Hilde and Ylva Ostby Book order (chronological)

Readers of Stolen Focus and Quiet will appreciate this wide-ranging and passionate investigation into creativity: Why and when it strikes us, and how to transform workplaces, classrooms, and societies for creativity to flourish. After a cycling crash leaves her head spinning, journalist Hilde Østby finds herself suddenly bursting with creative energy--which makes her wonder: What's the secret to human creativity? Where do ideas come from? And most importantly: in a society that praises productivity and pace, how can we nurture, rather than suppress, our creative impulses? Using Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as her inspiration, Østby takes readers tumbling down the rabbit hole of ideas. The Key to Creativity features: Interviews with powerhouse creatives--like journalist Michael Pollan, novelist Maja Lunde, and artist Tracey Emin--and decodings of their creative regimens. The cultural history and science behind our "aha" moments, our inner critics, and our idle thoughts. Information on how to foster your creative potential: Østby shares how we can cultivate more creativity in our lives through prioritizing daydreaming and valuing productivity less. With the charm of Alice exploring Wonderland and meeting its curious inhabitants, The Key to Creativity invites us to imagine a world where daydreaming is encouraged and even our strangest ideas have value.

A novelist and a neuroscientist uncover the secrets of human memory. What makes us remember? Why do we forget? And what, exactly, is a memory? With playfulness and intelligence, Adventures in Memory answers these questions and more, offering an illuminating look at one of our most fascinating faculties. The authors--two Norwegian sisters, one a neuropsychologist and the other an acclaimed writer--skillfully interweave history, research, and exceptional personal stories, taking readers on a captivating exploration of the evolving understanding of the science of memory from the Renaissance discovery of the hippocampus--named after the seahorse it resembles--up to the present day. Mixing metaphor with meta-analysis, they embark on an incredible journey: "diving for seahorses" for a memory experiment in Oslo fjord, racing taxis through London, and "time-traveling" to the future to reveal thought-provoking insights into remembering and forgetting. Along the way they interview experts of all stripes, from the world's top neuroscientists to famous novelists, to help explain how memory works, why it sometimes fails, and what we can do to improve it. Filled with cutting-edge research and nimble storytelling, the result is a charming--and memorable--adventure through human memory.