by Preventing burnout, looking at familiar things in a new way and becoming kinder to ourselves. 2021-goda-b054da0.jpg” alt=”10 best non-fiction books of 2021″ />
Elena Tarasova Non-fiction editor of the LitRes group of companies.
1. “Easily. Keep things simple”, Greg McKeon
If you think about hard work, you will surely come to mind a whole scattering of folk wisdom about fish and pond. But what if intense, exhausting work is overrated? Suddenly there is a path of least resistance, and it is not for the lazy, but for the smart?
Greg McKeon, author of the bestselling book Essentialism, about prioritizing meaningful tasks over everything else, believes that the main tasks should be fairly simple to perform. After all, the downside of hard work is burnout, not rapid success. McKeon explains how to simplify any job, complete tasks at a comfortable pace, and solve problems before they arise.
2. “Common Sense Department”, Martin Lindstrom
The larger the company, the higher the level of “corporate mess” is likely to be. For example, once the first financial director preferred to print all reports, and always in 10 pt and on both sides. Five years have passed and two directors have changed, but everything remains the same in the company. Employees continue to print reports. No one even knows why – it's just that everyone is used to doing it that way.
Although this example is fictional, similar non-obvious and illogical obstacles can be found in the work of any company. Business consultant Martin Lindstrom has collected many funny and sometimes terrifying examples of common sense being forgotten in organizations and bureaucracy reaching the point of absurdity. The writer analyzes the reasons for this and gives recommendations on how to avoid the “corporate mess” and work meaningfully and efficiently.
3. “Gamify It” by Yu-Kai Chou
Mom calls every day and tells you exactly what you are doing wrong? Does your boss ask you to urgently complete “one small task” that you spend your entire legal day off on? Friends unceremoniously advise you to wear something more decent, but is it better to lose weight altogether? It seems it's time to deal with personal boundaries!
Nancy Levin will help you realize the harsh truth: we ourselves are to blame for what is happening, because we did not tell in time about how we should not be treated. But it's never too late to voice your needs. The book “Your Boundaries” will help you revise your relationships with other people and teach you how to defend what is important in an environmentally friendly but confident way.
5. “Sex Education” by Ruby Rahr
The Netflix series of the same name made a great gift for today's teenagers: exciting questions about sex, desire, contraception and the principle of consent are spoken from the screen. However, adults also do not interfere with sex clearance: many lack banal knowledge of anatomy. Some are still convinced that the clitoris does not play an important role in the female orgasm. It is even more significant that even among scientists there is no unequivocal consensus on the structure of this organ. So you need to understand.
Sex educator Ruby Rahr has created an ironic, but at the same time understandable and well-structured book. The writer talks about the connection between the brain and libido, possible practices and difficulties, and explains how to love your body. As the author says, sex education should not begin and end with a condom pulled over a banana.
6. Red Market by Scott Carney
The human body is not just the pinnacle of evolution, but also a very profitable commodity. And this is the problem: there is a whole “red market”, an international and extremely intricate network of trade in everything that makes up a person, from internal organs and blood to teeth and hair. And the sellers themselves often engage in criminal activity not on a whim. Their own lives or the fate of loved ones may well be at stake.
Journalist Scott Carney conducted a real investigation to find out how the “red market” functions, and learned a lot of shocking details.
7. “How to be kind to yourself” by Laura Silberstein‑Turch
We treat few people as strictly as we treat ourselves. If our relatives and loved ones made a mistake, we sympathize with them and console them. If we ourselves are mistaken, then we bring down a flurry of criticism on ourselves. The way out of this trap lies in the practice of self-compassion – a kind and compassionate attitude towards yourself.
Doctor of Psychology Laura Silberstein-Terch suggests becoming your own best friend, taking care of your own feelings and drowning out the voice of your inner critic. The book is full of practical exercises that will help you change your attitude towards yourself.
8. “In my mind”, Daria Varlamova
It is not known what else the outgoing and coming years will throw at us, therefore it is simply necessary to keep the head cold and the psyche functioning. Medical journalist Daria Varlamova talks about how to achieve a stable state with the help of various self-regulation practices.
The author tried the techniques on herself: she studied her own energy level and what affects it, built the work using “tomatoes” (time intervals according to 25 minutes), kept diaries and checklists. This practical book will help you organize your life the way you feel comfortable.
9. “Think again. The power of knowing about not knowing, Adam Grant
Imagine: once Steve Jobs didn’t even want to hear anything about smartphones! Apple engineers urged him to add a cellular module to the iPod, but he refused, not wanting to deal with mobile operators. Only after long discussions did the colleagues manage to convince the stubborn that his knowledge is not unlimited and it is possible to create a smartphone that everyone will like, and then present their conditions to the operators. This is how the iPhone was born, which, four years after the release, was already providing half of the company's revenue.
This is how reinvention works – one of the main skills in the modern world. Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist working with Google, Pixar, NBA, and the Gates Foundation, goes into detail on this principle and suggests questioning decisions in order to find better options.
10. FOMO sapiens, Patrick McGinnis
