Tag Archives: books

Top 5 Book Boyfriends to Swoon Over

Few things compare to the enduring pleasure of falling in love with men who live in the worlds of words. With outsized passions or masculine overtures, they’re not called heroes for nothing. Who is your favorite book boyfriend? Here’s a list of book heroes we love falling in love with, from the Beyond Words Team.

1. Mr. Darcy

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Mr Darcy Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The consummate “don’t you see you’re in love?!” story, Pride and Prejudice stars Mr. Darcy who makes the book list for striking the perfect balance between conceited rich guy and noble humanist of convictions. Restrained passions between him and Elizabeth Bennet in Austen’s 19th-century tale eventually lead them to discover one fine day that they’re really, truly, mad for each other. Kiss. Deliver a letter.

 

2. Noah Calhoun

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

Ryan Gosling - The Notebook

It’s 1946 and Noah Calhoun spends a sweaty day fixing up a house that’s almost 200 years old, to come home and quote some Whitman with a cup of tea. Need we say more? Dashing Noah Calhoun is the summer boyfriend of our dreams. And winter love, and spring love…

 

 

3. Heathcliff

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Laurence Olivier Merle Oberon Wuthering Heights

Love. It’s all about hate. Or at least acute episodes of brooding 18th-century passion. Heathcliff makes the list for his total dedication to loving Catherine as much as he can’t stand her. Their love blossoms as kids when social class is not an issue, but the fickle Catherine opts to marry for money and status, leaving Heathcliff to cut off his nose to spite his face. We understand the smoldering nature of your intense desire, Heathcliff, even if Catherine never quite does.

 

4. Rhett Butler

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Rhett and Bonnie Blue Butler

Wiles don’t work. Tears don’t do the trick. Straight up pleading neither. Rhett Butler is the rebel with a cause. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows we are stronger than we think we are. And while he is the epitome of all that is enterprising, cunning, and masculine, the velvet of his true heart comes to life when he has a daughter. Sigh.

 

5. Gideon Cross

The Crossfire Series by Sylvia Day

Henry Cavill

“Gideon Cross was an impossibly gorgeous man, so beautiful that people stopped and stared when he walked by. I’d once thought of him as a sex god, and his frequent–and enthusiastic–displays of prowess constantly proved me right, but I also knew he was all too human.” – Entwined with You

Yes.

5 Relationship Books for a Better Love Life

Nights curled up together with interlocked limbs. Days spent on long country walks, smiling coyly at one another as the light catches the horizon. Bliss. Indeed, if every relationship consisted of these endless moments, we’d live in a utopian world. Sadly, we do not. The reality of any relationship is a splatter of the good, the bad, and – on hungover Sunday mornings – the ugly. However, if your relationship has lost that loving feeling and you’re feeling a little blue, there may be something you can do about it. It could be time to quite literally turn the page and read your way to a happier setup. Here are five new romance and self-help relationship books to get you started along the way.

5 Relationship Books to Teach You About Love

The All-or-Nothing Marriage by Eli Finkel

best relationship booksThink that self-help relationship books are full of mindless fluff? Think again. Underscored with compelling data and scientific research, The All-or-Nothing Marriage offers a unique take on how to achieve happiness in your relationship. Northwestern University psychologist Eli Finkel dedicated this book to his own life partner with a heartfelt statement. “To my wife, Alison, who thinks it’s hilarious that I’m a marriage expert.”

The book starts with an overview of how marriage has changed over the years. Then, it takes a turn into what that means for the modern-day relationship. Combining quick tips with science-backed advice, this one ought to be your one-stop-shop when it comes to improving your relationship once and for all.

How Luck Happens by Barnaby Marsh and Janice Kaplan

How many hilariously tragic dating tales do you have to hand? If you’re the type of person who is constantly unlucky in love, here’s the relationship book for you. How Luck Happens sets out to answer its title conundrum. New York Times bestselling author Janice Kaplan and academic Dr. Barnaby Marsh tackle the superstitious myths of good and bad luck head-on.

The question at the heart of this guide is simple. Is there such a thing as luck? And, if there is, is it something that you can learn to control? After taking a look at the available research in the area, the two come up with ways in which you can realistically change your fortunes and become lucky in love, life, and just about everything in between too.

The Love Gap by Jenna Birch

Smart, empowered, career-oriented women can’t find love, right? In The Love Gap, journalist and relationship columnist Jenna Birch reaches out to all the confident single ladies to help them navigate the modern-day dating scene. Why is it that so many women find success in every aspect of their beings except relationships?

Being a serial dater herself, the central question was as much a personal quandary as it was the subject of the guide. After a year and a half of hard work and answer-searching, Birch came up with a truly meaningful romance guide. The book contains a treasure chest of information from enlightening interviews with relationship gurus to in-depth research.

Happiness Is A Choice You Make by John Leland

relationship books about happinessLessons From a Year Among the Oldest Old reads the tagline to this one-of-a-kind book. Author John Leland follows the lives of six subjects, all of whom are now in their golden years, in a bid to better understand life and relationships. Dropping in on these individuals at infrequent moments, he learns to understand the true struggles of an aging existence.

Unlike other self-help guides, the lessons learned from Happiness Is A Choice come directly from the subjects themselves. But then, who better to preach about life than those who have been there and done it all? Should you be struggling in your current relationship or desperately seeking that rare slice of joy, you simply have to read this book.

Heart Talk by Cleo Wade

Finally, let’s take a moment to appreciate a relationship book created with the Instagram generation soundly in mind. Heart Talk is an artistic take on the genre, but that doesn’t mean that it deserves to be overlooked. If you’re short on time and need a daily dose of confidence and reassurance, this short book is the way to go.

Think of it as a book of advice from your wisest friend you can keep in your purse. Wade offers mantras, poems, and affirmations that should see you through even some of the rawest times within your relationship. As though that weren’t enough, all of the above scream “beauty and truth.”

Which one of these relationship books will you read first?

The World’s Most Beautiful Libraries

When was the last time you stepped into a library and enjoyed a view other than simple rows of books and desks perfect for hours of research? Since the 17th and 18th centuries, libraries have been built to hold the most treasured volumes and historical texts, and were historically designed to welcome aristocrats and scholars. Due to their high place on the societal ladder, many were built fit for kings, and around the world a few of these architectural masterpieces can still be enjoyed today.

A picture is worth a thousand words, but the world’s most beautiful libraries may leave you speechless. This is only a small sample from a much larger pool. Most are centuries old, one on this list is very new, and all are breathtaking.

1. Admont Abbey Library in Admont, Austria


Who has always wanted to visit the library from Beauty and The Beast? The largest monastery library in the world so closely resembles Disney’s portrayal that it has earned a reputation as the “real-life” version.

Built in the 1770s, the Abbey’s library hall was designed in dedication to wisdom and reason. If you ever have the opportunity to visit, take a break from perusing the 70,000 books stored along the three bright chambers (and the sculptures along the way) to look up: Seven cupola frescoes (watercolor artwork on the ceilings) are completely dedicated to the Enlightenment Era and depict the course of human knowledge from the beginning of time to Divine Revelation.

2. The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.


The library with the second largest collection in the world (over 158 million items in over 460 languages) is located in none other than our very own Washington, D.C. The global resource as we know it today was influenced by Thomas Jefferson, who believed in the importance of all resources (regardless of origin or language). Located in the aptly named Thomas Jefferson building, the interior design elaborately reflects the American Renaissance period.
Library of Congress

3. Bodleian Library in Oxford, UK

Courtyard of the Bodleian Library, Oxford
This academic library is so beautiful that Hollywood seems to snatch each opportunity to film there. You may recognize various locations in three of the Harry Potter movies, as well as the beginning of The Golden Compass, in addition to other films. Serving as the main knowledge base at the University of Oxford, this English Gothic treasure is the second largest library in England.

Bodleian Library - Oxford 2015

4. The Royal Portuguese Reading Room in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil


The dramatic architecture and 19th century neo-Manueline styles of this reading room is a feast for the eyes that may make your jaw drop. Light filtering through a stained-glass ceiling and a wrought-iron chandelier illuminate the panoramic floor-to-ceiling of books, artwork, and sculptures (that reflect the Portuguese Age of Discoveries). Started by Portuguese immigrants in Brazil, it was given the title of Royal Portuguese Reading Room by Portugal’s King Manuel II in 1906.

5. Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt


This location is the youngest library on this list (having opened in 2002) but stands as a living memory of the first library in Alexandria, which was one of the most notable in ancient history where scientists and thinkers once met. The new contemporary-styled building is a slanted disc on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Outside, the curved wall is inscribed with calligraphy, and above, the roof is speckled in skylights so natural light can filter through.
Bibliotheca Alexandrina (2007-05-030)

6. George Peabody Library at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD

George Peabody Library
Would you love to get married inside a library? If the answer is yes, check out this American 19th-century library in Baltimore, which is so beautiful that it is regularly scheduled as an event venue in addition to acting as a traditional research facility. Here you will find six levels in cast-iron and gold-leaf, reaching a height of 61 feet from the marble floor.
George Peabody Library

7. Biblioteca Joanina in Coimbra, Portugal

biblioteca-joanina-coimbra1_580x458.shkl

From the pictures, you may expect this to be the private reading room of a noble family instead of a resource for a university. The three grand reading rooms (each dedicated to specific subjects) are lined with beautifully ornate wooden bookshelves and separated by narrow hallways containing the institution’s coat of arms. Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful libraries in the world, the Baroque architecture adds an element of mystery. Or perhaps that feeling is due to the academic prison below the main level, where historically the university rule-breakers were confined.

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6 Seriously Funny Books You Need to Read Right Now

Don’t judge a book by its cover: judge it by its title! From unicorns with attitude to gnome uprisings, these six laugh-out-loud books will have you binge-reading until you’re laughing, crying, and maybe even propping your eyes open with toothpicks—Tom & Jerry-style.

 

Bossypants

Before Liz Lemon (the image of modern womanhood) uttered the “fake curse words” jagweed, blerg, and shark farts, before Tina Fey dug into a sheet cake and Donald Trump on the Weekend Update, before she parodied Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live, making it and America great again, the Queen of Comedy was a “Debbie Downer” with a dream: one where an “obedient white girl from the suburbs” could “say, yes, and….figure it out afterwards.”  From her work crush on Alec Baldwin to her completely sarcastic beauty tips (Our favorite? “Always remember the most important rule of beauty, which is: who cares?”), Fey’s Bossypants will rock your 30-somethings. Whether you’re killing time on a 90-minute subway ride or sinking a good six inches into your sofa, it’ll have you laughing, and possibly snorting, so loudly that people will beg you to flip through it somewhere else. And, as if that wasn’t enough, when its cover is spread-eagle, your top-half will be morphed into a freakish hybrid—a pretty woman with big, burly, hairy man arms.

 

Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea

are you there vodka chelsea handlerIf you had Judy Blume’s Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret on your night stand as a teenager or you just started changing, “We must. We must. We must increase our bust!”, you’ll get a kick out of Chelsea Handler’s parody title Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea. The perfect marriage of quick wit, self-mockery, and no doubt some hyperbole, the comedian mines her past for “oh, no you didn’t!” stories that’ll have you spewing laughter bombs. From pretending to honeymoon with her father in order to upgrade to first class to her “horizontal” antics, Handler’s irreverent and offensive turns of phrase don’t just cross the line. They completely erase it.  If you don’t get offended easily, take this quick read with you on your next flight—where appealing to the “higher power” of vodka is optional.

 

Knitting with Dog Hair: Better a Sweater From a Dog You Know and Love Than From a Sheep You’ll Never Meet

knitting with dog hairSharpen your knitting needles, ladies, and get ready to pet your yarn yields.  Kendall Crolius’ how-to book, Knitting With Dog Hair, will teach you how to make caps from your collies, mittens from your malamutes, and scarves from your Scottish terriers. Feline fanatics, there’s no need to be sourpusses because there’s also a section on cat hair. A free, environmentally-friendly spin on an old craft, this author’s crochets are a creative solution to every animal owner’s most vexing problem: shedding, shedding, and more shedding.  If you’re done wearing the scratchy wool sweaters from “sheep that you’ll never meet”, learn to collect, clean, spin, and store your pet’s fur. Surprisingly, though, it’s not a new practice, says Science Magazine. The Coast Salish, Native Americans from northern Washington and southern British Columbia, recycled Rover’s hair into non-ceremonial blankets until the early 1900s.

 

Unicorns are Jerks: a Coloring Book Exposing the Cold, Hard, Sparkly Truth

unicorns are jerksIf you believe that unicorns are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice and that they inhale rainbows, exhale sparkles, and purify poisons, we’ve got bad news: some unicorns can be a real horn in your side. Sure, unicorns think that they’re cool beans because they’re mysterious, beautiful, and mystical, but Theo Nicole Lorenz, the author of Unicorns Are Jerks, knows that they can be anti-social, mythological narcissists. The cartoonist caught them texting in theaters, nabbing leftovers from refrigerators, and even farting in elevators.  Of course, Theo had to sketch the pictures—the unicorns refused to sign photo release forms. But, now that you’ve learned the cold, hard, sparkly truth, you should color it with a set of sparkly markers.  That’s right. Show those jerky unicorns who’s the boss.

 

50 Shades of Chicken

fifty shades of chickenPull out the twine. Whip open the oven. And get ready to dominate dinner. F.L. Fowler’s 50 Shades of Chicken is the “love” story between a young, innocent, free-range chicken and a wealthy, sexy, and very, very hungry chef. A spoof of  EL James’ 50 Shades of Grey, it features three acts: “The Novice Bird” (easy recipes for roasters), “Falling to Pieces” (parts perfect for weeknight meals), and “Advanced Techniques” (the climax of cooking).  From jerking to stuffing to oiling: this pun-o-graphic cookbook is fully loaded with five-star recipes: Dripping Thighs, Bacon-Bound Wings, Learning-to-Truss-You Chicken, and Mustard-Spanked Chicken. 50 Shades of Chicken isn’t just a great gag-gift (pun intended), it’ll bring your date night to a simmer with its mix of laugh-out-loud text and revealing photographs—that’ll change the way you view garlic bulbs and olive oil forever.

 

How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack: Defend Yourself When the Lawn Warriors Strike (and They Will)

how to survive a garden gnome attackMove over adolescent vampires and flesh-eating zombies, there’s a new threat in town: garden gnomes. Standing a little over 12 inches tall, these flowerbed-dwellers are crafty sociopaths bent on murder and mayhem! So, if you ever spot pointy-hatted perps in your garden, dig up Chuck Sambuchino’s How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack, a 106-page guide with laugh-out-loud tips and knee-slapping photos.  From hiding a second “escape” bicycle to locking down your garden tools to creating a miniature moat around your house, whether you love gnomes or hate them, this coffee table-sized book might just save your life—or at least tea time.

7 Books about Life-Changing Love

The weather is cooling and fall leaves float in the breeze. The coming of fall signals a time for togetherness and compassion. To help you celebrate love, we’ve compiled a list of books focusing not on romance, but on life-changing love.

 

Kisses from Katie by Katie J. Davis

kisses from katieKatie’s relentless love for her God and others leads her to a life of service in Uganda. At just eighteen years old, Katie foregoes her parents’ college plans and pursues a mission trip to Africa. Katie’s mission trip turns into a lifetime commitment as Katie decides to permanently move to Uganda and adopt fourteen children. In her premier novel, Katie details her life as she takes care of her children and launches Amazima Ministries in order to provide orphans with school, meals and care. Katie’s love story with Uganda is truly inspirational.

 

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

secret life of beesLily Owens and her stand in mother, Rosaleen, seek refuge in the home of the beekeeping “calendar sisters” after an altercation with a trio of violent racist. Lily joins Rosaleen in order to escape from her abusive father and haunting memories of her mother’s death.  The two are quickly immersed in the world of beekeeping. Slowly, they discover the truth surrounding the death of Lily’s mother and learn how to love themselves.

 

My Name is Mahtob by Mahtob Mahmoody

my name is mahtobMahtob is the daughter from the novel and movie, Not Without My Daughter. She tells the story of her captivity in Iran from her perspective and continues her story to the present day.  My Name is Mahtob is the story of a mother who loves her daughter too much to leave her behind and too much to teach her to hate.  Because her mother takes special care to keep Mahtob immersed in Iranian culture, Mahtob is able to come to love her father as the man who will forever be a part of her. Through this love, she is able to find forgiveness and peace.

 

Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist

bread and wine“With love, with love, with love” is the refrain of Niequist’s follow up to Bittersweet and Cold Tangerines. Niequist writes of that deep abiding love we often share around a hearty meal. Bread and Wine is a collection of essays about the love-filled moments in Niequist’s life, including travels around Europe, Sunday afternoons with her family, moving into her own home and her pregnancy. Each essay is followed by a recipe, like blueberry crisp or mango chicken curry, that she felt captured that moment for her. Niequist reminds us to focus not on counting down minutes, but on cherishing moments that take our breath away.

 

Things I Want My Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble

things i want my daughters to knowNoble heartbreakingly captures the beauty of mother-daughter love in Things I Want my Daughters to Know. The novel opens at the funeral of Barbara, the mother of four daughters. After being fatally diagnosed with cancer, Barbara wrote a series of letters for each of her daughters to be read after her death. In a beautiful way, Barbara is able to help her daughters heal and move on with their lives, even though she can no longer be physically present.

 

Walk to Beautiful by Jimmy Wayne

walk to beautifulWalk to Beautiful is the true story of Jimmy Wayne’s life. Jimmy spent time in and out of the foster care system, and eventually came to meet Bea and Russell, an older couple who took him under their wings. Their love, coupled with the love and energy of his guidance counselor, is what motivates Jimmy to finish school and pour himself into his music. After reaching the pinnacle of his country music career, Jimmy passes on their love by walking halfway across America in order to raise awareness and support for foster children.

 

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells

divine secrets of the yaya sisterhoodDivine Secrets is a classic example of the power of a sisterhood. Siddalee‘s mother sends her old scrapbook to Siddalee after she attacks her mother’s parenting ability in a national newspaper. Through her mother’s scrapbook, Siddalee discovers the stories of the women who have been her mother’s lifelong friends, the members of the “Ya-Yas”. Each Ya-Ya comes to life, and Siddalee is able to piece together their personalities, flaws and life events. The scrapbook allows Siddalee to learn life lessons as well as reach the point of forgiving her mother for past transgressions.

 

Zipporah Lomax, Luminary Photographer of Burning Man

I once heard the story of a child at Burning Man who looked around at the spectacle and said, “I don’t get what the big deal is. This is just a bunch of adults acting like children.”

An alternative community in the desert, Burning Man is an open canvas for self-exploration and self-expression. 70,000 people now make the pilgrimage each year for seven dusty days to experience the multi-layered experience that is Burning Man. Intermingled in the chaos there is a childlike essence to the endless playground that is constructed on the Playa (Black Rock Desert, NV) each year; and as the community grows, it ushers in more of the little burners. As adults, many Burners use these seven days to bask in the remembrance of the wild potentials for free expression that were the feelings of their childhood.

zipporah lomax
Photo: Zipporah Lomax

Surrounded by youthful indulgences, the young Burners become the wise sages of this playful community. Children naturally bring some of the most potent Playa tools: their fiercely wild imaginations and insatiable hunger for play. The children of Burning Man are beautifully innocent and unwaveringly honest examples of the essence of this spectacular, cultural phenomenon.

Zipporah Lomax
Photo: Zipporah Lomax

Zipporah Lomax, a festival photographer, has taken on the role of weaving the story of these dusty little ones into a photography book entitled Dusty Playground. Lomax has been a part of the Burning Man community for 15 years now. More recently, her lens has led her into the intimate lives of families on the Playa. In an art project funded by a group of individuals who believed in Lomax’s creative endeavor, Lomax received $47,775 from 448 backers to bring these photographic images to life.

Zipporah Lomax
Photo: Zipporah Lomax

We had a chance to get the perspective of Zipporah Lomax herself on her approach to this colossal community that is opening the pages of a new perspective of Burning Man by honoring the “tiniest burners.”

BW: As an artist, you are constantly questioning what your work means to yourself and others; and to have such a resounding positive affirmation about what you’re doing, through your Kickstarter, that’s really fantastic.

ZL: I was really asking the world [with the kickstarter] to confirm that what I’m doing is worth putting all my energy into… I really could not have anticipated how much attention it would end up garnering on its own. … I thought people might laugh that I wanted to make a book about the kids. I think I’m still kind of in awe.

Zipporah Lomax
Photo: Zipporah Lomax

BW: How do you feel your art is also simultaneously your gift?

ZL: Even if I thought about that for a while, I don’t know that I would be able to separate those two words from each other, “art” and “gift”… I really think that everyone was born with the ability to cultivate, or transform, an interest into a gift. If there is enough genuine and authentic interest in something, and enough dedicated and focused attention on it, I think that anything can become an art or a gift.

BW: As you watch the cultural identity of Burning Man change and more in the past 15 years, how has that affected your own artistic expression?

ZL: My first response is that it’s difficult to measure the shift in either the culture or myself, because I’ve been part of it… I know that for me Burning Man has always been a place, not to disconnect from some default world, and not to party my face off for one week in the desert, but really quite the opposite … There’s always been this clarity that comes for me, in that really dusty place.

Zipporah Lomax
Photo: Zipporah Lomax

BW: How have you captured that change through your lens, and how have you captured the children within that change?

ZL: My first awareness of a little child was in 2001 at center camp. This tiny little baby, who wasn’t even walking yet, just sitting there in the dust in this white, very dusty onesie that said “F*ck Bush.” I remember looking at this child and just being so struck by imagining what this child was gonna grow up to be, having this really early exposure to what I felt was really a cutting edge experimental culture … I think I’ve always been really aware of them, fascinated by them, and totally in love with them. I think they are the dustiest little sages, and I’ve had the most awesome conversations with them, which I can’t really regurgitate, but in the moment I’m just like “you are such an awesome little being and I can’t wait to see who you become and what you do out there.”

Zipporah Lomax
Photo: Zipporah Lomax

BW: You’re following these children through their learning experience of this culture that’s ever-evolving, just like these children are.

ZL: I want to spend more time with my subjects, and get to know them a little bit so that the photos are truly an honoring of what they are doing, and the more time that I can spend with them, even if it’s only five minutes, then the photos aren’t just this collection of visual high fives, they are these beautiful little vignettes.

Zipporah Lomax
Photo: Zipporah Lomax

BW: It’s like you’ve been chosen to tell this story.

ZL: I feel really grateful that I get to be the one to bring this project into being….As much as a mother doesn’t know what their child is going to look like while it’s growing inside them, I don’t know yet. I’m as in the dark as everyone else is about how it’s actually going to look, but I’m up for it, I’m ready to birth it.

To find out more about Zipporah Lomax and Dusty Playground, go to www.dustyplayground.com.

6 Self-Help Books for People Who Hate Self-Help

For many of us, our 20s are a defining decade of self-discovery. We’re learning how to navigate careers, relationships, and even big decisions like buying a house or starting a family.

In the midst of it all, it’s easy to question our paths and whether we’re making the right decisions. While there are a number of classic self-help books, like 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, to help us find answers to life’s biggest questions, many of today’s self-help books suggest we need to get rid of everything we own to find true happiness or tidy up to find true joy.

If flowery, woo-woo, purge-everything-in-your-life self-help advice isn’t for you, there are a few no-nonsense self-help books to help you find your way. Try reading one of these books to figure out your life and career, get comfortable with taking risks, become a better person, and chart your own path to true happiness:

1. Daring Greatly, Brené Brown

self-help books

Dr. Brené Brown is a researcher who has studied courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy for over 16 years. In her book, Daring Greatly, she teaches us we must dare greatly every day, and the importance of having courage to be our true selves. She acknowledges that daring greatly can be uncomfortable, but it’s one of the only ways we can allow our true, authentic selves to be seen by our colleagues and loved ones. If you are looking for a little courage to make big decisions in a relationship or your career, this book is for you.

2. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Mark Manson

self_help_books

While many self-help books and happiness experts tell us that positive thinking is the key ingredient to a happy life, Mark Manson argues that we need to “f*ck positivity” in order to figure out what really matters. In The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Manson tells it how it is and doesn’t sugarcoat his life advice. He explains that once we accept our limitations, stop running from reality, and confront painful truths, we can then find the courage, perseverance, and forgiveness we have been searching for.

3. You Are a Badass, Jen Sincero

self help books

You Are a Badass is a how-to guide filled with honest advice and inspiring stories to give you a much-needed kick in the butt to make some serious changes in your life. Jen Sincero helps readers identify and change self-sabotaging beliefs and behaviors that keep us from getting what we want in life. She also explains how to take big risks, how to love ourselves, and how to set big goals and reach them.

4. Boss Bitch: A Simple 12-Step Plan to Take Charge of Your Career, Nicole Lapin

self-help books

As a financial journalist and the youngest anchor to work for CNN and CNBC, Nicole Lapin knows what it takes to be a “boss bitch” in all aspects of life. In her book, Boss Bitch: A Simple 12-Step Plan to Take Charge of Your Career, she provides honest advice to help women be a boss at work and home. Lapin shares raw and hilarious stories from her own career, and then provides actionable advice on how to kill in your career. If you’re looking to take your career to the next level, this no-nonsense self-help book is for you.

5. Creative Confidence, Tom Kelley and David Kelley

self-help books

Regardless of whether you work in a creative field or not, we all must tap into creativity every day to solve problems. Creative Confidence brings us back to when we were in kindergarten and helps us adopt the confidence we had as young children before we were afraid of having a “bad idea.” Written by leading experts in innovation and design, Creative Confidence outlines principles and strategies that help us access and apply creativity in our careers and personal lives, and teaches readers how to innovate every day.

6. Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

designing your life

Have you ever thought about looking at your life through the eyes of a designer? In this book, authors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans provide insight on how to design a life you truly love. They apply design thinking concepts to everyday life and then walk you through the process of building a career and life that are fulfilling and joyful. The authors also provide exercises at the end of each chapter to challenge you to think about your goals and then develop an action plan. Regardless of where you are at in your life and career, Designing Your Life is an excellent read for learning how to create a life you love.

What are your favorite self-help books? Tell us in the comments section below!

5 Books You’ve Always Meant to Read

As we slowly tick over into the summer months, even those with the most hectic of schedules take a moment to stop, breathe, and relax. What’s truly wonderful about this period is the fact that you can finally get around to dipping into some of those books that you’ve always meant to read. If you’re on the hunt for your next literary adventure, look no further. There’s a handful of brilliantly engaging novels that everyone simply must read at least once. From deeply touching accounts of life and death to alternate lifestyles, the tales here are ones that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page.

 

Down and Out in Paris and London

by George Orwell

orwell down and out in paris and london

First of all, if you’re hoping for a fast-paced adventure, this is not the book for you. In Down and Out in Paris and London, Orwell meanders through a lengthy account of his experiences of sheer poverty in both cities. The genius of Orwell was that he was never one to waste words, yet he still had the power to weave descriptively rich tapestries in the reader’s mind. Flipping through the pages is like living his reality, however bleak, moment by moment.

This may not be the most uplifting book you’ll even read; it’s packed with the struggles and sorrows of an often times lonely man, but the themes are as relevant today as they were back in 1933, when it was originally published.

 

The Dice Man

by Luke Rhinehart

rhinehart the dice man

The term ‘cult classic’ is thrown around a lot these days, but The Dice Man really is a novel deserving of that title. The plot follows Luke Rhinehart, a psychiatrist who has ultimately grown tired and weary of his mundane existence. (Note that although the book carries this character’s name, it is not an autobiography. The author has used the protagonist’s name as his pseudonym.) When he finds that nothing pleases him anymore, Luke makes a decision that would likely terrify most sane people; he will live his life by the roll of a die. Every minor and major life decision he makes from that time forward is controlled solely by chance. He gives over his free will to chaos in the hope that he will somehow find life satisfaction once again.

As you might imagine, it often makes for a rather shocking read. When you take morality and common sense out of the equation, your choices may lead to disastrous consequences, but in a way that’s the beauty of this fictional lifestyle. On opening this novel’s pages, the reader is taken on a tumultuous journey with the main character by their side, holding a set of dice and grinning manically.

 

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

by Milan Kundera

milan kundera the unbearable lightness of being

There are many themes woven seamlessly into this story of love and infidelity – politics, philosophy and morals come together to set the background for the tale. What I personally enjoyed the most about the book is that it never once leads the reader one way or another. On a surface level, you can read the story of a marriage slowly being crushed by the protagonist, Tomas’ tireless womanizing.

There’s also the striking tale of Sabina, his mistress and a painter in that order, who has the feverish desire to think and live for herself. Finally, there’s Tereza, a woman made of morals and Tomas’ wife – her story seems to be the most tragic of the three as she goes from near poverty to stability, but loses her independence along the way. The three characters symbolize archetypal personalities of the time, and you don’t have to understand the political implications to be moved by their tales.

 

The Secret History

by Donna Tartt

tart the secret history

What would inspire a group of five Classics students to premeditate and carry out the savage murder of one of their closest friends? That is the question that will be running through your mind from the moment you begin this feverishly addictive book. Tartt wastes no time gleefully mapping out the murder scene for the reader – giving away one of the central plots of the book before you’ve gotten more than a few pages into it. Just as Tarentino leads us into Pulp Fiction with the infamous diner robbery that doesn’t chronologically take place until much later in the film, Tartt leads us into an unceremonious murder that will most certainly resurface later in the novel. From that moment, the reader is hooked. This is not a game of figuring out who killed the character – we know that already – but one of why they killed them.

The narrative unfolds in the voice of one of the group – Richard Papen or Dick for short – who is new at the university. Upon arriving, he quickly makes friends with an odd, anachronistic group. It’s not clear when the novel is actually set, but most assume that it is in the 1980s, when Tartt herself attended university. Yet, despite this, the central group of characters dresses and acts as though they’ve walked off the pages of a period drama. While that in itself is bizarre, there’s much more to these individuals than meets the eye.

 

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

by Ken Kesey

kesey one flew over the cuckoo's nest

If you’re looking for a quick read that will leave a lasting, unyielding impression, this is the modern classic for you. This is yet another work which many people know only by its later film adaptation. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is an insight into the troubled mind of the narrator, Chief Bromden, who resides in an Oregon psychiatric hospital.When a new patient comes onto Bromden’s ward, he’s taken by his ferocious nature and cheeky con man-esque hyjinx. He sees this new-comer as a savior of sorts; this could be a sign of change within the ward. Soon enough, though, the Chief has to let go of this misguided notion – as he sees that even this oddly precocious man can be worn down.

Of course, if you’ve seen the movie already, you’ll know all of this, so why is the novel any different? Well, there is something about the first hand account (albeit fictional) that you read here. From the unethical practices within the institute to the stigmatization of the ‘chronic’ patients, this is a book that conveys just how far we’ve thankfully come in terms of understanding mental health.

Books from Around the World With the Power to Connect Us All

Every human being looks for the opportunity to connect with another human being. It’s how we foster a sense of belonging. Though our physical appearance may differ from the person next to us, the feelings we experience are all relatable. Every culture, in its own unique way, understands the power of love, the exhilaration of joy and the magnitude of pain.

Even though this truth has held steadfast through time, disconnection in the form of hate, war, misunderstanding and conflict is what constantly permeates the Internet and the airwaves. This year’s current political climate and the fight against terrorism make us feel as though we’re disconnected from those around us when in truth, we’re all just looking for common ground. So what do we do to foster connection when it seems so far out of our reach? Mario Vargas Lloso, winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature, once stated:

“Good literature erects bridges between different peoples, and by having us enjoy, suffer, or feel surprise, unites us beneath the languages, beliefs, habits, customs, and prejudices that separate us.”

Books can provide the bridge. The titles listed below can bring cultures together through the exploration of trials the individuals in the books face. Even though these experiences may seem foreign, the emotions they evoke are all quite familiar.

 

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie (Nigeria)

This novel, set in Nigeria, follows the lives of Kambili and her family. The book explores religious hypocrisy and the effects of a broken family on the psyche of a young girl. Kambili combats all the coming of age lessons any young girl faces—learning her place within her family, finding her voice, the realization that things are not always what they seem. Through the book, Kambili and her family come to terms with their past and their futures through companionship and life’s lessons—something we can all relate to.

purple hibiscus

 

Monkey Bridge by Lan Cao (Vietnam)

It’s one thing to be a teenage girl growing up in America. The yearning for social acceptance and craving to find oneself are overwhelming. Add onto these common struggles the added complication of immigrant parents, and the internal conflict faced by every teenager becomes a little more complex. Mai immigrated to the United States from Vietnam with her mother Thanh to escape the war. Mai’s mother holds steadfast to Vietnamese culture and traditions while Mai tries to navigate a “normal” American life without losing a sense of her Vietnamese culture.

monkey bridge

 

When the Moon is Low by Nadia Hashimi (Afghanistan)

Mahmoud and Fereiba are a typical middle-class family. They have two children, Saleem and Samira and a third on the way. Fereiba and Mahmoud love each other, and they live a life most families can identify with, that is, until the Taliban comes. In the wake of wide-spread refugee crises, When the Moon is Low gives an inside look into how being forced from one’s home effects the family. Follow Fereiba and her family through the fear and danger of fleeing a country torn by war, and watch as the bond of family shines through.

when the moon is low

 

Literature has long acted as a bridge between worlds – we can learn about cultures and peoples we wouldn’t normally know about, and we’re able to make the connection between others and ourselves. Though the stories might be different, the emotions are the same.

Each of these books gives perspective into the way people around the world live, but they also include trials and emotions, regardless of location, with which anyone can identify. Give yourself the opportunity to experience something new through reading. You might find you can cultivate a sense of connection in the most unexpected of places.

Poetry Collections Accurately Capturing Modern Womanhood

Contemporary poetry is so much more than the traditional rhyme scheme, flowery quotes, and love cliches that come to mind when you think of poetry — especially more traditional feminine poetry. But a combination of increasingly progressive societal norms and more relaxed stylistic writing conventions makes poetry today a particularly useful medium for truthful self-exploration.

Free from the need for too much narrative, poetry as a form fosters a more direct relationship with the subconscious than other, more narrative literary forms. Pair this with the feminist awakening happening all around us, and you have yourself the documentation of something beautiful. If you want to know what it’s really like to live in this world as a woman, it’s time to read these five multi-dimensional poetry collections.

 

Something Bright, Then Holes

by Maggie Nelson

nelson

Something Bright, Then Holes encapsulates the messiness and visceral pain of lost love without apology, politeness, or euphemism. Maggie Nelson is a force, and her fourth poetry collection lays bare a raw energy channeled through the human experience of fragility. The book follows the trajectory of a woman experiencing a slow breakup, a trauma later deepened by her time spent caring for a friend after a bad car accident. The journey, which includes a section dedicated to the speaker’s daily walks to a nearby urban canal, feels almost tangible in its rich, corporeal imagery, vividly portraying real anger, sadness, and even ugliness without hesitation.

Nelson is also known for Bluets and her memoir, the Argonauts..

 

I Was Not Born

by Julia Cohen

cohen

From this platform, Cohen launches into an exploration of the space between the psyche’s interpretation of reality and the mundane yet beautiful details that make up reality itself, using her own childhood recollections as a mode through which to deepen this discussion. The exploration, to its credit, eventually enables the speaker to reconnect with life’s sweetness, subject to — but also somehow impervious to — the knowledge that her future life with her partner is uncertain. Beauty remains beautiful. Love, a byproduct, follows.

 

Sorrow Arrow

by Emily Kendal Frey

kendal

Emily Kendal Frey’s second collection of work is characterized by double-spaced, almost minimalist poetry, distinguished by first-person statements and loose descriptions that often leave off in the midst of a thought and never fully return. The appeal of this type of work is that the poems function the way memory does, as if the poems are sketches that perfectly capture, for example, a glance, detail, or instance — but never the whole story. In its resemblance to real memory, this style rings true and conveys much depth in the process.

Thematically, Sorrow Arrow focuses on an ending relationship (presumably a divorce) and describes the day-to-day events in the speaker’s life as they become tainted by loss. Rather than depict, as Maggie Nelson might, the violence, conflict, and emotional frenzy of the situation, Frey’s tone instead is more resigned. Often referencing the exiting partner, the musings and frustrations are more internal, as if attempting to render that person’s existence while his memory and presence is fresh. The lines tend to wander casually into the surreal landscape of the jaded speaker’s imagination — though not without urgency, potency, and emotional vibrance.

 

Soft Split

by Szilvia Molnar

molnar

Published by the small press Future Tense Books from Portland, OR, Soft Split is a poetic dream diary, small and compact and shocking in its commitment to every grisly, dreamy detail. Sex, love, betrayal, pregnancy, mental stability, and even the workplace come into play — but don’t ever actually come into being (or so we think). Emerging writer Szilvia Molnar plays with the idea that dreams reflect the subconscious, but also seems to be pointing out that in their absurdity, dreams are also a way through which we can free ourselves from our own self-analysis.

 

Your Invitation to a Modest Breakfast

by Hannah Gamble

gamble

Hannah Gamble is distinct in that she somehow manages to talk about death, love, loss, and self-exploration poignantly without becoming too heavily-steeped in solemnity. Her work handles imagery with a light but accurate touch, unafraid to ground the reader with the mention of something common and familiar, like a puffy windbreaker or a gumball machine, then driving home a specific feeling with the precision of a brain surgeon. It’s this complex combination that makes Gamble’s collection a particularly apt representation of the conflicts that define modern womanhood: domestic familiarity passed down from generation to generation; awareness of being subtle but repeatedly treated like a sexual object; and a desire for love that is not always harmonious with her strong sense of self.

In metaphorical terms, Your Invitation to a Modest Breakfast uses imagery and language that invokes a polite social event to draw a parallel to antiquated societal gender and lifestyle expectations. The result is the sense that we’re all guests at this party, confused about the formal table settings and wondering how to continue playing our roles.