Southern lady code, by Helen Ellis

I flew through this hilarious collection of short essays by author Helen Ellis, an Alabama native who now lives in New York City. She reminds me of a southern female version of David Sedaris. Whether she's writing about etiquette, clothing, or her relationship with her husband, she's funny and insightful.
 

How to give up plastic, by Will McCallum

 

Written by Will McCallum, Head of Oceans at Greenpeace UK, this excellent resource reveals the impact that plastics have on our environment, particularly our waterways and oceans, and provides guidance for anyone interested in cutting back or eliminating plastic from their life.

The Tudors in love, by Sarah Gristwood

This is a fascinating examination of the Tudor dynasty as seen through the prism of courtly love. Gristwood (Game of Queens: The Women Who Made Sixteenth-Century Europe) shows how historical and literary figures, such as Eleanor of Aquitaine and Geoffrey Chaucer, promoted the theme of courtly love through their patronage and writing. The book also indicates how the literature of chivalry and courtly love's popularity among the highly cultured and wellread Tudors influenced the course of their romantic relationships, arranged marriages, and the way they ruled their kingdom. The book builds the case from the origins of the concept of courtly love in the legends of King Arthur, and literature, such as the Roman de la Rose and Troilus and Criseyde. After a slow beginning, the book picks up when it gets to the more familiar territory of Henry VIII's and Elizabeth I's reigns. Gristwood insightfully explores the conflicts between the romantic views of courtly love, the experiences of 16th-century English monarchs, and warring Catholic and Protestant factions. This is a deeply researched work that covers well-known history from a unique angle.

Originally published in Library Journal 147:11 (2022): 118.
 

Stress pandemic: the lifestyle solution, by Paul Huljich

 

This is a useful plan to reduce stress and deal with its effects on the body and mind. Author Paul Huljich shares his own experience with mental illness and recovery, and relates how his nine steps helped him to largely eliminate stress from his life and heal himself. The appendices include helpful information about exercise, nutrition, and additional resources.

The art of non-conformity, by Chris Guillebeau

 

In the vein of the more well-known Timothy Ferris and his The four-hour work week, author Chris Guillebeau encourages readers to think differently about their work and personal lives. Guillebeau dropped out of high school and then completed college in record time. He volunteered in West Africa for four years and then continued on to graduate school. Since then he has worked as an entrepreneur with many projects in the works at once, including blogging, writing books, public speaking, and online sales. He travels widely (he has a goal of traveling to every country in the world), and shares strategies and tips for traveling cheaply. He provides an outline for a one-year substitute for graduate school that includes reading the Economist thoroughly; learning the names of every country, capital, and president/prime minister; traveling widely; reading the basic texts of every major religion; subscribing to a language-learning podcast; learning three new skills; reading 30 nonfiction and 20 classic books; joining Toastmasters; starting a blog; reading Wikipedia's daily random page; and listening to Grammar Girl podcasts. While this seems like a fun and ambitious project, it can't really substitute for the many graduate programs that teach people specific skills and knowledge for particular careers. While I applaud Guillebeau's success, most people will only be able to apply some of his advice to their own lives. Some might be inspired by his advice on traveling; others might be spurred on to quit their jobs or take on a side job that's more interesting and which will help them transition to a more free existence. Either way, this is a fun book to read; there's something here for everyone.

Lenin for beginners, by A & Z

 

This is an interesting graphic novel presentation of the life of Lenin and the developments leading up to the 1917 Russian revolution. A and Z are Richard Appignanesi (author) and Oscar Zarate (artist). Published in 1977, this book serves as a good introduction to Lenin, and includes recommended reading at the end for those who want to explore further.

Artists and their pets, by Susie Hodge, illustrated by Violet Lemay

 

I enjoyed this children's introduction to artists and their relationships with their pets. Author Susie Hodge devotes 2-6 pages to each author, providing their biography and describing their love for animals. The illustrations are very good, although I was reading an advance reading copy and the illustrations were in black and white; the final version is published in full color. It's well written and would entice anyone to learn more about art and artists.

Drop dead healthy, by A.J. Jacobs

 

This is a funny take on America's obsession with health. Author A.J. Jacobs takes on one body part at a time, consulting with doctors, trainers, nutritionists, and more as he tries to become the healthiest man in the world. His two year quest did indeed give him better health and make him stronger, and he learned a lot in the meantime, although he may have driven his family crazy. Along with his journey to better health, he introduces us to his family, in particular his grandfather, who lived to 96, and his Aunt Marti, who is obsessed with avoiding the toxins surrounding all of us in the modern age of plastic and chemical pollutants.

Every day love: the delicate art of caring for each other, by Judy Ford

 

This is a thorough exploration of the relationships between spouses, partners, significant others, as well as between other family members, and how everyone can show their love better. Author Judy Ford is a licensed clinical social worker and counsels many couples on their relationships. She uses anecdotes to demonstrate the many ways that people hurt each other and provides advice about how to improve relationships. I enjoyed reading through her examples and lessons and think that pretty much everyone could benefit from her thoughtful insights. And I love the book cover!

50 things to do when you turn 50, edited by Ronnie Sellers

 

This is a fun book to delve into. Experts provide suggestions for what readers should do when they turn 50. The book is organized in eight sections addressing your attitude, appearance, fitness, health, career, money, recreation, and spirituality. Many of the authors are well-known such as Garrison Keillor, Wendy Wasserstein, Billy Collins, Erica Jong, Diane von Furstenberg; others are less well-known but still experts in their fields. The essays are fun and inspiring.

One year to an organized life, by Regina Leeds

 

This is a useful guide to organizing every room in your house and other areas of your life such as holidays and travel. Author Regina Leeds gives excellent advice on how to manage all aspects of your life. The book is organized in 48 chapters that include activities and assignments addressing time management along with organization of the bedroom, bathroom, the attic and other "hidden" areas. Other chapters address moving, travel, back-to-school season, common rooms such as the dining and living areas, entertaining, and celebrating holidays. I found the chapter on travel particularly helpful, but there's something here for everyone.

The number, by Lee Eisenberg

 

This book is about identifying the amount of money that you need to have saved or invested so that you can retire at a standard of living that you desire. Author Lee Eisenberg points out that most people are reluctant to think about this, and he spends a lot of time illustrating this with anecdotes and examples. There's more in this book about the inability of most people to know what they will need to retire and less about how to actually identify that number or how to get to that number. This is an interesting look at this phenomenon, and it will definitely make readers think differently about how to plan, but it doesn't provide practical solutions to actually coming up with the number or get there.

You can retire sooner than you think, by Wes Moss

 

This is a useful book about how to plan and save for retirement. Moss's advice revolves around first identifying what you want your retirement to look like, setting a specific goal for how much money you'll need, paying off your mortgage before your retirement date, developing multiple streams of income in retirement, and investing in stocks and bonds that provide an income, not just growth.

Ready for anything: 52 productivity principles for work & life, by David Allen

 

While I'm a fan of David Allen's book Getting things done (GTD), I'm less fond of this followup, which consists of repackaged essays he wrote in a newsletter. It is more philosophical, containing musings on many topics related to productivity, but it adds very little to what he wrote in his earlier book. Many of the essays are repetitive, they are fairly unstructured, and I found myself skimming through them rather than reading closely. I think the book could have benefited from a good editor's close attention. If you haven't read GTD, I would recommend starting with that; this book is dispensable, and I don't even recommend it to practitioners of GTD.

Simplify your life, by Marcia Ramsland

 

I enjoyed this approach to simplifying your life by getting organized and reducing clutter. Author Marcia Ramsland tackles all aspects of managing a home and work, offering tips on how to simplify your calendar, schedule, mail, mealtime, laundry, cleaning, and projects. She advocates for the PuSH system, which refers to projects, systems, and habits, with the "u" referring to "you" the reader. She uses anecdotes from her own life as well as those of friends and clients to illustrate her points, which many can relate to. While there isn't much new for folks who have read a lot about simplifying your life or decluttering, it would be useful for anyone who's a novice at it.

Quitter: closing the gap between your day job and your dream job, by Jon Acuff

 

This is a thoughtful look at how you can reconcile your day job and your dreams. Many folks are in jobs that pay the bills but which aren't satisfying to the individual. Acuff uses his own experiences to show how you can do both jobs at the same time as you try to transition to the dream job. He emphasizes the value of learning to at least like your current job and hanging on to that job as you best position yourself to explore other options.

Money secrets of the Amish, by Lorilee Craker

 

I enjoyed this humorous exploration of how the Amish manage their money and save. Author Lorilee Craker comes from a Mennonite background so she has some insight into the Amish society as well. In 14 chapters she shares financial management tips based on the way the Amish live their lives. These include: UWMW (use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without); learning delayed gratification; paying bills on time; cutting back on (but not eliminating) gift giving; saving; don't spoil children; repurpose, recycle, and reuse things; avoid debt and the use of credit; buy used; buy in bulk; make things and food at home; and bartering. This is a charming look at a lifestyle that we can all learn from.

Throw out fifty things, by Gail Blanke

 

This is a great guide to helping readers purge their possessions to get control of clutter and make their lives more manageable. I focused on the first half of the book which addresses how to get rid of physical items. Author Gail Blanke walks the reader through each area of the home: bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, dining room, attic, garage, and office, identifying all the things that people squirrel away in each area and giving advice about what to toss or donate and how to organize what's left. The second half of the book tackled messy relationships and "mental messes" which I was less interested in.

The queen is in the garbage, by Lila Karp

 

This is a reissue of the 1971 novel by radical feminist Lila Karp, published as part of the Classic Feminist Writers Series by The Feminist Press at the City University of New York in 2007. Harriet is a 32 year old single and pregnant writer who lives in London with her increasingly unhinged and potentially violent boyfriend. She flies to New York to spend Christmas with friends and to get away from him, but she goes into labor early and spends Christmas Eve in the hospital. The queen is in the garbage tells the story of her night in the hospital interspersed with her memories of childhood and past romantic relationships. With an emotionally abusive mother, a physically abusive father, a sexually abusive uncle, and a bullying older brother, Harriet suffers from low self esteem and constantly seeks others' approval. While her memories throughout her 14-hour labor show her all the painful things in her past that led to her current predicament, it's not clear at the end whether she has learned anything or changed. This is a short (157 pages) and sad novel that puts a spotlight on how society worked against women and their independence at the beginning of the second wave of feminism.

9 1/2 narrow: my life in shoes, by Patricia Morrisroe

 

This is an amusing and intimate look into the life of journalist Patricia Morrisroe through the lens of the shoes and boots that she has loved and worn since childhood. Most chapters are named after a shoe type that punctuates that time in her life, from her early Mary Janes to Manolo Blahniks. It's a fun way to revisit some elements of American culture and life from the 1950s to the present. Ms. Morrisroe's writing is light and fun, but doesn't shy away from personal and family issues that cause her pain.