The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny

 

Credit: the Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny

Overview

When Sonia and Sunny first glimpse each other on an overnight train, they are immediately captivated yet also embarrassed by the fact that their grandparents had once tried to matchmake them, a clumsy meddling that served only to drive Sonia and Sunny apart.

Sonia, an aspiring novelist who recently completed her studies in the snowy mountains of Vermont, has returned to her family in India. She fears that she is haunted by a dark spell cast by an artist to whom she had once turned for intimacy and inspiration. Sunny, a struggling journalist resettled in New York City, is attempting to flee his imperious mother and the violence of his warring clan. Uncertain of their future, Sonia and Sunny embark on a search for happiness together as they confront the many alienations of our modern world. Read more here. Credit: Kiran Desai.

Winners Take All

 

Credit: Winners Take All

Overview

Anand Giridharadas takes us into the inner sanctums of a new gilded age, where the rich and powerful fight for equality and justice any way they can—except ways that threaten the social order and their position atop it. They rebrand themselves as saviors of the poor; they lavishly reward “thought leaders” who redefine “change” in ways that preserve the status quo; and they constantly seek to do more good, but never less harm. Giridharadas asks hard questions: Why, for example, should our gravest problems be solved by the unelected upper crust instead of the public institutions it erodes by lobbying and dodging taxes? His groundbreaking investigation has already forced a great, sorely needed reckoning among the world’s wealthiest and those they hover above, and it points toward an answer: Rather than rely on scraps from the winners, we must take on the grueling democratic work of building more robust, egalitarian institutions and truly changing the world—a call to action for elites and everyday citizens alike. Credit: Penguin Random House; Anand Giridharadas.

Cher

 

Credit: Cher

Overview

After more than seventy years of fighting to live her life on her own terms, Cher finally reveals her true story in intimate detail, in a two-part memoir. Her remarkable career is unique and unparalleled. The only woman to top Billboard charts in seven consecutive decades, she is the winner of an Academy Award, an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Cannes Film Festival Award, and an inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame who has been lauded by the Kennedy Center. Read more here. Credit: Cher.

How Not to Be Wrong By Jordan Ellenberg

 

Credit: How Not to Be Wrong

Overview

The math we learn in school can seem like a dull set of rules, laid down by the ancients and not to be questioned. In How Not to Be Wrong, Jordan Ellenberg shows us how terribly limiting this view is: Math isn’t confined to abstract incidents that never occur in real life, but rather touches everything we do—the whole world is shot through with it. Math allows us to see the hidden structures underneath the messy and chaotic surface of our world. It’s a science of not being wrong, hammered out by centuries of hard work and argument. Armed with the tools of mathematics, we can see through to the true meaning of information we take for granted: How early should you get to the airport? What does “public opinion” really represent? Why do tall parents have shorter children? Who really won Florida in 2000? And how likely are you, really, to develop cancer?

How Not to Be Wrong presents the surprising revelations behind all of these questions and many more, using the mathematician’s method of analyzing life and exposing the hard-won insights of the academic community to the layman—minus the jargon. Ellenberg chases mathematical threads through a vast range of time and space, from the everyday to the cosmic, encountering, among other things, baseball, Reaganomics, daring lottery schemes, Voltaire, the replicability crisis in psychology, Italian Renaissance painting, artificial languages, the development of non-Euclidean geometry, the coming obesity apocalypse, Antonin Scalia’s views on crime and punishment, the psychology of slime molds, what Facebook can and can’t figure out about you, and the existence of God. Credit: Book Culture; Jordan Ellenberg.

Dr. Bob Rich Shares His Author & Life Insights

 

Credit: Sasha Talks | Guest Dr. Bob Rich

Meet the 'Professional Grandfather'

Storyteller - Writer - Editor

Dr. Bob Rich is an Australian author, and activist who calls himself a "Professional Grandfather" because his primary motivation is to work for a survivable future for the younger generations, especially those born after 1993. He has retired from several previous occupations but remains active in writing and various advocacy efforts for environmental and humanitarian causes, including his political work with the Australian Greens party. Dr. Rich has run a counseling psychology practice for decades helping clients in need. His role as a "Professional Grandfather" involves promoting a global culture of decency, compassion, and cooperation to address issues like climate change. 

He is also a storyteller with 20 published books in a variety of genres including both fiction and nonfiction. Seven of his books, and over 40 short stories, have won awards. Everything he does, including his writing, is working toward a survivable future for them, and one worth surviving in. He carries on much of this work at his popular blog, Bobbing Around. Credit: Dr. Bob Rich. 

Tune In! 

November 26, 2025 - 1 pm AEDT (AET)

Send

 

Credit: Send By David Shipley and Will Schwalbe

Overview

Send, the classic guide to email for office and home, has become indispensable for readers navigating the impersonal, and at times overwhelming, world of electronic communication. Filled with real-life email success (and horror) stories and a wealth of useful and entertaining examples, Send dissects all the major minefields and pitfalls of email. It provides clear rules for constructing effective emails, for handheld etiquette, for handling the “emotional email,” and for navigating all of today’s hot-button issues. It offers essential strategies to help you both better manage the ever-increasing number of emails you receive and improve the ones you send. Send is now more than ever the essential book about email for businesspeople and professionals everywhere. Credit: Penguin Random House.

Leadership Unblocked By Muriel M. Wilkins

Credit: Leadership Unblocked

 

Overview 

Your mindset may be the only thing standing between you and your potential. Break free from the beliefs that hold you back. As a leader, do you find yourself frustrated, wondering why employees don't meet expectations, peers are slow to act, or pressure from your boss falls unfairly on your shoulders? It's easy to point a finger at others and double down on getting results. But have you ever considered that the problem might not be them—that it might be you?

Through countless hours coaching executives over the past twenty years, C-suite adviser Muriel M. Wilkins has pinpointed the biggest reason behind these common leadership challenges: hidden blockers. These unconscious beliefs can actively stall progress if leaders aren't aware of their existence, preventing them from seeing a situation clearly, solving problems effectively, and advancing their careers.

In Leadership Unblocked, Wilkins reveals seven key beliefs that hold leaders back, from "I know I'm right" to "I need to be involved" to "I don't belong here." Combining illustrative and powerful coaching conversations and research from the fields of neuroscience, leadership, and adult development theory, Wilkins offers a self-coaching guide for identifying, unpacking, and breaking through these barriers. Credit: Muriel M. Wilkins.

How Does Sanctification Work? By David Powlison

 

Credit: How Does Sanctification Work?

Overview

The process of sanctification is personal and organic―not a one-size-fits-all formula.

Many popular views try to reduce the process of Christian growth to a single template. For example, remember past grace. Rehearse your identity in Christ. Avail yourself of the means of grace. Discipline yourself. But Scripture portrays the dynamics of sanctification in a rich variety of ways. No single factor, truth, or protocol can capture why and how a person is changed into the image of Christ. Weaving together personal stories, biblical exposition, and theological reflection, David Powlison shows the personal and particular ways that God meets you where you are to produce change. He highlights the variety of factors that work together, helping us to avoid sweeping generalizations and pat answers in the search for a key to sanctification. This book is a go-to resource for understanding the multifaceted, lifelong, personal journey of sanctification. Read more here. Credit: David Powlison.