Let me introduce some books that I haven't bought yet.
~Monosus' "Reading Club" #24~

It's the rainy season. The rainy season can be a bit depressing, but rainy days are perfect for quietly reading a book. It's a season when we tend to stay indoors, so it might be a good idea to pick up a book that you don't usually read.

The theme of this month's reading club is "Books I've been meaning to buy but haven't bought yet." Four members gathered on a rainy afternoon to take a break from work. Since we haven't bought the book yet, we don't have the book with us today. I wonder what kind of reading club it will be...

Each person will have 5 minutes to introduce a book. This is the start of a reading group with a difference.

Hospitals should be stylish. Architecture that promotes mental health.
"Clinic & Pharmacy Design" by Shoten Kenchikusha (ed.)

Shoten Kenchikusha (editor) “Clinic & Pharmacy Design” Shoten Kenchikusha (2015/4/1) ( Amazon )

Well, I don't have the book with me (lol)...so I'll talk while showing you the screen of my iPhone.
The book is called "Clinic & Pharmacy Design" and introduces the architecture of hospitals and pharmacies. It's like a special edition edited by the publishing company that publishes the monthly architecture magazine " Shotenkenchiku ".

I found it at TSUTAYA 3-4 years ago and thought it was cool. I wanted it, but it was quite expensive and out of my reach... I looked it up and found out that this is the second volume, and the first volume was a feature on dental clinic architecture called " Dental Clinic Design ". This is even more expensive, so I haven't been able to buy either of them yet (laughs).

Anyway, it's so stylish that you wouldn't think it was a hospital. In the introduction, there was a phrase that said, "A clinic is not just a place to treat patients, but a place to make the patient's mind healthy," and I thought that made sense. I go to the dentist once a month now, and the design and comfort of the clinic were the deciding factors.

I'm interested in the interviews with the designers, architects, and directors. I'd like to buy both books if possible. The price is a problem though... I'm anxiously waiting for an opportunity to buy them so they don't go out of print.

The oldest epic poem, depicting a king from the pre-Christian era.
The Tale of King Gilgamesh by Ludmilla Zeman

Ludmila Zeman (author) "The Tale of King Gilgamesh" Iwanami Shoten (July 8, 1993) ( Amazon )

At a previous reading group, I introduced Saito Takashi's ``Reading Ability,'' which contains many books recommended by Saito, including ``The Legend of King Gilgamesh.''

King Gilgamesh is a legendary king from the early Sumerian dynasty in ancient Mesopotamia before Christ. I wonder if people who have studied world history know about him. I only knew his name as a character in a certain role-playing game.

The Epic of Gilgamesh, in which this king appears, is said to be the oldest surviving epic poem in the world, in which King Gilgamesh seeks immortality and goes on various adventures, learning about what it means to be human...although I haven't read it yet so I don't know.

It seems there are paperbacks that have been translated from the original text, but I think they're a bit too difficult. I thought that if it was a picture book, the content would be summarized and the story would be easier to understand. I'd like to read it someday, but it's still in my shopping cart (laughs).

There seem to be about three books in the series, so if you're going to read them, you'll want to get the whole set.

We are being moved without even realizing it.
Matteo Motterlini (author) "Emotions Drive the Economy: An Introduction to Behavioral Economics"

Matteo Motterlini (author) "Emotions Drive the Economy: An Introduction to Behavioral Economics" Kinokuniya Shoten (April 20, 2008) ( Amazon )

Do you know what "behavioral economics" is? I don't know much about it either, but it sounds interesting, so I'm thinking of reading "Emotions Drive the Economy."

Traditional economics is based on the premise that humans act rationally and based on utilitarian judgment, but is that really true? Is it not always rational? Behavioral economics asks the question. Even when I think I'm making rational decisions, sometimes I think that maybe that's not the case.

There is a theory called "nudge" that uses human psychology based on behavioral economics to subtly guide people in a positive direction. Here are some examples of this theory used overseas...

In one case where the men's restroom was so dirty that cleaning costs were extremely high, sticking a sticker of a fly on the inside of the toilet caused people to relieve themselves there, resulting in a significant drop in cleaning costs. By setting the default to "yes" when confirming the intention to donate organs, the number of people who deliberately chose "no" decreased, and the number of people who wanted to donate increased significantly.

While I think it's really interesting, it also makes me feel a little frustrated that I might be influenced without even realizing it (laughs). I hope that by reading and understanding the book, I will be able to make my own choices based on that knowledge.

It is up to you to determine the answer.
Arne Lindquist (author) "Your Own Society: A Swedish Junior High School Textbook"

Arne Lindquist (author) "Your Own Society: A Swedish Junior High School Textbook" Shinhyoron (May 1, 1997) ( Amazon )

I used to want to be a nursery teacher and was interested in natural education. So, there was a time when I was researching the educational situation overseas, and I came across this book, "Your Own Society." It's a translation of a Swedish textbook for second-year junior high school students.

It may be similar to a so-called "civics" textbook, but in Japan, it is based on memorization, but this book emphasizes the importance of being the "self" and deriving the correct answer within yourself. It's a very emotional approach to learning, and that's what is highly praised, so I'd like to read it properly.

Northern Europe is famous for its high academic ability, but in Sweden, failing is not considered bad, but rather a good thing. It is more shameful to proceed without understanding. In Japan, a bad test score means failure, but understanding and progressing at your own speed is what "success" is. There are no academic tests until the age of 16, and I think that way of studying is good.

Love, marriage, law... This is a book that tells you how to find the right answer when you think about things that don't have an answer. This time, I'm going to buy it and read it properly.

After the reading group

This was our first attempt to talk about books we haven't bought yet. We talked about stylish hospital architecture, picture books based on ancient epics from the BC era, the secrets of behavioral economics, and education in Sweden. We collected a book that made us think about books because we hadn't read them yet. It's nice to have a book club like this once in a while.

I wonder what the next theme will be. See you next time!