190 episodes
3 Books With Neil Pasricha Neil Pasricha: Bestselling Author
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4.5 • 248 Ratings
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3 Books is a completely insane and totally epic 22-year-long quest to uncover and discuss the 1000 most formative books in the world. Each chapter discusses the 3 most formative books of one of the world's most inspiring people. Sample guests include: Brené Brown, David Sedaris, Malcolm Gladwell, Roxane Gay, Cheryl Strayed, Rich Roll, Soyoung the Variety Store Owner, Derek the Hype Man, Kevin the Bookseller, Shirley The Nurse, Vishwas the Uber Driver, Angie Thomas, David Mitchell, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Mark Manson, Seth Godin, Judy Blume, and Quentin Tarantino. 3 Books is published on the lunar calendar with each of the 333 chapters dropped on the exact minute of every single full moon all the way up to 10:37 PM EST on April 26, 2040. 3 Books is an Apple "Best Of" award-winning show and is 100% non-profit with no ads, no sponsors, no commercials, and no interruptions. 3 Books has 3 clubs including the End of the Podcast Club, the Cover to Cover Club, and the Secret Club, which operates entirely through the mail and is only accessible by calling 1-833-READ-A-LOT. Each chapter is hosted live and in-person at the guest's preferred location by Neil Pasricha, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Awesome, The Happiness Equation, Two-Minute Mornings, etc.
For more info check out: https://www.3books.co
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Page 104: A book recommendation for fans of X-Men
Pages are pulled from Chapters of 3 Books.
Page 104 comes from Chapter 10 with award-winning screenwriter and novelist, Elan Mastai.
To listen to the full chapter: https://www.3books.co/chapters/10
To get the 3 Books email: http://www.3books.co/3mail
To join our community: Follow @neilpasricha on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, & YouTube -
Page 103: You are what you do
Pages are pulled from Chapters of 3 Books.
Page 103 comes from Chapter 10 with award-winning screenwriter and novelist, Elan Mastai.
To listen to the full chapter: https://www.3books.co/chapters/10
To get the 3 Books email: http://www.3books.co/3mail
To join our community: Follow @neilpasricha on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, & YouTube -
Page 102: One way to land a million-dollar book deal for your first book
Pages are pulled from Chapters of 3 Books.
Page 102 comes from Chapter 10 with award-winning screenwriter and novelist, Elan Mastai.
To listen to the full chapter: https://www.3books.co/chapters/10
To get the 3 Books email: http://www.3books.co/3mail
To join our community: Follow @neilpasricha on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, & YouTube -
Page 101: How do you find your writing voice?
Pages are pulled from Chapters of 3 Books.
Page 101 comes from Chapter 10 with award-winning screenwriter and novelist, Elan Mastai.
To listen to the full chapter: https://www.3books.co/chapters/10
To get the 3 Books email: http://www.3books.co/3mail
To join our community: Follow @neilpasricha on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, & YouTube -
Chapter 134: Susan Orlean on lusty ledes and literary lessons for life
I got an email from longtime 3 Booker Bo Boswell who told me he found an enticingly-titled thread on reddit called “What’s your field or study (hobbyist or professional) and what’s a cornerstone beginners book for that topic/field?”
The most upvoted reply on the thread read: "Librarian here, Susan Orlean’s ‘The Library Book’ is at first glance a true-crime book about tracking the arsonist who set fire and burned down the main library in Los Angeles, but it also gives a comprehensive glimpse into contemporary libraries and their issues, especially updating a view of them if you haven’t been inside one since you were a kid."
Bo picked up the book, loved it, and then wrote to me that "the amount of research and bizarre detail Orlean puts into her work is so engrossing.” Bizarre detail! I was convinced. I picked up ‘The Library Book’ and it blew me away. Reading it was like … wandering a library. Surprising curiosity trails at every turn. I ended up putting the book in my Best Of 2023 and then went deeper into Susan Orlean’s back catalog where I found myself reading profiles like ‘The American Man, Age 10’ and a series of fascinating but unconventional obituaries about people like the inventor of Hawaiian Tropic or the first magician on the Las Vegas strip.
I’ve come to think of Susan Orlean as one of the best non-fiction writers on the planet. She’s been a Staff Writer for ‘The New Yorker’ since 1992 and has written more than 10 bestselling books including ‘The Library Book’, ‘On Animals’, ‘Saturday Night’, and ‘The Orchid Thief’, which was turned into the movie ‘Adaptation’, starring Meryl Streep in her Oscar-nominated role as … yes, Susan Orlean.
Susan has an endless, unbridled curiosity — that ‘bizarre detail’ — which you’ll see on full display in this conversation which begins by talking about how she organizes her shoes! She’s a writer’s writer who offers us a true masterclass and always reminds us that “storytelling and knowledge-sharing is the essential human experience.”
We talk about organizing shoes and spices, what books do that nothing else does, finding the balance between professional and amateur, the genius of container ships, what great book design does, how to cultivate your writing voice, how you might organize your book, facing the fear of failure, LSD, the power of libraries, Susan’s 3 most formative books, and much, much more…
I am so excited to share this conversation and hope you’ll find it as endlessly inspiring, thoughtful as I did.
Let’s jump into Chapter 134 of 3 Books now… -
Page 93: The most original voice in American comedy writing
Pages are pulled from Chapters of 3 Books.
Page 93 comes from Chapter 9 with the inimitable, indomitable, indefatigable Dave Barry.
To listen to the full chapter: https://www.3books.co/chapters/9
To get the 3 Books email: http://www.3books.co/3mail
To join our community: Follow @neilpasricha on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, & YouTube
Customer Reviews
Love the show
Neil, you’ve honed your skills and were on point with the Nader interview. Well done! Looking forward to the next conversation.
Fan
I love all the chapters. Only one problem, at 69, will I live long enough to read all the great books?! I’m getting a late start but I’m on it! Just finished the Johann Hari chapter and wow!! His intelligence is off the scale. The two Daniels were also so thought provoking. I now have to watch their movie with my 42 year old daughter who has ADHD. Can’t wait. Thanks Neil, keep up the good work!😍
Love this show!!!!
I’ve been listening to this show since 2018 and it is still the only podcast I will listen to without wanting to throw up.
I took a break for a year or two thinking I didn’t like podcasts at all, until I gave it another try catching up with the episodes I missed and now I am a tried and true cover to cover member of our “club”.
You can even call in, and I have!! A few times!! Astounding.
I learn so much every episode.
Thanks Neil!!!!