3 Books With Neil Pasricha

• My Book 'Canada is Awesome' | Full Audiobook

  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

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• Chapter 155: Bulle the Bookseller broadens borders and births bibliophiles

  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 …

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• Chapter 36: Two teenage Mormon missionaries on missing mom to make miracles

  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.

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• Chapter 154: Peter Kimani on conquering the curse of choreographed colonialism

  We're heading to Africa! Over the years we have taken the 3 Books podcast on the road many times ... from recording in ​Judy Blume's bookstore​ in Key West to to the ​back of Jackie's Uber​ in St. Louis to ​Jonathan Haidt's kitchen​ in New York we've gone where the stories take us. And for the first time we are going to the 55-country and 1.5 billion person continent of Africa. I am so excited to share the first of three chapters of 3 Books recorded in Nairobi, Kenya. I landed there and went whizzing down busy streets with colourful stalls, wandering goats, people pulling carts full of eggs, women carrying baskets on their heads, endless whizzing bodas (motorcycles). I visited the lovely home of novelist and professor ​Peter Kimani​ — where he lives with his wife Anne and their two boys. Peter is a huge mind and talented writer whose work spans New York Times Notable novels such as '​Dance of the Jakaranda​' to writing a poem for Barack Obama's presidential inauguration. Peter has studied at the University of Iowa—the Harvard of writing schools, perhaps!—and earned his doctorate at the University of Houston. He was awarded the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature, Kenya's highest literary honor, and is a professor at Aga Khan University in Nairobi. Let's sit down outside in his backyard garden, near the mango and orange trees, below the calls of the Pied Crows, and discuss normalizing abnormalities, decolonizing our minds, The Hardy Boys, writing as an extension of living, whitewashing conservation, Peter's 3 most formative books, and much, much more... Let's flip the page to Chapter 154 now...

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• Chapter 35: Jen Agg on fussy feminism and ferocious fastidiousness

  "Whatever Jen Agg says is worth listening to," said Anthony Bourdain. I fully agree! If you live in Toronto you probably know Jen Agg. If you don't, let me tell you she runs the best restaurants in town! Come visit and try them! Her most recent stunner is a two-story converted auto-body shop turned Toronto Life #1 ranked restaurant called "​General Public​" and it is a feast for the senses. Jen describes the place as "part Narnia, part fancy British pub, and part '80s cocaine dream" which gives you a sample of her incredible way with words on top of dishes on top of lighting on top of music on top of ... vibe. I was at General Public last week with my friend Agostino and we split Rainbow Trout Tartare, Hiramasa Crudo, Chicory Salad, and Popcorn Clams and Mussels. And those were just our appetizers! And precisely none of the items fully described the depth of surprising and fresh ingredients leading to the full-body sensory experiences we had when taking our first bites... Jen Agg has opened many other award-winning restaurants including ​Bar Vendetta​, ​Grey Gardens​, ​Le Swan​, ​Rhum Corner​, ​Hoof Cocktail Bar​ and, famously, The Black Hoof (RIP), where I still remember my friend Drew ordering a Spicy Raw Horse Sandwich with raw egg on top many years ago. His verdict? "Delicious!" Of course that place turned the restaurant scene in the city sharply sideways! And sharply sideways is such a great way to live... I admire Jen Agg's sharply sideways ways and also highly recommend her bestselling memoir "​I Hear She's A Real Bitch​" (perhaps the best memoir title of all time?) Now there is of course no where else to sit down with Jen than one of her restaurants so for this one we slip into the front booth at the delectable "french diner" that is ​Le Swan​. Btw, if you go you might find yourself making a new Spotify playlist like I did to remember the great music you're hearing—"Ooh la la" by Ronnie Lane followed by "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison followed by "Everybody's Talkin'" by Harry Nilsson followed by "Tangled Up In Blue" by Bob Dylan! Of course it's hard to pay attention to the music when you're gobbling Smoked Trout Rillette, Steak Tartare, and the city's best Corn Dogs! Let's sit down and talk about fussiness as a virtue, the art of dining alone, having a healthy marriage with someone much older than you, the brilliant Jen Agg's 3 most formative books, and much, much, MUCH more... It was an honour and privilege to talk to Jen Agg in this classic chapter of 3 Books.

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