Some kind words from Bill Gates about Moonwalking with Einstein:
I never thought much about whether I could improve my memory across a wider set of domains, but now I think I could, after reading Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, by a young science writer, Joshua Foer. It’s absolutely phenomenal, one of the most interesting books I’ve read this summer.
Full review on his blog, The Gates Notes.
Amateur Hour, a new monthly speaker series that I am co-curating with Jack Hitt at New Haven’s Institute Library, “explores the passions and pursuits of America’s most inspiring fanatics, obsessives, tinkerers, and collectors.”
Next Tuesday I will be interviewing Alan Abel, America’s great master of the hoax (and the only man ever to have his obituary retracted by the New York Times). If you’re in New Haven, come meet the man who coined the phrase, “A nude horse is a rude horse.”
(Poster by Design Monsters)
From an interview with Gretchen Rubin of the Happiness Project:
Gretchen: What’s a simple activity that consistently makes you happier?
Josh: Riding my bike. It doesn’t matter where I’m going. Just so long as I’m pedaling.
What’s something you know now about happiness that you didn’t know when you were 18 years old?
I keep the Jewish Sabbath, which is not something I did when I was 18. For 25 hours each week, everything gets turned off. No email. No phone. I don’t make anything. I don’t destroy anything. No matter how much stress I have in my life, it all evaporates on Friday night.
Newspapers and magazines have begun releasing their “Best of 2011” lists, and Moonwalking with Einstein has already appeared on several of them:
Amazon.com Top 20 Best Books of 2011
Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year
O Magazine’s Top 5 Nonfiction books of 2011
Discover Magazine’s Best Science books of 2011
Amazon.ca Top 5 Best Nonfiction Books of 2011
Goodreads Choice Award Finalist Nonfiction
Marginal Revolution’s Best Nonfiction Books of 2011
British Psychological Society Best Psychology Books of the Year
Sunday Times Best Books of the Year
Globe and Mail Best of 2011
Boing Boing 2011 Gift Guide
Chapters Indigo Best Books of 2011
Books for a Better Life First Book Finalist
Men’s Journal 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2011
iTunes Top 10 Nonfiction Books of the Year
Gear Patrol 10 Great Reads of 2011
Salon.com Writers Choose Best Books of 2011
Washington Post 50 Best Nonfiction Books of 2011