This is, quite simply, the best and most uplifting book of nonfiction I have ever read.
Before reading this book I made the mistake of reading the news on a daily basis and I knew, in my heart, that everything was terrible. I could feel the terribleness of our tragic world in my bones. Around the world, people are worried about war, disease and the environment. Food shortages and genetically modified supplies haunt my dreams. Equality for all seems like a far-off goal. Let me add to that that I am an American. As an American, my country is deeply divided and, whatever your politics may be, people have become comfortable with name calling and outright lying. The drama is at an all-time high and nothing is getting accomplished. It’s all terrible. Worse, I cannot find facts on anything and so I worry about everything.
One night, I awoke with a start, heart pounding. I reached for my middle-of-the-night buddy, my faithful Kindle. I searched for something to read and found Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Rönnlund. I remember thinking, “I would like to be both full of facts and wrong about the world.” I plunged into this book and I cannot stop thinking (and talking about it.)
It turns out, I’m not “wrong” about the world so much as I was using old information. I was letting the news convince me that there was nothing but horrors around every corner. And, I couldn’t distinguish between facts and overly dramatic editorials. If you want a quick look at how the facts can make you feel better and simultaneously change the way you see the world, watch this twenty minute Ted Talk given by Hans Rosling.
He refers to his questions a number of times in this video. At the beginning of the book there is a test to see how much you know about the world. I scored….poorly. A few things I knew had changed from my childhood, but I was shocked, shocked, by how quickly the world has changed when I wasn’t looking. It was like I met the world as an adorable toddler during my early educational experience, I went on with my life and now, twenty years later, I am all “Look how big you’ve gotten!” When I wasn’t looking whole countries went from mud-soaked poverty to looking like my hometown.
But, perhaps, you are not an American. Many Americans are well aware of how little we know about the world. Perhaps you are a well-educated world traveler and aren’t surprised at all by how everything is going. But, you find yourself still scared about the state of things. That might be because it is easy to find bad things happening in the world, good things are difficult to find. For example, 40 million commercial airplanes took off and landed safely in 2016 and ten crashed. Each crash was covered extensively. This gives the perception that air travel is not safe when, in fact, 2016 was the safest year on record to fly (this is also the last year of available statistics for the book so, don’t panic). We see this pattern repeated ad nauseam. Bad news gets people attention.
So we have copious amount of bad news. Some of us are using old information. Then there is the feeling that when there is more to do, we cannot talk about the successes we can see. We have dramatic instincts and we combine that with an overly dramatic worldview. It is no wonder we are sure we are all doomed.
To combat this, Factfulness has ten rules of thumb all designed to get our brains used to analyzing data and learning new things about our world everyday. The environment needs work, some people will always need help, and we can always do better. But, honestly, its not as bad as I thought it was.
I still read the news everyday. But I look for the facts. I watch for gaps, straight lines that are just assumed, and resist that feeling of urgency without knowledge. And I look for what isn’t being reported because that is where the good news is hiding.
Tell me, please!
Have you ever had a book radically change the way you look at the world?
This is why I was enormously pleased to find Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different, True Tales of Amazing Boys Who Changed The World Without Killing Dragons by Ben Brooks. This books features thirty-seven examples of individuals who don’t fit most pre-determined “manly man” roles. Furthermore, many of them, like Percy Shelly and Daniel Anthony, make a clear connection between how allowing boys to embrace their differences directly supports equality and opportunities for women.
Dot Journal is the ideal starting point for people who, like me, love the pen and paper method but do not have the time, energy, or inclination to spend an hour a day copying and recopying to-do lists and calendar items. Dot Journaling also gives clear instructions on how to set-up the journal, something I still couldn’t figure out even after watching the 
I grew up in one of the many Springfields scattered across the United States. Nearly all Springfield natives get asked the same questions immediately after naming their hometown, “Oh, like The Simpsons?” And we try to explain that no Springfield is the Springfield. Then the conversation continues until we are forced to identify the part of The Simpsons that is our Springfield. It is a testament to the joy and hilarity of the show that any Springfield kid still loves it and, in our heart, we are a little proud to have the connection.
Awakening Your Ikigai, How the Japenese Wake Up to Joy and Purpose Every Day by Ken Mogi is a basic primer in what is Ikigai and how to cultivate it in your own life. Even my elementary understanding of the history of the Japanese people would lead one to believe that joy is a struggle for them to find. After all, Japan has experienced all the disasters Mother Nature has to offer and has repeatedly been ravaged by war. How could a culture with so much tragedy and one which prizes homogeny experience daily joy? After all, Americans are raised on the idea that individuality and success pave the road to happiness. It turns out, Ikigai is not far from my Mother’s own advice. Joy comes from within.
Unfortunately, this book has me feeling as though I just finished a Sherlock story. I feel as though I am in love with the idea of the book and certainly the hundreds of details I learned but it was, like Conan Doyle’s writing, a little boring to actually read. While this is a positive review (as all are on SilverButtonBooks) this little note needed to be said from the beginning.
James Clear began by writing articles on his 
How many of us are living the life we have always dreamed of living? If you are then thank you for making my blog part of your ideal life! If not, perhaps you are getting in between yourself and happiness. Jen Sincero is a self made life coach and, while I have never had any life coaching, I wish I could hire her. Her positive, no nonsense approach to setting goals, believing in yourself, and expecting good things to come in life is inspirational.
5087 Trivia Questions and Answers by Marsha Kranes, Fred Worth and Steve Tamerius is where my trivia collection began. My Dad gave me his copy and I brought it on a long road trip with my best friend as a way to keep ourselves entertained. We took turns asking each other questions and laughing at how much we didn’t know. It is a big wide world of information out there people! I have owned this book from long before you could just say, “Hey Siri / Alexa / Cortana…” and I still flip through it for fun.
The Order of Things is not a pure trivia book but it is one of my favorites to spark an interest in new subject matters. It lists, in order, all of the things in the world and until you look through it you won’t believe how deeply our world is interconnected.
I love mental floss so when I saw this irreverent guide I had to have it. The Condensed Knowledge reads like mental floss, full of information and ripe with humor. The perfect combination!
Thirty Days Has September, Cool Ways to Remember Stuff by Chris Stevens is the absolute best book for taking all that trivia and putting it together in ways that help you memorize it and seamlessly regurgitate it. If you ever have to cram for a pub trivia night this is the book for you.
Common Phrases and Where They Come From by John Mordock and Myron Korach is the trivia book for etymology enthusiasts. If you have ever wondered why we say things like “on the fence” this book is for you. A warning: this is the kind of trivia that helps you find friends for life or enemies in the office. Use sparingly.
And, this one is not really trivia, but The 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said is more like trivia-eque quoting at its best. I have always wanted to be savvy enough with quotes to use another person’s words to capture my own ideas. Since this quote book is divided up into subject matter it is perfect for me. Now, when I need something to say about marriage or taxes I have a selection to choose from!
Good Job, Brain! is from a popular pub quiz podcast (unbeknownst to me until I saw this book!) and I grabbed it during my quick trip to the library yesterday. I already love the Q and A style of the book and I plan to find a willing victim to play trivia with me sometime this weekend.
I have never read Jenny Lawson’s blog, I didn’t follow her on Twitter and, honestly, she wasn’t on my radar at all. But, someone highlighted her book on WWW Wednesday and I dutifully added it to my to-be-read pile. Mostly, I fell in love with the hilarious taxidermy raccoon (Rory) on the cover of the book. When the audiobook caught my eye I downloaded it simply because I needed something to listen to during my commute and it was immediately available. All of these cosmic connections resulted in my listening to and falling deeply in love with Jenny Lawson. (I hereby promise I will not stalk you Jenny, tell Victor not to worry).