONUS: Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

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The best thing you can do is share the podcast with a friend, or sign up for my new weekly newsletter.

If you want to learn to understand your behavior or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.

You can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread 

I am reachable here: www.aneedtoread.co.uk/contact 

Whitney Goodman is the radically honest psychotherapist behind the hugely popular Instagram account @sitwithwhit, the author of Toxic Positivity, and Runs her own private therapy practice in Miami. Her mission is to help people understand their emotions so they can take control of, and enjoy their life.

Whitney has her own column in Psychology Today and has been featured in dozens of domestic and international publications, including The New York Times, Teen Vogue,  and Good Morning America. 

She joins me to discuss; how positivity becomes toxic, the role social media plays in spreading toxic positivity, how we can complain effectively, how gratitude is not a cure-all, the problems with being healing obsessed, my experience with pathologising, and how to live well by feeling the full spectrum of emotions. 

Support

Please help me by sharing this podcast with a friend, or by signing up for my new weekly newsletter.

If you want to learn to understand your behavior or emotions with the help of a professional you can get 10% off your first month of therapy by heading to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.

You can get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year's supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread 

I am reachable here: [email protected] 

This episode is a review of Jia Tolentino's collection of essays in her book Trick Mirror. Her essays cover; Internet usage, Fraternities in the US, reality TV, Marriage, the cult of optimization, and a look at the seven major scams of her generation.

These are new topics for me so if I need to balance my perspective please let me know. 

Support

Please help me by sharing this podcast with a friend, or by signing up for my new weekly newsletter.

To get 10% off your first month of therapy head to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.

Get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread 

I am reachable here: [email protected] 

Patrick Alley is an author and one of the founders of Global Witness, an organization whose investigations and reports into human rights and environmental abuse have uncovered some of the most shocking corruption cases of our time. 

Patrick joins me to chat about; how he and his colleagues took down the Khmer Rouge rebels in Cambodia, the Blood Diamond report, how London is a safe haven for the corrupt, Facebook and their role in hate crimes, and just how corrupt wars are. 

Find more on Global Witness here: https://www.globalwitness.org/en/about-us/

Support

Please help me by sharing this podcast with a friend, or by signing up for my new weekly newsletter.

To get 10% off your first month of therapy head to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.

Get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread 

I am reachable here: [email protected] 

In this episode, I discuss my thoughts on happiness and why we should drop our obsession with it. I cover: why you should be careful who you admire and listen to, how well we are placed to make rational judgments in our life, the different types of happiness, hedonic adaption, Natural vs Synthetic Happiness, whether we want to be happy all the time, the illusion of control of our minds and life, perfectionism, self-esteem, Stoic and Buddhist views on happiness and what to do when sadness eventually strikes. 

If you have any questions please feel free to email me, or message me on Instagram 

If you would like to, you can buy me a coffee

Further reading

The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris

The Sweet Spot by Paul Bloom

Selfie By Will Storr

Why Buddhism Is True by Robert Wright

Letters From A Stoic by Seneca

Stumbling On Happiness by Daniel Gilbert

Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman

The Antidote by Oliver Burkeman

A Little History of Philosophy by Nigel Warburton

The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathon Haidt

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse (Novel set around the time of the Buddha, highlights the troubles of a life dedicated to extremes of spirituality/debauchery)

Support

Please help me by sharing this podcast with a friend, or by signing up for my new weekly newsletter.

To get 10% off your first month of therapy head to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.

Get an additional 5 free travel packs and a year supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread 

I am reachable here: [email protected] 

Wendy Syfret is a Melbourne-based writer and editor, and author of The Sunny Nihilist. She has spent time working for VICE and has contributed to The Guardian, British Vogue, and ABC.

She is the current editor at RIISE and her work can be found at www.Wendysyfret.com 

Support

Please help me by sharing this podcast with a friend, or by signing up for my new weekly newsletter.

To get 10% off your first month of therapy head to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.

Get an additional 5 free travel packs and a years supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread 

I am reachable here: [email protected] 

To get 10% off your first month of therapy head to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.

Symeon Brown is a journalist and reporter for Channel 4, his long-read 'The Wolves Of Instagram' was nominated for an Orwell prize. His new book Get Rich Or Lie Tryin' is an in-depth look at some of the perils of the influencer economy. We discuss who it's hurting, an influencer's nipple falling off, how we're being lied to, some of the pyramid schemes disguised as get-rich-quick schemes, and much more. 

The book is out now if you want to get a copy from your local book store. 

Support

The best way to support the show is to share it with a friend. Or you can share it with a not-a-friend, I’m not fussy.

To get weekly insightful emails from me head to this link: https://aneedtoread.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=0334e9242982fc3b7d0ab8bac&id=e2e171e387 

To get 10% off your first month of therapy head to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5-minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.

Get an additional 5 free travel packs and a years supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread 

I am reachable here: [email protected] 

This is a review, and summary of some key ideas, of Rutger Bregman's Human Kind. The bold idea this book tries to convert you to is: Humans are actually pretty decent. I sat on the other side of this debate for a long time and have been convinced to change my mind. This outlook on life seems to have made a really positive change. Hopefully, it'll do the same for some others!

Support

The best way to support the show is to share it with a friend. Or you can share it with a not-a-friend, I’m not fussy.

To get weekly insightful emails from me head to this link: https://aneedtoread.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=0334e9242982fc3b7d0ab8bac&id=e2e171e387 

To get 10% off your first month of therapy head to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5 minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.

Get an additional 5 free travel packs and a years supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread 

I am reachable here: [email protected] 

I spoke with award-winning journalist and best-selling author, James Nestor about his extremely popular book: Breath, The New Science Of A Lost Art.

We discuss; freediving, common breathing mistakes, how bad breathing is impacting society as a whole, who breathwork is NOT for, Wim Hoff, breathwork, and various other themes presented in his book.

Find more from James at www.mrjamesnestor.com 

Support

The best way to support the show is to share it with a friend. Or you can share it with a not-a-friend, I’m not fussy.

To get weekly insightful emails from me head to this link: https://aneedtoread.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=0334e9242982fc3b7d0ab8bac&id=e2e171e387 

To get 10% off your first month of therapy head to www.betterhelp.com/aneedtoread from there you’ll just need to run through a 5 minute questionnaire and you’ll be matched with a therapist within 48 hours.

Get an additional 5 free travel packs and a years supply of Vitamin D3 with your Athletic Greens subscription at www.athleticgreens.com/aneedtoread 

I am reachable here: [email protected]