Publisher: Faber and Faber
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 11/13/2012
ISBN-13: 9780865479418
ISBN-10: 0865479410

If you don't believe that "positive thinking" is anything more than misguided bunk, then this is the self-help book for you. After poking a little bit of fun at positivity, author Oliver Burkeman turns to its alternatives, in the process turning decades of self-help advice on its head. With both sarcasm and good humor, Burkeman, the writer behind the popular "This Column Will Change Your Life" section of the Guardian, relates how goal-setting can impede progress -- and makes the point that "happiness" is not a fixed state but rather a way of thinking. Buddhists may recognize much of the advice, but anyone seeking serenity will find value here.

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Publisher: Viking
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 11/13/2012
ISBN-13: 9780670024964
ISBN-10: 0670024961

Perennially popular author Robert Greene is back with Mastery, which evaluates the personality traits and common characteristics of great historical and contemporary figures -- Henry Ford, Charles Darwin, Temple Grandin, and many others -- to offer insight into how we can gain control over our own lives. But mastery takes work to achieve, and Greene lays out nearly 50 steps within a handful of themes and uses the stories of those historical and current-day greats to illustrate them. As Greene's ultimate goal for his readers is to help them achieve success, this book may be just as valuable for business-minded folk as for those looking to live full lives.

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Publisher: Scribner
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 12/04/2012
ISBN-13: 9781451656251
ISBN-10: 1451656254

Don't cross your eyes or they'll get stuck like that! Don't run with scissors! Be aware of "Stranger Danger!" Don't stare at the sun! No doubt you've heard all of these warnings and probably heeded and repeated several of them. But are all of them actually true? In this entertaining and informative compendium, Jeopardy! champion (and father) Ken Jennings separates fact from fiction to debunk -- or support -- a vast array of parental edicts, as well as offering a history of their origins. Since he's backed up by solid research, you may be relieved when he says that poinsettias aren't poisonous -- but we still wouldn't serve them for breakfast (which really is the most important meal of the day).

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Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 11/13/2012
ISBN-13: 9780312640088
ISBN-10: 0312640080

It's likely that most people recognize Lisa Scottoline's name from her bestselling legal thrillers, but she also writes, along with her daughter, a well-regarded column for the Philadelphia Inquirer. For those who haven't had the pleasure of reading this writing team, this collection of essays (which follows Best Friends, Occasional Enemies) offers "an ab-toning laugh session, a silly giggle, a sympathetic sigh, and a lump in the throat" (Booklist). In discussing their bonds with each other and with Scottoline's own mother, the mother-daughter team covers topics like the proper technique for packing dishes, the importance of bringing a coat in the summertime, dating, and dogs.

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Publisher: Harlequin
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 11/27/2012
ISBN-13: 9780373892716
ISBN-10: 0373892713

Celebrity trainer J.J. Virgin believes that certain foods -- corn, gluten, soy, dairy, eggs, sugar (and sugar substitutes), and peanuts -- are to blame for a variety of problems from weight gain and inflamed joints to fatigue and headaches, but that the trigger foods are different for different people. In a straightforward manner, she urges readers to totally eliminate these foods from their diets. After 21 days, readers may reintroduce certain foods (corn and peanuts should be permanently avoided) while remaining alert to any symptoms they cause. The third cycle is one of maintenance and eating only foods that work. Check out Lyn-Genet Recitas' The Plan for a similar approach to healthy eating.

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Publisher: Hudson Street Press
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/03/2011
ISBN-13: 9781594630750
ISBN-10: 1594630755

Like John Robbins' Healthy at 100, The Longevity Project explores the factors that allow certain people to live longer, healthier lives -- in fact, this book is a full-length report on an eight-decade, 1,500-participant study (featured in Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point) on that very topic. Unsurprisingly, there's no one single thing you can do to live longer, but the authors do point out, among other things, that living with purpose in both your personal and professional lives is key. The stories of individuals as well as self-assessment quizzes add interest to the book as well.

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Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/30/2012
ISBN-13: 9780393073256
ISBN-10: 0393073254

Ovarian cancer has a mortality rate of 70%, in part because it's a disease for which there are neither tests for early diagnosis nor distinctive symptoms. Though radiation and chemotherapy are common treatments, an additional intervention is "debulking," or the removal of partial or whole organs in the lower abdomen. In this direct and wrenching memoir, feminist scholar and author Susan Gubar relates her diagnosis and treatment, including that debulking surgery, and her remission and eventual recurrence -- and the decisions she had to make about treating it when it returned. Literate, "passionate" (Publishers Weekly), and "grueling" (Kirkus Reviews), this memoir also shines a light on the failures of the medical establishment.

Publisher: William Morrow
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/03/2012
ISBN-13: 9780062045034
ISBN-10: 0062045032

Kelle Hampton is the author of the popular blog Enjoying the Small Things and the mother of two daughters (she's also expecting a baby boy). When her second daughter was born, she and her husband were distressed to find that she had Down syndrome. But in addition to learning the hard lesson that perfection can come in any form, she has become an advocate for those with Down syndrome. Despite her fears for her daughter, which she shares honestly, Hampton's memoir of her daughter's first year is "sunny and inspiring" (Kirkus Reviews).

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Publisher: HarperCollins
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 01/25/2011
ISBN-13: 9780061711527
ISBN-10: 0061711527

When author Peggy Orenstein's daughter started getting more interested in Disney princesses, Orenstein decided to learn more about the "pinkification" of young girls -- and the effects it can cause as they grow older. In her search for answers, Orenstein visits all the usual suspects -- Disney World, American Girl Place, a toy fair, a beauty pageant -- but she also speaks with historians, psychologists, and other parents. In her research, she discovers studies that support the claim that the girlie-girl culture emphasizes sexuality and can lead to eating disorders, distorted body image, and depression. Insightful and even at times humorous, this is a must-read for concerned parents.

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Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 12/28/2010
ISBN-13: 9780307272706
ISBN-10: 0307272702

Having analyzed nutrition research and human metabolism, award-winning science writer Gary Taubes believes that it's not overeating and a sedentary lifestyle that cause weight gain -- rather, it's the role of certain carbohydrates in our diet. Eschewing calorie-based eating habits, he recommends eliminating or at least greatly reducing refined carbohydrates and sugars. His report, which includes coverage of such topics as genetics, the politics behind nutritional guidelines, and foods to eat and avoid, is easily accessible for readers interested in the science behind weight gain -- and what you can do about it.

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