Hello from London,

What, aside from science fiction and fantasy, have you been reading while the pandemic flushes our social lives down the toilet?

I've read a number of books, a couple of which I recommend wholeheartedly if you happen to share one of my interests.

That interest is a form of lifehacking.

An Intentional Life - A Couple of Books

This may not seem like science fiction or fantasy, but some of the information in these books, particularly Lifespan, is arguably not that far off, even though they are both non-fiction.

Lifehacking usually means adjustments to improve one's productivity. That's not exactly what I mean. While I certainly look at all of that, I'm more interested in hacks, adjustments and habits that improve my quality of life, as defined by me. That means health, productivity and mental state. In essence, that boils down to methods by which I can lead a more intentional life. Unfortunately once again a phrase that means different things to different people.

Without disappearing down the endless rabbit hole that this conversation can lead to, here are the two books that I read over the last few months that I recommend very strongly if you're interested in the subjects they cover.

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

This is my first recommendation, and a book that has changed the way I think about sleep. I've worked in some pretty demanding jobs. Stress and deliverables exceeded my capacity to cope with them, and I compensated by not sleeping very much at all for two entire years. Later on in life, I spent two years in a masters degree where, by choice, I slept very little.

I, and the people around me, believed this made us warriors, or somesuch.

If you share that conceit, this book will set you straight. Why We Sleep is one of the most frightening books I've read, because it lays out in brutal and relentless detail the consequences of not sleeping, and those consequences are more far-reaching that you imagine.

Get your eight hours. Seriously. If you doubt the importance of this, then read this book.

Lifespan by David Sinclair

I've taken vitamins and supplements on and off over the years, usually because I read or heard something that said I should be taking vitamin C, or magnesium or iron, or something.

I recently decided I should reconsider these ill-informed and half-hearted attempts at health self-management and get more informed. Part of that effort brought David Sinclair and his book, Lifespan, to my attention.

Sinclair defines ageing as disease, explains the causes and the mechanisms that hold the ageing process in check, or can even reverse it. He then explains why those processes are not working to their full effect, and what you can do to rekindle these regenerative and protective processes in your own body.

Heavy on the science, but nevertheless very approachable and easy to read, this book was a real eye-opener, both in terms of what will be possible in a couple of decades, and what we can already do for ourselves today.

Now on to fiction...

Collections of Discounted Stories

Three different collections of discounted stories for you this week. One in the science fiction and horror genres, and the other two with a much broader selection of novels and novellas, mainly focused on discounted offers for Black Friday.

My first promotion is a general sale of complete stories from every genre. The books should all be 99 cents or less to purchase, so you should be able to stock up on good literature at bargain prices.

My book in this particular bundle is "Eternal Child", a reimagining of the story of the Jinn. I've discounted it to 99c until the end of this promotion, which will be December 23rd. Enough time to grab some stories for reading by the fireplace.

Click to Access the Promotion

This second group promotion contains eighteen books with at least some aspect of either science fiction or horror to them. My novella from this collection (Snow), contains a slightly horrible premise/reveal, but is clearly science fiction. I hope you find something you enjoy there.

Click to Access the Promotion

This final collection is also in honor of Black Friday, and contains a large number of books that are either priced below $2.99, or have been discounted for this promotion. Once again my novel in the promotion is "Snow".

Click to Access the Promotion

That's it for this week. I hope you're all well and the seasonal preparations are on track despite the pandemic.

Thank you for reading.

Nick

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