Chapter 155: Bulle the Bookseller broadens borders and births bibliophiles
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're back to Africa! Last month we kicked off a little Kenyan series on 3 Books and today I...
Chapter 36: Two teenage Mormon missionaries on missing mom to make miracles
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
So one day I'm out taking one of my magical life-changing long walks when suddenly two guys a...
Chapter 154: Peter Kimani on conquering the curse of choreographed colonialism
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're heading to Africa! Over the years we have taken the 3 Books podcast on the road many times ....
Chapter 35: Jen Agg on fussy feminism and ferocious fastidiousness
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"Whatever Jen Agg says is worth listening to," said Anthony Bourdain. I fully agree! If you live ...
Chapter: 153: Carl Honoré imparts illuminating insights into intentional idleness
07 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The pace of living is accelerating. I often feel like things are happening too quickly to process ...
Chapter 27: Robin the Bartender on fiddling with frankincense and fighting for freedom
21 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Chapter 152: Robin Sloan weaves wonder and weirdness into the warbly world of words
07 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last year I picked up a book called 'Moonbound' by Robin Sloan and it blew me away. Reading ...
Chapter 30: Jerry Howarth on branding, bereavement, and Blue Jays baseball
23 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
My friend Drew Dudley once told me that, other than his parents, he hadn't heard anyone speak to hi...
Chapter 151: The Holderness Family conquers content creation by corralling chaos
09 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What do Xmas Jammies, ADHD, and The Amazing Race have in common? The Holderness Family! Penn a...
Chapter 4: Sarah Ramsey on beating book blame with brilliant bookselling
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A few years ago, I settled into the children's section of Book City in the heart of Toronto's beauti...
Chapter 150: Prime Minister Jean Chrétien lays down lifelong lessons on leadership, liberalism, and longevity
10 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Born in 1934, the 18th of 19 children in the small blue-collar town of Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Jea...
5 Beach Books to Stretch Your Mind
25 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Long before I oriented my life around reading, I would get the majority of my (4-5!) books per year...
My New Book! 'Canada is Awesome' | Full Audiobook
21 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
BIG NEWS! I just finished writing CANADA IS AWESOME: A Little Book About A Big Country. This podca...
Chapter 149: John and Alison on fascism-fighting fiction fomenting freedom and fraternity
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It started with a modern plea for help: "Can I charge my dead phone in your bookstore?" I was in ...
Chapter 29: Michael Harris on queer questions and the quest for quiet
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Loneliness rates have doubled since the 1980s and Vivek Murthy, former US Surgeon General, says lon...
Chapter 148: Ginny Yurich obviates obsolete offspring with 1000 hours outside
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ginny Yurich (@1000hoursoutside) drove 5 hours up the road from Michigan to Toronto to hang ou...
Chapter 28: Mark Manson on constant cursing and clearing clutter
27 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Have you heard of a book called 'The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck'? I'm guessing you have...
Chapter 147: Nickisha the Dog Walker on dangerous drivers and dog doo diligence
13 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Let's go for a walk! I've sometimes imagined 3 Books as a long walk with a friend. So today—let...
Chapter 26: Angie Thomas on righting racist wrongs and remembering radicals
29 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
No one does it like Angie. Racial tensions, police shootings, citizen uprisings. Does this sound l...
Chapter 146: Emily Nagoski on exuberant erotic exploration
14 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is porn good sex education? Why does body autonomy matter for kids? Does talking about sex kill the...
Chapter 25: James Frey on drunk, defiant differentiation
28 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What do you know about James Frey? Or what do you think you know about James Frey? I'm guessing i...
Chapter 145: Lindyman leverages long-lasting lessons on living a limitless life
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Don't use mouthwash. Why? It's not Lindy. At least that's what Paul Skallas, a Chicago-born...
Chapter 22: Tim Urban on shivering in shorts and shifting from sheep to chef
29 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We live in interesting times. And they're getting interestinger! I keep my eyes open for big...
Chapter 144: Nick Sweetman on breaking boundaries with brilliant birds
13 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nick Sweetman is one of Toronto's most prominent graffiti artists. Last February I was walki...
Chapter 18: David Sedaris on holding happiness hostage and healing holes in our hearts
30 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Who else loves David Sedaris? I discovered him in 1997 when an old mentor/editor at Golden Words, m...
Best Of 2024: Neil Pasricha plucks pithy pointers to prime ponderings
21 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Solstice! As we do every December solstice it's time for our 7th Annual "Best Of" episode o...
Chapter 143: Chris Smalls on anti-Amazon activism and abolishing aristocracy
15 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Amazon is one of the largest companies in the world with over a million employees in the U.S. alone....
Chapter 15: Mitch Albom on making music, managing mojo, and memorializing Morrie
01 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Once you find purpose, and once you find style… what's left? Beauty. What's left is finding and ...
Chapter 142: Oliver Burkeman relishes reflection and reveals writing rituals
15 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are you ready for a writing masterclass from one of the best self-help writers in the world? Afte...
Chapter 7: Vishwas the Uber driver on setting standards and secrets of stellar service
01 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Let's jump into the backseat of Vishwas Aggrawal's Uber and take a trip you won't forget. This is a...
Chapter 141: James Daunt on bespoke bookselling building Barnes and bonds
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
James Daunt grew up in England the child of a diplomat—moving countries, tasting cultures, living ...
Chapter 6: Judy Blume on bouncing balls, biting breasts, and building bookstores
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Did you grow up with Judy Blume? My mom says I "found my voice" reading 'Tales of a Fourth Grade...
Bookmark: The 2-minute happiness practice to wind down your day with intention
22 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"Happiness is a choice." Heard that saying before? Betting you have. We all have! It's almost c...
Chapter 140: Amy Einhorn on powerful pages and publishing possibilities
18 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett. 'Big Little Lies' by Liane Moriarty. 'Let's Pretend This Never Happe...
Chapter 3: Seth Godin on shifting stories and stretching ourselves
03 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Happy new moon, everybody! I am going to release a few of my favorite classic chapters of 3 Books....
Chapter 139: Lewis Mallard valorizes visionary vandalism
19 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I was at a coffee shop on College Street when the barista Tony yelled "Hey! There's that duck!" ...
Chapter 138: Maria Popova mines meaning in marginalia
21 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Maria Popova was born in communist Bulgaria and emigrated to the U.S. six days after her 19th birthd...
Chapter 137: Jonathan Franzen finds fellow freaks and forges fantastic fiction
22 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I remember getting the knife. It was near Christmas about 10 years ago and Leslie and I wer...
Chapter 136: 3 St. Louis Uber drivers on bullets, bruises, and babies
23 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I just got back from St. Louis. It was my first time there and I met a wonderfully rich collectio...
Chapter 135: Cal Newport severs cell subservience to steep slow success
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cal Newport is a guide, a visionary, a role model to me and millions of others on living an intentio...
Chapter 134: Susan Orlean on lusty ledes and literary lessons for life
25 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I got an email from longtime 3 Booker Bo Boswell who told me he found an enticingly-titled thread on...
Chapter 133: Celine Song stitches sumptuous stories from Seoul to soul
24 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's Oscar season! I was so thrilled to see 'Past Lives', the astounding slow-moving-yet-somehow-...
Chapter 132: Robin Dunbar on nullifying negativity with numbered natural networks
25 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Back in Chapter 101 of '3 Books' we had a magical, eve-of-'Everything-Everywhere-All-At-Once'-coming...
Chapter 131: J. Drew Lanham on breaking boundaries to become better birdwatchers
27 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Buckle up! We are heading down to the fields of Clemson, South Carolina! I got an email from 3...
The Best of 2023: Neil Pasricha rewinds and reflects on the richness of reading
22 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Another year around the sun! It is the Winter Solstice which means it is time for our sixth annua...
Chapter 130: Ralph Nader on corporate crime creating classist chaos
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Your airbag" by Ralph Nader. "Your seatbelt" by Ralph Nader. "Your cleaner air" by Ralph Nader. "Yo...
Bookmark: Leslie Richardson on practicing peaceful parenting
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today I'm putting out a special Bookmark episode of 3 Books featuring my incredible wife Leslie ...
Chapter 129: Sahil Bloom freezes at 4am to find fortune and finish first
28 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I flew down to New York City and sat in a plush purple corner booth at the pricey and exclusive Core...
Chapter 128: Heather McGowan listens to lessons from the Lakota and Legacy of Luna
29 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I started 3 Books back in 2018. I didn't fully appreciate how big, wide, and deep the core ques...
Chapter 127: Lenore Skenazy on killing coddling to create capable kids
31 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Early episodes of Sesame Street from the late 1960s show five-year-olds walking streets alone, talki...
Chapter 126: Jully Black on anthem alterations and attitude absolutions
01 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I've been lucky enough to be invited onto 'The Social' (@TheSocialCTV) a few times. Do you know the ...
Chapter 125: Two Syrian Chefs share sheep and shawarma shopkeeping shenanigans
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"All the time focus on the positive things. Not the negative things. Then the karma, it will come, i...
Bookmark: Live At 'Word On The Street' Book Festival
18 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Do you have book festivals where you live? I feel like book festivals are such a sign of hea...
Chapter 124: Martellus Bennett weaves Willy Wonka with warrior wisdom
04 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Martellus Bennett is reimagining imagination. He's perhaps best known in cultural press for his ...
Bookmark: Rocking and rolling with ravishing Rich Roll
19 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Happy new moon! Here's a story and a snip from my appearance on The Rich Roll Podcast. Listen to the...
Chapter 123: Suzy Batiz on suffering, surviving, and selling shit
05 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Do you realize what you've done? You've taken the smell out of shit!" Suzy Batiz says this is wh...
Bookmark: Honing healthy happy habits with the Holdernesses
20 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Penn and Kim Holderness are a beam of light in the world. If you aren't one of the billion peop...
Chapter 122: Tank Sinatra on masterpiece microdosing and meme mastery in our manufactured madness
06 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Diluting central news sources. Constantly narrowing echo chambers. An ever-fracturing sense of commu...
Bookmark: On braving bushy brambles and becoming a birder
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I felt trapped early in the pandemic. I normally walk every day in downtown Toronto. I write on p...
Chapter 121: Johann Hari on deleting devious dogma and discovering deeper designs
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Happy full moon, everybody! Do you feel like the world today -- our culture today -- is pullin...
[Oscar Encore!] Daniels existentially explore everything everywhere
20 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Happy new moon, everybody! I have a very special Oscar Encore episode for you today -- in cel...
Chapter 120: Timothy Goodman on popping privilege paradigms and paving personal paths
05 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Snow Moon, everybody! I've been thinking a lot again about what makes life important. I'...
Bookmark: The Current
21 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Happy new moon! Today I'm sharing a recent conversation I had with veteran journalist Matt Gall...
Chapter 119: Steve Toltz on refining writing rituals and raising ravenous readers
06 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What is your favorite novel? It's a hard question. A big question! A question that makes most peo...
Chapter 118: Catherine Hernandez poses for positivity with pride and presence
23 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Do you ever have a book go viral through your family? Your aunt reads it and tells everyone at di...
The Best of 2022: Neil Pasricha winds and wades through wandering wisdoms
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Can you believe it? We started 3 Books back on March 31, 2018 with the goal of counting down the ...
Chapter 117: Ajay Agrawal and Gina Buonaguro on puzzling pasts and portending possibilities
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On the heels of launching my latest book, Our Book of Awesome, I'm enjoying the fellowship of two a...
Bookmark: Our Book of Awesome Book Launch Special
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
My new book Our Book of Awesome comes out today! Grab a copy at www.ourbookofawesome.com
Chapter 116: Bryan Stevenson on handling haunting histories with heart and hope
23 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I got a phone call at 1-833-READ-A-LOT from Austin Wong in Oregon telling me we had to get Bryan Ste...
Chapter 115: Gabor Maté targets toxic triggers to transcend trauma
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Let's flash back to Budapest Hungary in 1944 where a little baby boy named Gabor lay crying in his c...
Chapter 114: Light Watkins on Mexico's marvels, meditation myths, and mental mastery
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Five years ago I was invited down to Brooklyn to speak at an event called The Shine Movement. It was...
Chapter 113: Alie Ward oozes originality over odysseys and ologies
09 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Oh hey. It's the person who just dropped their phone on the bus right when the driver hit the g...
Chapter 112: Katie Mack on cultivating curiosity and contemplating the cosmos
25 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I want to make you dizzy. I want to make you look up into the sky and comprehend, maybe for the f...
Bookmark: The two-minute morning rule for having a great day
23 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Equinox! Today the sun is directly above the equator so no matter where you are the day...
Chapter 111: Austin Kleon draws on doodling to design and dream
10 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Buckle up! Today we are flying down to hot, hot Austin, Texas where we're going to grab three cha...
Chapter 110: Kevin Kelly on quashing quandaries with curiosity and creativity
27 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kevin Kelly is a man of many titles. Krista Tippett calls him a 'philosopher technologist', Tim F...
Chapter 109: Rebecca the Sex Educator on embracing erotic exploration
12 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What is your erotic potential? And how might you ... increase it? Online erotica? Mindful mastur...
Chapter 108: Mohsin Hamid on the pleasures of pages and the pulse of Pakistan
28 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mohsin Hamid is one of the greatest writers of this generation. He was born in 1971 in Lahore, Pa...
Chapter 107: Latanya and Jerry build biblio buzz on the Bronx Bound Books bus
13 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Happy full moon! Hard to believe we are halfway through our fifth year of this epic pilgrimage. ...
Chapter 106: Alok Vaid-Menon battles binary boundaries and beauty biases
29 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Alok ("A-loke") Vaid-Menon was born in College Station, Texas in 1991 to parents from India and Mala...
Bookmark: How to help someone with anxiety or depression
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Summer Solstice! (and happy Winter Solstice!) Have you noticed we're tilting further towar...
Chapter 105: Nancy the Librarian on the riches and rewards of resplendent reading
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nancy Pearl is a Superhero Librarian. One of our values on 3 Books is "Librarians and booksellers...
Chapter 104: Boniface Mwangi combats corrosive Kenyan corruption with courage and kindness
30 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Boniface Mwangi is a Nairobi-based social justice activist fighting for equity in his home country a...
Chapter 103: Jonathan Haidt on mirrory misconceptions and morality in the matrix
16 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Haidt is the Professor of Ethical Leadership at NYU's Stern School of Business and the auth...
Chapter 102: Susan Cain on bathing in beauty, books, and bittersweetness
30 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is a very unique chapter! It is a double chapter, in a way. To begin with I was so lucky ...
Chapter 101: Daniels existentially explore everything everywhere
16 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The best movie I have seen in years is called Everything, Everywhere All At Once and it was written ...
Chapter 100: Neil and Leslie on the creative chaos of craft and the kindness of committed community
01 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Chapter 100! Thank you for four years of this journey and conversation. To mark the...
Bookmark: The Knowledge Project
20 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Bookmark #5. Last year we started experimenting with the idea of releasing four extra ...
Chapter 99: Doug the Bookseller on bookstore belonging and bottomless bibliomania
18 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Just dial 416-482-5665 and chances are Doug Miller will pick up the phone at Doug Miller Books, an i...
Chapter 98: IN-Q invites intimacy, intentionality, and interstellar inquiry
02 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I'm very pleased, privileged, and proud to introduce or re-introduce you to the sunbeaming sage that...
Chapter 97: Debbie Millman shuns shame to spark spirit and sew soulful symbiosis
16 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Are you a passionate fan of Design Matters like I am? It's one of the world's oldest podcasts and on...
Chapter 96: Dave the CEO on stratospheric strategizing and subtle secrets of success
01 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
David Cheesewright is the former CEO of Walmart International. In that role he led over a million...
Chapter 95: Bess Kalb on kvetching over koans and kindling comic kinship
17 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"Why are women, who have the whole male world at their mercy, not funny? Please do not pretend to kn...
Chapter 94: Dan the Tailor on rappelling rabbit-holes and rocking with Ronnie
02 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel Torjman is beautiful. And so is his incredible store 18 Waits. Two years ago I was walk...
The Best of 2021: Neil Pasricha curates courageous, candid, and colorful conversations
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Can you believe it? We started 3 Books back on March 31, 2018 with the goal of counting down the ...
Chapter 93: Chris Hadfield on the sci-fi and science of sustainable space settlement
19 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Hello 3 Bookers! Let's close off our fourth year of 3 Books by sitting down with Chris Hadfie...
Chapter 92: Edward Packard on amplifying awareness with awe and adventure
04 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Were you one of the 500 million people who read Choose Your Own Adventure books? When I was growi...
Chapter 91: Nora McInerny on nixing numbers and nurturing naked needs
19 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Chapter 91 of 3 Books! How are you holding up in 2021? It has been a wild 20 months. ...
Chapter 90: Derek Sivers on shattering suppositions with Stoic soul
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome. Have a seat on the couch. Plug your headphones in for the dishes. Strap in for the l...
Chapter 89: Zafar the Hamburger Man on Bryant's basics and blossoming like Barack
20 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
I was riding my bike in downtown Toronto the other day and rolled past my old neighborhood a couple ...