NEW BOOKS ADDED to the LIBRARY

Welcome to the Syndicate X Library. We're going live today because I'm going to share with you some additions to the library that are pretty fun. So we're always adding books to, to our collection and I thought we'd go live every once in a while and kind of share the, you know, the highlights of, of what we're getting. So Today I have six photography books. One, well photography books kinda a comic book kinda.

Five behavioral psychology books and one calendar that somebody gave me as a gift. Ms. Sarah, thank you so much for that gift. But it's a wide range. There's a lot of focus in the library right now on photography books because we are remodeling our photography room and the goal of that room is to have something that you know, anybody creative could come into and gain a lot of inspiration by the content and the books in that room. We have some pretty incredible stuff. It's very fun. I think photography is an art form.

That is kind of like stand up comedy in the sense that it makes you focus on the moment. Like when I'm walking around with my camera it changes my perspective a lot. Like really good comedians will make you see normal everyday things in a different light. Photography is kind of the same thing for me and so it's an art form that has a perspective and a voice.

But it's also in the moment a lot of times using things that have already been seen. So super fun. Also if you are looking for some gifts for the holidays we have our merch and link is it will be in the description. What is is is it Syndicate X.org is where they go.

Books that change my life.org books that change my life.org you can get this limited edition Canyon coffee that Michael so kindly here slaved over for quite a while coming up with one of the best Cafe de Olla mixes that you add into it and you can do it a few different ways but really fun. We also have beanies for winter. These come in handy and then our bestseller and most popular item the book Daddy Socks. So you can see all that on Books that Change my Life on the website or we'll put something in the description. Trying to think which one should I start with? Which books. So I put them on a cart here.

I'll kind of start with what I'm reading right now. So I have two books that I have going.

That are really cool. So this one is the Manipulated Mind by Dennis Wind.

And basically this is talking about brainwashing how people are brainwashed with a lot of Focus in the beginning on American prisoners of war that were captured by the Chinese and the North Koreans and how the steps that they took to brainwash our soldiers and basically like get them to sympathize with communism, if not even almost convert them to communism through a brutal, brutal process which from what I understand, no first hand experience whatsoever. This is very similar to what they do now when people are put into like retraining, like, I don't know, sometimes you see like they're billionaires disappear for six months or whatever. And this is the process that they retrain them, re indoctrinate them. People get, you know, a little too free and out of hand, I guess, but really cool. It also quotes one of my favorite authors in this realm, which is Joust Mer Liu, who wrote Rape of the Mind and Delusions and Mass Delusions. You can see my highlights. I think maybe.

One thing that I, that I thought was really interesting is.

Joustmer Liu had a term way before the term brainwashing came out, which was from the CIA, right? Somebody from the CIA said it in a news conference or something and then it stuck. But before that he called it political conditioning. And I kind of prefer the term political conditioning.

I was reading this on the plane for Thanksgiving and it's funny, my significant other.

Saw me just sitting there in the chair on the plane because we weren't sitting together. And she, she was like, you know, what's wrong? And I'm like, oh, this book, geez Louise. Like, it's just war is not.

Not fun. Like what happens and how. Yeah, pretty nuts. Anyway, so I'm reading the Manipulated Mind. I'll probably finish this this weekend then one that I've been going between is the Evolution of Cooperation by Robert Axelrod. The reason why I landed on this book is a study that he was.

Involved in or he performed where they had software compete against other software in a test of game theory. And the software that came out on top every time, no matter how they did it was not.

I guess you'd have to understand what the game was, but basically it's kind of like rock paper scissors in a sense. The, the one that won every time was a program called Tick for Tat, which basically led with optimism and friendship. But if it was crossed, then it would reciprocate the.

Negative move in a sense. Right? So Tit for tat or Tick for tat, whatever it is. And so.

I don't know that applies to leadership and something I'm really excited about, a book that I bought this is Funny. I bought this and I was really excited about. It's a limited edition, you know, really cool. I think it's like, really limited. It's called Cleansing the Door of Perception. And I thought it was about.

You know.

Cleansing.

How to address people's resistance to.

Influence. It has nothing to do with that, though. I was very wrong. So I took this with me over the holidays and I started reading it. And it is about.

Hallucinogenics, LSD and mushrooms. Written in the 80s, during the war on drugs by some Stanford guys.

I've also.

Got a hard cover copy of A Billion Wicked Thoughts because I'm writing a book. There's a story in here about automatic pilot and how we're conditioned and how the culture we grow up in affects our beliefs more than a real morality. Like in certain cultures, things that we would perceive to be immoral are just another day, you know. And so I'm going back through that, kind of trying to come up with a story like that myself. And I.

I would recommend that everybody read this book. Fun Home, A Family Tragic comic. And that's when I said I had a comic, because it's kind of a comic, but not really.

This is a special edition of it, which is why I got it. But this is one that I've given quite a few copies away to friends that write books or write stories. It doesn't matter. If you agree with Alison on her politics, this is an incredible piece of art. It's very vulnerable. The story that she tells, it's very real. And how she uses a comic book to.

You know, what I would say is this maybe is.

Like a sad sitcom inside of a comic book. Like how she's using that form of communication, comics to tell a real life story is very interesting. And the way that it is done, the execution of it is something very, very special. And you will not be able to put it down once you get started. And then it will come to the end and you'll be like, wow, like. Or at least that's how I felt. Have you. Have you read it?

Yeah. I don't even know how you'd make this into a play, but I'm sure somebody could do it. But the book. The book is incredible. It's a really special piece.

Then.

This. We actually made a video on this that we've never put out on Chase Hughes's Behavior ops manual. This thing cost. I think it cost 1000 bucks and worth every penny of $1000. The point I was trying to make with the video, that we never put out was that most people wouldn't spend $1,000 on a book because they perceive a book to be worth, you know, 30 bucks, 50 bucks at the most, 100 bucks. But there are certain books that have information in them that is worth millions of dollars and transcends the genre of just a book. This would be one of those books, like, the information in this book is worth way more than $1,000.

And, you know, Chase Hughes is an incredible human being.

But maybe one of the best teachers out there of, you know, human behavior. And, you know, he's taught for all kinds of.

Police departments and special ops. You know, it's. It's great stuff. So this is a thousand bucks. I did not know. And I found this on Amazon when I was looking for his new book that just came out. I'm pretty sure this is the same thing. And this dude was like 168 bucks, I think, so 170 bucks. Let me. Let me compare the table of contents really quick.

Yeah.

Looks pretty similar.

What?

Really?

So.

You cannot. I mean, I guess the benefit of this is it has a hardcover, but for the information, this is a great one. 168 bucks. And if I was gonna say that this one that cost a thousand was worth way more than that, this certainly is a deal. So it's the behavior Ops manual by Chase Hughes. Pretty cool.

Michael, who makes this coffee mug? Peter Shire. And we have these mugs on booksthatchangemylife.com.org.

Ones that Michael and I went to his studio and personally picked out that we thought were pretty incredible. They're all one of a kind. So when you're on the website, if you buy that mug, it's gone. That's it.

But he. He literally makes these here in la. He's a. He's an artist and incredible. And I don't know, the way that this thing feels in your hand, it feels so substantial and like.

Maybe perfect. Perfect coffee mug.

His stuff is great. Okay. Sarah sent me this. It's signed by Todd Hito. If you're not familiar with Todd Hito, he is a photographer that I collect and am a big fan of his. And I guess every year he makes a calendar. Sarah must be on some special list because I wouldn't know how to get this, but she sent me this.

And.

I have not looked at it yet. So you are experiencing this with me as.

We go.

Oh, wow.

Really?

Thanks, byron.

Pretty great. So.

Yeah, Tad he do.

Now we will go to the photography stuff. This little book here, I got this at The Leica store. It's gloryland. The photographer is.

Robert LeBlanc. He's here from LA. And this is.

Made in the style of a Bible, which I absolutely like. I love anything with religious overtones. And so the design of this is. Is just incredible. But so he photographed for two years.

Snake Handler Church in Virginia, which, yeah, if you don't know what that is.

I kind of understand it. But this thing is so fun. It's just incredible. And the pictures are nuts.

I love, too, how he uses text over pictures and kind of like.

He'S communicating the story with collage text photography in a really, really fun way. This. If you had anybody in your life that loved this sort of kind of darker stuff.

With the religious overtones, this would be a great Christmas gift for somebody, I think. Yeah, just look at that snake. The Bible.

I forget, like, why do they. Why do these pastors have snakes? Does anybody know?

Aren't you d. Oh, Adam and Eve. So are you daring the snake to bite you? Like, are you. Are you holy if the snake doesn't bite you? Is it, like a play on that? I think that's something to do with it. I think there's a passage in the Bible that they have a very creative interpretation.

I don't like snakes.

I don't like lizards. I don't like alligators or crocodiles. I'll wear the. I'll wear, like. Even though I don't have any. I guess I would wear, like, alligator shoes, but that is about it. Yeah, this. This is really cool. It's printed like a Bible. Has the.

Separator marker.

What is it?

Mark 16:18.

Oh, yeah.

We'll have to look into that.

This book just. So Marianne Bernstein. I got this book out of, I think, New York. I just. I love that you have to undo it to open it. And then I don't know if you guys can really see this on camera, but it's like a copper. The title is Theater of the Everyday.

And it's just so cool the way that this is designed and the photography in here.

It'S just stunning.

But I just. I love. I love books like this that, like, you know, you can just tell, like, the person who did this.

Cared about every element of the design and the experience.

For, you know, for whoever is experiencing it.

Six Pillars of Self Esteem. Josh, can you actually, if you.

We just made a video yesterday that isn't up yet about the six books that I give away the most, and this is one of them. Six Pillars of Self Esteem by Nathaniel Braden. If you email.

Or somehow, I don't know, get in touch with us on Instagram or something. I will send. I will send you this book on me. Okay. For Thanksgiving, I went to Portland, Oregon. What happens in Portland, Oregon? Anybody who loves books.

Powell's City of Books. Oh, our librarian is here.

Hey, come here. Come here. You want to say hi to people? This is Apple. She's. She works for Cheese. The cheapest person, cheapest employee here.

Yeah.

Say hi to everybody else. She's so sweet.

Thank you. Okay.

So in Portland, Powell's City of Books.

I found some books, and this is one of them. It's a photography book called Political Theater by Mark Peterson.

This is from the 2016. So I'm gonna guess, like, 2015, that most of these pictures were taken. You will think that they're AI Because Mark has, like, a. He has a style and a voice and an opinion in his photography that is very dramatic and almost looks cartoon, but it's not like they're real photos. So, like, look at that picture of Bernie.

Look at that. Ted Cruz.

Probably can't see this, but Hillary's looking right at him through that, which is funny because I had my camera with me in Portland, and I was trying to do, like, a little street photography, and in just about every shot, the people are looking at me. I'm like, I just have a presence that I can't be incognito. I thought I was really incognito until I was looking back at the pictures, and I got to figure out a better way to. To take pictures like that somehow be. Have less of a presence. Yeah, but look at this. Like, this looks like AI or like it would be fake, but it's a real picture.

It's so cool.

That's so great.

It's kind of like. It's kind of like satire. Right.

This is funny, too, because he has, like, the tweets from Hillary about Trump and then the tweets from Trump about Hillary.

Some of these pictures are just insane. I was looking too, like, he doesn't really have that many books for being.

As incredible of an artist as he is.

Man, people are funny.

Pretty cool. Political Theater by Mark Peterson.

Then I got this one at Pals two, James.

Corrales. And, oh, some of the pictures in here are just crazy. Like, look at that guy's face.

So this is.

Rendville, Ohio. Like, some 1953 to 1957, these pictures were taken.

And this. This is kind of what I'm talking about with photography, where, like.

There. There's a Picture in here that really kind of hit me. Oh that, that picture right there of MLK with his daughter. And his daughter's like got a cookie? And he's like telling some story is pretty great. I don't know if you. Yeah, you guys can see that it's a. It's just such a moment. But there's a. There's.

A picture in here during.

The march.

So this is Selma.

To Montgomery march in 1965. And there's like, you know, these pictures of like people, like from a perspective or you know, a voyeuristic perspective. And then you come to this picture and it's just hands and like for him to be in that moment and to step in to just hands instead of taking a wide picture.

It'S just, it's an incredible form of communication because that right there tells you as much as any of the other pictures what's going on, you know, with the cross. And it's just so great. But it's that, you know, only photography can do that.

So this, this book's incredible too. Got that at Powell's. And then.

I think that I got a bunch of books at Pals, but that's all there. This. I, I need to do a little research on this book. And like I. I said at the beginning, like comic book kind of photography kinda. This, this is photography. Some of the pictures in here are NC17, so I gotta be careful when I'm flipping through it. But whatever is happening in this book, the style of the photography, the story that is being told and then in the way that it is communicated.

Makes this very special in the same way Fun Home is doing it. The thing I love is like that these artists now will take their own pictures and then make their pictures into art or collage and tell a story and make it into a book. And it's, you know, it's just so fun. Let me see here. My favorite shot or what got me when I was flipping through this is this dollhouse in a blizzard.

Because I mean, I don't. Every girl grows up playing with Barbie and like you have a dollhouse and then there's this house somewhere in the Midwest in the snow that isn't, you know, I mean, just the juxtaposition of it I, I think is really cool. But. Oh yeah, I can't. Yeah, this is very adult, this book. But it, it made me stop and pay attention and think so. Puberty.

By Lawrence Philharmone. Philharmone. And then the last book I have is this one, Alex Webb's Crossings. And I have quite a few books by Alex Webb in the photography room. Been a big fan. Was not aware of this book, but I was watching an interview with Roger Deakins talking about his.

Influence or inspiration for the cinematography in the movie Sicario, and he modeled it after this book. And when you look at the book. So I got the book and.

It makes total sense. And I don't. If you haven't seen the movie Sicario, I would check it out because it's one of the better movies in a long time. But this was, was the inspiration for the cinematography in that movie. And that movie kind of has like a very unique feeling to it and it's, it's, you know, it's special in that way. So.

I'm trying to put books like this in that room. So, you know, they, they tell a story that people can connect with the, you know, the different books. And some books tell a story because they're, they're super collectible and very expensive. But then there's, you know, other books that influenced something else or had an effect on pop culture, on the world. And those stories are what make books really special and fun. So that's kind of the additions to the library and. Yeah. Are there any more questions? Ryan? Are we good?

Cool. Well, thanks, you guys for hanging out and watching this. And I probably have bought, since I separated these books a couple of days ago, I've probably bought another hundred books that I will share the highlights of. Mostly it's been photography. I've been going nuts with photography books, trying to really curate a cool experience in the photography room. Our plan is to rent that room out by the day and people can go in there and just get inspiration. And then we're going to do the same thing with the room for architecture and then maybe art. That's kind of our plan, but we're going to start with this one and build on it from there.

Yeah. What are you guys reading? Anybody have a cool book that I should have in the photography room that you know about?

That could be hard though, because we probably have most stuff.

Oh, how many books a month do I read?

I don't know. So it depends on what I'm doing because if I'm writing a book, I don't read too many books, or I might reference books but not read them like cover to cover. So I think a lot of times people would expect a book to be read cover to cover. But if I'm doing research, I might just read the chapter on the thing that I'm interested in, in a book like for example, the Evolution of Cooperation. I'm just reading a couple chapters of this, but it's so good, it, you know, sucked me in to kind of want to read the whole thing. But I would say.

I guess cover to cover, maybe two or three a month. And I should clarify, sometimes it's audible, sometimes I'm listening.

But I always get the, I always get the hard copy. I never buy a soft. In fact, I'm bummed when the only option is a soft cover because I, I don't like it. I don't make any of my books in soft cover. I think that books should be a hardcover. And if you're collecting books, you, you know, you just want something that's going to, going to last. And it just feel, I don't know, it just feels more important when it has a hardcover. But I would say probably three a month is my number.

We've got Christian in the chat. Says he just finished a book called how to Test Negative for Stupid.

How to Test Negative for Stupid. That's right. That's funny.

I don't know. Let's look it up. Freight Train Graffiti.

By Roger.

No, we'll get it though. Thank you for the recommendation.

You know, it's so great.

Only available in paperback, by the way.

But.

It'S ordered and on its way.

We have another question in the chat.

Where do you get books like these?

So bookstores.

Oh, where, where do I get books like these? Sorry, I need to repeat the question. So bookstores, online bookstores, ebay, and then we buy estate sales sometimes. So we might buy.

A thousand books. I think the biggest estate we bought was 6,000 books, Josh. Yeah, most of those books were like business books, but yeah, so all over the place.

Cool. Well, thanks everybody for hanging out. Remember.

Last minute Christmas gifts. We will ship this stuff really fast. Our Canyon Cafe de Hoya book, Daddy Socks. And there's all kinds of fun stuff in that online shop for book lovers, from book lovers, for book lovers.

Have a good weekend, you guys.