Books with category 🕶 Lifestyle
Displaying 23 books

Four Thousand Weeks

2021

by Oliver Burkeman

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.

Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness

Joyful is a fascinating exploration of how the spaces and objects we interact with daily can significantly impact our mood and happiness. Ingrid Fetell Lee, a renowned designer and TED speaker, delves into groundbreaking research from neuroscience and psychology to explain how making small changes to our surroundings can create extraordinary happiness in our lives.

Have you ever wondered why we stop to admire the orange glow of a sunset or why cherry blossoms captivate us every spring? Is there a reason why people of all ages and cultures are charmed by baby animals and can't resist smiling at a burst of confetti or colorful balloons?

We are often told that our physical environment has little effect on our inner joy. However, what if the vibrant world around us is our most renewable and accessible source of happiness?

In this enlightening book, Lee reveals how seemingly mundane spaces and objects can have surprising and powerful effects on our emotions. She explains why certain settings make us feel anxious or competitive, while others foster acceptance and delight. Most importantly, she shows how we can harness the power of our surroundings to live fuller, healthier, and truly joyful lives.

The Flour Craft Bakery & Cafe Cookbook

Gluten free as it should be—fresh, simple, and for the whole family.

The Flour Craft Bakery & Cafe Cookbook includes seventy-five impeccable, seasonal recipes for every time of day. Empower yourself with simple and approachable recipes for mouthwatering cakes and cookies, pastry and savory bakes, everyday treats and holiday centerpieces, plus fresh salads and soups—all naturally gluten free.

Explore 75+ recipes covering breakfast, brunch, lunch, teatime, and dessert, from coffee cakes to focaccia, scones to tartines. Heather Hardcastle combines alternative flours such as rice, millet, nut flours, and starches to achieve a perfect crumb and oven-fresh texture.

Flour Craft breaks down the process in an approachable way, teaching you how to combine a few key flours in the correct proportions to yield excellent results every time.

The cornerstones of the book are the "Master Recipes", classics of baking to be practiced and adapted. Experience the full Flour Craft journey with a glossary of ingredients and terms curated to build confidence for bakers of all skill levels.

Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself

End the struggle, speak up for what you need, and experience the freedom of being truly yourself.

Healthy boundaries. We all know we should have them – in order to achieve work/life balance, cope with toxic people, and enjoy rewarding relationships with partners, friends, and family. But what do “healthy boundaries” really mean – and how can we successfully express our needs, say “no,” and be assertive without offending others?

Licensed counselor, sought-after relationship expert, and one of the most influential therapists on Instagram, Nedra Glover Tawwab demystifies this complex topic for today’s world. In a relatable and inclusive tone, Set Boundaries, Find Peace presents simple-yet-powerful ways to establish healthy boundaries in all aspects of life. Rooted in the latest research and best practices used in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), these techniques help us identify and express our needs clearly and without apology – and unravel a root problem behind codependency, power struggles, anxiety, depression, burnout, and more.

Breath

2020

by James Nestor

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art is not just a book about breathing; it is a journey into the scientific, cultural, spiritual, and evolutionary history of this most fundamental practice. Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Big Magic and Eat Pray Love, describes it as a long overdue look at the importance of this simple act.

Journalist James Nestor takes readers around the world to uncover the mysteries of breath. From ancient burial sites and secret Soviet facilities to New Jersey choir schools and the streets of SĂŁo Paulo, Nestor seeks out those who are uncovering the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices such as Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, and Tummo.

As it turns out, the way we breathe affects everything from athletic performance to the health of our internal organs. Nestor's exploration reveals that slight adjustments to our breathing can have profound impacts on our health, including halting snoring, asthma, autoimmune diseases, and even correcting scoliotic spines.

With insights drawn from medical texts spanning thousands of years and cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology, Breath challenges the conventional wisdom about the biological function that we thought we knew so well. After reading this book, you might just find yourself breathing in a whole new way.

Don't Overthink It

2020

by Anne Bogel

We've all been there: stuck in a cycle of what-ifs, plagued by indecision, paralyzed by the fear of getting it wrong. Nobody wants to live a life of constant overthinking, but it doesn't feel like something we can choose to stop doing. It feels like something we're wired to do, something we just can't escape. But is it? Anne Bogel's answer is no. Not only can you overcome negative thought patterns that are repetitive, unhealthy, and unhelpful, you can replace them with positive thought patterns that will bring more peace, joy, and love into your life.

In Don't Overthink It, you'll find actionable strategies that can make an immediate and lasting difference in how you deal with questions both small--Should I buy these flowers?--and large--What am I doing with my life? More than a book about making good decisions, Don't Overthink It offers you a framework for making choices you'll be comfortable with, using an appropriate amount of energy, freeing you to focus on all the other stuff that matters in life.

The Proposal

When freelance writer Nikole Paterson goes to a Dodgers game with her actor boyfriend, his man bun, and his bros, the last thing she expects is a scoreboard proposal. Saying no isn't the hard part—they've only been dating for five months, and he can't even spell her name correctly. The hard part is having to face a stadium full of disappointed fans...

At the game with his sister, Carlos Ibarra comes to Nik's rescue and rushes her away from a camera crew. He's even there for her when the video goes viral and Nik's social media blows up—in a bad way. Nik knows that in the wilds of LA, a handsome doctor like Carlos can't be looking for anything serious, so she embarks on an epic rebound with him, filled with food, fun, and fantastic sex. But when their glorified hookups start breaking the rules, one of them has to be smart enough to put on the brakes.

Bella Figura

2018

by Kamin Mohammadi

Bella Figura: How to Live, Love, and Eat the Italian Way is one woman's story of finding beauty, and herself. Beyond being a captivating narrative, it serves as a practical guide to living a better life, the Italian way. Kamin Mohammadi, a magazine editor in London, was ostensibly living the dream. Yet, heartbreak and loneliness compounded with the stress of her demanding career were detrimental to her physical and mental well-being.

Fortune smiled upon her in the form of a redundancy package and the offer of a friend's apartment in Florence, prompting Kamin to take a transformative leap. In Italy, she quickly noticed the stark contrast in lifestyle: her new Italian neighbors prioritized enjoyment, indulging in leisurely meals and drinks, embracing a slower pace of life. This narrative is peppered with delightful encounters, from the local bartender who doubles as a love advisor, to the plumbers who not only fix her heating but also teach her the art of making pasta al pomodoro.

This book is an homage to the Italian mantra of savoring the beauty of every day—a philosophy that has been cherished by generations. It's a tale of finding love and self-love in the most unexpected of places, and an intimate portrayal of a year spent embracing the Italian way of life.

Strong As a Mother

2018

by Kate Rope

Expert, practical advice for complete mental and physical maternal health Kate Rope's Strong as a Mother is a practical and compassionate guide to preparing for a smooth start to motherhood. This book is your key to becoming the Sanest Mommy on the Block.

It will prepare you with humor and grace for what lies ahead, provide the tools you need to take care of yourself, offer permission to struggle at times, and give professional advice on how to move through it when you do. This book will become a cherished resource, offering you the same care and support that you are working so hard to provide to your child.

It will help you prioritize your emotional health, set boundaries and ask for help, make choices about feeding and childcare that feel good to you, get good sleep, create a strong relationship with your partner, and make self-care an everyday priority. Trust your instincts and actually enjoy the hardest job you will ever love. This book is here to take care of you.

The Wellness Project

2017

by Phoebe Lapine

For those battling autoimmune disease or thyroid conditions—or just seeking healthy life balance—the voice behind the popular blog Feed Me Phoebe shares her yearlong investigation of what truly made her well.

After she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease in her early twenties, Phoebe Lapine felt overwhelmed by her doctor’s strict protocols and confused when they directly conflicted with information on the bestseller list. After experiencing mixed results and a life of deprivation that seemed unsustainable at best, she adopted 12 of her own wellness directives—including eliminating sugar, switching to all-natural beauty products, and getting in touch with her spiritual side—to find out which lifestyle changes truly impacted her health for the better.

The Wellness Project is the insightful and hilarious result of that year of exploration—part memoir and part health and wellness primer (complete with 20 healthy recipes). It’s a must-read not just for those suffering from autoimmune disease, but for anyone looking for simple ways to improve their health without sacrificing life’s pleasures.

Mind Over Meds: Know When Drugs Are Necessary, When Alternatives Are Better—and When to Let Your Body Heal on Its Own

2017

by Andrew Weil

Too many Americans are taking too many drugs—and it's costing us our health, happiness, and lives.

Prescription drug use in America has increased tenfold in the past 50 years, and over-the-counter drug use has risen just as dramatically. In addition to the dozens of medications we take to treat serious illnesses, we take drugs to help us sleep, to keep us awake, to keep our noses from running, our backs from aching, and our minds from racing. Name a symptom, there's a pill to suppress it.

Modern drugs can be miraculously life-saving, and many illnesses demand their use. But what happens when our reliance on powerful pharmaceuticals blinds us to their risks? Painful side effects and dependency are common, and adverse drug reactions are America's fourth leading cause of death.

In Mind Over Meds, bestselling author Dr. Andrew Weil alerts readers to the problem of overmedication, and outlines when medicine is necessary, and when it is not. Dr. Weil examines how we came to be so drastically overmedicated, presents science that proves drugs aren't always the best option, and provides reliable integrative medicine approaches to treating common ailments like high blood pressure, allergies, depression, and even the common cold. With case histories, healthy alternative treatments, and input from other leading physicians, Mind Over Meds is the go-to resource for anyone who is sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Unmentionable

2016

by Therese Oneill

Have you ever wished you could live in an earlier, more romantic era?

Ladies, welcome to the 19th century, where there's arsenic in your face cream, a pot of cold pee sits under your bed, and all of your underwear is crotchless. (Why? Shush, dear. A lady doesn't question.)

UNMENTIONABLE is your hilarious, illustrated, scandalously honest (yet never crass) guide to the secrets of Victorian womanhood, giving you detailed advice on:

  • What to wear
  • Where to relieve yourself
  • How to conceal your loathsome addiction to menstruating
  • What to expect on your wedding night
  • How to be the perfect Victorian wife
  • Why masturbating will kill you
  • And more

Irresistibly charming, laugh-out-loud funny, and featuring nearly 200 images from Victorian publications, UNMENTIONABLE will inspire a whole new level of respect for Elizabeth Bennett, Scarlet O'Hara, Jane Eyre, and all of our great, great grandmothers.

(And it just might leave you feeling ecstatically grateful to live in an age of pants, super absorbency tampons, epidurals, anti-depressants, and not-dying-of-the-syphilis-your-husband-brought-home.)

Living the Life Unexpected: 12 Weeks to Your Plan B for a Meaningful and Fulfilling Future Without Children

2016

by Jody Day

Living the Life Unexpected is a heartfelt and insightful guide by Jody Day, aimed at helping women who find themselves without children, whether by choice or circumstance. At the age of forty-four, Jody realized her journey to motherhood had ended, leading her through waves of grief, despair, and isolation.

This book addresses the complex emotions surrounding involuntary childlessness and offers a powerful, practical 12-week guide to help women come to terms with their grief. Jody's journey led her to create the Gateway Women Network, a supportive community that has aided thousands of women globally.

With compassion and understanding, Jody shows how to move towards a creative, happy, meaningful, and fulfilling future without children. This extensively revised edition includes additional content and stories from women and men around the world, providing diverse perspectives on living a fulfilling life without children.

Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man's Fundamentals for Delicious Living

2014

by Nick Offerman

Parks and Recreation actor and Making It co-host Nick Offerman shares his humorous fulminations on life, manliness, meat, and much more in this New York Times bestseller.

Growing a perfect moustache, grilling red meat, wooing a woman—who better to deliver this tutelage than the always charming, always manly Nick Offerman, best known as Parks and Recreation’s Ron Swanson? Combining his trademark comic voice and very real expertise in woodworking—he runs his own woodshop—Paddle Your Own Canoe features tales from Offerman’s childhood in small-town Minooka, Illinois—“I grew up literally in the middle of a cornfield”—to his theater days in Chicago, beginnings as a carpenter/actor and the hilarious and magnificent seduction of his now-wife Megan Mullally.

It also offers hard-bitten battle strategies in the arenas of manliness, love, style, religion, woodworking, and outdoor recreation, among many other savory entrees.

A mix of amusing anecdotes, opinionated lessons and rants, sprinkled with offbeat gaiety, Paddle Your Own Canoe will not only tickle readers pink but may also rouse them to put down their smart phones, study a few sycamore leaves, and maybe even hand craft (and paddle) their own canoes.

I Can Barely Take Care of Myself: Tales From a Happy Life Without Kids

2014

by Jen Kirkman

In this instant New York Times bestseller, comedian and Chelsea Lately regular Jen Kirkman champions every woman’s right to follow her own path—even if that means being “childfree by choice.”

In her debut memoir, actress and comedian Jen Kirkman delves into her off-camera life with the same snarky sensitivity and oddball humor she brings to her sold-out standup shows and the Chelsea Lately roundtable, where she is a writer and regular performer.

As a woman of a certain age who has no desire to start a family, Jen often finds herself confronted (by friends, family, and total strangers) about her decision to be “childfree by choice.” I Can Barely Take Care of Myself offers honest and hilarious responses to questions like “Who will take care of you when you get old?” (Servants!) and provides a peek into the psyche—and weird and wonderful life—of a woman who has always marched to the beat of a different drummer and is pretty sure she’s not gonna change her mind, but thanks for your concern.

No Kidding: Women Writers on Bypassing Parenthood

No Kidding, comedy writer Henriette Mantel, along with Jennifer Coolidge, tackles the topic of actually not having kids. This fascinating collection features a star-studded group of contributors—including Margaret Cho, Wendy Liebman, Laurie Graff, and other accomplished, funny women—writing about why they opted out of motherhood.

Whether their reasons have to do with courage, apathy, monetary considerations, health issues, or something else entirely, the essays featured in the pages of No Kidding honestly (and humorously) delve into the minds of women who have chosen what they would call a more sane path.

Hilarious, compelling, and inspiring, No Kidding reveals a perspective that has too long been hidden, shamed, and silenced—and celebrates an entire population of women who have decided that kids are just not right for them.

The End of Illness

Can we live robustly until our last breath?

Do we have to suffer from debilitating conditions and sickness? Is it possible to add more vibrant years to our lives? In the #1 New York Times bestselling The End of Illness, Dr. David Agus tackles these fundamental questions and dismantles misperceptions about what "health" really means.

Presenting an eye-opening picture of the human body and all the ways it works—and fails—Dr. Agus shows us how a new perspective on our individual health will allow us to achieve a long, vigorous life.

Offering insights and access to powerful new technologies that promise to transform medicine, Dr. Agus emphasizes his belief that there is no "right" answer, no master guide that is "one size fits all." Each one of us must get to know our bodies in uniquely personal ways, and he shows us exactly how to do that.

A bold call for all of us to become our own personal health advocates, The End of Illness is a moving departure from orthodox thinking.

A Sensitive Liberal's Guide to Life: How to Banter with Your Barista, Hug Mindfully, and Relate to Friends Who Choose Kids Over Dogs

In the tradition of The Official Preppy Handbook, The Uptight Seattleite is the Stephen Colbert of left-wing satire.

The author of the wildly popular Seattle Weekly advice column teaches Americans everywhere how to embrace their inner leftist. Artfully balancing the cosmic with the cosmopolitan, the Uptight Seattleite (aka Adrian) delights his loyal readers each week with snide insight on everything from fashion (Can I pull off a Rasta beret?) to ear-bud etiquette.

In A Sensitive Liberal's Guide to Life, he brings his savvy smugness to his widest audience yet, on topics such as the hierarchy of transportation righteousness (what to do with the clunky old Subaru after purchasing a Prius) and ethical behavior at the grocery store, including how to handle the horror of forgetting to bring your reusable burlap sack.

Other day-to-day advice covers what to read on the bus (Vonnegut versus The Kite Runner versus The Economist) and feasting at the buffet of diversity, with tips for shooting a condescending smile at those who don't know how to use chopsticks.

The Uptight Seattleite also helps readers navigate the big issues, such as responsible parenting (which calls for a mini-landfill kit, perfect for the backyard and ready to be stuffed with environmentally unfriendly diapers).

For every insecure liberal - and those who love to make fun of them - the Uptight Seattleite offers us laughs from the pinnacle of political correctness.

The Insomnia Answer

The 50 million Americans who suffer from insomnia need—and want—this answer now. There is no "one size fits all" solution to insomnia because, as this revolutionary book illustrates, there are three types that affect those who suffer from it: difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, and broken sleep. And each of them requires a specialized treatment program.

Now, leading experts in the evaluation and treatment of insomnia deliver personalized programs that provide relief for such persistent sleep problems as:

  • Sunday night insomnia
  • Anxiety caused by the "dread of bedtime"
  • Waking before the alarm
  • Awaking with a sudden start or jolt
  • Scattered sleep patterns

Based on cutting-edge knowledge of circadian rhythms developed in research labs for decades, this is the first sleep program that helps readers to self-diagnose and treat their particular type of insomnia.

Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight

2003

by Sharon Heller

With empathy, compassion, and practical tools, developmental psychologist and sufferer of Sensory Defensive Disorder (SD), Sharon Heller, Ph.D., sheds light on a little-known but common affliction. Sufferers react to harmless stimuli as irritating, distracting, or dangerous.

We all know what it feels like to be irritated by loud music, accosted by lights that are too bright, or overwhelmed by a world that moves too quickly. But millions of people suffer from Sensory Defensive Disorder (SD), a common affliction where people react to harmless stimuli not just as a distracting hindrance, but a potentially dangerous threat.

Dr. Heller, being sensory defensive herself, brings both personal and professional perspectives. She is the ideal person to educate the world about this problem, which will only increase as technology and processed environments take over our lives.

In addition to heightening public awareness of this prevalent issue, Dr. Heller provides tools and therapies for alleviating and, in some cases, even eliminating defensiveness altogether.

Until now, treatment for sensory defensiveness has been successfully implemented in Learning Disabled children, where defensiveness tends to be extreme. However, the disorder has generally gone unidentified in adults who think they are either overstimulated, stressed, weird, or crazy. These sensory defensive sufferers live out their lives stressed and unhappy, never knowing why or what they can do about it.

Now, with Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight, they have a compassionate spokesperson and a solution-oriented book of advice.

Living Alone and Loving It

2003

by Barbara Feldon

Living Alone and Loving It is a delightful celebration of living solo in a world that often exalts marriage and family. Written by Barbara Feldon, the universally loved actress known as the effervescent spy "99" on Get Smart, this book is both a guide and a testament to relishing a life without a partner.

After a relationship impasse, Feldon found herself living alone, embarking on one of the most enriching and joyous periods of her life. In this book, she shares her secrets for embracing solitude and loving it.

Learn how to:

- Stop imagining that marriage is a solution for loneliness

- Nurture a glowing self-image that is not dependent on an admirer

- Value connections that might be overlooked

- Develop your creative side

- End negative thinking

Whether you're blessed with the promise of youth or the wisdom of age, Living Alone & Loving It will instill the know-how to forge a life filled with adventures and happiness.

Women without Children: Nurturing Lives

Women without Children: Nurturing Lives is based on over 125 interviews with women who have no children. The author, Yvonne M. Vissing, explores the cultural myths surrounding childlessness and delves into the reasons why these women do not have children, as well as how it affects and shapes their day-to-day lives.

This book is organized into three main sections: the social context of "childlessness", its causes, and its meanings. Each section places the women's experiences within a demographic and sociological context, offering readers an understanding of the issues these individuals face and their efforts to create a place for themselves in a child-centered society.

Women without Children is a celebration of the strength, beauty, and love demonstrated by women who—by accident or choice—have not borne or raised children. It provides understanding, insights, comfort, and empowerment to those who have traditionally been made to feel less than whole because they do not have children.

Diet for a Small Planet: The Book That Started a Revolution in the Way Americans Eat

Diet for a Small Planet is the extraordinary book that taught America the social and personal significance of a new way of eating. It remains a complete guide for eating well in the twenty-first century.

Sharing her personal evolution and how this groundbreaking book changed her own life, world-renowned food expert Frances Moore Lappé offers an all-new, even more fascinating philosophy on changing yourself—and the world—by changing the way you eat.

The Diet for a Small Planet features:

  • Simple rules for a healthy diet
  • Streamlined, easy-to-use format
  • Food combinations that make delicious, protein-rich meals without meat
  • Indispensable kitchen hints—a comprehensive reference guide for planning and preparing meals and snacks
  • Hundreds of wonderful recipes

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