Join me on the couch in Molly Bloom's hotel room at the Four Seasons in downtown Toronto. Molly began her career as a world-class skier, but while training as a pre-teen was diagnosed with severe scoliosis. Her doctor told her she could never ski again, but even as a pre-teen Molly had incredible strength of mind and she ended up back on the slopes only a year after her surgery. By age 21, she was ranked #3 in North America. She then took off to LA and began running one of the most exclusive, high-stakes, underground poker games in the world, featuring players like Alex Rodriguez, Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, and was raking in millions of dollars per year. Then what happened? The feds went after her! The mafia went after her! And there was a dramatic takedown. While awaiting sentencing, she wrote her life's story in her memoir, Molly's Game. That book became a bestseller and was turned into a movie written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, writer of The West Wing and The Social Network, starring Jessica Chastain (as Molly), Idris Elba, and Kevin Costner. Molly has been featured on Ellen, NPR, LA Times, VICE, and many more. But beneath the surface is a story that, as she says in this chapter, has never been shared before. There was a journey happening inside Molly that forced her to look at the downsides of her ambition and addictive personality. So get into something comfy, grab a seat between us, and let's talk about life altering public defeat, how a memoir transforms into an action-packed Hollywood feature, the liberty in losing everything, finding the 'monetizable asset' in your life, and Molly's 3 most formative books. Let's flip the page back to Chapter 42 now....

​Sonja Lyubomirsky​ is one of the most influential happiness researchers of our time.

Sonja moved to the United States from Moscow at age 9 in the 70s. She went to Harvard and Stanford in the 80s and began studying happiness in 1989 ... longer than almost anyone else alive! Positive psychology wasn't "founded" by ​Martin Seligman​ and ​Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi​ for another decade.

Sonja has published hundreds of papers including her ​Most Cited 2005 paper​ which defined the field by flipping a long-held assumption on its head: That happiness doesn't follow success but causes it.

Sonja is now following up her bestsellers '​The How of Happiness​' and '​The Myths Of Happiness​' with a new book called '​How to Feel Loved​', a joint effort co-written with relationship expert ​Dr. Harry Reis​, which is a culmination of 30 years of research that all point to one central truth: that feeling loved (not just being loved!) is a crucial ingredient of happiness.

In this conversation we talk about the four horsemen that can ruin a marriage, what MDMA does to our brains, why small talk doesn't build connection, the best advice for dating, how our brains respond to love, the single best way to feel happier today, and, of course, the eminent Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky's 3 most formative books.

Let's flip the page to Chapter 158 now...

A few years ago I was in LA and I went with my friend Chad to a "Judd Apatow and friends" comedy show where I was blown away by the lineup he brought out. Ray Romano! Zach Galifianakis! And, of course, the incredible Pete Holmes.

Pete was my favorite comic that night. I have loved his comedy for years! And his book '​Comedy Sex God​' was a wonderful read. My parents are Hindu but I grew up in the secular suburbs of Toronto being exposed to many different religions. Pete was very religious, and then wasn't, and now is again ... in this thoughtful, examining, spiritual way. His book, which is essentially his memoir, chronicles his journey through faith with lots of laughs and his trademark mind-expanding insights along the way.

Pete's podcast ​You Made It Weird​ is a comedic exploration of the meaning of life, with guests ranging from ​Ryan Holiday​ to ​Mayim Bialik​ to ​Ben Stiller​.

Pete also starred in the HBO show ​Crashing​ which he executive produced with Judd Apatow. And, big news, he is currently touring! He's in ​Miami​, ​LA​, ​Royal Oaks​, ​Irving​, ​Madison​, and ​Denver​ before the summer.

Check out his comedy specials: ​Impregnated with Wonder​ (2011), ​Nice Try, The Devil​ (2013), ​Faces and Sounds​ (2016), ​Dirty Clean​ (2018), and ​I Am Not For Everyone​ (2023).

So flip the page back to Chapter 40 of 3 Books and talk about why we withhold love, why myths are always true and sometimes really happen, why our brains want certainty but our hearts are comfortable with mystery, the salty sweet conundrum of life, and, of course, Pete's 3 most formative books.

I hope you enjoy this classic chapter with Pete Holmes.

Paul Hawken is a brilliant thinker, author, activist, and elder who masterfully distills wisdom about our planetary home.

I remember hearing Paul's 2009 commencement speech called "​You Are Brilliant and The Earth is Hiring​" where he said "You are going to have to figure out what it means to be a human being on Earth at a time when every living system is declining and the rate of decline is accelerating."

Paul is the author of nine bestselling books including '​Drawdown​', '​Regeneration​', and his latest book '​Carbon, The Book of Life​'—an incredible book that came out in 2025 and masterfully distills endless planetary wisdom into simple truths we all need to hear. (I included it in '​The Very Best Books I Read in 2025​.')

Grab a seat between us and let's talk about how nature cooperates, why fighting climate change is the wrong metaphor, why the climate crisis is a human crisis, how jargon disconnects, and what decades of activism have taught Paul about being human.

This conversation with a sage of sages stuck with me and I think it'll stick with you.

Let's flip the page into Chapter 157 now ...

Thirteen years ago I was surfing online when I stumbled on a blog post called "​How To Read More — A Lot More​" by someone I'd never heard of named Ryan Holiday.

I started reading the post and got sucked in. He had a point! Many great points, actually. And he was young. 26 years old! A 26-year-old young man telling the world to read more books? In an era where most twenty-something men read, uh, none?

I found Ryan to be a breath of fresh air.

I immediately began to copy everything he did!

He launched a ​monthly book club​. I launched a ​monthly book club​! (With his blessing, of course.)

He was talking about reading fifty then a hundred and then hundreds of books a year.

Well, I started reading five books and then ten books and then fifty books a year.

I began cancelling news subscriptions and consciously put my phone away. I installed a bookshelf at my front door. I moved my TV to the basement!

And, of course, I started this podcast—all about reading.

In a way 3 Books would not exist without Ryan Holiday. In some ways I can probably trace my rediscovered passion for reading all the way back to that 2013 blog post.

But Ryan is not just a blogger anymore. He's not just a writer guy on the internet anymore.

Ryan Holiday has sold over 10 million books (!) and essentially leads the repopularization of stoic philosophy. Some of his books include '​The Obstacle Is The Way​', '​Ego Is The Enemy​', '​Stillness Is The Key​', '​Discipline is Destiny​', and his new book, out just a few months ago, '​Wisdom Takes Work​'.

Ryan also runs ​DailyStoic.com​, the consulting company ​Brass Check​, ​Daily Dad​, and ​The Painted Porch​ indie bookstore in Bastrop, Texas. He and his wife Sam live with their two sons in nearby Austin.

He's become a friend and I have definitely caught his bug.

So in Chapter 38 of 3 Books we're going to fly down to Ryan's home in Austin and get 4 of his most formative books. (You'll hear why on the show.) Among other things Ryan shares how to decide who to trust, how he got fired from his first job, and why we shouldn't turn parenting into a job.

I hope you enjoy this classic chapter of 3 Books with Mr. Ryan Holiday.

Africa is the world's second largest continent—by land and population! One and a half billion people spread across fifty-five countries. It's huge! Even a trip there, even many trips there, can only scratch the surface. But we're trying! My mum was born in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1950, and I recently returned from my first journey to Africa where I met incredible people and heard remarkable stories. In this third African chapter of 3 Books I sat down with Salim Amin where we discuss what it means to be a great citizen in the world today and how leading with compassion and curiosity can be some of the balm the world needs. As some background Salim's father Mo Amin lived from 1943 to 1996 and at his peak was the single most well-known photographer ... in the world! His photos of the 1984 Ethiopian famine were the basis of the famous Live Aid concert and directly responsible for saving millions of lives. Salim is going to share some of the most memorable stories from his dad's remarkable career and legacy ... all of which happened before he tragically died in a hijacked plane that crashed into the Indian Ocean. Today Salim is the CEO of Camerapix, the legendary (and first-ever!) African media agency, which owns all his dad's photos—of dictators, wildlife, assassinations, and more—and he's become a documentary filmmaker, producer, author, journalist, and TV host in his own right. Salim's documentary "Mo & Me" won over a dozen prestigious awards including the "Grand Jury Prize" at the New York Film Festival and I loved his stunning photo book "Kenya: Through My Father's Eyes". I was thrilled to sit down in-person—in Nairobi!—with Salim, at the Camerapix office, to discuss legacy, identity, fatherhood, purpose, and formative books. There are some absolutely wild stories in this chat you won't soon forget! Let's flip the page into Chapter 156 now...

Happy Solstice, everyone!

In the northern hemisphere today we have the least amount of daylight of any day of the year. Below the equator it has the most!

And as we do every December solstice it's time for our annual "Best Of" episode of 3 Books.

3 Books is our award-winning 22-year-long conversation to uncover and discuss the 1000 most formative books in the world ... 3 books at a time.

This year we recorded shows in Nairobi, Ottawa, Del Mar, and even a few on the street ... journeying to collect stories and lessons that can help us all live richer lives of meaning and intention.

Featuring clips from...

​Nick Sweetman​ - Street muralist

​Lindyman​ - Lindy Effect evangelist

​Emily Nagoski​ - Sex educator

​Nickisha​ - Dog walker ​

Ginny Yurich​ - Founder of '​1000 Hours Outside​'

​John and Alison​ - Booksellers, ​Camino Books​, Del Mar, CA ​

Jean Chrétien​ - Former Canadian Prime Minister ​

The Holderness Family​ - YouTubers and authors '​ADHD is Awesome​' ​

Robin Sloan​ - Novelist, '​Moonbound​' / '​Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore​' ​

Carl Honoré​ - Author, '​In Praise of Slowness​' ​

Peter Kimani​ - Novelist, '​Dance of the Jakaranda​' ​

Abdullahi Bulle​ - Bookseller, ​Nuria Books​, Nairobi, Kenya

Thank you for being a 3 Booker and spending time with our incredible community of book lovers spread across the world.

Listen on your walk, drive, or workout, on your own, or with a friend, and let's continue to celebrate the awe in this world while striving to live our lives the best we can...

Who we are is a function of where we are.

Do you agree with that?

Who you are depends on where you are.

We're different people in different places, right?

You're different in the board room than you are on vacation. You're different with your parents than you are with your kids. I'm different hanging out with Malcolm Gladwell in his West Village apartment than I am sitting in my basement as I type up a little note about it.

That theme is one that we get to open up in this chapter of 3 Books with the one and only ​Malcolm Gladwell​. I flew down to New York and joined Malcolm at his place where we settled around a table surrounded by books. Top to bottom! Floor to ceiling! And, no big deal, all hardcovers. "This is a fraction of my books, I should say," he told me as we began the chat.

We talk about raising nerds in a world forcing us into being average, how to find tribes where we truly fit in, who Malcolm thinks is the best non-fiction author alive, why thrillers are instructive, what Malcolm's biggest advice is for aspiring authors, and, of course, his 3 most formative books.

It was a rare treat to sit down with Malcolm Gladwell in this classic chapter of 3 Books...

This podcast is me reading a little book I put out earlier this year:

CANADA IS AWESOME

It's an audio book about all the weird, wonderful, beautiful things that make Canada ... Canada.

Did you ever notice Canadians speak in the collective?

"What do you think of the weather we're having?"

"Shall we grab a Timmy's before the meeting?"

"Think we have a shot at the playoffs?"

We, we, we.

We use the word we so much.

Why do we feel like such a collective?

I don't think it's complicated.

I think it's because we are one.

We all toss around half of everything we make into a big glass jar and use it to pay for everyone's health care, education, and services.

Sure, the system's never perfect, but if you shatter your ankle in an icy Canadian Tire parking lot, need a dozen years of free school for five kids in Kamloops, or want to drive on freshly snowplowed roads from Comox to Cornwall to Cape Spear, well ... we got you.

We got you.

We got everyone.

This is a different type of book than I've done before—in addition to this audiobook (totally free, right here) I also posted in its entirety on my blog (totally free) in HTML and PDF:

HTML: https://www.neil.blog/canada-is-awesome PDF: https://www.neil.blog/s/NP_CIA_wCOVER.pdf

I also made a 78-page, bright red, self-published hardcover (with colour photos) and paperback (available on Prime, but black and white photos.)

HARDCOVER: https://a.co/d/8vjssD3 PAPERBACK: https://a.co/d/aCYDAh6

I made these books at cost so the price you see on your local Amazon page is the same as it costs me to make them.

This book was designed by a Canadian in Ottawa (​Steve St. Pierre​) and the audio and video edited by a Canadian in Toronto (​Dave Boire​), and even the T-shirt I'm wearing in the YouTube video was designed and manufactured by a Canadian in Toronto (​Daniel Torjman​), who was also a past guest on the pod:

https://www.3books.co/chapters/94

If you're Canadian I hope this holiday season this books help you feel pride in who we are.

If you're not Canadian, I hope this helps you see Canada a little clearer. Maybe it will inspire you to visit ... or to move here! (My hood is filling up with Americans like mad these days.)

Flip this on for your long road trip and let's let ourselves get inspired by what's possible when grit, determination, and kindness come together across culture and language.

Let's reflect on shared goals of spending time with loved ones, hitting best-in-world education rates, and, of course, kicking back by the lake with a Moosehead and a bowl of ketchup chips.

This is a piece of writing close to my heart and something I have been working on for over a decade.

I hope you like it.

And, if you do, share it with someone else.

Happy holidays, eh!

Neil

We're back to Africa!

Last month we kicked off a little Kenyan series on ​3 Books​ and today I'm thrilled to share another chapter recorded in the heart of pulsing downtown Nairobi in the country's top bookstore.

I landed after an overnight flight and immediately filled my belly with fresh samosas, pakoras, curried goat tripe, and fresh tamarind juice ... for breakfast! ... and then, after seeing the city I hopped into a car with Perlexy, who works with our guest in Chapter 104 and current Kenyan Presidential nominee ​Boniface Mwangi​, and drove downtown...

We parked the car and met up with Boniface and his son before walking up together to the second floor of a busy plaza. Tucked inside was a 1000-square-foot bookshop that happens to be one of the most influential literary hubs in the country: ​Nuria Bookstore​.

That's where I met Bulle (pronounced "Boo-lay") who is of Somalian descent and born 700km north of Nairobi where he was largely raised by his wise camel-herding grandmother (who is 101 today!). Bulle took a business path early in life but as we'll hear his plans changed and now he runs what many consider the most successful bookstore in Kenya and is a huge champion and evangelist for African authors and African literature.

Let's hang out upstairs in the Nairobi bookshop and talk about amplifying African voices, growing up among camels, the winding path of purpose, Bulle's 3 most formative books, and so much more …

Let's flip the page to Chapter 155 now …

So one day I'm out taking one of my magical ​life-changing long walks​ when suddenly two guys are like "Hi! How are you?!"

And I look up kind of stunned because I'm walking around downtown Toronto where no one really pops out of the woodwork to shout a "Hi! How are you?!" at you …

What do I see?

Two young men smiling back at me. Like, big smiles! Gigantic smiles. Dressed up, too. It takes me a minute to piece it together but turns out they're Mormon Missionaries living away from home for two years with the sole purpose of teaching people about their church.

They asked me what I'd heard about Mormonism and I said, uh, well, they don't drink much and they have a lot of kids. Oh, and there's a play called The Book of Mormon! Super ignorant.

I got to talking to them and my fascination with these guys deepened. They are teenagers. They go by Elder Cox and Elder Corona. They are living away from home for two years while most of their peers go to college. They get no TV, no music, no books, no booze, no bars, no dating, and no… well, no anything most teenagers would be interested in.

Do they have doubts? Do they have fears? What if no one believes in them? How successful are they?

How do they even define success?

So, we are sitting down with two teenage Mormon Missionaries to discuss their three most formative books and what it's like devoting your life to one sole mission, purpose, and faith.

I found this conversation enlightening and inspiring on many levels.

I hope you do, too.