Better With Books

a review and discussion of PKD's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

These are the five books that shaped who I am today.

The point of BookTube, hopefully, is to get people to read more. In this episode I talk about the channels that inspire me the most.

This is a review / gush session for The Well of Ascension. There are pretty much no spoilers, but if you haven't read the book you probably won't understand most of what I say.

Here's a first episode of my new podcast, That Was Awkward: the unofficial social survival podcast. Since I won't be publishing Better With Books episodes for a while, you might as well subscribe to TWA.

We think that the fewer constraints and rules are placed on us the more free, productive and happy we'll be. That's not true. And I prove it in this episode.

If you never got paid to work ever again, what would you do? What motivates you? These questions are some of the most important questions you'll ever have to answer. And knowing the answer will help you live a more productive, fulfilling life.

Many of us aren't really interested in the lives of non-human creatures (other than our pets). This book is meant to change that. It's meant to fascinate us and remind us that animals are better than us at doing pretty much everything.

Betting on the underdogs has its advantages. Following creators who are just starting out has similar advantages. Find out what those are in this episode of Better With Books!

There's so much stuff out there. How do we figure out which of it is worth our time and which is not? Take a listen and find out.

A Room of One's Own is know for its feminist theme, not it's lessons on minimalism. But it does, in fact, hold a valuable lesson about how to live a happy, contented life.

Individualism sounds like a good thing, right? But our society has forced us to idealize it while, at the same time, being bullied into being like everyone else, into fitting the mold. How do we live a life of true individualism? Listen to find out!

Turns out, you don't have to be good at something to (eventually) be successful at it.

How is the news making us insecure and close-minded? What's wrong with 100% of all news sources?

What does it take to be a storyteller? What's the recipe for a good story? What's the secret to being successful, to being a skilled creator? Turns out, the answers are simple, if not exactly easy.

What is a podcast librarian and will there be more of them in the future? Is podcasting on an upward trend? What does it take to be a great podcaster? Will there ever be too many podcasts? These questions and more, answered by Ma’ayan Plaut from RadioPublic!

The term nationality is badly defined. It's also dangerous, so while we try and create a new definition for it, why don't we just discard it? Listen. I'll explain. I totally forgot to record an end segment for this episode, but you know what I'd say: get in touch with me on Twitter @ruthrootz and, por favor, leave me a rating on iTunes. Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruthrootz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rootzmac/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthrootz/ Blog: Rootz’s Blog: https://blogbyrootz.blogspot.com Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/better-with-books/id1293449772?mt=2 Anchor: https://anchor.fm/betterwithbooks RadioPublic: https://play.radiopublic.com/better-with-books-WwDRqy Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=185181 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-cBvKXkTgAyDLm7uYQaEQ?view_as=subscriber SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/betterwithbooks email: rootzmacbwb@gmail.com

This is a micro-episode around a quote by Calpurnia from To Kill A Mockingbird: "It’s not necessary to tell all you know." Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruthrootz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthrootz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthrootz/ Blog: Rootz’s Blog: https://blogbyrootz.blogspot.com Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/better-with-books/id1293449772?mt=2 Anchor: https://anchor.fm/betterwithbooks RadioPublic: https://play.radiopublic.com/better-with-books-WwDRqy Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=185181 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-cBvKXkTgAyDLm7uYQaEQ?view_as=subscriber SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/betterwithbooks email: rootzmacbwb@gmail.com

The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera, can teach us a lot about how to break through the stalemate of today's political landscape. They key is to listen. Simple, yet not. Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruthrootz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthrootz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthrootz/ Blog: Rootz’s Blog: https://blogbyrootz.blogspot.com Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/better-with-books/id1293449772?mt=2 Anchor: https://anchor.fm/betterwithbooks RadioPublic: https://play.radiopublic.com/better-with-books-WwDRqy Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=185181 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-cBvKXkTgAyDLm7uYQaEQ?view_as=subscriber SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/betterwithbooks email: rootzmacbwb@gmail.com

When we're too concerned with what others think of us, we trap ourselves into a prison of our making. . . My favorite podcasts - https://mindthinkbyrootz.blogspot.com/2017/11/top-10-best-podcasts-in-no-particular.html The Great Santini by Pat Conroy - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003Y3BCRU/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruthrootz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthrootz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthrootz/ Blog: Rootz’s Blog: https://blogbyrootz.blogspot.com Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/better-with-books/id1293449772?mt=2 Anchor: https://anchor.fm/betterwithbooks RadioPublic: https://play.radiopublic.com/better-with-books-WwDRqy Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=185181 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-cBvKXkTgAyDLm7uYQaEQ?view_as=subscriber SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/betterwithbooks email: rootzmacbwb@gmail.com

Edwin A. Abbott’s timeless (and timely) novella should strike a chord. Here's what Flatland can do for our society today. . . Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruthrootz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthrootz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthrootz/ Blog: Rootz’s Blog: https://blogbyrootz.blogspot.com Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/better-with-books/id1293449772?mt=2 Anchor: https://anchor.fm/betterwithbooks RadioPublic: https://play.radiopublic.com/better-with-books-WwDRqy Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=185181 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-cBvKXkTgAyDLm7uYQaEQ?view_as=subscriber SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/betterwithbooks email: rootzmacbwb@gmail.com

Special Episode! No specific book talked about in this one. Instead, I talk about what makes for good dialogue, both in books and movies. Pacing and Character: The Social Network - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlXwTxpC6u0 No adverbs: Toni Morrison, #7 - https://litreactor.com/columns/top-10-authors-who-write-great-dialogue Authentic: Steinbeck, #9 - https://litreactor.com/columns/top-10-authors-who-write-great-dialogue Concise: Hemmingway quote near bottom - https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/mar/18/unreal-art-realistic-dialogue Preachy (in my opinion, though I love the movie): Interstellar - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiEJjx4YCZU A monologue, but not preachy at all: Good Will Hunting - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIdsjNGCGz4 Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruthrootz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthrootz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthrootz/ Blog: Rootz’s Blog: https://blogbyrootz.blogspot.com Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/better-with-books/id1293449772?mt=2 Anchor: https://anchor.fm/betterwithbooks RadioPublic: https://play.radiopublic.com/better-with-books-WwDRqy Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=185181 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-cBvKXkTgAyDLm7uYQaEQ?view_as=subscriber SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/betterwithbooks email: rootzmacbwb@gmail.com

In this episode I show you how The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, is a book that does the impossible mission of giving all the advice any of us will ever need, all within a small novel. Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruthrootz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthrootz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthrootz/ Blog: Rootz’s Blog: https://blogbyrootz.blogspot.com Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/better-with-books/id1293449772?mt=2 Anchor: https://anchor.fm/betterwithbooks RadioPublic: https://play.radiopublic.com/better-with-books-WwDRqy Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=185181 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-cBvKXkTgAyDLm7uYQaEQ?view_as=subscriber SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/betterwithbooks email: rootzmacbwb@gmail.com

Here I talk about Turtles All the Way Down, by John Green. I discuss the difference between OCD and OCPD and what it's like to live with OCPD, which I do. Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruthrootz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthrootz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthrootz/ Blog: Rootz’s Blog: https://blogbyrootz.blogspot.com Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/better-with-books/id1293449772?mt=2 Anchor: https://anchor.fm/betterwithbooks RadioPublic: https://play.radiopublic.com/better-with-books-WwDRqy Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=185181 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-cBvKXkTgAyDLm7uYQaEQ?view_as=subscriber SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/betterwithbooks email: rootzmacbwb@gmail.com

In this episode my sister, Sharon, and I discuss the book Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo. Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruthrootz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthrootz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthrootz/ Blog: Rootz’s Blog: https://blogbyrootz.blogspot.com Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/better-with-books/id1293449772?mt=2 Anchor: https://anchor.fm/betterwithbooks RadioPublic: https://play.radiopublic.com/better-with-books-WwDRqy Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=185181 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-cBvKXkTgAyDLm7uYQaEQ?view_as=subscriber SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/betterwithbooks email: rootzmacbwb@gmail.com

What if you're like me and you don't have a passion-with-a-capital-p to follow? Then this message, and the book I talk about (So Good They Can't Ignore You, by Cal Newport), is for you. Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruthrootz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthrootz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthrootz/ Blog: Rootz’s Blog: https://blogbyrootz.blogspot.com Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/better-with-books/id1293449772?mt=2 Anchor: https://anchor.fm/betterwithbooks RadioPublic: https://play.radiopublic.com/better-with-books-WwDRqy Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=185181 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-cBvKXkTgAyDLm7uYQaEQ?view_as=subscriber SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/betterwithbooks email: rootzmacbwb@gmail.com

In this first episode I talk about the book that made me the student and thinker I am today: Becoming a Writer, by Dorthea Brande. I describe how Brande's ideas can make us more productive in all areas of our lives. Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruthrootz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthrootz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthrootz/ Blog: Rootz’s Blog: https://blogbyrootz.blogspot.com Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/better-with-books/id1293449772?mt=2 Anchor: https://anchor.fm/betterwithbooks RadioPublic: https://play.radiopublic.com/better-with-books-WwDRqy Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=185181 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-cBvKXkTgAyDLm7uYQaEQ?view_as=subscriber SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/betterwithbooks email: rootzmacbwb@gmail.com

Introducing my new podcast, Better With Books, where I and my occasional guests discuss books, the ideas inside of them and the way we can apply those ideas to our lives. Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruthrootz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruthrootz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthrootz/ Blog: Rootz’s Blog: https://blogbyrootz.blogspot.com Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/better-with-books/id1293449772?mt=2 Anchor: https://anchor.fm/betterwithbooks RadioPublic: https://play.radiopublic.com/better-with-books-WwDRqy Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=185181 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc-cBvKXkTgAyDLm7uYQaEQ?view_as=subscriber SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/betterwithbooks email: rootzmacbwb@gmail.com