Hello, fellow knowledge seeker,

Have you read something that changed the way you viewed the world?

‘Quake’ books are books that profoundly alter your perspective or expose you to a powerful new idea. 

It’s as if an earthquake has gone off in your mind. Get it? 😉

The term originated from an email exchange between author Ryan Holiday and economist Tyler Cowen in 2015. 

While the appeal of transformative books isn’t new, we like this turn of phrase. 

Pictured below are some of our ‘Quake’ books.

What are yours?

Big love,
Chris & the 42courses team

Theodore Sturgeon was one of the most prolific science fiction authors of the 1950s and 1960s.

All in all, Sturgeon wrote more than 100 stories.

However, not everyone was complimentary about his achievements.

Many literary critics at the time belittled him by arguing that 90% of all sci-fi books were crud.

Sturgeon responded by saying, ‘Yeah. But 90% of everything that’s published is crud, regardless of the genre.’

This observation became enshrined as ‘Sturgeon’s Law’, and you'll notice how it applies more broadly. 

Ninety per cent of business ideas are crap. Ninety per cent of all advertising is rubbish. And ninety per cent of social media is meaningless drivel.

In other words, ninety per cent of everything is sh*t.