How much can one man endure while fulfilling his personal obligations to family/society? 'The Age of Innocence' was published in 1920 and one year later Edith Wharton became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize. Her book is set in the 1870's and follows the personal dramas of high society New York, centring around the love triangle between Newland Archer, his fiancée May Welland and her captivating, enigmatic cousin Ellen Olenska. I summarised the book as follows. "I was somewhat surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this book. Drama and interpersonal relations don't tend to draw me in but I actually resonated quite a lot with Newland and his predicament. The book explores themes of social class, breaking taboo's and where an individual's happiness is acceptable in light of the obligations/duties owed to his society and family." I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out! Timeline: (0:00) - Background & synopsis (2:43) - Social class: doesn't make someone 'better' (8:13) - Mixing duty/obligation with love (13:24) - Is intense, fiery love sustainable? (16:16) - Personal observations (20:02) - Summary & pragmatic takeaway Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/ ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddUS-ikgTVA

Does Douglas Murray believe you can actually reason with madness? 'The Madness Of Crowds' by Douglas Murray is an extension of his own fight in the cultural wars as a journalist and political commentator. The book is split into 4 parts each of about 50-60 pages long on Gay/Women/Race/Trans. It highlights the modern absurdities of far left thinking, the historical treatment of minority groups and the implications of getting this all wrong. I summarised the book as follows. "It is smoothly written considering the density of topics and does not feel like a bludgeoning of information/stories. The shocking absurdities are told in a humorous style and is a superb analysis of the current times. It's a book of idea landmines and Douglas is running through full pelt with clown shoes on. A brave soul indeed!" I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out! Timeline: (0:00) - Synopsis (2:56) - Madness: Extremely foolish behaviour/state of wild, chaotic activity (6:21) - The Cultural War: Choose your battles wisely (9:49) - Personal Observations (15:47) - Summary (16:58) - Pragmatic Takeaway: Read 'Conundrum' by Jan Morris Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/ ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFQNjLsffmA

I'm going live with a new style, less objective and more subjective. Full chapters, images, links, transcripts and shownotes can be found in a Podcasting 2.0 app. If you'd like them here leave a comment to let me know and I'll consider it, but it won't happen unless I know people want them :) Value 4 Value Support: Boostagram: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/support Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcast Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReU Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcast ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZGCCFAy_Cg

How well do you really know your own mind? 'Thinking, Fast And Slow' is a hugely influential book published by the Nobel Prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman. In it he summarises 40 years of psychological research that helped to create the field of behavioural economics. The book is littered with gems of insight into the human brain and why humans behave the way we do. This includes heuristics such as loss aversion/anchoring/priming as well as larger concepts such as System 1 vs System 2, Econs vs Humans and the Experiencing Self vs Remembering Self. I summarised the book as follows. "This was probably one of the most referenced books I had come across in my life and was finally glad to read it. This would have been mind blowing to me if I had not already heard all the concepts being talked about by people who had already read it! I particularly enjoyed the little tests at the start of the chapters which really highlight how easily your mind can be led astray. My only fault with it was that some parts did become a little dry and I found myself getting distracted until I came into the next chapter. All in all a fantastic book if you want to learn more about psychology and the way the human brain works!" I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out! Timeline: (0:00) - Book overview (1:40) - Prospect vs Utility theory (5:58) - System 1 vs 2, Econs vs Humans & Experiencing vs Remembering Self (9:21) - Personal observations (13:20) - Summary (15:06) - Pragmatic takeaway: be wary of probabilities Connect with Mere Mortals: Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/ ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mzm1Wct-h4