The oldest known book in the world is the Epic of Gilgamesh, a collection of Sumerian stories and poems from ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest version of the text dates back to around 2100 BC, but it was passed down through the centuries and eventually recorded in cuneiform script on clay tablets. The epic tells the story of the hero Gilgamesh, who is part god and part mortal, and his quest for immortality. The book is considered to be one of the earliest works of literature and has been studied for its themes of friendship, loss, and the search for meaning in life. Many of the themes and motifs in the Epic of Gilgamesh are still relevant today and it continues to be studied and enjoyed by people all over the world.

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📚 Staff Pick of the Week

Range: Why Generalists Triumph In a Specialized World by David Epstein

Plenty of experts argue that anyone who wants to develop a skill, play an instrument, or lead their field should start early, focus intensely, and rack up as many hours of deliberate practice as possible. If you dabble or delay, you’ll never catch up to the people who got a head start. But a closer look at research on the world’s top performers, from professional athletes to Nobel laureates, shows that early specialization is the exception, not the rule.

David Epstein examined the world’s most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors, forecasters and scientists. He discovered that in most fields—especially those that are complex and unpredictable—generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. Generalists often find their path late, and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one. They’re also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can’t see.

Provocative, rigorous, and engrossing, Range makes a compelling case for actively cultivating inefficiency. Failing a test is the best way to learn. Frequent quitters end up with the most fulfilling careers. The most impactful inventors cross domains rather than deepening their knowledge in a single area. As experts silo themselves further while computers master more of the skills once reserved for highly focused humans, people who think broadly and embrace diverse experiences and perspectives will increasingly thrive.

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Rising Quickly - Week of January 23, 2022

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

In A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson trekked the Appalachian Trail—well, most of it. In A Sunburned Country, he confronted some of the most lethal wildlife Australia has to offer. Now, in his biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand—and, if possible, answer—the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as territory everything from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization, Bryson seeks to understand how we got from there being nothing at all to there being us. To that end, he has attached himself to a host of the world’s most advanced (and often obsessed) archaeologists, anthropologists, and mathematicians, travelling to their offices, laboratories, and field camps. He has read (or tried to read) their books, pestered them with questions, apprenticed himself to their powerful minds.

A Short History of Nearly Everything is the record of this quest, and it is a sometimes profound, sometimes funny, and always supremely clear and entertaining adventure in the realms of human knowledge, as only Bill Bryson can render it. Science has never been more involving or entertaining.

🪄Most Talked About Fiction - Week of January 23, 2022

Holly by Stephen King

Stephen King's novel "Holly" follows the character Holly Gibney as she takes on a new case as a private detective to find a missing girl. Holly is reluctant to take on the case due to personal reasons but something in the girl's mother's voice makes her unable to say no. The case leads her to investigate a married couple who seem like respectable octogenarians but are hiding a dark secret in their basement that may be related to the missing girl. Holly must use her skills and intelligence to outsmart the twisted couple.

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📚 Most Talked About Non-Fiction - Week of January 23, 2022

Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans

Designers create worlds and solve problems using design thinking. Look around your office or home—at the tablet or smartphone you may be holding or the chair you are sitting in. Everything in our lives was designed by someone. And every design starts with a problem that a designer or team of designers seeks to solve.

In this book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise.

🆕 New and Noteworthy

Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy by Daniel Willingham

When we study, we tend to focus on the tasks we can most easily control—such as highlighting and rereading—but these practices only give the illusion of mastery. As Dan Willingham, professor of psychology and bestselling author, explains, familiarity is not the same as comprehension.

Perfect for teachers and students of all ages, Outsmart Your Brain provides real-world practices and the latest research on how to train your brain for better learning. Each chapter provides clear and specific strategies while also explaining why traditional study processes do not work. Grounded in scientifically backed practical advice, this is the ultimate guide to improving grades and better understanding the power of our own brains.

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