I read books. I take notes. I visualise them.

Everything we do, from breathing to exercising and daydreaming requires energy. All energy is produced at the cellular level, and is produced on demand – it cannot be stored. Therefore, everything you do always antagonises this limited resource of energy. Higher level functions such as creativity and rational thinking are not essential for surviving – at least not like breathing, moving and digestion are - and as a result, they score lower in the energy priority list. At the same time, such higher level functions require a lot of energy. So how do you achieve and maintain peak mental performance and clarity of thought? By boosting your energy production and minimising the energy expenditure of other functions.

In the fantasy world of Wu, the Malazan Empire is ever expanding. After arriving in the continent of Genabackis, the Empire has quickly conquered most of the free cities on the North. Two remain: Pale and Darujhistan. While Pale has been under siege for three years, the Empire is already setting its gaze to Darujhistan. As tensions are rising within the Malazan ranks, the Empire will attempt a series of desperate gambits to bring the last free cities under the fold. Gods will step into the fray, ancient beings will be summoned and things will get complicated.

Are you interested in becoming more creative or imaginative? Better at dealing with ambiguity, contradictions, and more able to adapt to change? Ready to challenge some of your well-rooted assumptions while you are at it? Turns out there is a coherent way of thinking that can help you with all that. It’s called elastic thinking.

Why did societies develop in different ways and how did certain societies manage to dominate over others throughout the years? The advantages of the dominators are usually down to guns, germs and steel, but why were not those things equally available across societies? Jared Diamond argues that such inequalities are not caused by qualitative differences amongst the people themselves, but are instead dictated by their environments. From the availability of wild animals and plants for the development of food production that allowed the rise of populations, to the particular geography of a society’s environment that allowed or inhibited contact with others and the transfer of goods, ideas, and diseases, it is these external environmental factors that resulted in the wild societal inequalities we ended up with in the last few centuries.

In a series of 4 podcasts dedicated to emotions, Andrew Huberman, takes a deep dive into stress, nutrition, motivation, and relationships, discussing how each of these impacts our mood and emotions. Through this discussion Huberman provides valuable concepts we can use to better understand and communicate our own emotions and explains the various tools we can use to influence and change them, ranging from the things we consume to the various behaviours we can implement for results both in the short and the long term.

In the Seven Cities continent, a rebellion is brewing with a prophecy, an obscure goddess, high mages, local warlords, and ex-Malazan militants all playing a role. The Malazan Empire will try to suppress it strengthening its presence in the area with a newly appointed Fist and his forces. Two bridgeburners embark on a quest across the same continent with a hidden agenda. A noble, a historian and a thug form an unlikely partnership as they are enslaved and sent on what promises to be a transformative journey. An ancient warrior is on a mission to uncover his past while his companion is deliberately keeping it obscure. A horde of shapeshifters converge on a path fighting for ascension. Paths will be crossed, ankles will be broken, prophecies will be fulfilled, innocents will be crucified, assassins will be unleashed, soldiers will be betrayed, and children will die. This is the second instalment of the Malazan Book of the Fallen.