Tsundoku nowadays

Lovers of risk, anxious investors trade frequently and believe they have the edge over others. Many have absolutely no idea what their returns actually were and only remember their good decisions.

For hoarders, money represents security. They abhor risk and may even stockpile cash that they would probably be better off investing — or even spending.

Find an advisor you feel comfortable with who can discuss the right investment approach — and level of risk — for you.

To give books the attention and time it deserves in your life, you need to make it a higher priority. It means you have to change your habits and routines to allow more reading.

Sometimes, your reading needs only a little encouragement to displace something that should be lower down on your list. For example, to forgo watching television and reading a book instead.

• First consider why you want to read more books. Reading should be enjoyable for you because you find them entertaining, calming, stimulating, and fascinating. Once the habit is set, you can also read other things you "should" read.
• Change your surroundings to make it easier for you to grab a book. Reading apps can be prominent on your phone. Physical books should be in places that you most often frequent.
• Create modest reading goals. Permit yourself to start with reading one page a day. Once the habit is established, you can increase it.
• Once you have laid the foundation for your new reading habit, create an action association, such as reading on the train to work or with your mid-morning coffee or dinner.

Some words remain a mystery, as human language cannot be simply demarcated and translated as is, by giving definitions to words.

Certain words add to the mystery and the beauty of languages and provide richer shades to communication.

Certain words contain the essence of the lifestyles, and the hardships endured in certain cultures. These words are relatable to those who themselves have experienced the same.

As the ikigai method of living one’s life has gained massive international attention in recent times, the concept itself is struggling to find a connection with reality in its homeland, where the downside of working 14-hour days is showing.

The term was initially mentioned in the 14th Century and was then seen in the novel Kokoro (The Heart Of Things) by Natsume Soseki in 1912. As Japan emerged from an era of isolation and started embracing the international, industrial world, the new way of life started to interest the population.

The devastation of World War II brought the era of growth, known as the ‘economic miracle’, where the people of the country were filled with new energy, and had the focus and drive to achieve the impossible.

• Learn Multiple Languages. Learn the basics and common vocabulary roots of the biggest language groups. This will enable you to learn any language.
• Learn How to Write. It all starts with keeping a diary or a dream journal.
• Be Artistic. Know the great works of art and music. Listen to some good music. Learn common techniques of drawing, painting, and sculpture.
• Get Interested in Philosophy. Know something about every major philosopher and theory.
• Learn Some Physics.
• Explore History. History helps you understand the present. It gives you insights into human nature.
• Read as Much as Possible. Know the classics and the most powerful literature works from modern authors.

Memes have their origins in the world of academia. Richard Dawkins coined the term 'meme' in his 1976 book, The Selfish Gene. Dawkins describes a meme as "a unit of cultural transmission or imitation."

The word comes from the Greek 'mimema', meaning imitated.

Internet memes are units of popular culture that are shared, imitated, and changed by users.

The first meme on the internet was the sideways 'smiley' :-) , created in 1982. The practice of using punctuation markers to show emotion spread quickly and later other expressions, such as :-( and ;-) were added.
The first example of digital viral content is the Hampster Dance meme - rows of dancing hamster GIFs - created by an art student in 1998.

The Japanese have a secret that embodies the idea of happiness in living, and it is called Ikigai.

Essentially, Ikigai, loosely translated to life value, or life worth, is a concept of living that the Japanese culture imbibes for decades.

According to psychiatrist Mieko Kamiya, the concept of Ikigai is similar to happiness, but with a difference.

Ikigai looks at the larger picture of life, allowing you to be ok with a miserable situation, as the grand vision of life, and the future is still positive.

We often struggle to find time to read. That's why we need to start small.

• Read five pages of a book that interests you every day. When you are comfortable with five pages, try ten, then twenty.
• The book should interest you. Reading a book of your choice makes the activity a pleasure to look forward to.
• It helps to keep the book, audiobook app, or e-reader on you. Then, when you have some downtime, you can read instead of playing a smartphone game.

Research found that audiobooks stimulate the brain differently but just as deeply as reading.

With print books, you need to provide the voice, imagine the tune and rhythm of speech, the intonation, stress of syllables, and so on. All this gets provided for you when listening to audio. With audiobooks, you're using different methods to decode and understand it. But it still deeply impacts your thoughts and feelings.

For a weight-loss hack, it goes like this: As soon as you order a meal at a restaurant, ask immediately that half of it be put in a to-go box once it’s ready and only the other half served to you. It’s basically a stricter version of portion control.

We can apply the same technique to get ourselves to read more.

Instead of 2 hours of Netflix each night, cutting it in half would still give you the satisfaction of watching Netflix in the evenings but also free up time to read as well.

Preview the book in order to vet whether or not it’s worth investing your time in.

• Use book summaries. Find apps that give accurate and concise summaries of many of the most popular books out there and are constantly updating their library.
• Use podcast interviews with the author. Authors often go on the podcast circuit to promote their books. 

Top business leaders and CEOs usually recommend non-fiction books, however, studies point towards fiction as an effective way to enhance the brain's ability to keep an open mind while processing information, leading to effective decision making.

Non-readers often jump to conclusions, but the ones who invest in reading are more thoughtful, creative and comfortable with competing narratives and contradictory information.