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Most non-fiction books are bad. And sometimes that's a great thing.It's because the writer spent his life getting GOOD at what he was writing about. He didn't spend his life being good at writing.He didn't spend his life typing. He ran a country. Or built a robot. Or discovered DNA or walked between the twin towers.He or She DID something. Something that changed lives. Something that went from his or her head out into the real world.I like reading billion-person books. Books, that if read widely, would change a billion lives.I like reading books where I feel my brain have an IQ orgasm. Like, I literally feel my IQ go up while reading the book.Before I give my list, I want to mention there are three kinds of non-fiction books:- BUSINESS CARD BOOKS: These are books like "How to be a leader". They establish the author as an expert. The author then uses this book to get speaking gigs or coaching or consulting gigs.These books usually suck. Don't read one. But nothing wrong with writing one.- BOOKS THAT SHOULD BE CHAPTERS:A publisher will see an article somewhere like, "12 ways to become smarter" and say, "that should be a book".Then the write mistakenly says, "ok" and he has to undergo the agony of changing something that was a perfectly good 2000 word article into a 60,000 word book.Those books suck. Don't read one. And DEFINITELY don't write one. Unless you want to waste a year of your life. I wasted 2004-2009 doing that.- BRAINGASM BOOKSHere's my top 10 list of braingasm books. Books that will raise your IQ between the time you start and the time you end.By the way, there are more than 10 of these books. This is just my TOP 10. Although not really in that order. It's hard for a small mind like mine to order these."Mastery" by Robert GreeneThis book is like a curated version of 1000 biographies all under the guise, "how to become a master at what you love"."Bold" by Peter Diamondis and Steven KotlerBasically if you want to know the future, read this. Supplement it with "Abundance" by the same two and "Tomorrowland" by Steven Kotler" and even "The Rational Optimist" by Matt Ridley. I feel "Abundance" is like a sequel to "The Rational Optimist". So I'm giving you four books with one recommendation."Outliers" by Malcolm GladwellGladwell is not the first person to come up with the 10,000 hour rule. Nor is he the first person to document what it takes to become the best in the world at something.But his stories are so great as he explains these deep concepts.How did the Beatles become the best? Why are professional hockey players born in January, February and March?And so on."Where Good Ideas Come From" by Steven JohnsonAlso add to this: "How We Got to Now" by Steven Johnson.Basically: don't believe the myth of the lonely genius.Ideas come from a confluence of history, "the adjacent possible" specific geographic locations, etc.The connections Johnson makes are brilliant. For instance, The Gutenberg Press (which, in itself, was invented because of improvements in sewing looms), made everyone realize they had bad vision.So the science of lenses was created. So microscopes were eventually created. So germs were eventually discovered. So modern medical science was discovered.And so on. Johnson is a thinker and a linker and tells a good story."Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor FranklI'm at a loss for words here. Just read it. Don't read it for the holocaust. Or psychological theory. Read it because when you're about halfway through you will realize your life is no longer the same."Born Standing Up" by Steve MartinAnd while you are at it, throw in "Bounce" by Mathew Syed, who was the UK Ping Pong champion when he was younger.I love any book where someone took their passion, documented it, and shared it with us. That's when you can see the subleties, the hard work, the luck, the talent, the skill, all come together to form a champion.Heck, throw in, "An Astronaut's Guide to Earth" by Commander Chris Hadfield."Zero to One" by Peter ThielThere's a lot of business books out there. 99% of them are BS. Read this one.So many concepts really changed my attitude about not only business but capitalism. Thiel, the founder of PayPal, and first investor in Facebook, is brilliant in how he simply shares his theories on building a billion dollar business."Quiet" by Susan CainProbably half the world is introverts. Maybe more. It's not an easy life to live. You feel as if you can't move, you can't talk, you can't go into a room and spread a vision you might have.Quiet shows the reader how to unlock the secret powers that probably half the world needs to unlock."Antifragile" by Nassim TalebAnd throw in "The Black Swan" and "Fooled by Randomness"."Fragile" means if you hit something might break."Resilient" means if you hit something, it will stay the same.But Nassim discusses "Antifragility" - building a system, even one that works for you on a personal level, where you if you harm it in some way it becomes stronger.He discusses Antifragility throughout history, up to our current economic situation, and even in our personal situations."Mindset" by Carol DweckAgain, I am fascinated by the field of mastery. Not self-improvement (eat well, sleep well, etc) but on how can you continue a path of improvement so that you can really enjoy the subtleties at a very deep level of whatever it is you love.Carol Dweck, through massive research and storytelling, shows the reader how to continue on the path of improvement and why so many people fall off that path.These are not books I'm picking so I can look smart. These are books that I feel have made me smarter.If I die now and I've only read these books I'm fine with that.

Here are the TV/Radio programs an IAS aspirant should follow:1. Rajya Sabha TV debates (The Big Picture)2. All India Radio news bulletins. From 9pm they broadcast it in English and Hindi.3. At 9:30PM there used to be expert interview on current affairs. If it is there still, do follow it.4. Watch international news channels once in a while, specially when important summits like G20 etc. are on.You can also watch if you have time:1. Pradhanmantri series of Abp News2. Samvidhaan series of Rajya Sabha TV.All of these videos are available on YouTube. All India Radio keeps an archive of their broadcasts on their websiteThese will broaden your mind, help you understand how to think like a bureaucrat and enrich your knowledge base.

Brain health is pretty simple.Hydrate - make sure your urine is a very pale yellow.Sleep seven or eight hours every 24 hour cycle (everyday).Eat a varied diet - lots of veggies, a bit of fat, carb, and protein each day. The brain needs fat and carbohydrates!Do new things regularly. The brain grows more clever when it's given an “enriched environment” which simply means you have a situation where you have to work to figure something out. New places, new sports, new languages, new people, new games, new jobs, new new new!Take downtime regularly (weekly or more often as needed) to process emotional pain, distress, and desire. A healthy brain feels all of the emotions on a regular basis and doesn't block some emotions for social reasons.Practice mind-body connection to develop stronger willpower. The brain is part of the body. Your muscles and viscera communicate with your mind all day long. A growling belly, burning muscles, a knitted brow, all these things are important discussions between your mind and body. Keep up the conversation by really taking note each time your body tells you something. You can silently say, “Yes, thank you belly for telling me it's been a while since you've seen some food.” This conversation keeps the connections strong in your brain and lets you overcome your body's will when your mind knows better.