Think Again by Adam Grant

 genre: non-fiction

As far as Adam Grant is concerned, having knowledge isn't quite as important as a willingness to question that knowledge - not by a long shot.  This entire book, filled with examples and anecdotes, is a testament to the power of, as the title says, "thinking again" - questioning our unquestioned assumptions as well as everything new that we ingest as media consumers.  The idea here is that the way to a meaningful connections with people both at work and in our community as well as just a more meaningful life in general lies in our power to think critically outside the box of what we think we already know.  Whether that is solving a big problem at work, interacting with our kids or choosing whether or not to pivot in our career - allowing ourselves to look at our underlying beliefs will have a better chance of us creating a successful outcome.

This is so very readable.  Some of ideas were things I'd sorta noticed but never gave a concrete thought to and other things really made me deeply think.  And honestly, on more than one occasion what I had JUST READ about in this book came up in conversation with my family!  Once with my grad student oldest child and once with my husband while at the Air and Space Smithsonian - the things Grant talks about are fear reaching and powerful, most especially the idea of eliminating in our minds that being wrong is a "failure."  I want so much for myself and my kids to find joy in realizing that we are now LESS wrong than before and that it's safe to  "know better then do better."  I really, really enjoyed book, so much so that I think I'll buy a paper copy and mark it up because there are pointers here I truly want to incorporate into my life.