LibGuides: Booklists for Adults & Teens: Booklists for Adults & Teens

creativity

January is International Creativity Month

While most of these listings link by default to a print copy, many are available in other formats (eBook and eAudiobook). Don't forget to check the catalog by title or author if you prefer digital!

Art Before Breakfast by Danny Gregory Packed with the signature can-do attitude that makes beloved artist Danny Gregory a creativity guru to thousands across the globe, this unique guide serves up a hearty helping of inspiration. For aspiring artists who want to draw and paint but just can't seem to find time in the day, Gregory offers 5- to 10-minute exercises for every skill level that fit into any schedule--whether on a plane, in a meeting, or at the breakfast table--along with practical instruction on techniques and materials, plus strategies for making work that's exciting, unintimidating, and fulfilling. Filled with Gregory's encouraging words and motivating illustrations, Art Before Breakfast teaches readers how to develop a creative habit and lead a richer life through making art.
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin From the legendary music producer, a master at helping people connect with the wellsprings of their creativity, comes a beautifully crafted book many years in the making that offers that same deep wisdom to all of us. "A gorgeous and inspiring work of art on creation, creativity, the work of the artist. It will gladden the hearts of writers and artists everywhere, and get them working again with a new sense of meaning and direction. A stunning accomplishment." --Anne Lamott "I set out to write a book about what to do to make a great work of art. Instead, it revealed itself to be a book on how to be." --Rick Rubin Many famed music producers are known for a particular sound that has its day. Rick Rubin is known for something else: creating a space where artists of all different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer. He has made a practice of helping people transcend their self-imposed expectations in order to reconnect with a state of innocence from which the surprising becomes inevitable. Over the years, as he has thought deeply about where creativity comes from and where it doesn't, he has learned that being an artist isn't about your specific output, it's about your relationship to the world. Creativity has a place in everyone's life, and everyone can make that place larger. In fact, there are few more important responsibilities. The Creative Act is a beautiful and generous course of study that illuminates the path of the artist as a road we all can follow. It distills the wisdom gleaned from a lifetime's work into a luminous reading experience that puts the power to create moments--and lifetimes--of exhilaration and transcendence within closer reach for all of us.
Courageous Creativity by Sara Zarr Being creative takes courage. It can be scary to create something. Before you can even work on your craft, you have to face down the fear of messing up or looking silly, the perfectionism that keeps you from even starting, and the negative voices inside your head that say you don't have anything valuable to offer. Well, you do have something to offer! Being creative is a right, and in this book, National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr will help you get started. Her advice and encouragement are paired with exercises to help you face down your fears, let go of expectations, stop comparing yourself to others, and make your art with courage. A perfect gift for anyone who wants to be creative but doesn't know where to start, or for people who've been doing creativity for a while but want more inspiration, Courageous Creativity will empower readers to express themselves with self-confidence, bravery, and joy.
Call Number: eBook
Creativity by John Cleese The legendary comedian, actor, and writer of Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, and A Fish Called Wanda fame shares his key ideas about creativity: that it's a learnable, improvable skill. "Many people have written about creativity, but although they were very, very clever, they weren't actually creative. I like to think I'm writing about it from the inside."--John Cleese   You might think that creativity is some mysterious, rare gift--one that only a few possess. But you'd be wrong. As John Cleese shows in this short, practical, and often amusing guide, creativity is a skill that anyone can acquire.    Drawing on his lifelong experience as a writer, Cleese shares his insights into the nature of creativity and offers advice on how to get your own inventive juices flowing. What do you need to do to get yourself in the right frame of mind? When do you know that you've come up with an idea that might be worth pursuing? What should you do if you think you've hit a brick wall?   We can all be more creative.   John Cleese shows us how.
Someday Is Today by Matthew Dicks; Elysha Dicks (Foreword by); Matthew Shepard (Afterword by) REALIZE YOUR CREATIVE DREAMS -- STARTING TODAY Are you good at dreaming about what you're going to accomplish "someday" but not good at finding the time and getting started? How will you actually make that decision and do it? The answer is this book, which offers proven, practical, and simple ways to turn random minutes throughout your days into pockets of productivity, and dreams into accomplishments. In addition to presenting his own winning strategies for getting from dreaming to doing, Matthew Dicks offers insights from a wide range of creative people -- writers, editors, performers, artists, and even magicians -- on how to augment inspiration with motivation. His actionable steps will help you: silence negative messages from family, friends, and teachers eliminate time-sucking activities (and people) be willing to make terrible things find supporters here, there, and everywhere cultivate optimism in the face of negativity and obstacles Each strategy is accompanied by amusing and inspiring personal and professional anecdotes and a clear plan of action. Someday Is Today will give you every tool to get started and finish that _________ [fill in the blank].
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Deep Creativity by Deborah Anne Quibell; Jennifer Leigh Selig; Dennis Patrick Slattery; Thomas Moore (Foreword by) Creative expression has increasingly become a prized component in many of our life's endeavors; in fact, there are many paths to instilling and nourishing creativity. The three authors of Deep Creativity distill these paths down to the "7 Ways to creativity"- The Way of Love, The Way of Nature, The Way of the Muse, The Way of Suffering, The Way of Practice, The Way of the Sacred, and The Way of Art; and invite the reader to explore each for themselves. The authors show how the 7 Ways have informed their own creative process and provide reflective and practical exercises on each. Grounded in Jungian psychology, Deep Creativity offers practical guidance for getting in touch with your own unconscious reservoir as well as engaging your everyday world to deepen the source of creative expression. Wherever one is on the creative path--a beginner or established creative--this book offers not only practical workbook-like exercises but is also a contemplation on the creative process itself. The result is a highly resourceful book, which will not only inspire the creative process, but also uniquely contribute to our understanding of creativity as a deeply human and embodied endeavor.
Conscious Creativity by Philippa Stanton "Full of tips and tricks on how to look at the world with a curious eye, it's a brilliant way to breathe creativity (back) into our lives." - Flow magazine "Crammed with practical ideas, inspirational images & creative exercises, Conscious Creativity leads the reader through the process of establishing what kind of creative you are..."  Mslexia "The purpose of this book is to enable you to look at things in an alternative and more substantial way, so that you arrive at composition through genuine interest."  Juno magazine "Philippa Stanton is passionate about people connecting to their innate creativity and has distilled these incredible techniques and ideas on how we can tap into that. Philippa is a massively successful Instagramer at @5ftinf and yet she is only too aware how these little two dimensional squares can limit our experiences and restrict our creativity, so it's not without a little irony that she's written a book to encourage people to step away from their screens and connect more with the 3D world. It's a fascinating subject and I wholeheartedly recommend the book for anyone who's working in the creative industry or is curious about the world around them." -  Sophie Robinson (DIY SOS, The Great British Interior Design Challenge, This Morning) Unlock your creative potential with Conscious Creativity: a practical, playful guide bursting with inspiration to help bring more colour into to your life. There is creativity in all of us, but it can easily be buried beneath our everyday concerns or need a spark to bring it back to life. Whether you've lost your mojo or just need some fresh ideas, artist and photographer Philippa Stanton's lively guide will stimulate your imagination and reinvigorate your creative life.   Engage your curiosity and connect your observations to your creative practice with activities such as: Noticing all the hues of one colour you can see around you Creating an abstract textured image using herbs, spices and other dry ingredients from your kitchen cupboards Collecting shadows: photograph hidden shapes and dark spaces that you haven't noticed before Conscious Creativity will help you open your senses to the beauty you may not notice every day, and show you how to capture it. Simple, engaging exercises that encourage observation and experimentation will give you an insight into your own aesthetics as you take a conscious step to note the colours, shapes, shadows, sounds and textures that fill your world, and how they make you feel.  Bursting with practical ideas and inspirational images, embrace the joy of creating, and learn to use your natural curiosity to take a leap into the most creative time of your life.   If you like this, you might also like Creative Flow and Nature Tonic . .
The Creativity Challenge by Tanner Christensen As seen on Inc.com Discover your "Aha" moment--right now! What's the best way to become more creative? Just change how you think! This book challenges you to go against your default ways of thinking in order to write, design, and build something extraordinary. Featuring more than 100 challenges, exercises, and prompts, each page guides you as you push past the way you normally see the world and uncover all-new possibilities and ideas. The Creativity Challenge teaches you that you already have immense creative potential in you--you just need to tap into it. Whether you're feeling stumped or uninspired, these creativity prompts will help you ditch typical thinking patterns and finally unleash the possibilities hidden within your mind.
How to Be an Artist by Jerry Saltz Instant New York Times Bestseller "Inspiration leaps off the pages from Jerry Saltz's new book on creativity. . . . This book is for the artist or non-artist, for the person who gets plain English, for the person who understands that practical talk can coax out the mystical messages that lie underneath." --Steve Martin Art has the power to change our lives. For many, becoming an artist is a lifelong dream. But how to make it happen? In How to Be an Artist, Jerry Saltz, one of the art world's most celebrated and passionate voices, offers an indispensable handbook for creative people of all kinds. From the first sparks of inspiration--and how to pursue them without giving in to self-doubt--Saltz offers invaluable insight into what really matters to emerging artists: originality, persistence, a balance between knowledge and intuition, and that most precious of qualities, self-belief. Brimming with rules, prompts, and practical tips, How to Be an Artist gives artists new ways to break through creative blocks, get the most from materials, navigate career challenges, and above all find joy in the work. Teeming with full-color artwork from visionaries ancient and modern, this beautiful and useful book will help artists of all kinds--painters, photographers, writers, performers--realize their dreams.
The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker An imaginative, thought-provoking gift book to awaken your senses and attune them to the things that matter in your life. Welcome to the era of white noise. Our lives are in constant tether to phones, to email, and to social media. In this age of distraction, the ability to experience and be present is often lost: to think and to see and to listen. Enter Rob Walker's The Art of Noticing. This gorgeously illustrated volume will spark your creativity--and most importantly, help you see the world anew. Through a series of simple and playful exercises--131 of them--Walker maps ways for you to become a clearer thinker, a better listener, a more creative workplace colleague and finally, to rediscover your sense of passion and to notice what really matters to you.
It's Never Too Late to Begin Again by Julia Cameron; Emma Lively "The book you hold in your hands is the distillate of a quarter century's teaching. It is my attempt to answer, 'What next?' for students who are embarking on their 'second act.'" --Julia Cameron   Julia Cameron has inspired millions with her bestseller on creativity, The Artist's Way. In It's Never Too Late To Begin Again, she turns her eye to a segment of the population that, ironically, while they have more time to be creative, are often reluctant or intimidated by the creative process. Cameron shows readers that retirement can, in fact, be the most rich, fulfilling, and creative time of their lives. When someone retires, the newfound freedom can be quite exciting, but also daunting. The life that someone had has changed, and the life to come is yet to be defined. In this book, Cameron shows readers how cultivating their creative selves can help them navigate this new terrain. She tells the inspiring stories of retirees who discovered new artistic pursuits and passions that more than filled their days--they nurtured their souls.   This twelve-week course aimed at defining--and creating--the life you want to have as you redefine and re-create yourself, this book includes simple tools that will guide and inspire you to make the most of this time in your life: -  Memoir writing offers an opportunity to reflect on and honor past experience. This book guides you through the daunting task of writing an entire memoir, breaking it down into manageable pieces.  -  Morning Pages--private, stream-of-consciousness writing done daily--allow you to express wishes, fears, delights, resentments, and joys, which in turn, provide focus and clarity for the day at hand. -  Artist Dates encourage fun and spontaneity. -  Solo Walks quell anxiety and clear the mind. This fun, gentle, step-by-step process will help you explore your creative dreams, wishes, and desires...and help you quickly find that it's never too late to begin again.
Broken Places and Outer Spaces by Nnedi Okorafor A powerful journey from star athlete to sudden paralysis to creative awakening, award-winning science fiction writer Nnedi Okorafor shows that what we think are our limitations have the potential to become our greatest strengths. Nnedi Okorafor was never supposed to be paralyzed. A college track star and budding entomologist, Nnedi's lifelong battle with scoliosis was just a bump in her plan--something a simple operation would easily correct. But when Nnedi wakes from the surgery to find she can't move her legs, her entire sense of self begins to waver. Confined to a hospital bed for months, unusual things begin to happen. Psychedelic bugs crawl her hospital walls; strange dreams visit her nightly. Nnedi begins to put these experiences into writing, conjuring up strange, fantastical stories. What Nnedi discovers during her confinement would prove to be the key to her life as a successful science fiction author: In science fiction, when something breaks, something greater often emerges from the cracks. In Broken Places & Outer Spaces, Nnedi takes the reader on a journey from her hospital bed deep into her memories, from her painful first experiences with racism as a child in Chicago to her powerful visits to her parents' hometown in Nigeria. From Frida Kahlo to Mary Shelly, she examines great artists and writers who have pushed through their limitations, using hardship to fuel their work. Through these compelling stories and her own, Nnedi reveals a universal truth: What we perceive as limitations have the potential to become our greatest strengths--far greater than when we were unbroken. A guidebook for anyone eager to understand how their limitations might actually be used as a creative springboard, Broken Places & Outer Spaces is an inspiring look at how to open up new windows in your mind.
Craft a Life You Love by Amy Tangerine (Illustrator) In Craft a Life You Love, readers will learn how to focus their creative energy and make things (and make things happen) by implementing small--yet powerful-- changes in their everyday lives. In this memoir and hardworking handbook, creativity and craft maven Amy Tangerine, shows readers how to find their flow, maintain a positive mindset, and cultivate a rich and fulfilling life by focusing on what truly matters. Chapters explore how to craft the soul, craft the right mindset, craft the right environment, craft good habits, rediscover your creative mojo, and maintain momentum, with each section offering exercises for taking your creative practice to the next level. For anyone who has felt disconnected from their creativity or has had trouble saving a space for their passions, Craft a Life You Lovewill teach you how to make time for creativity each and every day.
An Audience of One by Srinivas Rao The creator of the Unmistakable Creative podcast makes a counterintuitive argument: By focusing your creative work on pleasing yourself, you can increase your productivity, happiness, and (eventually, paradoxically) the size of your audience. Creating for your own pleasure--whether you're writing a novel, composing songs, or painting a landscape--can seem pointless. It's tempting to focus on pursuing money and fame, rather than the process itself. But as Srini Rao warns, creating then turns into a chore that can harm your self-esteem and suck the pleasure out of life, rather than being a source of joy. Rao, host of the podcast The Unmistakable Creative, argues that we should counter this thinking by intentionally creating art for ourselves alone--an audience of one. In this book he shares the fascinating true stories of creatives who took this path, along with actionable tips and the research of creativity experts. You'll learn, for example: * How Oprah's intentional focus on her own
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert The instant #1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller "A must read for anyone hoping to live a creative life... I dare you not to be inspired to be brave, to be free, and to be curious." --PopSugar From the worldwide bestselling author of Eat Pray Love and City of Girls: the path to the vibrant, fulfilling life you've dreamed of.   Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert's books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the "strange jewels" that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work,  embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.
Bored and Brilliant by Manoush Zomorodi "Bored and Brilliant shows the fascinating side of boredom. Manoush Zomorodi investigates cutting-edge research as well as compelling (and often funny) real-life examples to demonstrate that boredom is actually a crucial tool for making our lives happier, more productive, and more creative. What's more, the book is crammed with practical exercises for anyone who wants to reclaim the power of spacing out - deleting the Two Dots app, for instance, or having a photo-free day, or taking a 'fakecation'." --Gretchen Rubin, author of #1 New York Times BestsellerThe Happiness Project "Bored and Brilliant is full of easy steps to make each day more effective and every life more intentional. Manoush's mix of personal stories, neuroscience, and data will convince you that boredom is actually a gift." --Charles Duhigg, author ofThe Power of Habitand Smarter, Faster, Better It's time to move "doing nothing" to the top of your to-do list. In 2015 Manoush Zomorodi, creator of WNYC's popular podcast and radio showNote to Self, led tens of thousands of listeners through an experiment to help them unplug from their devices, get bored, jump-start their creativity, and change their lives. Bored and Brilliant builds on that experiment to show us how to rethink our gadget use to live better and smarter in this new digital ecosystem. Manoush explains the connection between boredom and original thinking, exploring how we can harness boredom's hidden benefits to become our most productive and creative selves without totally abandoning our gadgets in the process. Grounding the book in the neuroscience and cognitive psychology of "mind wandering" what our brains do when we're doing nothing at all--Manoush includes practical steps you can take to ease the nonstop busyness and enhance your ability to dream, wonder, and gain clarity in your work and life. The outcome is mind-blowing. Unplug and read on.
The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp One of the world's leading creative artists, choreographers, and creator of the smash-hit Broadway show, Movin' Out, shares her secrets for developing and honing your creative talents--at once prescriptive and inspirational, a book to stand alongside The Artist's Way and Bird by Bird. All it takes to make creativity a part of your life is the willingness to make it a habit. It is the product of preparation and effort, and is within reach of everyone. Whether you are a painter, musician, businessperson, or simply an individual yearning to put your creativity to use, The Creative Habit provides you with thirty-two practical exercises based on the lessons Twyla Tharp has learned in her remarkable thirty-five-year career. In "Where's Your Pencil?" Tharp reminds you to observe the world -- and get it down on paper. In "Coins and Chaos," she gives you an easy way to restore order and peace. In "Do a Verb," she turns your mind and body into coworkers. In "Build a Bridge to the Next Day," she shows you how to clean the clutter from your mind overnight. Tharp leads you through the painful first steps of scratching for ideas, finding the spine of your work, and getting out of ruts and into productive grooves. The wide-open realm of possibilities can be energizing, and Twyla Tharp explains how to take a deep breath and begin...
12 Notes by Quincy Jones; The Weeknd (Foreword by) Wisdom and musings on creativity and life from one of the world's most beloved musicians, producers, and mentors, Quincy Jones 12 Notes is a self-development guide that will affirm that creativity is a calling that can and should be answered, no matter your age or experience. Drawing from his own life, and those of his many creative collaborators past and present, Quincy Jones presents readers with lessons that are hardworking and accessible, yet speak to the passion of self-expression. He includes sections as deep as how to transform grief into power, and as practical as how to set goals and articulate intentions through daily affirmations. Weaving his story throughout, Jones lets readers in on his own creative process, as well as the importance of letting honesty, hard work, and good relationships drive your career.
How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy As Jeff Tweedy himself puts it, there are few creative acts more mysterious and magical than writing a song. But what if the goal wasn t so mysterious, and was actually achievable, and possible, for anyone who wants to add more magic and creativity in their life? That's something that anyone will be inspired to do after reading this book. How to Write One Song is literally a step-by-step guide through Jeff's songwriting process, beginning with his inspiration (or lack of it, at times) and ending with a complete composition.
Keep Going by Austin Kleon Keep Working. Keep Playing. Keep Creating. In his previous books Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work!, both New York Times bestsellers, Austin Kleon gave readers the keys to unlock their creativity and showed them how to become known. Now he offers his most inspiring work yet, with ten simple rules for how to stay creative, focused, and true to yourself--for life. The creative life is not a linear journey to a finish line, it's a loop--so find a daily routine, because today is the only day that matters. Disconnect from the world to connect with yourself--sometimes you just have to switch into airplane mode. Keep Going celebrates getting outdoors and taking a walk (as director Ingmar Bergman told his daughter, "The demons hate fresh air"). Pay attention, and especially pay attention to what you pay attention to. Worry less about getting things done, and more about the worth of what you're doing. Instead of focusing on making your mark, work to leave things better than you found them. Keep Going and its timeless, practical, and ethical principles are for anyone trying to sustain a meaningful and productive life.  
Living Artfully by Sandra Magsamen 'Living Artfully' will instruct readers to liberate their creativity and transform their daily existence into the life of their dreams. It tells inspiring stories of caring gestures, simple gifts and unexpected efforts that make a difference.
Make Trouble by John Waters From an icon of popular culture, here is inspiring advice for artists, graduates, and all who seek happiness and success on their own terms. So what if you have talent? Then what? When John Waters delivered his gleefully subversive advice to the graduates of the Rhode Island School of Design, the speech went viral, in part because it was so brilliantly on point about making a living as a creative person. Now we can all enjoy his sly wisdom in a manifesto that reminds us, no matter what field we choose, to embrace chaos, be nosy, and outrage our critics. Anyone embarking on a creative path, he tells us, would do well to realize that pragmatism and discipline are as important as talent and that rejection is nothing to fear. Waters advises young people to eavesdrop, listen to their enemies, and horrify us with new ideas. In other words, MAKE TROUBLE! Illustrated with slightly demented line drawings by Eric Hanson, Make Trouble is a one-of-a-kind gift, the perfect playbook for gaming the system by making the system work for you.
Messy by Tim Harford "Utterly fascinating. Tim Harford shows that if you want to be creative and resilient, you need a little more disorder in your world." --Adam Grant, New York Times-bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take "Engrossing." --New York Times From the award-winning columnist and author of the national bestseller The Undercover Economist comes a provocative big idea book about the genuine benefits of being messy: at home, at work, in the classroom, and beyond. Look out for Tim's next book, Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy. Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives celebrates the benefits that messiness has in our lives: why it's important, why we resist it, and why we should embrace it instead. Using research from neuroscience, psychology, social science, as well as captivating examples of real people doing extraordinary things, Tim Harford explains that the human qualities we value - creativity, responsiveness, resilience - are integral to the disorder, confusion, and disarray that produce them. From the music studio of Brian Eno to the Lincoln Memorial with Martin Luther King, Jr., from the board room to the classroom, messiness lies at the core of how we innovate, how we achieve, how we reach each other - in short, how we succeed. In Messy, you'll learn about the unexpected connections between creativity and mess; understand why unexpected changes of plans, unfamiliar people, and unforeseen events can help generate new ideas and opportunities as they make you anxious and angry; and come to appreciate that the human inclination for tidiness - in our personal and professional lives, online, even in children's play - can mask deep and debilitating fragility that keep us from innovation. Stimulating and readable as it points exciting ways forward, Messy is an insightful exploration of the real advantages of mess in our lives.
Creative Acts for Curious People by Sarah Stein Greenberg; Stanford d.school; David M. Kelley (Foreword by) "A delightful, compelling book that offers a dazzling array of practical, thoughtful exercises designed to spark creativity, help solve problems, foster connection, and make our lives better."--Gretchen Rubin, New York Times bestselling author and host of the Happier podcast In an era of ambiguous, messy problems--as well as extraordinary opportunities for positive change--it's vital to have both an inquisitive mind and the ability to act with intention. Creative Acts for Curious People is filled with ways to build those skills with resilience, care, and confidence. At Stanford University's world-renowned Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, aka "the d.school," students and faculty, experts and seekers bring together diverse perspectives to tackle ambitious projects; this book contains the experiences designed to help them do it. A provocative and highly visual companion, it's a definitive resource for people who aim to draw on their curiosity and creativity in the face of uncertainty. Teeming with ideas about discovery, learning, and leading the way through unknown creative territory, Creative Acts for Curious People includes memorable stories and more than eighty innovative exercises. Curated by executive director Sarah Stein Greenberg, after being honed in the classrooms of the d.school, these exercises originated in some of the world's most inventive and unconventional minds, including those of d.school and IDEO founder David M. Kelley, ReadyMade magazine founder Grace Hawthorne, innovative choreographer Aleta Hayes, Google chief innovation evangelist Frederik G. Pferdt, and many more. To bring fresh approaches to any challenge-world changing or close to home-you can draw on exercises such as Expert Eyes to hone observation skills, How to Talk to Strangers to foster understanding, and Designing Tools for Teams to build creative leadership. The activities are at once lighthearted, surprising, tough, and impactful-and reveal how the hidden dynamics of design can drive more vibrant ways of making, feeling, exploring, experimenting, and collaborating at work and in life. This book will help you develop the behaviors and deepen the mindsets that can turn your curiosity into ideas, and your ideas into action.
Find Your Unicorn Space by Eve Rodsky From the New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play and "the Marie Kondo of relationships" comes an inspirational guide for setting new personal goals, rediscovering your interests, cultivating creativity, and reclaiming your Unicorn Space. With her acclaimed New York Times bestseller (and Reese's Book Club pick) Fair Play, Eve Rodsky began a national conversation about greater equality on the home front. But she soon realized that even when the domestic workload becomes more balanced, people still report something missing in their lives--that is, unless they create and prioritize time for activities that not only fill their calendars but also unleash their creativity.     Rodsky calls this vital time Unicorn Space--the active and open pursuit of creative self-expression in any form that makes you uniquely YOU. To help readers embrace all the unlikely, surprising, and delightful places where their own Unicorn Space may be found, she speaks with trail blazers, thought leaders, academics, and countless real people who have discovered theirs everywhere--from activism to artistic endeavors to second careers.   Rodsky reveals what researchers already know: Creativity is not optional. It's essential. Though most of us do need to remind ourselves how (and where) to find it. With her trademark mix of research based, how-to advice and big-picture inspirational thinking, Rodsky shows you a clear path to reclaim your permission to have fun, manifest your own Unicorn Space in an already too-busy life, and unleash your special gifts and undiscovered talents into the world.
How to Write a Song That Matters by Dar Williams An effective and inspiring guide to songwriting by prolific, iconic singer-songwriter Dar Williams. How to Write a Song That Matters is an invaluable guide to writing music by a woman who knows how to do it and do it well: iconic singer-songwriter, Dar Williams. For years now, Williams has led songwriting retreats for musicians, from beginners to professionals, in which she elevates the process of songwriting over the assessment of the product. This book makes those intimate experiences accessible for songwriters across the globe, gifting them with the insight Williams has gleaned from her decades of experience. First, it encourages songwriters to find something that inspires them and then to follow that inspiration, letting the clues of those first few notes or lines lead their narrative. Soon, the initial rhythms, the unique sounds of the melody, and/or specific vocabulary emerge, giving birth to a "voice" or a "world" that the song can exist in. As the writer proceeds, Williams encourages them to ask themselves: "Where did I go? Where did I REALLY go? What happened? What REALLY happened? What am I bringing back?" There are many other songwriting guides that hint to the reader that writing a "hit song" may be on the horizon if only the reader correctly follows the guide or program. In this book, however, Williams shows readers how to tap into their OWN creative process, using their psyches, their unique life experiences, and their muses to write the songs that they are meant to write. By focusing on the process of creating a song that matters, as opposed to producing a well-constructed "widget from a song factory," songwriters will be able to establish their own voice and use it to make meaningful music. Perfect for music lovers of all sorts who want to write songs, How to Write a Song That Matters is a one-of-a-kind-book that readers will turn to for guidance time and time again.
Core Creativity by Ronald Alexander Offers ways to upgrade creativity while practicing mindfulness so that anyone can achieve breakthroughs in any area of their life. Looking to upgrade your creative abilities? Core Creativity offers ways to go beyond the limitations of ordinary creativity to access the core creativity that comes from the very center of your being: the depths of your unconscious. Dr. Ronald Alexander has decades of experience working with core creatives--artists who regularly draw on deep creativity and have learned what to do when the well seems to have run dry. Using mindfulness practice, meditation and visualizations, and habits and mindsets of highly creative people, anyone can experience the flow of ideas as if from an infinitely abundant source. Core Creativity employs stories of ordinary but highly creative people alongside the latest research that helps people get unstuck. Too often, the mind's Wi-Fi signal is too weak for the really big ideas to load, but Core Creativity offers readers help with establishing a mindfulness practice; exercises for enhancing creativity and fostering better decision-making; key insights from personal interview with highly creative artists including music producer Val Garay, director Amy Ziering, and actor Denis Quaid; and guidance for reclaiming your creative self so you can achieve profound transformation. Core creativity allows you to come up with ideas that are both fresh and original and experience such a deep state of creative flow that it might feel as if you only played a minor role in the process of creativity. For anyone seeking to enhance their creative abilities and achieve their goals, Core Creativity presents the possibility of genuine breakthroughs.
Why Design Matters by Debbie Millman Foreword by Roxane Gay "Debbie Millman brings her Design Matters podcast, 'about how the most creative people in the world create their lives,' to the page with this excellent interview anthology. Sharpened by Millman's penetrating commentary, the candid musings teem with insight and empathy. This sparkling collection is one to be savored slowly."--Publisher's Weekly The author, educator, brand consultant, and host of the widely successful and award-winning podcast Design Matters showcases dozens of her most exciting interviews, bringing together insights and reflections from today's leading creative minds from across diverse fields. "Debbie Millman has become a singular voice in the world of intimate, enlightening conversations. She has demonstrated time, and again, why design matters."--Roxane Gay, from the foreword Over the course of her popular podcast's fifteen-year reign, Debbie Millman has interviewed more than 400 creative minds. In those conversations, she has not only explored what it means to design a creative life, but has, as Millman's wife, Roxane Gay, assesses in her foreword, "created a gloriously interesting and ongoing conversation about what it means to live well, overcome trauma, face rejection, learn to love and be loved, and thrive both personally and professional." In this illustrated, curated anthology, Millman includes approximately 80 of her best interviews with visionaries from across diverse fields. Grouped by category--Legends, Truth Tellers, Culture Makers, Trendsetters, and Visionaries--these eye-opening, entertaining, and enlightening conversations--offer insights into new ways of being and living.  Accompanying each entry is a brief biography, a portrait photographed by Millman, and a pull quote written in Millman's artistic hand. Why Design Matters features 100 images and includes interviews with: Marina Abramovic, Cey Adams, Elizabeth Alexander, Laurie Anderson, Lynda Barry, Allison Bechdel, Michael Bierut, Brené Brown, Alain de Botton, Eve Ensler, Shepard Fairey, Tim Ferriss, Louise Fili, Kenny Fries, Anand Girhidardas, Cindy Gallop, Malcolm Gladwell, Milton Glaser, Ira Glass, Seth Godin, Thelma Golden, Gabrielle Hamilton, Steven Heller, Jessica Hische, Michael R. Jackson, Oliver Jeffers, Saeed Jones, Thomas Kail, Maira Kalman, Chip Kidd, Anne Lamott, Elle Luna, Carmen Maria Machado, Thomas Page McBee, Erin McKeown, Chanel Miller, Mike Mills, Marilyn Minter, Isaac Mizrahi, Nico Muhly, Eileen Myles, Emily Oberman, Amanda Palmer, Priya Parker, Esther Perel, Maria Popova, Edel Rodriguez, Paula Scher, Amy Sherald, Simon Sinek, Pete Souza, Aminatou Sow, Brandon Stanton, Cheryl Strayed, Amber Tamblyn, Christina Tosi, Tea Uglow, Chris Ware, and Albert Watson.
Everything Is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "This book will change lives." --Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love From the host of the award-winning MarieTV and The Marie Forleo Podcast, an indispensable handbook for becoming the creative force of your own life. While most self-help books offer quick fixes, Everything is Figureoutable will retrain your brain to think more creatively and positively in the face of setbacks. In the words of Cheryl Strayed, it's "a must-read for anyone who wants to face their fears, fulfill their dreams, and find a better way forward." If you're having trouble solving a problem or reaching a dream, the problem isn't you. It's that you haven't yet installed the one belief that changes everything. Marie's mom once told her, "Nothing in life is that complicated. You can do whatever you set your mind to if you roll up your sleeves. Everything is figureoutable." Whether you want to leave a dead end job, break an addiction, learn to dance, heal a relationship, or grow a business, Everything is Figureoutable will show you how. You'll learn: The habit that makes it 42% more likely you'll achieve your goals. How to overcome a lack of time and money. How to deal with criticism and imposter syndrome. It's more than just a fun phrase to say. It's a philosophy of relentless optimism. A mindset. A mantra. A conviction. Most important, it's about to make you unstoppable.
Zen Pencils--Creative Struggle by Gavin Aung Than Zen Pencils: Creative Struggle is a call to wake up the creative spirit inside you. Through Zen Pencils cartoon quotes on creativity from inspirational artists, musicians, writers, and scientists, you'll discover what inspired each of the subjects to reach the full potential of their creativity. In each comic, the speaker of the quote is the character in the story. Imagine cartoon versions of Albert Einstein, Frida Kahlo, Marie Curie,  and Vincent van Gogh revealing the spark that ignited them to achieve their dreams!
Call Number: Check it out now - only available from hoopla digital!

reading challenge

Reading Challenges

New year, new reading challenges! If you are unfamiliar with the reading challenge, don't worry. We have plenty of sources to get you started, whether your goal is to tackle your TBR pile over the year...read 6 books from a new genre in 6 weeks...or whatever takes your fancy - you can be as specific as you'd like. Make 2023 the best year of your reading life!

About reading challenges

lunar

Happy Lunar New Year!

Happy Year of the Water Rabbit! Or, Year of the Cat in Vietnam!

Celebrate with some Asian reads!

While most of these listings link by default to a print copy, many are available in other formats (eBook and eAudiobook). Don't forget to check the catalog by title or author if you prefer digital!

Fiction for All Ages

(but mostly adult)

Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas by Natasha Yim; Grace Zong (Illustrator) A favorite fairy tale set in a bustling contemporary Chinatown. It's Chinese New Year, and Goldy Luck's mother wants her to take a plate of turnip cakes to the neighbors. The Chans aren't home, but that doesn't stop Goldy from trying out their rice porridge, their chairs, and their beds-with disastrous results. In this funny and festive retelling ofGoldilocks and the Three Bears, Natasha Yim and Grace Zong introduce a plucky heroine who takes responsibility for her actions and makes a new friend (and a whole plate of turnip cakes!), just in time for Chinese New Year. Includes back matter about Chinese New Year and a recipe for turnip cakes.
Call Number: Children's
The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin A special edition of a modern classic by the Newbery-Award winning and bestselling author of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon When Pacy's mom tells her that this is a good year for friends, family, and "finding herself," Pacy begins searching right away. As the year goes on, she struggles to find her talent, deals with disappointment, makes a new best friend, and discovers just why the Year of the Dog is a lucky one for her after all. This funny and profound book is a wonderful debut novel by award-winning and bestselling author and illustrator Grace Lin, and young readers will be sure to love and treasure it for years to come. This special edition of the modern classic features over 15 pages of new content, including deleted stories, a Q&A with the author and editor, photos from the author's childhood, and more!
Call Number: Children's
Pachinko (National Book Award Finalist) by Min Jin Lee NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST * A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW TOP TEN OF THE YEAR * NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2017 *A USA TODAY TOP TEN OF 2017 * JULY PICK FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR-NEW YORK TIMES BOOK CLUB NOW READ THIS * FINALIST FOR THE 2018 DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE Roxane Gay's Favorite Book of 2017, Washington Post NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 BOSTON GLOBE BESTSELLER * USA TODAY BESTSELLER * WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER * WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER In this gorgeous, page-turning saga, four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family fight to control their destiny in 20th-century Japan, exiled from a home they never knew. "There could only be a few winners, and a lot of losers. And yet we played on, because we had hope that we might be the lucky ones." In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger at the seashore near her home in Korea. He promises her the world, but when she discovers she is pregnant--and that her lover is married--she refuses to be bought. Instead, she accepts an offer of marriage from a gentle, sickly minister passing through on his way to Japan. But her decision to abandon her home, and to reject her son's powerful father, sets off a dramatic saga that will echo down through the generations. Richly told and profoundly moving, Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. From bustling street markets to the halls of Japan's finest universities to the pachinko parlors of the criminal underworld, Lee's complex and passionate characters--strong, stubborn women, devoted sisters and sons, fathers shaken by moral crisis--survive and thrive against the indifferent arc of history. *Includes reading group guide*
The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See A new novel from Lisa See, the New York Times bestselling author of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, about female friendship and family secrets on a small Korean island. Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the Korean island of Jeju, are best friends that come from very different backgrounds. When they are old enough, they begin working in the sea with their village's all-female diving collective, led by Young-sook's mother. As the girls take up their positions as baby divers, they know they are beginning a life of excitement and responsibility but also danger. Despite their love for each other, Mi-ja and Young-sook's differences are impossible to ignore. The Island of Sea Women is an epoch set over many decades, beginning during a period of Japanese colonialism in the 1930s and 1940s, followed by World War II, the Korean War and its aftermath, through the era of cell phones and wet suits for the women divers. Throughout this time, the residents of Jeju find themselves caught between warring empires. Mi-ja is the daughter of a Japanese collaborator, and she will forever be marked by this association. Young-sook was born into a long line of haenyeo and will inherit her mother's position leading the divers in their village. Little do the two friends know that after surviving hundreds of dives and developing the closest of bonds, forces outside their control will push their friendship to the breaking point. This beautiful, thoughtful novel illuminates a world turned upside down, one where the women are in charge, engaging in dangerous physical work, and the men take care of the children. A classic Lisa See story--one of women's friendships and the larger forces that shape them--The Island of Sea Women introduces readers to the fierce and unforgettable female divers of Jeju Island and the dramatic history that shaped their lives.
Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang From the author of Three Souls comes a vividly imagined and haunting new novel set in early 20th century Shanghai--a story of friendship, heartbreak, and history that follows a young Eurasian orphan's search for her long-lost mother. That night I dreamed that I had wandered out to Dragon Springs Road all on my own, when a dreadful knowledge seized me that my mother had gone away never to return . . . In 1908, Jialing is only seven years old when she is abandoned in the courtyard of a once-lavish estate near Shanghai. Jialing is zazhong--Eurasian--and faces a lifetime of contempt from both Chinese and Europeans. Without her mother's protection, she can survive only if the estate's new owners, the Yang family, agree to take her in. Jialing finds allies in Anjuin, the eldest Yang daughter, and Fox, an animal spirit who has lived in the haunted courtyard for centuries. But Jialing's life as the Yangs' bondservant changes unexpectedly when she befriends a young English girl who then mysteriously vanishes. Always hopeful of finding her long-lost mother, Jialing grows into womanhood during the tumultuous early years of the Chinese republic, guided by Fox and by her own strength of spirit, away from the shadows of her past. But she finds herself drawn into a murder at the periphery of political intrigue, a relationship that jeopardizes her friendship with Anjuin and a forbidden affair that brings danger to the man she loves.
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan "The Joy Luck Club is one of my favorite books. From the moment I first started reading it, I knew it was going to be incredible. For me, it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime reading experiences that you cherish forever. It inspired me as a writer and still remains hugely inspirational." --Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians Amy Tan's beloved, New York Times bestselling tale of mothers and daughters, now the focus of a new documentary Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir on Netflix Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who's "saying" the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money. "To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable." Forty years later the stories and history continue. With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery.
Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok An Instant New York Times Bestseller! A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick & Emma Roberts Belletrist Book Club Pick! NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK BY New York Times * Time * Marie Claire * Elle * Buzzfeed * Huffington Post * Good Housekeeping * The Week * Goodreads * New York Post * and many more! "Powerful . . . A twisting tale of love, loss, and dark family secrets."  -- Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train and Into the Water A poignant and suspenseful drama that untangles the complicated ties binding three women--two sisters and their mother--in one Chinese immigrant family and explores what happens when the eldest daughter disappears, and a series of family secrets emerge, from the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Translation It begins with a mystery. Sylvie, the beautiful, brilliant, successful older daughter of the Lee family, flies to the Netherlands for one final visit with her dying grandmother--and then vanishes. Amy, the sheltered baby of the Lee family, is too young to remember a time when her parents were newly immigrated and too poor to keep Sylvie. Seven years older, Sylvie was raised by a distant relative in a faraway, foreign place, and didn't rejoin her family in America until age nine. Timid and shy, Amy has always looked up to her sister, the fierce and fearless protector who showered her with unconditional love. But what happened to Sylvie? Amy and her parents are distraught and desperate for answers. Sylvie has always looked out for them. Now, it's Amy's turn to help. Terrified yet determined, Amy retraces her sister's movements, flying to the last place Sylvie was seen. But instead of simple answers, she discovers something much more valuable: the truth. Sylvie, the golden girl, kept painful secrets . . . secrets that will reveal more about Amy's complicated family--and herself--than she ever could have imagined. A deeply moving story of family, secrets, identity, and longing, Searching for Sylvie Lee is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive portrait of an immigrant family. It is a profound exploration of the many ways culture and language can divide us and the impossibility of ever truly knowing someone--especially those we love. "This is a true beach read! You can't put it down!" - Jenna Bush Hager, Today Show Book Club Pick
The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo The Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "A sumptuous garden maze of a novel that immerses readers in a complex, vanished world." --Kirkus (starred review) An utterly transporting novel set in 1930s colonial Malaysia, perfect for fans of Isabel Allende and Min Jin Lee Quick-witted, ambitious Ji Lin is stuck as an apprentice dressmaker, moonlighting as a dancehall girl to help pay off her mother's Mahjong debts. But when one of her dance partners accidentally leaves behind a gruesome souvenir, Ji Lin may finally get the adventure she has been longing for. Eleven-year-old houseboy Ren is also on a mission, racing to fulfill his former master's dying wish: that Ren find the man's finger, lost years ago in an accident, and bury it with his body. Ren has 49 days to do so, or his master's soul will wander the earth forever. As the days tick relentlessly by, a series of unexplained deaths racks the district, along with whispers of men who turn into tigers. Ji Lin and Ren's increasingly dangerous paths crisscross through lush plantations, hospital storage rooms, and ghostly dreamscapes. Yangsze Choo's The Night Tiger pulls us into a world of servants and masters, age-old superstition and modern idealism, sibling rivalry and forbidden love. But anchoring this dazzling, propulsive novel is the intimate coming-of-age of a child and a young woman, each searching for their place in a society that would rather they stay invisible. "A work of incredible beauty... Astoundingly captivating and striking... A transcendent story of courage and connection." --Booklist (starred review)
The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns Oceans and decades apart, two women are inextricably bound by the secrets between them. Japan, 1957. Seventeen-year-old Naoko Nakamura's prearranged marriage to the son of her father's business associate would secure her family's status in their traditional Japanese community, but Naoko has fallen for another man--an American sailor, a gaijin--and to marry him would bring great shame upon her entire family. When it's learned Naoko carries the sailor's child, she's cast out in disgrace and forced to make unimaginable choices with consequences that will ripple across generations. America, present day. Tori Kovac, caring for her dying father, finds a letter containing a shocking revelation--one that calls into question everything she understood about him, her family and herself. Setting out to learn the truth behind the letter, Tori's journey leads her halfway around the world to a remote seaside village in Japan, where she must confront the demons of the past to pave a way for redemption. In breathtaking prose and inspired by true stories from a devastating and little-known era in Japanese and American history, The Woman in the White Kimono illuminates a searing portrait of one woman torn between her culture and her heart, and another woman on a journey to discover the true meaning of home.
Bestiary by K-Ming Chang NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE * Three generations of Taiwanese American women are haunted by the myths of their homeland in this spellbinding, visceral debut about one family's queer desires, violent impulses, and buried secrets. "Gorgeous and gorgeously grotesque . . . Every line of this sensuous, magical-realist marvel is utterly alive."--O: The Oprah Magazine FINALIST FOR THE LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD * LONGLISTED FOR THE VCU CABELL FIRST NOVELIST AWARD * LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE * NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY O: The Oprah Magazine * NPR * The New York Public Library * Kirkus Reviews   One evening, Mother tells Daughter a story about a tiger spirit who lived in a woman's body. She was called Hu Gu Po, and she hungered to eat children, especially their toes. Soon afterward, Daughter awakes with a tiger tail. And more mysterious events follow: Holes in the backyard spit up letters penned by her grandmother; a visiting aunt arrives with snakes in her belly; a brother tests the possibility of flight. All the while, Daughter is falling for Ben, a neighborhood girl with strange powers of her own. As the two young lovers translate the grandmother's letters, Daughter begins to understand that each woman in her family embodies a myth--and that she will have to bring her family's secrets to light in order to change their destiny. With a poetic voice of crackling electricity, K-Ming Chang is an explosive young writer who combines the wit and fabulism of Helen Oyeyemi with the subversive storytelling of Maxine Hong Kingston. Tracing one family's history from Taiwan to America, from Arkansas to California, Bestiary is a novel of migration, queer lineages, and girlhood. Praise for Bestiary "[A] vivid, fabulist debut . . . the prose is full of imagery. Chang's wild story of a family's tenuous grasp on belonging in the U.S. stands out with a deep commitment to exploring discomfort with the body and its transformations."--Publishers Weekly
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Winner of the 2016 Edgar Award for Best First Novel Winner of the 2016 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction "[A] remarkable debut novel." --Philip Caputo, New York Times Book Review (cover review) Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize, a startling debut novel from a powerful new voice featuring one of the most remarkable narrators of recent fiction: a conflicted subversive and idealist working as a double agent in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. The winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as seven other awards, The Sympathizer is the breakthrough novel of the year. With the pace and suspense of a thriller and prose that has been compared to Graham Greene and Saul Bellow, The Sympathizer is a sweeping epic of love and betrayal. The narrator, a communist double agent, is a "man of two minds," a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who arranges to come to America after the Fall of Saigon, and while building a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles is secretly reporting back to his communist superiors in Vietnam.  The Sympathizer is a blistering exploration of identity and America, a gripping espionage novel, and a powerful story of love and friendship.
Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK "A con artist story, a pop-feminist caper, a fashionable romp . . . Counterfeit is an entertaining, luxurious read--but beneath its glitz and flash, it is also a shrewd deconstruction of the American dream and the myth of the model minority. . . . Chen is up to something innovative and subversive here." -- Camille Perri, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW Recommended by New York Times Book Review * Washington Post * People * Entertainment Weekly * USA Today * Time * Cosmopolitan * Today show * Harper's Bazaar * Vogue * Good Housekeeping * Parade * New York Post * Town & Country * GMA.com * Buzzfeed * Goodreads * Oprah Daily * Popsugar * Bustle *  theSkimm * The Millions * and more! For fans of Hustlers and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, the story of two Asian American women who band together to grow a counterfeit handbag scheme into a global enterprise--an incisive and glittering blend of fashion, crime, and friendship from the author of Bury What We Cannot Take and Soy Sauce for Beginners. Money can't buy happiness... but it can buy a decent fake. Ava Wong has always played it safe. As a strait-laced, rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer with a successful surgeon as a husband, a young son, and a beautiful home--she's built the perfect life. But beneath this façade, Ava's world is crumbling: her marriage is falling apart, her expensive law degree hasn't been used in years, and her toddler's tantrums are pushing her to the breaking point. Enter Winnie Fang, Ava's enigmatic college roommate from Mainland China, who abruptly dropped out under mysterious circumstances. Now, twenty years later, Winnie is looking to reconnect with her old friend. But the shy, awkward girl Ava once knew has been replaced with a confident woman of the world, dripping in luxury goods, including a coveted Birkin in classic orange. The secret to her success? Winnie has developed an ingenious counterfeit scheme that involves importing near-exact replicas of luxury handbags and now she needs someone with a U.S. passport to help manage her business--someone who'd never be suspected of wrongdoing, someone like Ava. But when their spectacular success is threatened and Winnie vanishes once again, Ava is left to face the consequences. Swift, surprising, and sharply comic, Counterfeit is a stylish and feminist caper with a strong point of view and an axe to grind. Peering behind the curtain of the upscale designer storefronts and the Chinese factories where luxury goods are produced, Kirstin Chen interrogates the myth of the model minority through two unforgettable women determined to demand more from life. "If you appreciate a good caper, you'll want to pick up Kirstin Chen's novel . . . Fast-paced and fun, with smart commentary on the cultural differences between Asia and America." -- TIME "Propulsive and captivating . . . A provocative story of fashion, friendship, and fakes (in more ways than one)." -- VOGUE
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu; Ken Liu (Translator) Soon to be a Netflix Original Series! "War of the Worlds for the 21st century." - Wall Street Journal The Three-Body Problem is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience the Hugo Award-winning phenomenon from China's most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin. Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision. The Three-Body Problem Series The Three-Body Problem The Dark Forest Death's End Other Books Ball Lightning Supernova Era To Hold Up The Sky (forthcoming)
Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER * From the infinitely inventive author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe comes "one of the funniest books of the year.... A delicious, ambitious Hollywood satire" (The Washington Post). A deeply personal novel about race, pop culture, immigration, assimilation, and escaping the roles we are forced to play.  Willis Wu doesn't perceive himself as the protagonist in his own life: he's merely Generic Asian Man. Sometimes he gets to be Background Oriental Making a Weird Face or even Disgraced Son, but always he is relegated to a prop. Yet every day, he leaves his tiny room in a Chinatown SRO and enters the Golden Palace restaurant, where Black and White, a procedural cop show, is in perpetual production. He's a bit player here, too, but he dreams of being Kung Fu Guy--the most respected role that anyone who looks like him can attain. Or is it? After stumbling into the spotlight, Willis finds himself launched into a wider world than he's ever known, discovering not only the secret history of Chinatown, but the buried legacy of his own family. Infinitely inventive and deeply personal, exploring the themes of pop culture, assimilation, and immigration--Interior Chinatown is Charles Yu's most moving, daring, and masterful novel yet.
Crazy Rich Asians (Movie Tie-In Edition) by Kevin Kwan #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The international bestselling sensation that was the basis for the acclaimed major motion picture. * "There's rich, there's filthy rich, and then there's crazy rich ... A Pride and Prejudice-like send-up about an heir bringing his Chinese-American girlfriend home to meet his ancestor-obsessed family." --People When New Yorker Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home and quality time with the man she hopes to marry. But Nick has failed to give his girlfriend a few key details. One, that his childhood home looks like a palace; two, that he grew up riding in more private planes than cars; and three, that he just happens to be the country's most eligible bachelor.   On Nick's arm, Rachel may as well have a target on her back the second she steps off the plane, and soon, her relaxed vacation turns into an obstacle course of old money, new money, nosy relatives, and scheming social climbers.
How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C. Pam Zhang A NEW YORK TIMES  NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR A WASHINGTON POST NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE OF NPR'S BEST BOOKS OF 2020  LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST FOR THE 2020 CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE WINNER OF THE ROSENTHAL FAMILY FOUNDATION AWARD, FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND LETTERS A NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION "5 UNDER 35" HONOREE NATIONAL BESTSELLER "Belongs on a shelf all of its own." --NPR "Outstanding." --The Washington Post   "Revolutionary . . . A visionary addition to American literature." --Star Tribune An electric debut novel set against the twilight of the American gold rush, two siblings are on the run in an unforgiving landscape--trying not just to survive but to find a home. Ba dies in the night; Ma is already gone. Newly orphaned children of immigrants, Lucy and Sam are suddenly alone in a land that refutes their existence. Fleeing the threats of their western mining town, they set off to bury their father in the only way that will set them free from their past. Along the way, they encounter giant buffalo bones, tiger paw prints, and the specters of a ravaged landscape as well as family secrets, sibling rivalry, and glimpses of a different kind of future. Both epic and intimate, blending Chinese symbolism and reimagined history with fiercely original language and storytelling, How Much of These Hills Is Gold is a haunting adventure story, an unforgettable sibling story, and the announcement of a stunning new voice in literature. On a broad level, it explores race in an expanding country and the question of where immigrants are allowed to belong. But page by page, it's about the memories that bind and divide families, and the yearning for home.
Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen A Best Book of the Year: Barack Obama · NPR · The Washington Post · The Philadelphia Inquirer · Esquire · Kirkus Reviews · Chicago Public Library · Electric Literature Malala Yousafzai's Fearless Book Club Pick for Literati  "Dazzling...Riveting." --New York Times Book Review "Gripping and illuminating . . . At the heart of Te-Ping Chen's remarkable debut lies a question all too relevant in 21st Century America: What is freedom?" --Jennifer Egan "Immensely rewarding, from the first sentence to the last . . . An exceptional collection." --Charles Yu A "stirring and brilliant" debut story collection, offering vivid portrayals of the men and women of modern China and its diaspora, "both love letter and sharp social criticism," from a phenomenal new literary talent bringing great "insight from her years as a reporter with the Wall Street Journal" (Elle). Gripping and compassionate, Land of Big Numbers traces the journeys of the diverse and legion Chinese people, their history, their government, and how all of that has tumbled--messily, violently, but still beautifully--into the present. Cutting between clear-eyed realism and tongue-in-cheek magical realism, Chen's stories coalesce into a portrait of a people striving for openings where mobility is limited. Twins take radically different paths: one becomes a professional gamer, the other a political activist. A woman moves to the city to work at a government call center and is followed by her violent ex-boyfriend. A man is swept into the high-risk, high-reward temptations of China's volatile stock exchange. And a group of people sit, trapped for no reason, on a subway platform for months, waiting for official permission to leave. With acute social insight, Te-Ping Chen layers years of experience reporting on the ground in China with incantatory prose in this taut, surprising debut, proving herself both a remarkable cultural critic and an astonishingly accomplished new literary voice.
Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park; Anton Hur (Translator) A funny, transporting, surprising, and poignant novel that was one of the highest-selling debuts of recent years in Korea, Love in the Big City tells the story of a young gay man searching for happiness in the lonely city of Seoul Love in the Big City is the English-language debut of Sang Young Park, one of Korea's most exciting young writers. A runaway bestseller, the novel hit the top five lists of all the major bookstores, went into twenty-six printings, and was praised for its unique literary voice and perspective. It is now poised to capture a worldwide readership. Young is a cynical yet fun-loving Korean student who pinballs from home to class to the beds of recent Tinder matches. He and Jaehee, his female best friend and roommate, frequent nearby bars where they push away their anxieties about their love lives, families, and money with rounds of soju and ice-cold Marlboro Reds that they keep in their freezer. Yet over time, even Jaehee leaves Young to settle down, leaving him alone to care for his ailing mother and to find companionship in his relationships with a series of men, including one whose handsomeness is matched by his coldness, and another who might end up being the great love of his life. A brilliantly written novel that takes usinto the glittering nighttime of Seoul andthe bleary-eyed morning after with bothhumor and emotion, Love in the Big Cityis a wry portrait of millennial loneliness aswell as the abundant joys of queer life. 
Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen Always a matchmaker, never a match... Olivia Huang Christenson is excited-slash-terrified to be taking over her grandmother's matchmaking business. But when she learns that a new dating app has made her Pó Po's traditional Chinese zodiac approach all about "animal attraction," her emotions skew more toward furious-slash-outraged. Especially when L.A.'s most-eligible bachelor Bennett O'Brien is behind the app that could destroy her family's legacy . . . Liv knows better than to fall for any guy, let alone an infuriatingly handsome one who believes that traditions are meant to be broken. As the two businesses go head to head, Bennett and Liv make a deal: they'll find a match for each other-and whoever falls in love loses. But Liv is dealing with someone who's already adept at stealing business ideas . . . so what's stopping him from stealing her heart too?
Little Gods by Meng Jin LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/OPEN BOOK AWARD "Compellingly complex...Expands the future of the immigrant novel even as it holds us in uneasy thrall to the past." - Gish Jen, New York Times Book Review Combining the emotional resonance of Home Fire with the ambition and innovation of Asymmetry, a lyrical and thought-provoking debut novel that explores the complex web of grief, memory, time, physics, history, and selfhood in the immigrant experience, and the complicated bond between daughters and mothers. On the night of June Fourth, a woman gives birth in a Beijing hospital alone. Thus begins the unraveling of Su Lan, a brilliant physicist who until this moment has successfully erased her past, fighting what she calls the mind's arrow of time. When Su Lan dies unexpectedly seventeen years later, it is her daughter Liya who inherits the silences and contradictions of her life. Liya, who grew up in America, takes her mother's ashes to China--to her, an unknown country. In a territory inhabited by the ghosts of the living and the dead, Liya's memories are joined by those of two others: Zhu Wen, the woman last to know Su Lan before she left China, and Yongzong, the father Liya has never known. In this way a portrait of Su Lan emerges: an ambitious scientist, an ambivalent mother, and a woman whose relationship to her own past shapes and ultimately unmakes Liya's own sense of displacement. A story of migrations literal and emotional, spanning time, space and class, Little Gods is a sharp yet expansive exploration of the aftermath of unfulfilled dreams, an immigrant story in negative that grapples with our tenuous connections to memory, history, and self.
Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE SELECTION * A MALALA BOOK CLUB PICK * AN INDIE NEXT PICK * A FAVORITE BOOK OF 2022 BY NPR AND BOOK RIOT * A MUST-READ MARCH 2022 BOOK BY TIME, VANITY FAIR, EW AND THE CHICAGO REVIEW OF BOOKS * A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2022 BY GOODREADS, NYLON, BUZZFEED AND MORE A Taiwanese American woman's coming-of-consciousness ignites eye-opening revelations and chaos on a college campus in this outrageously hilarious and startlingly tender debut novel. Twenty-nine-year-old PhD student Ingrid Yang is desperate to finish her dissertation on the late canonical poet Xiao-Wen Chou and never read about "Chinese-y" things again. But after years of grueling research, all she has to show for her efforts are junk food addiction and stomach pain. When she accidentally stumbles upon a curious note in the Chou archives one afternoon, she convinces herself it's her ticket out of academic hell.   But Ingrid's in much deeper than she thinks. Her clumsy exploits to unravel the note's message lead to an explosive discovery, upending not only her sheltered life within academia but her entire world beyond it. With her trusty friend Eunice Kim by her side and her rival Vivian Vo hot on her tail, together they set off a roller coaster of mishaps and misadventures, from book burnings and OTC drug hallucinations, to hot-button protests and Yellow Peril 2.0 propaganda.   In the aftermath, nothing looks the same to Ingrid--including her gentle and doting fiancé, Stephen Greene. When he embarks on a book tour with the super kawaii Japanese author he's translated, doubts and insecurities creep in for the first time... As the events Ingrid instigated keep spiraling, she'll have to confront her sticky relationship to white men and white institutions--and, most of all, herself.   For readers of Paul Beatty's The Sellout and Charles Yu's Interior Chinatown, this uproarious and bighearted satire is a blistering send-up of privilege and power in America, and a profound reckoning of individual complicity and unspoken rage. In this electrifying debut novel from a provocative new voice, Elaine Hsieh Chou asks who gets to tell our stories--and how the story changes when we finally tell it ourselves.
Daughters of the New Year by E. M. Tran "A daring debut."  -New York Times Book Review A MARIE CLAIRE BOOK CLUB PICK A Recommended Read from: Salon * Good Morning America * People Magazine * Electric Lit * Goodreads * Buzzfeed * The Seattle Times * Deep South Magazine * Book Culture * Debutiful A lively, spellbinding tale about the extraordinary women within a Vietnamese immigrant family--and the ancient zodiac legend that binds them together What does the future hold for those born in the years of the Dragon, Tiger, and Goat? In present day New Orleans, Xuan Trung, former beauty queen turned refugee after the Fall of Saigon, is obsessed with divining her daughters' fates through their Vietnamese zodiac signs. But Trac, Nhi and Trieu diverge completely from their immigrant parents' expectations. Successful lawyer Trac hides her sexuality from her family; Nhi competes as the only woman of color on a Bachelor-esque reality TV show; and Trieu, a budding writer, is determined to learn more about her familial and cultural past. As the three sisters begin to encounter strange glimpses of long-buried secrets from the ancestors they never knew, the story of the Trung women unfurls to reveal the dramatic events that brought them to America. Moving backwards in time, E.M. Tran takes us into the high school classrooms of New Orleans, to Saigon beauty pageants, to twentieth century rubber plantations, traversing a century as the Trungs are both estranged and united by the ghosts of their tumultuous history. A "haunted story of resilience and survival" (Meng Jin, Little Gods), Daughters of the New Year is an addictive, high-wire act of storytelling that illuminates an entire lineage of extraordinary women fighting to reclaim the power they've been stripped of for centuries.  
Green Island by Shawna Yang Ryan "Shawna Yang Ryan's propulsive storytelling carries us through a bloody time in Taiwanese history, its implications still reverberating today. The story is haunted by questions about whether Taiwan is a part of China or its own country, what the costs are of standing up for one's beliefs and by the choices made by one father and his daughter. Green Island is a tough, unsentimental and moving novel that is a memorial not only to the heroes, but also to the survivors." --Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer A stunning story of love, betrayal, and family, set against the backdrop of a changing Taiwan over the course of the twentieth century. February 28, 1947: Trapped inside the family home amid an uprising that has rocked Taipei, Dr. Tsai delivers his youngest daughter, the unnamed narrator of Green Island, just after midnight as the city is plunged into martial law. In the following weeks, as the Chinese Nationalists act to crush the opposition, Dr. Tsai becomes one of the many thousands of people dragged away from their families and thrown into prison. His return, after more than a decade, is marked by alienation from his loved ones and paranoia among his community--conflicts that loom over the growing bond he forms with his youngest daughter. Years later, this troubled past follows her to the United States, where, as a mother and a wife, she too is forced to decide between what is right and what might save her family--the same choice she witnessed her father make many years before.   As the novel sweeps across six decades and two continents, the life of the narrator shadows the course of Taiwan's history from the end of Japanese colonial rule to the decades under martial law and, finally, to Taiwan's transformation into a democracy. But, above all, Green Island is a lush and lyrical story of a family and a nation grappling with the nuances of complicity and survival, raising the question: how far would you be willing to go for the ones you love?
The Book of Salt by Monique Truong A novel of Paris in the 1930s from the eyes of the Vietnamese cook employed by Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, by the author of The Sweetest Fruits. Viewing his famous mesdames and their entourage from the kitchen of their rue de Fleurus home, Binh observes their domestic entanglements while seeking his own place in the world. In a mesmerizing tale of yearning and betrayal, Monique Truong explores Paris from the salons of its artists to the dark nightlife of its outsiders and exiles. She takes us back to Binh's youthful servitude in Saigon under colonial rule, to his life as a galley hand at sea, to his brief, fateful encounters in Paris with Paul Robeson and the young Ho Chi Minh. Winner of the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award A Best Book of the Year: New York Times, Village Voice, Seattle Times, Miami Herald, San Jose Mercury News, and others "An irresistible, scrupulously engineered confection that weaves together history, art, and human nature...a veritable feast."--Los Angeles Times  "A debut novel of pungent sensuousness and intricate, inspired imagination...a marvelous tale."--Elle "Addictive...Deliciously written...Both eloquent and original."--Entertainment Weekly
Jade City by Fonda Lee In this World Fantasy Award-winning novel of magic and kungfu, four siblings battle rival clans for honor and power in an Asia-inspired fantasy metropolis.  *Named one of TIME's Top 100 Fantasy Books Of All Time * World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, winner Jade is the lifeblood of the island of Kekon. It has been mined, traded, stolen, and killed for -- and for centuries, honorable Green Bone warriors like the Kaul family have used it to enhance their magical abilities and defend the island from foreign invasion. Now, the war is over and a new generation of Kauls vies for control of Kekon's bustling capital city. They care about nothing but protecting their own, cornering the jade market, and defending the districts under their protection. Ancient tradition has little place in this rapidly changing nation. When a powerful new drug emerges that lets anyone -- even foreigners -- wield jade, the simmering tension between the Kauls and the rival Ayt family erupts into open violence. The outcome of this clan war will determine the fate of all Green Bones -- and of Kekon itself. Praise for Jade City:  "An epic drama reminiscent of the best classic Hong Kong gangster films but set in a fantasy metropolis so gritty and well-imagined that you'll forget you're reading a book." --Ken Liu, Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award-winning author "A beautifully realized setting, a great cast of characters, and dramatic action scenes. What a fun, gripping read!" --Ann Leckie, Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author "An instantly absorbing tale of blood, honor, family and magic, spiced with unexpectedly tender character beats." --NPR The Green Bone Saga Jade City Jade War Jade Legacy

Non-Fiction and 1 Media Item

Chinese New Years Music by Heart of the Dragon Ensemble Popular and traditional Chinese New Years music from different parts of mainland China as well as Taiwan, Hong Kong and overseas. Including new compositions especially composed for Chinese New Year celebration.
Call Number: Music CD
The Guide to Chinese Horoscopes by Gerry Maguire This is a simple yet comprehensive guide to using the ancient Chinese system of horoscopes in order to do your own readings. Much more is involved than just the twelve famous animal signs. Gerry Maguire Thompson shows how the animal-year sign cycle is enmeshed with a repeating cycle of the five elements, and how this in turn is modified by the hour-of-birth cycle. Yin and yang forces also play a part in the system, which has a classic beauty of design, yet is supple enough to embrace the multiplicity of human experience. The book includes extensive year charts, followed by a 14-page section for each animal sign, covering personality and aptitude traits, as well as tendencies and potential outcomes with regard to leisure, career, health, money and family life. A separate section covers the relationship potential for each sign, giving helpful scores for every possible combination, with an ingenious graphic chart offering an at-a-glance summary. The last major section enables you to work out upcoming astrological influences for years to come, helping you to make decisions, deal with change, and cope with other life challenges.
Monstress by Marjorie Liu; Sana Takeda (Artist, Cover Design by) 2018 Eisner Award winner, BestWriter 2018 Eisner Award winner, BestPainter/Multimedia Artist 2018 EisnerAward winner, Best Continuing Series 2018Eisner Award winner, Best Publication forTeens 2018 Eisner Award winner, Best CoverArtist 2018 Harvey Award winner, Book ofthe Year 2018 Hugo Award winner, BestGraphic Story 2018 British Fantasy Awardwinner, Best Comic/Graphic Novel 2018,2016, 2015 Entertainment Weekly's The Best Comic Books of theYear 2018, Newsweek's Best ComicBooks of the Year 2018, The WashingtonPost's 10 Best Graphic Novels of theYear 2018, Barnes & Noble's Best Booksof the Year 2018, YALSA's Great GraphicNovels for Teens 2018, Thrillist'sBest Comics & Graphic Novels of theYear 2018, Powell's Best Science-Fiction,Fantasy, Horror, and Graphic Novels of theYear Set in an alternate matriarchal1900's Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected steam punk,MONSTRESS tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive thetrauma of war, and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster oftremendous power, a connection that will transform them both and make them thetarget of both human and otherworldlypowers. About theCreators: New York Times bestselling andaward-winning writer Marjorie Liu is best known for her fiction and comic books.She teaches comic book writing at MIT, and leads a class on Popular Fiction atthe Voices of Our Nation (VONA) workshop. Ms. Liu's extensive work includes thebestselling "Astonishing X-Men" for Marvel Comics, which featured the gaywedding of X-Man Northstar and was subsequently nominated for a GLAAD MediaAward for outstanding media images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendercommunity. Prior to writing full-time, Liu was a lawyer. She currently residesin Boston. Sana Takeda is an illustrator andcomic book artist who was born in Niigata, and now resides in Tokyo, Japan. Atage 20 she started out as a 3D CGI designer for SEGA, a Japanese video gamecompany, and became a freelance artist when she was 25. She is still an artist,and has worked on titles such as "X-23" and "Ms. Marvel" for Marvel Comics, andis an illustrator for trading card games in Japan.
Almost American Girl by Robin Ha (Illustrator) Harvey Award Nominee, Best Children or Young Adult Book  A powerful and moving teen graphic novel memoir about immigration, belonging, and how arts can save a life--perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and Hey, Kiddo.  For as long as she can remember, it's been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn't always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together. So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation--following her mother's announcement that she's getting married--Robin is devastated. Overnight, her life changes. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn't understand the language and struggles to keep up. She is completely cut off from her friends in Seoul and has no access to her beloved comics. At home, she doesn't fit in with her new stepfamily, and worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to--her mother. Then one day Robin's mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined. This nonfiction graphic novel with four starred reviews is an excellent choice for teens and also accelerated tween readers, both for independent reading and units on immigration, memoirs, and the search for identity.
Call Number: Young Adult
The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER * NATIONAL BESTSELLER * With this book, the acclaimed author created an entirely new form--an exhilarating blend of autobiography and mythology, of world and self, of hot rage and cool analysis. First published in 1976, it has become a classic in its innovative portrayal of multiple and intersecting identities--immigrant, female, Chinese, American.  "A classic, for a reason" - Celeste Ng via Twitter As a girl, Kingston lives in two confounding worlds: the California to which her parents have immigrated and the China of her mother's "talk stories." The fierce and wily women warriors of her mother's tales clash jarringly with the harsh reality of female oppression out of which they come. Kingston's sense of self emerges in the mystifying gaps in these stories, which she learns to fill with stories of her own. A warrior of words, she forges fractured myths and memories into an incandescent whole, achieving a new understanding of her family's past and her own present.
Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST * NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER * ONE OF TIME'S 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE * A ruthlessly honest, emotionally charged, and utterly original exploration of Asian American consciousness "Brilliant . . . To read this book is to become more human."--Claudia Rankine, author of Citizen In development as a television series starring and adapted by Greta Lee * One of Time's 10 Best Nonfiction Books of the Year * Named One of the Best Books of the Year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, New Statesman, BuzzFeed, Esquire, The New York Public Library, and Book Riot Poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong fearlessly and provocatively blends memoir, cultural criticism, and history to expose fresh truths about racialized consciousness in America. Part memoir and part cultural criticism, this collection is vulnerable, humorous, and provocative--and its relentless and riveting pursuit of vital questions around family and friendship, art and politics, identity and individuality, will change the way you think about our world. Binding these essays together is Hong's theory of "minor feelings." As the daughter of Korean immigrants, Cathy Park Hong grew up steeped in shame, suspicion, and melancholy. She would later understand that these "minor feelings" occur when American optimism contradicts your own reality--when you believe the lies you're told about your own racial identity. Minor feelings are not small, they're dissonant--and in their tension Hong finds the key to the questions that haunt her.  With sly humor and a poet's searching mind, Hong uses her own story as a portal into a deeper examination of racial consciousness in America today. This intimate and devastating book traces her relationship to the English language, to shame and depression, to poetry and female friendship. A radically honest work of art, Minor Feelings forms a portrait of one Asian American psyche--and of a writer's search to both uncover and speak the truth. Praise for Minor Feelings "Hong begins her new book of essays with a bang. . . .The essays wander a variegated terrain of memoir, criticism and polemic, oscillating between smooth proclamations of certainty and twitches of self-doubt. . . . Minor Feelings is studded with moments [of] candor and dark humor shot through with glittering self-awareness."--The New York Times "Hong uses her own experiences as a jumping off point to examine race and emotion in the United States."--Newsweek "Powerful . . . [Hong] brings together memoiristic personal essay and reflection, historical accounts and modern reporting, and other works of art and writing, in order to amplify a multitude of voices and capture Asian America as a collection of contradictions. She does so with sharp wit and radical transparency."--Salon
Healing Herbal Soups by Rose Cheung; Genevieve Wong Soothe your soul and boost your immunity with these easy and delicious soup recipes that incorporate Traditional Chinese Medicine. Combining the trends of culinary medicine and seasonal eating and adding a dash of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Healing Herbal Soups is the first book of its kind to focus on boosting immunity and weathering the seasons, by a mother-daughter, Chinese-American duo. Rose and Genevieve have been making Chinese herbal soups in their kitchens all their lives. They made broths to help their bodies adapt to the seasons, and now, for the first time, they're translating these traditional recipes--all of which have been vetted by Dr. Shiu Hon Chui, a preeminent TCM doctor, researcher, and professor--into English. Healing Herbal Soups provides a complete herbal encyclopedia and more than fifty tasty recipes--with full-color photographs--that mix herbs with meat and vegetables to create healing broths. These easy-to-follow recipes are here for you whenever you feel unwell, or if you're just looking to add healthy soups to your weekly meal rotation. Armed with an introduction to TCM and special sections on tea, ginger, and ginseng, as well, at last, you can feel less dependent on Western concoctions of drugs and chemicals, and start using traditional Chinese herbs right in the comfort of your own home.
Listen to the Squawking Chicken by Elaine Lui “I devoured this book in one sitting...alternately cheering, laughing, cringing, and gasping in horror. Lui captures the complexity of a mother-daughter relationship that is both complicated and beautiful. Poignant with a bare honesty that may make you think (and rethink) your own relationships.” —Jenny Lawson, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Let’s Pretend This Never Happened As the 800,000+ U.S. fans of Elaine Lui’s site know, her mother, aka The Squawking Chicken, is a huge factor in Elaine’s life. She pulls no punches, especially with her only child. “Where’s my money?” she asks every time she sees Elaine. “You’ll never be Miss Hong Kong,” she informed her daughter when she was a girl. Listen to the Squawking Chicken lays bare the playbook of unusual advice, warnings, and unwavering love that has guided Elaine throughout her life. Using the nine principles that her mother used to raise her, Elaine tells us the story of the Squawking Chicken’s life—in which she walked an unusual path to parent with tough love, humor, and, through it all, a mother’s unyielding devotion to her daughter. This is a love letter to mothers everywhere.
Feng Shui Modern by Cliff Tan; Dura Lee (Illustrator) A House Beautiful Best Design Book to Buy Now In an increasingly cramped world, a modern guide to opening up your living space--and your life--using the ancient principles of feng shui. The practice of feng shui, centuries old and rooted in ancient principles of harmony between people and their environments, has perhaps never been more necessary than in the modern world. As we pack our homes--and now our workspaces, too--into mere square footage, our living spaces have a newfound and outsized impact on our wellbeing. In Feng Shui Modern, interior design expert Cliff Tan shows us that this can be a good thing. Using the traditional principles of chi, or energy, to take inventory of our areas and tastes, Tan uses expert tips and unique illustrations to show us how our own styles, color palettes, and pieces can maximize any environment, from dorm room to five-bedroom home. Drawing upon traditional principles of energy, Tan adapts a specified approach to developing your own intuitive sense of space: for balance, the five elements of fire, earth, metal, water, and wood; for season, the cardinal directions of north, south, east, and west; for spatial orientation, the five animals, tortoise, tiger, bird, dragon, and snake. Then, taking inventory of light patterns, walking paths, walls, windows, and doors, Tan shows us how to carefully and comfortably balance the areas we have with the energy we need. From choosing a home to redecorating old rooms, Feng Shui Modern helps us find harmony in the every facet of our lives--beginning with where we live them.
Mooncakes and Milk Bread by Kristina Cho 2022 JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER * Baking and Desserts 2022 JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER * Emerging Voice, Books ONE OF THE TEN BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker Magazine, The New York Times ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time Out, Glamour, Taste of Home Food blogger Kristina Cho (eatchofood.com) introduces you to Chinese bakery cooking with fresh, simple interpretations of classic recipes for the modern baker. Inside, you'll find sweet and savory baked buns, steamed buns, Chinese breads, unique cookies, whimsical cakes, juicy dumplings, Chinese breakfast dishes, and drinks. Recipes for steamed BBQ pork buns, pineapple buns with a thick slice of butter, silky smooth milk tea, and chocolate Swiss rolls all make an appearance--because a book about Chinese bakeries wouldn't be complete without them In Mooncakes & Milk Bread, Kristina teaches you to whip up these delicacies like a pro, including how to: Knead dough without a stand mixer Avoid collapsed steamed buns Infuse creams and custards with aromatic tea flavors Mix the most workable dumpling dough Pleat dumplings like an Asian grandma This is the first book to exclusively focus on Chinese bakeries and cafés, but it isn't just for those nostalgic for Chinese bakeshop foods--it's for all home bakers who want exciting new recipes to add to their repertoires.
Mister Jiu's in Chinatown by Brandon Jew; Tienlon Ho JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER * The acclaimed chef behind the Michelin-starred Mister Jiu's restaurant shares the past, present, and future of Chinese cooking in America through 90 mouthwatering recipes. ONE OF THE TEN BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, San Francisco Chronicle * ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: Glamour * "Brandon Jew's affection for San Francisco's Chinatown and his own Chinese heritage is palpable in this cookbook, which is both a recipe collection and a portrait of a district rich in history."--Fuchsia Dunlop, James Beard Award-winning author of The Food of Sichuan   Brandon Jew trained in the kitchens of California cuisine pioneers and Michelin-starred Italian institutions before finding his way back to Chinatown and the food of his childhood. Through deeply personal recipes and stories about the neighborhood that often inspires them, this groundbreaking cookbook is an intimate account of how Chinese food became American food and the making of a Chinese American chef.   Jew takes inspiration from classic Chinatown recipes to create innovative spins like Sizzling Rice Soup, Squid Ink Wontons, Orange Chicken Wings, Liberty Roast Duck, Mushroom Mu Shu, and Banana Black Sesame Pie. From the fundamentals of Chinese cooking to master class recipes, he interweaves recipes and techniques with stories about their origins in Chinatown and in his own family history. And he connects his classical training and American roots to Chinese traditions in chapters celebrating dim sum, dumplings, and banquet-style parties.   With more than a hundred photographs of finished dishes as well as moving and evocative atmospheric shots of Chinatown, this book is also an intimate portrait--a look down the alleyways, above the tourist shops, and into the kitchens--of the neighborhood that changed the flavor of America.
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer B. Lee If you think McDonald's is the most ubiquitous restaurant experience in America, consider that there are more Chinese restaurants in America than McDonalds, Burger Kings, and Wendys combined. New York Times reporter and Chinese-American (or American-born Chinese). In her search, Jennifer 8 Lee traces the history of Chinese-American experience through the lens of the food. In a compelling blend of sociology and history, Jenny Lee exposes the indentured servitude Chinese restaurants expect from illegal immigrant chefs, investigates the relationship between Jews and Chinese food, and weaves a personal narrative about her own relationship with Chinese food. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles speaks to the immigrant experience as a whole, and the way it has shaped our country.
Every Grain of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop A James Beard Award Winner "A must-have for anyone who wants to cook Chinese food at home, home cooks and professionals alike." --David Chang, Momofuku Fuchsia Dunlop trained as a chef in China's leading Sichuan cooking school and possesses the rare ability to write recipes for authentic Chinese food that you can make at home. Following her two seminal volumes on Sichuan and Hunan cooking, Every Grain of Rice is inspired by the vibrant everyday cooking of southern China, in which vegetables play the starring role, with small portions of meat and fish. Try your hand at stir-fried potato slivers with chili pepper, vegetarian "Gong Bao Chicken," sour-and-hot mushroom soup, or, if you're ever in need of a quick fix, Fuchsia's emergency late-night noodles. Many of the recipes require few ingredients and are ridiculously easy to make. Fuchsia also includes a comprehensive introduction to the key seasonings and techniques of the Chinese kitchen. With stunning photography and clear instructions, this is an essential cookbook for everyone, beginner and connoisseur alike, eager to introduce Chinese dishes into their daily cooking repertoire.
Koreatown by Deuki Hong; Matt Rodbard A New York Times bestseller and one of the most praised Korean cookbooks of all time, you'llexplore the foods and flavors of Koreatowns across America through this collection of 100 recipes. This is not your average "journey to Asia" cookbook.Koreatownis a spicy, funky, flavor-packed love affair with the grit and charm of Korean cooking in America. Koreatowns around the country are synonymous with mealtime feasts and late-night chef hangouts, and Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard show us why through stories, interviews, and over 100 delicious, super-approachable recipes. It's spicy, it's fermented, it's sweet and savory and loaded with umami- Korean cuisine is poised to break out in the U.S., but until now, the cookbooks have been focused on taking readers on an idealized Korean journey.Koreatown, though, is all about what's real and happening right here- the foods of Korean American communities all over our country, from L.A. to New York City, from Atlanta to Chicago. We follow Rodbard and Hong through those communities with stories and recipes for everything from beloved Korean barbecue favorites like bulgogi and kalbi to the lesser-known but deeply satisfying stews, soups, noodles, salads, drinks, and the many kimchis of the Korean American table.
Vietnamese by Uyen Luu Selected for Jamie Oliver's Cookbook Club In Vietnamese, Uyen Luu demonstrates that Vietnamese food is just as easy to whip up as a bowl of pasta - all you need is a good bottle of fish sauce and a little enthusiasm! Uyen shares over 85 of her tastiest recipes - some traditional, some with a modern twist - using ingredients that are available at your local supermarket. Recipes include noodle soups, salads, family-style sharing plates, one-pot wonders and dinner-party showstoppers, which are all easy to prepare, adapt and enjoy. The recipes are impressive yet simple: try the Crispy Roast Pork Belly; Sea Bass in Tomato, Celery & Dill Broth; or Fried Noodles & Greens. Vietnamese is filled with fuss-free, delicious recipes that are quick to prepare, and will have you eating Vietnamese meals on a regular basis.

happiness

January 15-21 is Hunt for Happiness Week

While most of these listings link by default to a print copy, many are available in other formats (eBook and eAudiobook). Don't forget to check the catalog by title or author if you prefer digital!

Happiness Becomes You by Tina Turner Tina Turner--living legend, icon to millions, and author of the "brave and wry" (Vulture) memoir My Love Story--returns with a deeply personal book of wisdom that explores her longstanding faith in Buddhism and provides a guide to these timeless principles so you can find happiness in your own life. I dedicate this book to you... in honor of your unseen efforts to triumph over each problem life sends your way. Tina is a global icon of inspiration. And now, with Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good, Tina shows how anyone can overcome life's obstacles--even transform the "impossible" to possible--and fulfill our dreams. She shows how we, too, can improve our lives, empowering us with spiritual tools and sage advice to enrich our unique paths. Buddhism has been a central part of Tina Turner's life for decades and, in music, film, and live performances, she has shined as an example of generating hope from nothing, breaking through all limitations, and succeeding in life. Drawing from the lessons of her own life, from adversity to stratospheric heights, Tina effortlessly shows how the spiritual lessons of Buddhism help her transform from sorrow, adversity, and poverty into joy, stability, and prosperity. Now, Tina offers the wisdom of an extraordinary lifetime in Happiness Becomes You making this the perfect gift of inspiration for you or a loved one.
The Atlas of Happiness by Helen Russell A fun, illustrated guide that takes us around the world, discovering the secrets to happiness. Author Helen Russell (The Year of Living Danishly) uncovers the fascinating ways that different nations search for happiness in their lives, and what they can teach us about our own quest for meaning. This charming and diverse assortment of advice, history, and philosophies includes: Sobremesa from Spain Turangawaewae from New Zealand Azart from Russia Tarab from Syria joie de vivre from Canada and many more.
Happiness Hacks by Alex Palmer Highly Effective Hacks From Totally True Facts! Could you be happier at work . . . in love . . . in life? You may not need a total overhaul--just a few good Happiness Hacks! Here are hundreds of shortcuts to brighten your day and boost your mood--and the science behind how they work. Discover why . . . 57°F (13.9°C) is the happiest temperature Selfies give you a jolt of joy Renters have a surprising edge over homeowners 17-minute breaks are the most productive Intimacy is better than sex It's more satisfying to work a full 40-hour week Date night is the key to a happy marriage Just 10 minutes of exercise can cheer you up! Whether you're seeking better health, stronger friendships, or that elusive "happy place," these stunningly simple tips are proven to help. You can hack your way to happiness!
Call Number: eAudiobook
The Happiness Curve by Jonathan Rauch "In this warm, wise, and witty overview, Jonathan Rauch combines evidence and experience to show his fellow adults that the best is yet to come."--Steven Pinker, bestselling author ofEnlightenment Now This book will change your life by showing you how life changes. Why does happiness get harder in your 40s? Why do you feel in a slump when you're successful? Where does this malaise come from? And, most importantly, will it ever end? Drawing on cutting-edge research, award-winning journalist Jonathan Rauch answers all these questions. He shows that from our 20s into our 40s, happiness follows a U-shaped trajectory, a "happiness curve," declining from the optimism of youth into what's often a long, low slump in middle age, before starting to rise again in our 50s. This isn't a midlifecrisis, though. Rauch reveals that this slump is instead a natural stage of life--and an essential one. By shifting priorities away from competition and toward compassion, it equips you with new tools for wisdom and gratitude to win the third period of life. And Rauch can testify to this personally because it was his own slump, despite acclaim as a journalist and commentator that compelled him to investigate the happiness curve. His own story and the stories of many others from all walks of life--from a steelworker and a limo driver to a telecoms executive and a philanthropist--show how the ordeal of midlife malaise reboots our values and even our brains for a rebirth of gratitude. Full of insights and data and featuring many ways to endure the slump and avoid its perils and traps,The Happiness Curvedoesn't just show you the dark forest of midlife, it helps you find a path through the trees. It also demonstrates how we can--and why we must--do more to help each other through the woods. Midlife is a journey we mustn't walk alone.
Happiness Is a Choice You Make by John Leland ANew York TimesBestseller! An extraordinary look at what it means to grow old and a heartening guide to well-being,Happiness Isa Choice You Makeweaves together the stories and wisdom of six New Yorkers who number among the "oldest old"-- those eighty-five and up. In 2015, when the award-winning journalist John Leland set out on behalf ofThe New York Times to meet members of America's fastest-growing age group, he anticipated learning of challenges, of loneliness, and of the deterioration of body, mind, and quality of life. But the elders he met took him in an entirely different direction. Despite disparate backgrounds and circumstances, they each lived with a surprising lightness and contentment. The reality Leland encountered upended contemporary notions of aging, revealing the late stages of life as unexpectedly rich and the elderly as incomparably wise. Happiness Is a Choice You Make is an enduring collection of lessons that emphasizes, above all, the extraordinary influence we wield over the quality of our lives. With humility, heart, and wit, Leland has crafted a sophisticated and necessary reflection on how to "live better"--informed by those who have mastered the art.
The Future of Happiness by Amy Blankson; Shawn Achor (Foreword by) Technology--at least in theory--is improving our productivity, efficiency, and communication. The one thing it’s not doing is making us happier. We are experiencing historically high levels of depression and dissatisfaction. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Technology can drive--not diminish--human happiness. Our brains receive 11 million bits of information every second but can only process 40 bits at any given time. Thanks to the latest technology, you have a say in what information you consume. We now have the tools to train our brains to scan the world for the positive, trumping our genes and our environment to reach our full potential. Knowing that technology is here to stay and will continue to evolve in form and function, we need to know how to navigate the future to achieve a better balance between technology, productivity, and wellbeing. In The Future of Happiness, author Amy Blankson, co-founder of the global positive psychology consulting firm GoodThink, unveils five strategies that successful individuals can use to not just survive--but to actually thrive--in the Digital Age: Stay grounded to focus and channel your energy with intention Know thyself through app-driven data to strive toward your potential Train your brain to develop and sustain an optimistic mindset Create a habitat for happiness to maximize the spaces and places in which you live, work, and learn Be a conscious innovator to actively shape your future By rethinking when, where, why and how you use technology, you will not only able to influence your own wellbeing but also help shape the future of your community. Discover how futuristic technologies can transform the idea of "I’ll be happy when . . .” to your way of being now.
The Blue Zones of Happiness by Dan Buettner In this inspiring book, Buettner offers game-changing tools for setting up your life to be the happiest it can be. In these illuminating pages, you'll:#9679Meet the world's Happiness All-Stars-inspiring individuals whose ways of boosting well-being can influence your home and community as well.#9679Discover the three strands of happiness-pleasure, purpose, and pride-that weave together in different ways in the world's happiest places.#9679Use the Blue Zones Happiness Test to pinpoint areas in your life where change could bring more happiness-and then find practical steps to make those changes.#9679Learn what researchers on happiness consider the top ways to create personal and nationwide happiness, as revealed by a blue-ribbon panel of world experts convened for this book.#9679Boost your own happiness with the Happiness Power 9-Buettner's final assessment of the most important lessons to be learned from the world's happiest people and places.
Food, Health, and Happiness by Oprah Winfrey Oprah Winfrey will be the first to tell you, she has had a complicated relationship with food. It's been both a source of delight and comfort for her, but also the cause of an ongoing struggle with her weight. InFood, Health, and Happiness, Oprah shares the recipes that have allowed eating to finally be joyful for her. With dishes created and prepared alongside her favorite chefs, paired with personal essays and memories from Oprah herself, this cookbook offers a candid, behind-the-scenes look into the life (and kitchen!) of one of the most influential and respected celebrities in the world. Delicious, healthy, and easy to prepare, these are the recipes Oprah most loves to make at home and share with friends and family. Fromsimple pleasures like Unfried Chicken and Turkey Chili, to such celebrations of freshness as Tuscan Kale and Apple Salad and Pasta Primavera, this is food as it should be: a taste of happiness, a ritual to be shared, a toast to life.
Happiness in This Life by Oonagh Stransky (Translator); Pope Pope Francis A collection of homilies, speeches, and "messages of the day" that brings together Pope Francis's wisdom on finding happiness in the here and now   For Pope Francis, the appreciation of our everyday lives is a spiritual undertaking. Joy is a divine attribute, and creating joy around us an essential part of faith. Every homily and speech in this book delivers, in warm, engaging language accessible to believers and nonbelievers alike, a key lesson, instructing readers on finding love and happiness in a chaotic world. Along the way, Pope Francis discusses the sanctity of women's rights, talks about how the love of sports can bring out our best qualities, and explains why fighting discrimination is the essence of loving thy neighbor. He shares personal stories and anecdotes from his life, provides comforting messages of hope, and discusses the ways flawed families can make you a better person. The core ideas of Francis's papacy--mercy, support for marginalized people, and diplomacy--shine through. Praise for Happines in This Life "Though the title of the book mentions happiness, this collection of thoughts addresses something much deeper--joy. Bringing together excerpts from Pope Francis's sermons, speeches, prayers, and addresses, these pieces address a range of themes, from mercy and humility to simplicity and family. . . . Readers will be encouraged to clear away the cacophony of modern society and embrace the simplicity of joy. A book as loving and encouraging as the man himself seems to be."--Booklist "With this wide-ranging collection of writings, homilies, and addresses, the current pontiff dispels any notion that religious practice is dour and antiquated. . . . It brings together the pope's most affecting passages to inspire Catholics (and those of other faiths) to lift up those around them."--Publishers Weekly "Reminiscent of the gentle encouragement of the Dalai Lama . . . Family-centered and practical--especially on difficult matters of familial contention--these homilies are, on the whole, gentle encouragements to do the right thing. . . . [This] collection offers clear insight into the pope's doctrinal concerns."--Kirkus Reviews
Sewing Happiness by Sanae Ishida When Sanae Ishida was diagnosed with a chronic illness and lost her corporate job, she thought her life was over. But these challenges ended up being the best thing that ever happened to her because they forced her to take stock of her life and focus on the important things and enabled her to rediscover sewing, her true passion. This is a seasonal book of simple sewing projects and inspirational personal stories from a beloved Seattle blogger. It consists of 20 projects plus variations (including Japanese-inspired home goods, children's and women's clothing) organized by season and stitched together with charming and relatable personal stories about how sewing brought her profound happiness. Part 1 includes the incredibly moving essays as well as a look-book of photos of the projects, and Part 2 includes all the instructions with detailed illustrations. The book is 30% memoir and 70% practical sewing projects.
Happiness by Design by Paul Dolan; Daniel Kahneman (Foreword by) "Bold and original." --Daniel Kahneman, PhD, bestselling author of Thinking Fast and Slow  There are a slew of books on the market dictating programs for achieving happiness, but Happiness by Design is the first to explain that happiness ultimately depends upon our experience of pleasure and purpose over time--and everyone has their own optimal balance. Combining the latest insights from economics and psychology, renowned behavior expert Paul Dolan, PhD, shows readers how to integrate his ground-breaking paradigm into a practical plan for deciding, designing, and doing the things that bring them true happiness.
The Giving Way to Happiness by Jenny Santi; Deepak Chopra (Foreword by) We often focus on how our gifts can help those in need. But the act of giving actually improves our own lives as well. In The Giving Way to Happiness, Jenny Santi overturns conventional thinking about what it takes to be happy by revealing how giving to others - whether in the form of money, expertise, time, or love - has helped people from all walks of life find purpose and joy. Drawing on the wisdom of great thinkers past and present, as well as cutting-edge scientific research, Santi makes an eloquent and passionate case that oftentimes the answers to the problems that haunt us, and the key to the happiness that eludes us, lie in helping those around us. This book is filled with inspiring stories told firsthand by Academy Award winner Goldie Hawn, Noble Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, supermodel Christy Turlington Burns, Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp, philanthropist Richard Rockefeller, environmentalist Philippe Cousteau, activist Ric O'Barry, bestselling author Isabel Allende, ALS survivor Augie Nieto, and many others from all over the world. Despite their diverse backgrounds, they have all found unexpected happiness and fulfillment through giving. This book tells us not just how they changed the world but also how their acts changed their very own lives. In addition, Santi reveals- How altruism involves far more than suppressing basic selfish urges. Rather, we are wired to give, as it activates the same pleasure centers of the brain stimulated by food, sex, and drugs How helping others - whether by walking a friend through a struggle that you've also experienced or by supporting a cause to honor a loved one's memory - can be a healthy way to deal with adversity and process grief The unexpected reasons why those who 'gave it all up' to make a difference, and who face the direst situations, are nevertheless some of the happiest, most fulfilled, and least angst-ridden people you'll ever meet. Practical, universally applicable lessons on what kind of giving makes people happy and what doesn't. How do you discover giving that is unique to you and makes you feel good? In this inspiring book, Santi turns conventional wisdom upside down about what it takes to be happy and reveals the surprising reasons that have led so many people to live lives full of meaning, purpose and happiness. 'The Giving Way to Happiness is full of interesting insights from big-ticket philanthropists and prominent personalities, but it is also about something bigger- how we can all find happiness through helping others. If done right, giving may well be the greatest gift you can give yourself.' Adam Grant, professor, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and New York Times-bestselling author of Give and Take'This thoughtful look at philanthropy honestly examines the self-interest often involved in it and suggests that a self-focused approach to giving may in fact be entirely appropriate.' Publishers Weekly'Well done! A wonderful and timely contribution.' Christy Turlington Burns, founder of Every Mother Counts'The Giving Way to Happinesswill change the way you approach giving, shifting the focus from charity to empathy, from a one-way transfer to a mutually beneficial act, from guilt and obligation to pleasure and happiness. Jenny Santi, through her well-researched, eloquent, and insightful book, teaches us how we can help ourselves by helping others.' Carl Liederman, former CEO of One Young World, and founder & CEO of Liedership
Uncovering Happiness by Elisha Goldstein In seven simple steps, Uncovering Happiness uses cutting-edge mindfulness and self-compassion techniques along with innovations in neuroscience to release natural antidepressants in the brain. Dr. Goldstein shows you how to take back control of your mind, your mood, and your life. Most of us believe when we're depressed that our situation is hopeless. That's a mistake, Dr. Elisha Goldstein reassures us in Uncovering Happiness. The secret to overcoming depression and uncovering happiness is in harnessing our brain's own natural antidepressant power and ultimately creating a more resilient antidepressant brain. Uncovering Happiness is grounded in two key foundations: mindfulness and self-compassion, and backed by recent scientific discoveries. New research shows that mindfulness reduces the risk of relapse in people who have experienced depression and can be a significant alternative, or supplement, to medication. The second foundation is self-compassion--a state of mind in which you understand your own suffering with an inclination to support yourself. Goldstein explores our natural antidepressants--along with mindfulness and self-compassion, also purpose, play, and confidence--and offers specific techniques for putting them into action. Together, these elements can transform something that typically forces us to spiral downward and turn it into an upward spiral of self-worth and resiliency. At its core, Uncovering Happiness contains a persuasive argument for hope: Having had depression in the past doesn't mean you must also suffer from it in the future. You can build up the sections of the brain that protect you from depression, and slow down the sections that foster it. Doing this allows the brain's own natural antidepressants to emerge, grow stronger, and contribute powerfully to the resiliency that we need to enjoy the good times, survive difficult times, and open ourselves up to lives that truly feel worth living.
The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau Chris Guillebeau specializes in helping people break out of the "box" of their everyday lives. His most recent book, The $100 Startup, explained how to create income on one's own terms and not necessarily abide by a 9-to-5, "work for the man" model. But while liberation from "the grind" is one step in pursuing a life of purpose, it's far from the only way. Indeed, genuine fulfillment typically requires a quest or challenge that is big and ambitious, that involves surpassing the limits most people accept as part of their boring, routine-filled lives and making an actual difference. Chris has undertaken a successful quest of his own, having visited every country in the world by age 35. But the quests or projects discussed in this book need not involve travel at all. What they do involve is commitment and progressive accomplishment, losing oneself in an accretive task-whether it be a physical journey, an artistic enterprise, a philanthropic feat, even an act of political protest. Chris has surveyed thousands who've undertaken such quests and really drilled down to discover how they went about it, the common mistakes, what happened when they hit the wall, and how they coped when the quest was over. His specialty is well-researched, easy-to-follow advice that helps readers bridge the gap between "impossible dream" and "everyday reality."
Lurching Toward Happiness in America by Claude S. Fischer; Deborah Chasman Amid confusing and alarmist media claims about our changing culture, Claude Fischer sets the record straight on social trends in America. The promise of America has long been conceived as the promise of happiness. Being American is all about the opportunity to pursue one's own bliss. But what is the good life, and are we getting closer to its attainment? In the cacophony of competing conceptions of the good, technological interventions that claim to help us achieve it, and rancorous debate over government's role in securing it for us, every step toward happiness seems to come with at least one step back. In Lurching toward Happiness in America, acclaimed sociologist Claude Fischer explores the data, the myths, and history to understand how far America has come in delivering on its promise. Are Americans getting lonelier? Is the gender revolution over? Does income shape the way Americans see their life prospects? In the end, Fischer paints a broad picture of what Americans say they want. And, as he considers how close they are to achieving that goal, he also suggests what might finally get them there.
Clear the Clutter, Find Happiness by Donna Smallin Get rid of the clutter -- and keep it away! Organizing expert Donna Smallin shows you how to enjoy the happy, healthy, and inviting home you long for with hundreds of time-saving, clutter-busting tips. Smallin's simple and manageable approach helps you focus on the things that will make the biggest difference in the least amount of time. Clear away the clutter once and for all, and discover the peace of mind that has been hiding underneath.
Sustainable Happiness by Sarah Van Gelder (Editor); The staff of YES! Magazine (Editor) We're bombarded by messages telling us that bigger and better things are the keys to happiness-but after we pile up the stuff and pile on the work hours, we end up exhausted and broke on a planet full of trash. Sarah van Gelder and her colleagues at YES! Magazine have been exploring the meaning of real happiness for eighteen years. Here they offer fascinating research, in-depth essays, and compelling personal stories by visionaries such as Annie Leonard, Matthieu Ricard, and Vandana Shiva, showing us that real well-being is found in supportive relationships and thriving communities, opportunities to make a contribution, and the renewal we receive from a thriving natural world. In the pages of this book, you'll find creative and practical ways to cultivate a happiness that is nurturing, enduring, and life affirming.
The Myths of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky The bestselling author of The How of Happiness reveals how to find opportunity in life's thorniest moments   Focusing on life's biggest, messiest moments, Sonja Lyubomirsky provides readers with the clear-eyed vision they need to build the healthiest, most satisfying life. Lyubomirsky argues that we have been given false promises--myths that assure us that lifelong happiness will be attained once we hit the culturally confirmed markers of adult success. This black-and-white vision of happiness works to discourage us from recognizing the upside of any negative and limits our potential for personal growth. A corrective course on happiness and a call to regard life's twists and turns with a more open mind, The Myths of Happiness shares practical lessons that prove we are more adaptable than we think we are. It empowers readers to look beyond their first response, sharing scientific evidence that often it is our mindset--not our circumstances--that matters most.
A Unified Theory of Happiness by Teresa Wright (Foreword by); Andrea Polard The Western world teaches us that happiness comes from achievement--from setting goals and actively pursuing them. Eastern wisdom teaches us that surrender is the key, that we must let go in order to experience the great flow of being that is only available in the present moment. How do we take the best wisdom from both of these approaches, and honor what Dr. Andrea Polard calls "the two wings of happiness" that allow us to truly soar? Discover Dr. Polard's groundbreaking synthesis of Western thinking and Eastern philosophy withA Unified Theory of Happiness, a warm and personalized guide for the transformation of consciousness that allows personal well-being and fulfillment to flourish. While our lives are full of ups and downs, Dr. Polard teaches us that we don't have to let these ups and downs control our experience of life.A Unified Theory of Happiness teaches you the skills to choose and accept happiness by illuminating: How to navigate the active "Basic Mode" and the non-active "Supreme Mode" of consciousness to respond to life's complexities with flexibility * Tools to build ambition, competence, confidence, and connection--essential aspects of reconciling with life's fragility and building an engaging, authentic self * Paths to receptivity, tranquility, reliance, and lightheartedness--keys to accessing your natural connection with the whole of being, and realizing your non-dual self * The Theory of Elastic Consciousness--a balanced place in perfect accord with an authentically lived life "Happiness," says Dr. Polard, "is a complex path that becomes easy only as we walk it." At last, here is a work that provides a comprehensive understanding of happiness that honors the full spectrum of life's offerings while broadening your experience of its inherent joy.
Call Number: eBook
A Private History of Happiness by George Myerson Instead of advocating the latest guide or formula to achieve happiness, A Private History of Happiness offers a fresh look at everyday moments of joy as they were experienced by real people--across many centuries and from around the world--and invites us to discover the happiness in our own lives.
Spontaneous Happiness by Andrew Weil Everyone wants to be happy. But what does that really mean? Increasingly, scientific evidence shows us that true satisfaction and well-being come only from within. Dr. Andrew Weil has proven that the best way to maintain optimum physical health is to draw on both conventional and alternative medicine. Now, in Spontaneous Happiness, he gives us the foundation for attaining and sustaining optimum emotional health. Rooted in Dr. Weil's pioneering work in integrative medicine, the book suggests a reinterpretation of the notion of happiness, discusses the limitations of the biomedical model in treating depression, and elaborates on the inseparability of body and mind. Dr. Weil offers an array of scientifically proven strategies from Eastern and Western psychology to counteract low mood and enhance contentment, comfort, resilience, serenity, and emotional balance. Drawn from psychotherapy, mindfulness training, Buddhist psychology, nutritional science, and more, these strategies include body-oriented therapies to support emotional wellness, techniques for managing stress and anxiety and changing mental habits that keep us stuck in negative patterns, and advice on developing a spiritual dimension in our lives. Lastly, Dr. Weil presents an eight-week program that can be customized according to specific needs, with short- and long-term advice on nutrition, exercise, supplements, environment, lifestyle, and much more. Whether you are struggling with depression or simply want to feel happier, Dr. Weil's revolutionary approach will shift the paradigm of emotional health and help you achieve greater contentment in your life.
Already Enough by Lisa Olivera Identify, understand, and reframe your life story with this "must-read" (Christie Tate, New York Times bestselling author of Group), essential guide for self-acceptance from Lisa Olivera, a therapist, writer, and creator of a wildly popular Instagram account @_LisaOlivera. When Lisa Olivera was just a few hours old, her birth mother abandoned her behind a rock near Muir Woods in Northern California. She was found and later adopted. Growing up, Lisa knew she was adopted. She later learned she was abandoned. Like with many adopted children, this led Lisa to wonder: Why did her mother leave her behind? Without answers, Lisa came to believe she was not enough. This story wasn't true, but it made sense of a confusing experience. It allowed her to move forward. It felt like the only way. Until, with the help of a therapist, Lisa began to tell herself a better story. If you have ever felt like you didn't belong, or like you weren't worthy, or like you weren't enough, just as you are...it might be time for you to rewrite your story, too. Now a therapist herself, Lisa shows you how. In Already Enough, Lisa explores how our stories affect us--often much more than we realize. She guides us through reframing our stories so we can remember that we are already enough, just as we are. And she invites us to join her on a transformative journey to healing. "Beautiful, meditative, touching, and hopeful" (Arianna Huffington), Already Enough is a powerful reminder that we are the authors of our own stories. The sooner we decide to write a better story, the sooner we can live a more whole, more meaningful, more nourishing life.
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin "This book made me happy in the first five pages." --AJ Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible Award-winning author Gretchen Rubin is back with a bang, with The Happiness Project. The author of the bestselling 40 Ways to Look at Winston Churchill has produced a work that is "a cross between the Dalai Lama's The Art of Happiness and Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love." (Sonya Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want) In the vein of Julie and Julia, The Happiness Project describes one person's year-long attempt to discover what leads to true contentment. Drawing at once on cutting-edge science, classical philosophy, and real-world applicability, Rubin has written an engaging, eminently relatable chronicle of transformation.
Happy by Design by Victoria Harrison; Debbie Powell (Illustrator) Invite health and happiness into the heart of your home with practical ideas for decor, organization, and mindfulness that will transform your living space--and create an uplifting atmosphere that looks after you from morning to night! Happy by Design teaches us how we can actively improve our health and wellbeing through the way we design and regard every room in the house. From the paint color that's been named the happiest to the science of getting a good night's sleep, Happy by Design offers bite-sized and affordable design ideas that are accessible to all--from a young renter in an urban apartment to a busy family in their own home. Drawing on advice from experts far and wide, Victoria Harrison's Happy Home Program helps everyone transform their living spaces and put personal wellbeing first in their homes and neighborhoods. With delightful illustrations and photos on every page, the program is easy to follow and packed with motivating tips and inspiration to help everyone live the happiest life possible. Happy by Design will help you breathe better with the top ten oxygenating houseplants, surround yourself with scents scientifically proven to brighten your mood, and--taking a page from the Danish concept of hygge--keep your home a clean yet cozy sanctuary, free of outside distractions. Discover these simple--but ultimately life-changing--steps.   Table of Contents Introduction: The Happy Home Program How to Grow Your Own Fresh Air How to Decorate with the Happiest Color Tidy Your Way to Happiness Unlock the Secret to a Good Night's Sleep Discover the Happiest Scents Harness the Mood-Boosting Power of Flowers Shine a Light on Wellbeing How to Create a Cozy Retreat Wish Happiness for Others Unearth Happiness in the Garden How to Be Smarter Than Your Smartphone
The Next Happy by Tracey Cleantis The coronavirus pandemic is upsetting projects and plans in each of our lives. This book offers grace for grieving the end of hoped-for deams, and guidance for moving towards future possibilities. When the best option is to let go of the life you planned for yourself and find a new path, a world of possibilities can surprisingly open up. Learn whether it is time to let go, and if so, how to move through your grief and find your way forward in The Next Happy. If you believe, you can do anything. Although well-meaning, these intended words of inspiration can make us feel like failures. The reality is that no matter how positive our outlook or how tenacious our approach, our dreams simply do not always come true--and there is nothing we can do about it. After multiple fertility treatments and years of hardship in her pursuit to have a child, Tracey Cleantis was forced to face this reality head-on. Yet, through this process and her work counseling hundreds of clients through the loss of their goals and aspirations, she discovered one simple truth: Sometimes there comes a time when the smartest, healthiest, and sanest thing to do is to let go of the original plan in order to find a new way forward toward happiness. And with this critical shift, a world of possibilities opens up to us. New, tangible dreams take shape. In The Next Happy, Cleantis offers a roadmap for that journey, teaching you how to: face the possibility of letting go of a dream that isn't working; accept and face sadness, anger, and shame; understand the true reasons why you wanted what you wanted and the real-life causes for why you didn't get it; and ask the questions that will let you move on and set realistic goals for finding a new way forward. With down-to-earth wisdom and humor, this enlightening counterpoint to the popular self-help notion to "follow your dream, no matter what it takes" provides the guidance and support to help you make the decision of whether it is time to give up an impossible dream, and if so, move through your grief, and discover the next happy.
The Comfort Book by Matt Haig An instant New York Times Bestseller! The new uplifting book from Matt Haig, the New York Times bestselling author of The Midnight Library, for anyone in search of hope, looking for a path to a more meaningful life, or in need of a little encouragement. Named by The Washington Post as one of the best feel-good books of 2021. "It is a strange paradox, that many of the clearest, most comforting life lessons are learnt while we are at our lowest. But then we never think about food more than when we are hungry and we never think about life rafts more than when we are thrown overboard." THE COMFORT BOOK is Haig's life raft: it's a collection of notes, lists, and stories written over a span of several years that originally served as gentle reminders to Haig's future self that things are not always as dark as they may seem. Incorporating a diverse array of sources from across the world, history, science, and his own experiences, Haig offers warmth and reassurance, reminding us to slow down and appreciate the beauty and unpredictability of existence.
The Good Life by Robert Waldinger; Marc Schulz What makes for a happy life, a fulfilling life? A good life? According to the directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest scientific study of happiness ever conducted, the answer to these questions may be closer than you realize. What makes a life fulfilling and meaningful? The simple but surprising answer is: relationships. The stronger our relationships, the more likely we are to live happy, satisfying, and overall healthier lives. In fact, the Harvard Study of Adult Development reveals that the strength of our connections with others can predict the health of both our bodies and our brains as we go through life. The invaluable insights in this book emerge from the revealing personal stories of hundreds of participants in the Harvard Study as they were followed year after year for their entire adult lives, and this wisdom is bolstered by research findings from this and many other studies. Relationships in all their forms--friendships, romantic partnerships, families, coworkers, tennis partners, book club members, Bible study groups--all contribute to a happier, healthier life. And as The Good Life shows us, it's never too late to strengthen the relationships you have, and never too late to build new ones. Dr. Waldinger's TED Talk about the Harvard Study, "What Makes a Good Life," has been viewed more than 42 million times and is one of the ten most-watched TED talks ever. The Good Life has been praised by bestselling authors Jay Shetty ("Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz lead us on an empowering quest towards our greatest need: meaningful human connection"), Angela Duckworth ("In a crowded field of life advice and even life advice based on scientific research, Schulz and Waldinger stand apart"), and happiness expert Laurie Santos ("Waldinger and Schulz are world experts on the counterintuitive things that make life meaningful"). With warmth, wisdom, and compelling life stories, The Good Life shows us how we can make our lives happier and more meaningful through our connections to others.
Happy Not Perfect by Poppy Jamie A clear path to overcoming uncertainty, perfectionism, and fears of rejection so you can finally find peace with the past and create a happier, healthier future "Poppy's powerful approach will help you take control of your thoughts so they don't control you."--Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone Even before the pandemic brought on a crushing wave of stress, anxiety, isolation, life change, and financial struggle, there was already a growing mental health crisis. Due to a culture that encourages perfection, hustle, and fictional life/work balance, many are burning out. Behind her Instagram-projected image of "happy wellness founder," Poppy Jamie was also struggling mightily with perfectionism and life purpose. She began working with mental health experts and researchers to find practical tools to overcome her inner critic and rewire her mind. She discovered that it is possible to create new neural pathways in your brain to break patterns of avoidance, challenge fears of not being good enough, and turn failure around by stretching the mind with new, healthier thought habits. The old wiring (and habits) that you've been stuck with can be written-over. You can actually upgrade your headspace to make curiosity, vulnerability, compassion, and emotional flexibility your default settings. In the emphatic and trusted voice of Bridget Jones meets neuroscience, Poppy shares her Flexy Thoughts approach for changing how you react to emotional triggers and think of yourself while improving your mental and physical health, relationships, and vision of the future. Our emotional resilience may continue to be tested, but the new perspectives and strategies in Happy Not Perfect will help us bring confidence, adaptability, and acceptance to whatever comes next.
Goodbye, Again by Jonny Sun Instant New York Times Bestseller  "Truly, there's no shame in taking a break from books during the pandemic. But if you're feeling ready to reach out, try starting with Goodbye, Again. Take my word for it -- let Jonny Sun into your life."---Janet W. Lee, NPR The wonderfully original author of Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too gives us a collection of touching and hilarious personal essays, stories, poems--accompanied by his trademark illustrations--covering topics such as mental health, happiness, and what it means to belong. Jonny Sun is back with a collection of essays and other writings in his unique, funny, and heartfelt style. The pieces range from long meditations on topics like loneliness and being an outsider, to short humor pieces, conversations, and memorable one-liners. Jonny's honest writings about his struggles with feeling productive, as well as his difficulties with anxiety and depression will connect deeply with his fans as well as anyone attempting to create in our chaotic world.     It also features a recipe for scrambled eggs that might make you cry.  
Why We Are Restless by Benjamin Storey; Jenna Silber Storey A compelling exploration of how our pursuit of happiness makes us unhappy We live in an age of unprecedented prosperity, yet everywhere we see signs that our pursuit of happiness has proven fruitless. Dissatisfied, we seek change for the sake of change--even if it means undermining the foundations of our common life. In Why We Are Restless, Benjamin and Jenna Storey offer a profound and beautiful reflection on the roots of this malaise and examine how we might begin to cure ourselves. Drawing on the insights of Montaigne, Pascal, Rousseau, and Tocqueville, Why We Are Restless explores the modern vision of happiness that leads us on, and the disquiet that follows it like a lengthening shadow. In the sixteenth century, Montaigne articulated an original vision of human life that inspired people to see themselves as individuals dedicated to seeking contentment in the here and now, but Pascal argued that we cannot find happiness through pleasant self-seeking, only anguished God-seeking. Rousseau later tried and failed to rescue Montaigne's worldliness from Pascal's attack. Steeped in these debates, Tocqueville visited the United States in 1831 and, observing a people "restless in the midst of their well-being," discovered what happens when an entire nation seeks worldly contentment--and finds mostly discontent. Arguing that the philosophy we have inherited, despite pretending to let us live as we please, produces remarkably homogenous and unhappy lives, Why We Are Restless makes the case that finding true contentment requires rethinking our most basic assumptions about happiness.
The Awesome Human Project by Nataly Kogan Stop struggling and start living your best life--with the inspiring, proven program that's transformed over a million people. We are all experiencing unprecedented levels of stress and burnout. Exhaustion is at an all-time high. Leaders are depleted, employees are burning out at an alarming rate, and parents met their breaking point long ago. We are struggling and in desperate need of a new path forward. In The Awesome Human Project, Nataly Kogan, emotional fitness and leadership expert and author of Happier Now, shows us the way. She makes the compelling case that while challenge in life is constant, struggle is optional. Here, she shares an accessible, super-practical, and unboring guide for reducing daily struggle and burnout--so you can live, work, and lead with more energy, joy, and meaning, even during difficult times. Nataly wrote The Awesome Human Project in response to her own journey. A refugee who achieved tremendous success, she had come to see struggle as a way of life. But her burnout taught her a powerful lesson: you can't give what you don't have. She writes, "Strengthening your emotional fitness is an essential investment in your success and leadership, and an act of love to everyone you care about." Filled with simple, science-backed practices and Nataly's contagious energy, The Awesome Human Project will teach you how to strengthen your emotional fitness skills, create a more supportive relationship with yourself as well as your thoughts and emotions, reduce self-doubt, and cultivate more honest and meaningful connections with others. The Awesome Human Project is a book that you do--not just a book that you read. It includes: * Nataly's proven, science-backed, five-week program to boost your emotional fitness * Bite-sized neuroscience lessons so that you can learn to be the boss of your brain * What awesome leaders do differently and why it matters * Ways to get rid of guilt around self-care for good * An "SOS" section to get you unstuck right now * Nataly's wildly popular "Notes to Self," with inspiration to support your progress * Awesome Human Awards! There is an Awesome Human within every single one of us. The Awesome Human Project is the essential guidebook to help you embrace your Awesome Human and become the best version of yourself--with courage and compassion.

balance

January is Get a Balanced Life Month

While many of these listings link by default to a print copy, many are available in other formats (eBook and eAudiobook). Don't forget to check the catalog by title or author if you prefer digital!

The Art of Screen Time by Anya Kamenetz Finally: an evidence-based, reassuring guide to what to do about kids and screens, from video games to social media. Today's babies often make their debut on social media with the very first sonogram. They begin interacting with screens at around four months old. But is this good news or bad news? A wonderful opportunity to connect around the world? Or the first step in creating a generation of addled screen zombies? Many have been quick to declare this the dawn of a neurological and emotional crisis, but solid science on the subject is surprisingly hard to come by. In The Art of Screen Time, Anya Kamenetz -- an expert on education and technology, as well as a mother of two young children -- takes a refreshingly practical look at the subject. Surveying hundreds of fellow parents on their practices and ideas, and cutting through a thicket of inconclusive studies and overblown claims, she hones a simple message, a riff on Michael Pollan's well-known "food rules": Enjoy Screens. Not too much. Mostly with others. This brief but powerful dictum forms the backbone of a philosophy that will help parents moderate technology in their children's lives, curb their own anxiety, and create room for a happy, healthy family life with and without screens.
Lagom by Niki Brantmark In a fast-paced world, wouldn't it be wonderful if you could slow down and enjoy a life with less pressure, less stress, and more time for the things you love?  Sweden is ranked in the top three of the world's happiest places to live, and lagom, which means "not too much and not too little--just right," is the Swedish philosophy for enjoying balance in every aspect of life--from work and leisure to family and food, and everything in between. Experienced bakers know by touch when the dough they are kneading is lagom--not too moist and not too dry. At the office, professionals who work hard--but not to the detriment of other parts of their lives--are following the lagom ideal. Lagom is moderation, balance, and equality. By using the Swedish lifestyle as an example, Niki Brantmark offers insightful suggestions and bite-sized actions to help you make subtle changes to your life, so you too can make time for the things that matter most and find greater happiness.
Find Your Balance Point by Brian Tracy; Christina Stein Accomplish what matters most Because we all have too much to do, it feels like our lives are out of balance. But Brian Tracy and Christina Stein argue that imbalance results not so much from doing too much but from doing too much of the wrong things. They provide a process that enables you to sort out what is most important to you from among the many activities you could focus on. When you can efficiently identify and accomplish what really matters to you, you've found your balance point.
Call Number: eBook
Decide by Steve McClatchy How to make better decisions and achieve your goals What shapes a person's career and life, and defines them as a leader? Their decisions. We all want to be more productive and deliver our best results. But doing this effectively--and consistently over time--is a significant challenge. Managing it all is hard, and leading in today's hyper-paced world is even harder. The good news is that leadership expert Steve McClatchy makes it easier. In Decide, McClatchy--who works with Fortune 1000 people every day to help them achieve outstanding levels of performance--shows you how to cut through the complexities and excuses to start realizing real gains simply by changing one thing: the way you make decisions. With McClatchy's help, you can quickly begin to: Use the time you have each day to move your business and your life forward Make decisions that yield better results Waste less time, reduce stress and regain balance Again and again, McClatchy has helped people learn for themselves how great decision-making habits yield a lifetime of accomplishments. Follow McClatchy's no-nonsense and practical approach, and you'll soon manage--and even lead--at your highest level of personal performance.
Call Number: eBook
Mama Doc Medicine by Wendy Sue Swanson "Parents want to do what's right," explains Mama Doc blogger and physician Wendy Sue Swanson. Yet many parents find that defining what's right can sometimes be elusive, so Dr. Swanson has created this innovative guide to help. Pediatrician, mother and blogger Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson helps decipher today's conflicting medical opinions, offers helpful online resources, and shares what she's learned over many years from her patients, friends and family in this enlightening guide to parenting. Based on the popular SeattleMamaDoc blog, Mama Doc Medicine is a timely collection of almost 100 entries grouped under the following headings: 1. Prevention for Infants and Toddlers 2. Social-Emotional Support 3. Immunizations 4. Work-Life Balance/Mothering Using Dr. Swanson's experience as a mother and physician, this book provides simple answers to the "how," "what," "why," and "who" questions of parenting.
YOU: Stress Less by Michael F. Roizen; Mehmet Oz Stress is America's #1 killer, aging people prematurely and compromising people's health enormously. Culled from the pages of bestselling YOU: Staying Young, YOU: On a Diet, and YOU: Being Beautiful, this handy pocket guide that offers ninety-nine incredibly valuable tips to reverse the effects of stress is a must read. There's no question that stress can impact just about every part of your life--the way you look, how you feel, how long you live, how well you sleep, what you eat, everything. That's why it is so important to have a good stress management plan in place, whether you're used to juggling work, kids, gadgets, gizmos, or any of the hundreds of responsibilities that any of us have every day. While there are three kinds of stress, you may not know that they aren't all bad for you; some stress can actually work as a powerful motivator. The problem? When the wrong kinds of stress hammer you (and hammer you and hammer you), it can wear you down and cause lasting physical damage. YOU: Stress Less offers a 360-degree perspective on stress that combines the most up-to-date wisdom from the entire YOU: The Owner's Manual series. Packed with meditation techniques, food recommendations, and lifestyle evaluation tools, this paperback is an essential guide to reducing your stress levels and improving your life--with some changes that you'll feel immediately. This portable, comprehensive guide is a perfect investment in your health and your happiness.
Your Body in Balance by Neal D. Barnard; Lindsay Nixon (Contribution by) This nationally bestselling book explains the shocking new science of how hormones are wreaking havoc on the body, and the delicious solution that improves health, reduces pain, and even helps to shed weight. Hidden in everyday foods are the causes of a surprising range of health problems: infertility, menstrual cramps, weight gain, hair loss, breast and prostate cancer, hot flashes, and much more. All of these conditions have one thing in common: they are fueled by hormones that are hiding in foods or are influenced by the foods we eat. Your Body in Balance provides step-by-step guidance for understanding what's at the root of your suffering-and what you can do to feel better fast. Few people realize that a simple food prescription can help you tackle all these and more by gently restoring your hormone balance, with benefits rivaling medications. Neal Barnard, MD, a leading authority on nutrition and health, offers insight into how dietary changes can alleviate years of stress, pain, and illness. What's more, he also provides delicious and easy-to-make hormone-balancing recipes, including: Cauliflower Buffalo Chowder Kung Pao Lettuce Wraps Butternut Breakfast Tacos Mediterranean Croquettes Apple Pie Nachos Brownie Batter Hummus Your Body in Balance gives new hope for people struggling with health issues. Thousands of people have already reclaimed their lives and their health through the strategic dietary changes described in this book. Whether you're looking to treat a specific ailment or are in search of better overall health, Dr. Neal Barnard provides an easy pathway toward pain relief, weight control, and a lifetime of good health.
The Gift of a Happy Mother by Rebecca Eanes So she asked her school-age son, who didn't miss a beat in responding- "A happy one." Thus began a journey of reflection and repair work, as Rebecca asked herself an even harder question- How can I rediscover everyday joy amid the chaos of schedules, homework, and housework-not to mention the guilt, comparisons, loneliness, fear, and overwhelm? In other words, how can I become a happy mom again? In this relatable guide, Rebecca walks readers through the process of getting back to happy, for your own sake as well as your family's. Going beyond the usual advice about finding balance, embracing gratitude, and not sweating the small stuff, her hard-won advice is written by a busy mom in the trenches. Topics include- * Letting go of perfection (or anything close to it) * Making peace with the past-including the pain of disappointment, loss, and the roads not taken * Tuning in to your own wants and needs-and tuning out the comparisons, "shoulds," and noise of social media * Finding magic in the mess * Choosing joy over fear and worry * Creating healthy boundaries so that everyone in your life can thrive (including you!) Filled with fresh insights, simple strategies, and aha moments, this is that rare book you'll want to read, share, and return to for a booster shot of confidence, connection, and joy.
Call Number: eAudiobook
Happier Hour by Cassie Holmes Learn how to reframe your time around life's happiest moments to build days that aren't just full but fulfilling with this "joyful guide" (Eve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author) that is the antidote to overscheduling. Our most precious resource isn't money. It's time. We are allotted just twenty-four hours a day, and we live in a culture that keeps us feeling "time poor." Since we can't add more hours to the day, how can we experience our lives as richer? Based on her wildly popular MBA class at UCLA, Professor Cassie Holmes demonstrates how to immediately improve our lives by changing how we perceive and invest our time. Happier Hour provides empirically based insights and easy-to-implement tools that will allow you to: -Optimally spend your hours and feel confident in those choices -Sidestep distractions -Create and savor moments of joy -Design your schedule with purpose -Look back on your years without regrets Enlivened by Holmes's upbeat narrative and groundbreaking research, Happier Hour "is filled with loads and loads of practical, evidence-based advice for how to live better by investing in what really matters. It's the kind of book that can change your life for the better" (Laurie Santos, Yale professor and host of The Happiness Lab podcast).
Unfu*k Yourself by Gary John Bishop Joining the ranks of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, You Are a Badas*, and F*ck Feelings comes this refreshing, BS-free, self-empowerment guide that offers an honest, no-nonsense, tough-love approach to help you move past self-imposed limitations. Are you tired of feeling fu*ked up? If you are, Gary John Bishop has the answer. In this straightforward handbook, he gives you the tools and advice you need to demolish the slag weighing you down and become the truly unfu*ked version of yourself. ''Wake up to the miracle you are,'' he directs. ''Here's what you've forgotten: You're a fu*king miracle of being.'' It isn't other people that are standing in your way, it isn't even your circumstances that are blocking your ability to thrive, it's yourself and the negative self-talk you keep telling yourself. In Unfu*k Yourself, Bishop leads you through a series of seven assertions: I am willing. I am wired to win. I got this. I embrace the uncertainty. I am not my thoughts; I am what I do. I am relentless. I expect nothing and accept everything. Lead the life you were meant to have--Unfu*k Yourself.
Call Number: eBook
The Little Book of Being by Diana Winston A practical guide to experiencingnatural awareness--an effortless and spacious state of resting in the depth or our being. Do you recall, as a child, being enthralled by a drifting cloud, a rain-soaked leaf, a wandering ladybug? Or suddenly having a sense of timelessness, contentment, and ease? If so, then you've already had a taste ofnatural awareness. Known and revered in many traditions as a complement to focused mindfulness training, natural awareness transcends even these wondrous childhood moments. Some describe it as a profound "awareness of awareness"--an effortless, boundless state of resting in the depth of our being. For those new to meditation and experienced meditators alike, these 72 "mini-chapters" guide you on an in-depth odyssey into natural awareness, illuminated by many simple and enjoyable insights and exercises.The Little Book of Being invites you to explore: The spectrum of awareness practices, from focused mindfulness to flexible mindfulness to natural awareness * How classical mindfulness and effortless natural awareness enrich and shape each other, and how to practice both * Three ways to move into natural awareness--relaxing effort, broadening awareness, anddropping objects * A treasury of "glimpse practices" to spark natural awareness anytime, in just a few moments * How to bring this way of "simply being" into your daily life, into your connection with others, and into the world "At first natural awareness may seem far away, just a whisper, but then it will begin to grow and expand and permeate aspects of living. Over time we may feel more peace, more connection to ourselves. We may find ourselves taking life a bit more lightly. We may feel a sense of relaxed 'beingness' throughout the day, and when we do get caught in our dramas, we may find ourselves moving out of them quicker than we imagined we could." --Diana Winston
Awakening Your Ikigai by Ken Mogi; Matt Addis (Narrated by) Ikigai is a Japanese phenomenon commonly understood as "your reason to get up in the morning." Ikigai can be small moments: the morning air, a cup of coffee, a compliment. It can also be deep convictions: a fulfilling job, lasting friendships, balanced health. Whether big or small, your ikigai is the path to success and happiness in your own life.Author Ken Mogi introduces five pillars of ikigai to help you make the most of each day and become your most authentic self:1. starting small-focus on the details2. releasing yourself-accept who you are3. harmony and sustainability-rely on others4. the joy of little things-appreciate sensory pleasure5. being in the here and now-find your flow.Weaving together insights from Japanese history, philosophy, and modern culture, plus stories from renowned sushi chef Jiro Ono, anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, and others, Mogi skillfully shows the way to awaken your ikigai.
Call Number: eAudiobook
Make Time by Jake Knapp; John Zeratsky From the New York Times bestselling authors of Sprint comes a simple 4-step system for improving focus, finding greater joy in your work, and getting more out of every day. "A charming manifesto--as well as an intrepid do-it-yourself guide to building smart habits that stick. If you want to achieve more (without going nuts), read this book."--Charles Duhigg, bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better  Nobody ever looked at an empty calendar and said, "The best way to spend this time is by cramming it full of meetings!" or got to work in the morning and thought, Today I'll spend hours on Facebook! Yet that's exactly what we do. Why? In a world where information refreshes endlessly and the workday feels like a race to react to other people's priorities faster, frazzled and distracted has become our default position. But what if the exhaustion of constant busyness wasn't mandatory? What if you could step off the hamster wheel and start taking control of your time and attention? That's what this book is about. As creators of Google Ventures' renowned "design sprint," Jake and John have helped hundreds of teams solve important problems by changing how they work. Building on the success of these sprints and their experience designing ubiquitous tech products from Gmail to YouTube, they spent years experimenting with their own habits and routines, looking for ways to help people optimize their energy, focus, and time. Now they've packaged the most effective tactics into a four-step daily framework that anyone can use to systematically design their days. Make Time is not a one-size-fits-all formula. Instead, it offers a customizable menu of bite-size tips and strategies that can be tailored to individual habits and lifestyles. Make Time isn't about productivity, or checking off more to-dos. Nor does it propose unrealistic solutions like throwing out your smartphone or swearing off social media. Making time isn't about radically overhauling your lifestyle; it's about making small shifts in your environment to liberate yourself from constant busyness and distraction. A must-read for anyone who has ever thought, If only there were more hours in the day..., Make Time will help you stop passively reacting to the demands of the modern world and start intentionally making time for the things that matter.
Juliet's School of Possibilities by Laura Vanderkam Despite putting in tons of extra work, ambitious consultant Riley Jenkins keeps losing clients who say they're looking for fresher ideas. When her firm send her on a women's leadership retreat, Riley is forced to put her phone and learn from the mysterious, kindly group leader who seems to be able to achieve so much with so little stress. Through this charming and inspiring story, bestselling author Laura Vanderkam applies everything she's learned about time-management and work-life balance.
Off the Clock by Laura Vanderkam "I well recall a conversation with an executive I hoped to interview about her astonishing productivity. I began our call with an assurance that I would not take much of her time. She laughed. 'Oh, I have all the time in the world,' she said." Most of us feel constantly behind, unsure how to escape feeling oppressed by busyness. Laura Vanderkam, unlike other time-management gurus, believes that in order to get more done, we must first feel like we have all the time in the world. Think about it: why haven't you trained for that 5K or read War and Peace? Probably because you feel beaten down by all the time you don't seem to have. In this book, Vanderkam reveals the seven counterintuitive principles the most time-free people have adopted. She teaches mindset shifts to help you feel calm on the busiest days and tools to help you get more done without feeling overwhelmed. You'll meet people such as... &diams; An elementary school principal who figured out how to spend more time mentoring teachers, and less time supervising the cafeteria &diams; An executive who builds lots of meeting-free space into his calendar, despite managing teams across multiple continents &diams; A CEO who does focused work in a Waffle House early in the morning, so he can keep an open door and a relaxed mindset all day &diams; An artist who overcame a creative block, and reached new heights of productivity, by being more gentle with herself, rather than more demanding The strategies in this book can help if your life feels out of control, but they can also help if you want to take your career, your relationships, and your personal happiness to the next level. Vanderkam has packed this book with insights from busy yet relaxed professionals, including "time makeovers" of people who are learning how to use these tools. Off the Clock can inspire the rest of us to create lives that are not only productive, but enjoyable in the moment.
Dot Journaling--A Practical Guide by Rachel Wilkerson Miller Organize your life, record what matters, and get stuff done! What the heck is a dot journal? It's a planner, to-do list, and diary for every aspect of your life: work, home, relationships, hobbies, everything. Early adopter Rachel Wilkerson Miller explains how to make a dot journal work for you--whether you find the picture-perfect examples on Pinterest inspiring or, well, intimidating. You decide how simple or elaborate your journal will be, and what goes in there:   Lists of your to-dos, to-don'ts, and more Symbols that will make those lists efficient and effective Spreads to plan your day, week, month, or year Trackers for your habits and goals (think health, money, travel) Accouterments such as washi tape, book darts, and more!
How to Get Sh*t Done by Erin Falconer Erin Falconer, editor in chief and co-owner of the highly respected self-improvement site Pick the Brain (with over 1.8 million monthly page views), shows overscheduled, overwhelmed women how to do less so that they can achieve more. Women live in a state of constant guilt: that we're not doing enough, that we're not good enough, that we can't keep up. If we're not climbing the corporate ladder, building our side hustle, preparing home-cooked meals, tucking the kids in at night, meditating daily, and scheduling playdates, date nights, and girls' nights every week, we feel like we're not living our best lives. Yet traditional productivity books--written by men--barely touch the tangle of cultural pressures that women feel when facing down a to-do list. Finally, in the first productivity book by a woman in a decade, Erin Falconer will show you how to do less--a lot less. In fact, How to Get Sh*t Done will teach you how to zero in on the three areas of your life where you want to excel, and then it will show you how to off-load, outsource, or just stop giving a damn about the rest. As the founder of two technology start-ups and one of Refinery29's Top 10 Women Changing the Digital Landscape for Good, Erin has seen what happens when women chase an outdated, patriarchal model of productivity, and in How to Get Sh*t Done she shows how even the most perfectionistic among us can tap into our inner free spirit and learn to feel like badasses, rather than drudges. Packed with real-life advice, honest stories from Erin's successful career, and dozens of actionable resources, How to Get Sh*t Done will forever reframe productivity so that you can stop doing everything for everyone and start doing what matters to you.
Design the Life You Love by Ayse Birsel Life, just like a design problem, is full of constraints-time, money, age, location, and circumstances. You cannot have everything, and if you want more out of it, you have to be creative about how to make what you need and what you want co-exist. This requires design thinking. Design the Life You Love uses a simple but proven creative thinking and design process to give ordinary people new tools to think about life differently, and also includes fascinating examples from the world of art and design that relate to each step of the process, plus guided creative exercises. Turn constraints into opportunities with optimism and holistic thinking using four simple steps- taking the whole apart, forming a new point of view, putting it back together, and giving it form. The striking design and Ayse Birsel's hand-drawn art and type set off her brilliant, life-changing design process, empowering and inspiring readers to create a better life.
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Provocative and appealing . . . well worth your extremely limited time." --Barbara Spindel, The Wall Street Journal The average human lifespan is absurdly, insultingly brief. Assuming you live to be eighty, you have just over four thousand weeks. Nobody needs telling there isn't enough time. We're obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists, our overfilled inboxes, work-life balance, and the ceaseless battle against distraction; and we're deluged with advice on becoming more productive and efficient, and "life hacks" to optimize our days. But such techniques often end up making things worse. The sense of anxious hurry grows more intense, and still the most meaningful parts of life seem to lie just beyond the horizon. Still, we rarely make the connection between our daily struggles with time and the ultimate time management problem: the challenge of how best to use our four thousand weeks. Drawing on the insights of both ancient and contemporary philosophers, psychologists, and spiritual teachers, Oliver Burkeman delivers an entertaining, humorous, practical, and ultimately profound guide to time and time management. Rejecting the futile modern fixation on "getting everything done," Four Thousand Weeks introduces readers to tools for constructing a meaningful life by embracing finitude, showing how many of the unhelpful ways we've come to think about time aren't inescapable, unchanging truths, but choices we've made as individuals and as a society--and that we could do things differently.
The Book of Patience by Courtney E. Ackerman Discover why patience really is a virtue with these 250 quotes and exercises designed to help you lead a happier, more successful life. Patience is both a virtue and a skill that you can learn and apply in your daily life to be calmer and more stress-free. Wouldn't it be nice to calmly zen out when stuck in traffic delays instead of losing your cool? In The Book of Patience, you will discover practical exercises, habits, thoughts, and moments of pause to allow you to cultivate and improve your patience. These 250 quotes and activities will help you deescalate feelings of irritability and become less reactive in moments of stress and duress. Being patient means facing challenges and adversity with calm and ease and The Book of Patience is here to make this skill easier than ever!
Burnout by Emily Nagoski; Amelia Nagoski NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "This book is a gift! I've been practicing their strategies, and it's a total game-changer."--Brené Brown, PhD, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Dare to Lead This groundbreaking book explains why women experience burnout differently than men--and provides a simple, science-based plan to help women minimize stress, manage emotions, and live a more joyful life. Burnout. Many women in America have experienced it. What's expected of women and what it's really like to be a woman in today's world are two very different things--and women exhaust themselves trying to close the gap between them. How can you "love your body" when every magazine cover has ten diet tips for becoming "your best self"? How do you "lean in" at work when you're already operating at 110 percent and aren't recognized for it? How can you live happily and healthily in a sexist world that is constantly telling you you're too fat, too needy, too noisy, and too selfish? Sisters Emily Nagoski, PhD, and Amelia Nagoski, DMA, are here to help end the cycle of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Instead of asking us to ignore the very real obstacles and societal pressures that stand between women and well-being, they explain with compassion and optimism what we're up against--and show us how to fight back. In these pages you'll learn * what you can do to complete the biological stress cycle--and return your body to a state of relaxation * how to manage the "monitor" in your brain that regulates the emotion of frustration * how the Bikini Industrial Complex makes it difficult for women to love their bodies--and how to defend yourself against it * why rest, human connection, and befriending your inner critic are keys to recovering and preventing burnout With the help of eye-opening science, prescriptive advice, and helpful worksheets and exercises, all women will find something transformative in these pages--and will be empowered to create positive change. Emily and Amelia aren't here to preach the broad platitudes of expensive self-care or insist that we strive for the impossible goal of "having it all." Instead, they tell us that we are enough, just as we are--and that wellness, true wellness, is within our reach. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BOOKRIOT "Burnout is the gold standard of self-help books, delivering cutting-edge science with energy, empathy, and wit. The authors know exactly what's going on inside your frazzled brain and body, and exactly what you can do to fix it. . . . Truly life-changing."--Sarah Knight, New York Times bestselling author of Calm the F*ck Down
How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell After the American presidental election of 2016, Jenny Odell felt so overstimunated and disoriented by information, misinformation, and the expressions of others, that reality itself seemed to slip away. How To Do Nothing is her action plan for resistance. Drawing on the ethos of tech culture, a background in the arts, and personal storytelling, Jenny Odell makes a powerful argument for refusal: refusal to believe that our lives are instruments to be optimised. She argues that nothing can be quite so radical as doing... nothing.

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9/2/21
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organize

January is National Get Organized Month

While many of these listings link by default to a print copy, many are available in other formats (eBook and eAudiobook). Don't forget to check the catalog by title or author if you prefer digital!

The Folding Lady by Sophie Liard Making her debut in 2020 and already followed by more than 3.8 million fans on TikTok, the internet sensation The Folding Lady shows everyone how to use her smart and simple home hacks and tips to fold any household item and organize difficult areas to create extra space and improve functionality in the home. In this illustrated guide, Sophie Liard brings her expertise together and teaches you how to fold all of your household items, from boxers, leggings, and socks to sheets, towels and even napkins and wrapping paper. The Folding Lady shows you that anything is foldable and shares the inner joy that folding brings and offers extra tips on organizing drawers, desks, snack drawers, cosmetics, and more to make life a little easier and more manageable. Sophie encourages you to take charge of small, simple, and achievable tasks. Sometimes you have to let go of trying to tackle the big stuff and make the most of the little things that can be controlled. The Folding Lady will bring you comfort and help you find solace amid the daily stress.
Fridge Love by Kristen Hong A one-of-a-kind guide to organizing your fridge--including practical tips for meal prep and storage, plus more than 100 recipes--that makes it easier to eat better, save money, and get the most out of your food Practicing "fridge love" is a roadmap to eating healthier, saving money, and reducing food waste while enjoying a beautiful and harder-working fridge. This book--part organizational guide and part food-prep handbook--is your guide. Author Kristen Hong adopted a nutrient-dense, plant-based diet in an effort to lose weight and improve her health. But amidst the demands of day-to-day life and a busy family, she found it impossible to stick to. The solution? A smarter, better-organized fridge that served her real-life needs. In this invaluable resource, you will discover how a beautifully organized fridge can make your life--including healthy eating for the whole family--easier. It covers general fridge organization (for all models and configurations) as well as shopping tips, storage guidelines, the best meal-prep containers, and more than 100 easy plant-based recipes made for meal prepping.
Good Housekeeping Home Skills by Good Housekeeping (Editor); Jane Francisco (Foreword by) A practical and attractive handbook with more than 850 essential life skills to get anything done faster and easier The editors and scientists at Good Housekeeping and its lab, the Good Housekeeping Institute, share genius solutions and trusted, expert advice in this how-to guide to making life simpler. With chapters on the kitchen, organizing and cleaning, decorating, home maintenance, outdoor living, and entertaining and celebrating, this go-to resource offers step-by-step illustrated instructions, inspiring photos and sometimes surprising but always practical guidance to get things done. Plus, you'll save time and money and even have fun along the way.   The 850+ skills include how to: Store and make your own spice mixes Clean your house in 15 minutes Seal a drafty window Remove water rings from your tables Perk up a grocery-store bouquet Sew a button Plant an outdoor herb garden (and keep herbs fresh after they are picked!) Make the perfect boiled egg Uncork champagne Cure a hangover and so much more!    QR codes throughout the pages offer additional lessons and video instruction. Whatever home means to you, this book is brimming with invaluable know-how to keep your home in tip-top shape and to help you inject more fun and flair into your every day.
How to Keep House While Drowning by K. C. Davis An NPR Best Book of 2022 USA TODAY Bestseller This revolutionary approach to cleaning and organizing helps free you from feeling ashamed or overwhelmed by a messy home. If you're struggling to stay on top of your to-do list, you probably have a good reason: anxiety, fatigue, depression, ADHD, or lack of support. For therapist KC Davis, the birth of her second child triggered a stress-mess cycle. The more behind she felt, the less motivated she was to start. She didn't fold a single piece of laundry for seven months. One life-changing realization restored her sanity--and the functionality of her home: You don't work for your home; your home works for you. In other words, messiness is not a moral failing. A new sense of calm washed over her as she let go of the shame-based messaging that interpreted a pile of dirty laundry as "I can never keep up" and a chaotic kitchen as "I'm a bad mother." Instead, she looked at unwashed clothes and thought, "I am alive," and at stacks of dishes and thought, "I cooked my family dinner three nights in a row." Building on this foundation of self-compassion, KC devised the powerful practical approach that has exploded in popularity through her TikTok account, @domesticblisters. The secret is to simplify your to-do list and to find creative workarounds that accommodate your limited time and energy. In this book, you'll learn exactly how to customize your cleaning strategy and rebuild your relationship with your home, including: -How to see chores as kindnesses to your future self, not as a reflection of your worth -How to start by setting priorities -How to stagger tasks so you won't procrastinate -How to clean in quick bursts within your existing daily routine -How to use creative shortcuts to transform a room from messy to functional With KC's help, your home will feel like a sanctuary again. It will become a place to rest, even when things aren't finished. You will move with ease, and peace and calm will edge out guilt, self-criticism, and endless checklists. They have no place here.
Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff by Matt Paxton; Jordan Michael Smith (As told to) America's top cleaning expert and star of the hit series Legacy List with Matt Paxton distills his fail-proof approach to decluttering and downsizing. Your boxes of photos, family's china, and even the kids' height charts aren't just stuff; they're attached to a lifetime of memories--and letting them go can be scary. With empathy, expertise, and humor, Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff, written in collaboration with AARP, helps you sift through years of clutter, let go of what no longer serves you, and identify the items worth keeping so that you can focus on living in the present.   For over 20 years, Matt Paxton has helped people from all walks of life who want to live more simply declutter and downsize. As a featured cleaner on Hoarders and host of the Emmy-nominated Legacy List with Matt Paxton on PBS, he has identified the psychological roadblocks that most organizational experts routinely miss but that prevent so many of us from lightening our material load. Using poignant stories from the thousands of individuals and families he has worked with, Paxton brings his signature insight to a necessary task.    Whether you're tired of living with clutter, making space for a loved one, or moving to a smaller home or retirement community, this book is for you. Paxton's unique, step-by-step process gives you the tools you need to get the job done.
Make Space for Happiness by Tracy McCubbin It's time to make room in your life for happiness to blossom Do you feel like you have too much stuff? A cluttered space isn't just inconvenient--the truth is it's hard to lead a joyful, purposeful life when the things around you detract from your relationships, habits, and goals. But decluttering is more than getting rid of the stuff you already have. To make real change in your home, you need to look at how these excess possessions got there in the first place. This book examines the acquisition cycles that keep our homes overcrowded and distract us from going after the meaningful things we really want in our lives. Make Space for Happiness gives you a seven-step roadmap to clearing your life and opening yourself up to all the good meant to come your way. Renowned decluttering expert Tracy McCubbin will help you revolutionize your living space and your mindset by focusing on clutter clearing as a path to positivity in every area of your life, helping you to manifest: True connection Self-confidence Free time Big Love Self-respect Real Purpose Lasting Wisdom We all want to live in homes that are functional, comfortable, and that bring us happiness rather than detract from it. Make Space for Happiness provides flexibility, support, and inspiration as you re-envision your home as the starting point of the joyful life that's waiting for you.
Call Number: Check it out now - only available from hoopla digital!
Marie Kondo's Kurashi at Home by Marie Kondo Transform your home into a haven of calm and achieve your ideal lifestyle with this inspirational visual guide featuring more than 100 photographs, from the Netflix star and #1 bestselling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.   "Encouraging readers to take an even more holistic and personal approach to curating their environments, [Marie] Kondo shares a visual guide featuring more than 100 photographs to inspire them to envision, and then create, more fulfilling and joyful lives."--J.P. Morgan's nextlist 2023 Inspired by the Japanese concept of kurashi, or "way of life," Kurashi at Home invites you to visualize your best life from the moment you wake up until the end of each day. By applying Marie Kondo's time-tested query--"Does it spark joy?"--to your mindset and behaviors, you are invited to take an even more holistic and personal approach to curating your environment by imagining what your life could look like full of connection and free from any limitations. This ideal vision then becomes a touchpoint that helps you make conscious, mindful choices--from how you use every corner of your living space to how you take advantage of every moment.   At its core, the KonMari philosophy focuses not on what to get rid of, but on what sparks joy in your life. In this inspirational visual guide, beautiful photographs and Kondo's unique suggestions empower you to embrace what you love about your life and then reflect it in your home, activities, and relationships, like creating a calm nook for working, scheduling weekly get-togethers with family or friends, or having relaxing nighttime rituals that promote a restful sleep.   Your newfound clarity will inspire you to clear out the unneeded clutter so you can appreciate the inviting spaces, treasured belongings, and peaceful moments that remain.
Organizing for the Rest of Us by Dana K. White So you want to keep your kitchen counter clean but you aren't ready to toss the toaster You want to be able to find your kids' socks but aren't looking to spend your 401(k) on clear bins You long for a little more peace but minimalism isn't sparking joy Decluttering expert and self-proclaimed recovering slob Dana K. White offers sustainable ideas to simplify and manage your home in Organizing for the Rest of Us. Traditional organizing advice never worked for Dana K. White. Is it possible, she wondered, to get organized without color coding my sock drawer As Dana let go of the need for perfection, she discovered the joy of having an organized house in the midst of everyday life. In Organizing for the Rest of Us, Dana teaches us how to make great strides with minimal effort in organizing every room of our home. Here she offers 100 organizing tips to help us understand: Why changing how we think about clutter is the first step to getting rid of it The basics of organization for people who don't like to organize Why you need to get a grip on laundry and dishes before getting organized How living with less clutter is better for the environment, our spiritual lives, and our relationships Why real-life decluttering requires fewer hours and less emotional bandwidth than we imagined Organizing for the Rest of Us includes colorful photos, a presentation page, and a ribbon marker, making it a thoughtful gift or self-purchase for anyone: Doing spring cleaning Making New Year's goals Downsizing their own home or their parents' home Decluttering and organizing for their own peace of mind Fans of Dana's podcast, A Slob Comes Clean, which has been downloaded 9 million times, will treasure this book as a resource. With her lighthearted approach, Dana provides bite-size workable solutions to break through every organizational struggle you have--for good!
Beautifully Organized at Work by Nikki Boyd; Paige Tate & Co. (Produced by) Bring peace and joy into your workspace as you learn how to declutter your office and create a stress-free work environment. Clutter and mess can distract you, stress you out, and get in the way of efficiently getting work done. That's why Beautifully Organized at Work was created to give you practical tips and tools for how to mindfully transform your workspace and get organized so you can feel better about your work and be better set up for success. YouTube star and professional organizer Nikki Boyd, author of the bestselling book Beautifully Organized, brings her expert skills to this book. Beautifully Organized at Work includes: Everything you need to know about decluttering your desk and organizing files--both in your physical and digital space Valuable advice on how to plan your work days so you can have a well-balanced and productive week How to select the desk, chair, and lighting that are ideal for your needs Information tailored for cubicle, co-working spaces, working from home, and more Tips on how to get your coworkers involved in creating a beautifully organized breakroom, conference room, and lobby
Messy Minimalism: Realistic Strategies for the Rest of Us by Rachelle Crawford Think minimalism means a perfectly curated, always tidy home? Think again. Drowning in tides of toys, overflowing closets, and a crazy schedule, Rachelle Crawford assumed you had to be naturally organized to keep a tidy living space. Then she found minimalism: the messy, real-life kind, that is less about perfection and more about purpose. Thus began a journey toward decluttering her home, calendar, and soul. With empathy, grace, and humor, Crawford--who curates the popular Abundant Life with Less site--shares doable ways to own less and live more fully. Laying out practical strategies for reducing waste, curbing consumption, decluttering, and finding lots more joy, Crawford offers no-nonsense solutions for the rest of us. Learn to become a more conscious consumer, create a capsule wardrobe, inspire family members to join you, free up more time for the things that matter, and create a tidy(ish) home. The messy minimalist way is a no-judgment zone, one in which we learn sustainable habits and grace-based practices. It's about living lightly on the earth and making room for purpose. Becoming a messy minimalist is not about turning into someone else; it's about clearing away clutter and expectations to unearth who you really are. It's about carrying fewer things so that we find ourselves holding onto what truly matters.
Minimalista by Shira Gill Elevate your personal style, trim your belongings, and transform your life, one room at a time, with this visionary lifestyle and home organization book from professional organizing expert, Shira Gill. "Warm, funny, and direct, Shira builds you up while helping you edit down to the best version of yourself."--Stacy London, New York Times bestselling author of The Truth About Style As a professional home organizer with clients ranging from students to multi-millionaires, Shira Gill observed that clutter is a universal stress trigger. Over the years she created a signature decluttering and organization process that promotes sustainability, achieves lasting results, and can be applied to anyone, regardless of their space or lifestyle. Rather than imposing strict rules and limitations, Shira redefines minimalism as having the perfect amount of everything--for you--based on your personal values and the limitations of your space.    Now, in Minimalista, Shira shares her complete toolkit for the first time, built around five key steps: Clarify, Edit, Organize, Elevate, and Maintain. Once you learn the methodology you'll dive into the hands-on work, choose-your-own-adventure style: knock out a room, or even a single drawer; style a bookshelf; donate a sweater. Shira teaches that the most important thing you can do is start, and that small victories, achieved one at a time, will snowball into massive transformation. Broken into small, bite-sized chunks, Minimalista makes it clear that if the process is fun and easy to follow, anyone can learn the principles of editing and organization.
The Home Edit Life by Clea Shearer; Joanna Teplin #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The authors of The Home Edit and stars of the Netflix series Get Organized with The Home Edit teach you how to apply their genius, holistic approach to your work life, on-the-go necessities, and technology. At home or on the go, you don't have to live like a minimalist to feel happy and calm. The Home Edit mentality is all about embracing your life--whether you're a busy mom, a roommate living with three, or someone who's always traveling for work. You just need to know how to set up a system that works for you. In the next phase of the home organizing craze, Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin go beyond the pantry and bookshelf to show you how to contain the chaos in all aspects of your life, from office space and holiday storage to luggage and pet supplies. Get to know your organizing style, tailor it to your family's lifestyle, and lead the low-guilt life as you apply more genius ideas to every aspect of your life. Clea and Joanna are here to remind you that "it's okay to own things" in the quest for pretty and smart spaces. With The Home Edit Life, you'll soon be corralling phone cords, archiving old photos, arranging your phone apps by color, and packing your suitcase like a pro.
Martha Stewart's Organizing by Martha Stewart The ultimate guide to getting your life in order--with hundreds of practical and empowering ideas, projects, and tips--from America's most trusted lifestyle authority Trust Martha to help you master all things organizing--sorting, purging, tidying, and simplifying your life--with smart solutions and inspiration. Here, she offers her best guidance, methods, and DIY projects for organizing in and around your home. Topics include room-by-room strategies (how to sort office paperwork, when to purge the garage or attic), seasonal advice (when to swap out bedding and clothing, how to put away holiday decorations), and day-by-day or week-by-week plans for projects such as de-cluttering, house cleaning, creating a filing system, overhauling the closet, and more. Martha's indispensable expertise walks you through goal-setting, principles of organizing, useful supplies, and creating systems for ongoing success. A look into Martha's own personal calendars offers a template for scheduling essential tasks. Last, plenty of strategies, how-tos, timelines, and checklists will help you stay organized all year long.
A Year for You by Stephanie Bennett Vogt Are you ready to take back your life? Despite an innate desire to live peaceful and happy lives, many of us spend far too much of our precious time immersed in stress and struggle rather than in enjoyment, often working to make others happy while neglecting ourselves in the process. In A Year for You, space clearing expert and mindfulness teacher Stephanie Bennett Vogt offers a step-by-step guide to coming back home to yourself. In these pages she will teach you how to: Release the underlying causes of clutter, stress, struggle and overwhelm . . . for good! Develop simple yet profound practices that lead to a clearer home and a quieter mind. Cultivate a holistic, open, and gentle approach to life that leads to a greater sense of peace and freedom. This book is an invitation to a life-changing, yearlong sabbatical that begins not far away in a distant corner of the world, but right where you are in this moment. The practices contained herein will teach you how to reorient your life toward a more spacious, relaxed, and joy-filled way of being.
Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana White You don't have to live overwhelmed by stuff--you can get rid of clutter for good! Decluttering expert Dana White identifies the emotional challenges that make it difficult to declutter and provides workable solutions to break through and make progress. While the world seems to be in love with the idea of tiny houses and minimalism, many of us simply can't purge it all and start from nothing. Yet a home with too much stuff is difficult to maintain, so where do we begin Add in paralyzing emotional attachments and constant life challenges, and it can feel almost impossible to make real decluttering progress. In Decluttering at the Speed of Life, decluttering expert and author Dana White identifies the mindsets and emotional challenges that make it difficult to declutter. In her signature humorous approach, she provides workable solutions to break through these struggles and get clutter out--for good! Not only does Dana provide strategies, but she dives deep into how to implement them, no matter the reader's clutter level or emotional resistance to decluttering. She helps identify procrasticlutter--the stuff that will get done eventually so it doesn't seem urgent--as well as how to make progress when there's no time to declutter. In Decluttering at the Speed of Life, Dana's chapters cover: Why You Need This Book (You Know Why) Your Unique Home Decluttering in the Midst of Real Life Change Your Mind, Change Your Home Breaking Through Your Decluttering Delusions Working It Out Room by Room Helping Others Declutter As long as we're living and breathing, new clutter will appear. The good news is that by following Dana's advice, decluttering will get easier, become more natural, and require significantly fewer hours, less emotional bandwidth, and little to no sweat to keep going.
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson A charming, practical, and unsentimental approach to putting a home in order while reflecting on the tiny joys that make up a long life. In Sweden there is a kind of decluttering called döstädning, dö meaning "death" and städning meaning "cleaning." This surprising and invigorating process of clearing out unnecessary belongings can be undertaken at any age or life stage but should be done sooner than later, before others have to do it for you. In The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, artist Margareta Magnusson, with Scandinavian humor and wisdom, instructs readers to embrace minimalism. Her radical and joyous method for putting things in order helps families broach sensitive conversations, and makes the process uplifting rather than overwhelming. Margareta suggests which possessions you can easily get rid of (unworn clothes, unwanted presents, more plates than you'd ever use) and which you might want to keep (photographs, love letters, a few of your children's art projects). Digging into her late husband's tool shed, and her own secret drawer of vices, Margareta introduces an element of fun to a potentially daunting task. Along the way readers get a glimpse into her life in Sweden, and also become more comfortable with the idea of letting go.
New Minimalism by Cary Telander Fortin; Kyle Louise Quilici The decluttering craze meets a passion for sustainable living and interior design in this gorgeous new book for readers of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Your external space reflects your internal state. What does your home say about you? This book promises an opportunity for self-reflection and lasting change, by getting to the bottom of why we've accumulated too much stuff in the first place, therefore allowing us to transform our lives. Professional decluttering and design team Cary and Kyle of New Minimalism will take you through every step, from assessing your emotional relationship to your stuff to decluttering your home to then turning it into a beautifully designed space that feels clean and tidy without feeling sparse or prescriptive. And all of this without filling up a landfill--you'll find resources and strategies to donate and reuse your stuff so you don't have to feel guilty about getting rid of it!
The Art of Discarding by Nagisa Tatsumi The book that inspired Marie Kondo's The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Nagisa Tatsumi's international bestseller offers a practical plan to figure out what to keep and what to discard so you can get--and stay--tidy, once and for all. Practical and inspiring, The Art of Discarding (the book that originally inspired a young Marie Kondo to start cleaning up her closets) offers hands-on advice and easy-to-follow guidelines to help readers learn how to finally let go of stuff that is holding them back -- as well as sage advice on acquiring less in the first place. Author Nagisa Tatsumi urges us to reflect on our attitude to possessing things and to have the courage and conviction to get rid of all the stuff we really don't need, offering advice on how to tackle the things that pile up at home and take back control. By learning the art of discarding you will gain space, free yourself from "accumulation syndrome," and find new joy and purpose in your clutter-free life.
Clean My Space by Melissa Maker Melissa Maker has completely re-engineered cleaning. The energetic, fresh face of homekeeping behind the sensationally popular YouTube channel Clean My Space knows that today's generation doesn't need an 800-page tome on how to polish brass knobs. People still need to know how to clean, but they need to clean for the way they live with a faster, fresher, cooler approach. In Clean My Space, Melissa shares with readers her revolutionary 3-step method: identify the most important areas (MIAs) in the home that need attention; select the proper tools, products, and techniques for the job; and finally, implement these new cleaning routines so that they stick.
The Home Decluttering Diet by Jennifer Lifford Like losing weight for your body, Clean & Lean House helps readers to clean their entire home month-by-month to create long-term results. The process begins with a 30-day detox and makes progress each month by cleaning and organizing the entire house, as well as maintaining the clutter-free lifestyle. Perfect for starting at the new year, but suitable for use year-round.Tested in her own home, Jennifer Lifford brings her specific techniques to life to more than just declutter and throw stuff away. Jennifer shows readers how to change their habits and create long-term results over the course of each month. Her tips and tricks include creating zones for each room, utilizing checklists, getting the whole family involved and the option to pick and choose projects based on your goals. With time, readers can see how these projects add up to create clutter loss and a forever organized home.
Real Life Organizing by Cassandra Aarssen Clutter-Free Solutions for an Organized HomeStorage solutions and advice to help you create a Pinterest worthy home on a small budget: Learn how to organize your home, simplify life and have more time for things you love. Organizational expert Cassandra �Cas' Aarssen, the guru from YouTube's ClutterBug channel, reveals her tips, tricks and secrets to a clean and clutter free home in just 15 minutes a day. Cas spends her time organizing other people's homes, teaching college workshops on organization, and creating weekly videos and blog posts. She offers DIY Pinterest type tips to people like you who are interested in how to get rid of clutter and how to organize your home. Simplify your life: In Real Life Organizing, Cas walks you through the steps to creating a beautiful, organized, clutter free, and almost self-cleaning home. Simplify your life and have an organized home. You do not have to get rid of all of your things, be a yoga loving minimalist or radically change your lifestyle or personality. The truth is you do not need to actually be an organized person to live like an organized person. Organized home: Through years of experience as an industry expert, Cas has uncovered easy and inexpensive tips, tricks and solutions that allow her to maintain a clean, organized and functional home with minimal effort. After you've read Real Life Organizing, you too will be able to live a more organized life without having to give up your sanity. In Real Life Organizing you will learn how to: * Create a Household Management Binder