u/ExerciseWise5673

I've been really inspired by Substack lately. Some of my favourite genre and things to read there are short pieces by women writing about life, relationships, work, identity, starting over, growing, the ups and downs, all the things in between. That kind of writing speaks to me to a tee

Everything I read there has kind of become my smart scrolling or replacing some of my social media time with reading that actually holds my attention as the posts are usually short

Now I feel like getting more into full books with similar genre too. I used to mostly read them when I was on vacation, but I woild love to bring that into my everyday commute and adjust

so I need some recommendations:
what are your favourite nonfiction by women about life and growth that I can listen to during my commute?
I read A Year of Nothing by Emma Gannon this year, really enjoyed that reflective kind of writing

I used to think biology was mostly memorizing names of organs and processes. Then I found out how ridiculously weird living things actually are.

A few facts that completely changed how I see biology:

• Your body is constantly replacing itself. Many of the cells in your body are replaced over time, while others can stick around for decades. You're basically a constantly rebuilt version of yourself.
• Your stomach doesn't digest itself. It produces extremely strong acid, but its lining has protective mechanisms that help keep the acid from destroying the stomach itself.
• Some plants can “communicate.” When attacked by insects, certain plants release chemicals into the air that can trigger defensive responses in neighboring plants.
• Your mitochondria have their own DNA. The “powerhouses of the cell” aren't just another random cell component. They have their own genetic material, which is one of the biggest clues to their ancient evolutionary origin.
• Octopuses are basically evolutionary aliens. They have three hearts, blue blood, and a nervous system so unusual that a huge proportion of their neurons are located in their arms.
• Your immune system has memory. After encountering some pathogens, certain immune cells can “remember” them, allowing your body to respond much faster the next time.
• There are more bacterial cells living in and on you than you might expect. Your body is an ecosystem, not just a collection of human cells.

And that's the crazy part: these aren't even the weirdest things biology has to offer.

The deeper you go, the more biology starts feeling less like memorizing facts and more like discovering how unbelievably strange life actually is.

What biology fact made you suddenly realize, “okay, this subject is actually fascinating”?

Looking for different data and information that can help me here. Maybe some other useful books on diet, vegan, fruterian too. Also, some modern experts who reproduce Ehrets methods, getting rid of mucus, fruits eating books or even clinics/retreats where people actually stay together who are guided through a simialar program and can provide data

smth related to the intersection of AI, propaganda, disinformation, information warfare. I found more research on the topic from the MIT and a newer academic collection. Think if to narrow the topic to AI-enabled disinformation and defense against it, the reliable book literature would be even smaller. Any findings?

I picked up a Rubiks Cube recently as a small experiment: whenever I caught myself opening my phone just because I was bored, and wanted to scroll social, I'd spend a few mins with the cube instead.

I was relaxing and messing around but eventually I actually remembered the pattern how to solve it with a step by step microguide and I had gotten slightly better at something. And just like that occasionally giving my attention something more interesting and valuable to do

p.s. for those who want to close finally that tiny Gestalt that had been sitting in the head for years 🧩 I found a nice guide at Youtube or Easiest Solve for Rubik’s Cube | Step 1 | Beginners Guide by EasiestSolve

the tutorial broke everything into very small steps and gave the moves little stories, like you walk a dog, you are an owner, getting lost, coming back, open the door etc. Sounds silly, but it made the sequences much easier to remember.

The micro-step version was basically:

1. Learn just the first step.
   2 Repeat it until it feels familiar
2. Come back later for the next tiny step
3. Eventually: wait, I can actually solve this thing

And yesterday I finally did it🤲

Does someone has another tiny open Gestalt like this? I am thinking about the next challenge to replace doomscrolling habit?:)

Wondering if book summaries are actually useful when you do not have time to read the whole copy. I know you miss the context, but I mostly want to get the key ideas and see what actually works like if the books suit my goal. Has anyone tried that?

Also I did some quick research and apparently this is a form called - book microlearning. But my idea is like making notes, trying what works and if yes, I save the template and read the whole book for more lifehacks

Wondering if book summaries are actually useful when you do not have time to read the whole copy. I know you miss the context, but I mostly want to get the key ideas and see what actually works like if the books suits my goal. Has anyone been doing this for a while?

Also I did some quick research and apparently this is a form of book microlearning, called this dates. But my idea is like making notes, trying what works and if yes, I save the template and read the whole book for more lifehacks

I just solved a Rubiks Cube and finally closed a challenge and an open Gestalt that had been with me for years🧩

Between tnx to this video my friend recommended to me: watched Easiest Solve for Rubik’s Cube | Step 1 | Beginners Guide by EasiestSolve on YouTube.

I really liked the way it teaches as it starts with simple stories. Smth like this is a dog with a tail and a face. This is the owner. The dog gets lost. The owner goes looking for him. Then the dog comes back.

It sounds funny, but somehow it makes the moves easy to remember. Sharing it in case someone else wants to close this Gestalt too🥰

I am looking for audiobooks about coaching, especially for volleyball or team sports in general.

I would prefer titles available on Audible, but I am also happy to hear about other platforms /sources if they have great coaching content tomlisten to

Also interested in topics like leading a team, volley (beach and indoor), communication, motivation, practice planning, exercieses. player development.

would not mind recommendations with a little Ted Lasso energy😊

Anne says towards the end of this "Dear old world, you are very lovely and I am glad to be alive in you". To which I thought, I am so glad to be alive and have read this book. A little cheesy but that's genuinely how i was feeling.

Through the book, right from the beginning, Anne shows so much joy, so much love to the world she is living in, to the things that are happening, to the people around her. She loves and cares with abandon and hates with a passion. She lives her life so fiercely and brightly that it made me realise how little I have lived in the past few years. Somewhere as part of being an adult, work had become all of my life. If I were to describe last few years as a color palette, it is mostly a dreary grey of monotone routine. So to read this book where this orphan child so unabashedly expresses her appreciation for life was like activating a part of my brain that I haven't used in a long time.

Reading this book, I was appreciating the world through Anne's eyes and it had such a profound impact on me that I find it hard to describe. Nothing materially has changed in my life, I am still the same person, but it feels like some crust has scraped off. It makes me want to be like her, to try and love like she does.

As for the book itself, it is gorgeous. The author has such a way of painting the scenary that I can imagine the entire island so vividly. Her side characters - especially Mathew and Marilla - are all very lovely too, and anne herself is simply the best. I laughed out loud several times reading the book (that dream about Diana getting small pox and Anne taking it from her and dying valiantly for her had me cackling), and by the end of the book I was sobbing too.

This book had such a profound impact on me, I sincerely recommend this to anyone who hasn't read it yet. 5/5