Tag Archives: Self-Improvement

Books I Want My Kids to Read Someday: “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki

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Sometimes, you need some fatherly advice about money–from someone else’s father, of course. Robert Kiyosaki’s book Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! combines good old-fashioned common sense with professional insights on financial success that apply to a wide range of investors (even–especially–the newbies).

Read this book to fill in your knowledge gaps regarding money and to get inspired to start an investment strategy today.

Key Takeaways

  • The definition of  the word “rich” is “able to live off the interest from one’s investments.” This is your goal.
  • Look where no one else is looking for business opportunities. Don’t follow the crowd; buy when stocks crash rather than selling, as others do.
  • Know the difference between an asset and a liability. An asset puts money into your income column and a liability takes it out. Everything else, including personal property that can’t be easily sold, is neutral. Many people see their home as an asset, but it is not an asset if you aren’t gaining income on it.
  • Pay yourself first, even before paying your bills. Put money into your investments first! You’ll be forced to use your creativity to get the rest taken care of, too.
  • Don’t fear risk. This is what keeps many people from investing in anything high yield and going with mutual funds and others safe investments instead.
  • Money is not real. It’s all just a game. Have fun with it!
  • If you don’t enjoy a certain type of investing, do something else. You’re unlikely to be successful at something you dislike. 
  • Hire people who are smarter than you.
  • Most rich people lose it all at some point but they usually make it back–and then some–because they know what they’re doing.
  • Create a corporation and wrap it around your largest assets.
  • Educate yourself about money. Read advice books and follow it.

About the Author

Robert Kiyosaki is an American author, entrepreneur, and investor. He is best known for his book Rich Dad Poor Dad, which has become a personal finance classic and has been translated into 51 languages. In the book, Kiyosaki shares lessons he learned about money and investing from his “rich dad,” and contrasts them with the financial advice he received from his own father. He has written several other books on personal finance, including Cashflow Quadrant and Retire Young Retire Rich. Kiyosaki is also the founder of the Rich Dad Company, which provides financial education and training.

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Books I Want My Kids to Read Someday: “Ten Percent Happier” by Dan Harris

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Meditation isn’t just for the woo-woo crowd. Written by agnostic journalist Dan Harris, Ten Percent Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works—A True Story is a well-written memoir about an everyday workaholic who takes up meditation.

Read it to convince your skeptical self to try this evidence-based strategy for improving mental health.

Key Takeaways

  • Studies have shown the transformative effects of meditation, including evidence for the existence of enlightenment.
  • The purpose of meditation is not to feel something, but to simply try and build your meditation muscle, similar to practicing a sport or a musical instrument.
  • Meditation can help you improve your work relationships, as evidenced by the author’s own transformation from being a difficult colleague to being seen as “easy”.
  • To meditate, first choose a focal point for your breath, such as your mouth, chest, or belly. Whenever your mind wanders, gently bring your attention back to your breath. You can silently repeat “in-out” to help you focus.
  • After grounding yourself in your breath, practice “noting”–noticing and labeling thoughts or dominant feelings without judgment. This is called “choiceless awareness” and can lead to a real breakthrough in meditation.
  • Don’t worry too much about how you feel while meditating. The goal is to redirect your attention back to your breath whenever it wanders. That’s the whole game.
  • During a long meditation, it’s normal to experience both bliss and misery within the same hour. As you advance in your practice, the ups and downs will become less pronounced.
  • If focusing on your breath doesn’t work for you, try a body scan meditation, a compassion meditation, or a choiceless awareness meditation instead.

About the Author

Dan Harris is an American journalist and author, best known for his book 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works—A True Story. The book was published in 2014 and describes Harris’ journey from skepticism towards self-help and spirituality to a more balanced and mindful life. In it, he explains how he found inner peace through meditation, and how this practice helped him to be more productive, less stressed, and happier in his personal and professional life. The book was a New York Times bestseller and has been praised for its accessibility and practical approach to mindfulness and meditation. Harris is also a co-anchor of ABC News’ “Nightline” and the co-founder of the 10% Happier movement and app.

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Books I Want My Kids to Read Someday: “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander

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In a word, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in an Age of Colorblindness is stunning. In it, author Michelle Alexander carefully walks the reader through the many legal and law enforcement practices that raise the statistical chances of people of color being incarcerated (most often for minor drug offenses), then, once branded felons, denied civil rights and social services.

Read it to gain a basic understanding of multi-systemic racism in America.

The Summary

African Americans and other people of color are brought into the U.S. criminal justice system at a much higher rate than White people. This mass incarceration can be considered the new Jim Crow–the new system for propagating racism and segregation.

The path to mass incarceration, Alexander writes, includes:

  • Government programs that (handsomely) incentivise local law enforcement agencies to increase drug-related arrests in any way necessary; 
  • Pinpointing poor neighborhoods for random searches and seizures, which should be illegal but through many legal loopholes, now are effectively entirely legal;
  • Using very minor driving offenses as an excuse to search and seize;
  • Inflating penalties for minor drug offenses (such as possession of a small amount of drugs or even being present when drug crimes take place) to frightening (and unconstitutional) levels in order to pressure people to take plea bargains–even people who are entirely innocent of any crime;
  • Removing civil rights, such as the right to vote, from people branded felons;
  • Removing social services, such as child care, food benefits and housing from people branded felons;
  • Allowing places of employment and housing to discriminate based on felon status;
  • and more.

For people of color, the U.S. criminal justice system is a nearly inescapable entrance to a parallel universe in which Constitutional and other rights are systematically removed and thriving is greatly hindered.

About the Author

Michelle Alexander is an American author, lawyer, and legal scholar. She is best known for her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, which was published in 2010. The book critiques the U.S. criminal justice system and argues that mass incarceration functions as a system of racial control, similar to the Jim Crow laws of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Alexander has also written for several prominent publications, including The New York Times, The Nation, and The Colorlines. She is a graduate of Stanford Law School and has taught at a number of universities, including Ohio State University, where she was an associate professor of law.

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Books I Want My Kids to Read Someday: “Flow” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

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Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience is one of those nonfiction books I hear quoted most–and the love doesn’t seem to be subsiding. Written by one of the founders of the positive psychology movement, psychologist and researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, it makes a single point, and makes it well: if you want to enjoy what you do, seek flow.

Read this book because you want to figure out how to hack work in such a way that makes it feel like play.

Key Takeaways

  • Flow, says the author, is a state of focus during which a person loses self-consciousness and time-consciousness and is deeply engaged in the process at had.
  • Flow isn’t a mysterious condition, though; it comes when three specific, identifiable conditions are met. These are: an appropriate level of challenge; clear goals and feedback, and control/autonomy.
  • Autonomy can be achieved in even small ways, and the difference it makes to work satisfaction can hardly be overstated.
  • Flow can be achieved even during what some consider routine or menial tasks. The book tells the story of a farmer in the Italian Alps who enjoys all her various tasks, from dawn to dusk. When asked which task she enjoys most, she named them all, one by one. The book also features a self-taught welder who mastered every phase of his plant’s operation and, in his spare time, built a backyard garden (with rainbow features!). “It could be said that they work sixteen hours a day, but it could also be said that they never work,” the author writes of these workers.

About the Author

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is a Hungarian psychologist and researcher. He is known for his work on the concept of “flow,” a state of complete engagement and enjoyment in an activity. He has written several books and articles on the subject, and his work has had a significant impact on the fields of psychology and positive psychology. Csikszentmihalyi has received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to the field of psychology.

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Books I Want My Kids to Read Someday: “Radical Acceptance” by Tara Brach

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Don’t worry: it’s not another book on spirituality, even though it might sound like it. Instead, Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha by Tara Brach is a primer on being a human being with feelings.

Read it to find out an exciting (but not new) way of accepting the ups and downs of life.

The Summary

  • Radical acceptance is the practice of accepting what is–even the bad stuff. Every aspect of your current experience is healthy, Brach writes. Radical acceptance is also the practice of unconditionally accepting yourself. 
  • Most of us have an internal story about our own acceptability and enoughness. We are not good enough, perfect enough, etc. At heart, we believe that something is fundamentally wrong with us–something that we need to fix.
  • Only when we first accept ourselves, can we change what we prefer to change.
  • To combat this, accept every emotional experience that comes. Doing so–saying “yes” to our experiences–doesn’t cause us to become apathetic. Instead, self-acceptance allows us to grow at a relaxed but consistent pace.
  • Human nature finds apathy and stagnation uncomfortable, disagreeble–almost impossible. We consistently desire to grow and improve, especially when we feel good about ourselves. 
  • One way to learn radical acceptance is to practice pauses. Pause, notice, sit with and accept whatever you are experiencing in the moment. Do this when emotionally flooded, and also make a habit of pausing throughout your day.
  • Offer unconditional friendliness to your pain, suffering, insecurities and all other feelings. Invite the feelings to tea, so to speak. 
  • Name these insecure and painful thoughts as a way of noticing them. 
  • Instead of resisting everything, agree with everything. Silently whisper, “yes” to it all. It will feel mechanical and insincere at first, but in time, it will feel more natural. 
  • Don’t blame yourself and criticize yourself for your pain, illogic, insecurities and other negativity. Simply notice and accept.

About the Author

Tara Brach is a psychologist, author, and teacher of mindfulness and Buddhist meditation. She is the founder and senior teacher of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C. and a guiding teacher at the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California. Tara is known for her work in the field of mindfulness and emotional healing, and has written several books, including the popular Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha.

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Books I Want My Kids to Read Someday: “The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work” and Others by John Gottman

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It’s been many, many years since John Gottman started bossing around the world of marriage counseling, and guess what? He’s still bossing it. As far as I can tell, no one’s ideas or research have influenced couples counseling practices more than those of this psychologist and researcher from way back.

There are some drawbacks to reading Gottman, though. To me, Gottman’s many books are highly repetitive in nature and lack a sophisticated edit. Clearly, Gottman is a researcher first and a writer second, but that’s okay. That’s why we have book summaries.

The Takeaways

  • Four bad communication habits are responsible for much of the world’s communication-related distress: criticism, contempt, stonewalling/withdrawal; and defensiveness. Anger and arguments are not likely to become a serious problem in a relationship if they are not accompanied by one of these behaviors. (That’s good news!)
  • Criticism is a form of complaint that points to a person’s attributes as the source of a problem rather than pointing to their behavior. Replace a person-focused criticism with a problem-focused complaint, Gottman recommends. Note that “I” statements are usually complaints and “you” statements are usually attacks/criticisms (though not always).
  • Use a “soft startup” to a disagreement by beginning with a complaint rather than a criticism.
  • Contempt is the worst of what Gottman calls the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In his research he found that the presence of this habit is most predictive of divorce. Replace mean-spirited contempt or condescension such as eye-rolling with compliments and nonverbal signs of respect.
  • Stonewalling sometimes occurs due to emotional flooding–a physical and psychological response to emotional stress. To effectively handle emotional flooding, take a break, then return to the discussion once your emotions have stabilized.
  • Defensiveness is one of the most common, if not the most common, communication difficulty. When someone is defensive, they are more likely to interpret others’ comments and actions as threats and respond with resistance, anger, or aggression. This type of response can escalate conflicts, create barriers to effective communication, and damage relationships. Additionally, being defensive often leads to a lack of self-awareness and a failure to see one’s own role in conflicts. This can prevent individuals from learning and growing and can result in repeated patterns of negative behavior. Replace defensiveness by discussing one topic at a time, not responding to personal attacks, and listening with open-mindedness and assumptions of good intention.
  • “Negative sentiment override” occurs when one or both partners assume the worst of the other person (negative intentions, etc.). This is another problem to avoid whenever possible, as it causes defensiveness.
  • There are three types of communication styles: conflict-avoiding, validating, and volatile. Conflict-avoiders argue infrequently and opt to agree to disagree while focusing on the positive aspects of a situation. Validators prioritize compromise and approach conflicts calmly and objectively. They are known for their kindness but may lack honesty and independence. Volatile couples are prone to frequent and passionate arguments, but also enjoy making up in similar fashion. They are candid and honest, but prone to being easily upset.
  • When both partners the same style, any style can be healthy.
  • Gottman believes that one of the most effective ways to improve marriages is to simply increase positive affect and decrease negative affect in both verbal and nonverbal ways. Even small gestures like looking up from your phone, smiling and physically turning toward your partner can make a significant difference.
  • For a relationship to be healthy, the ratio of positive to negative interactions should be at least 5:1. If negative interactions outweigh positive ones, the relationship is likely in trouble.
  • The failure to acknowledge repair attempts is the central predictor of divorce. As much as possible, turn toward your partner instead of turning away.
  • Recognize that some issues may be unsolvable at present, as 69% of conflicts often go unresolved.
  • Focus on creating a sense of understanding and connection by showing interest in each other’s lives and sharing personal dreams, with a commitment to supporting one another.
  • Establish a shared sense of meaning and purpose.
  • Whenever possible, de-escalate arguments through agreement and validation.
  • Practice good listening skills by doing the “speaker-listener exercise.” This involves one person (the speaker) expressing their thoughts and feelings about a specific issue, while the other person (the listener) focuses on understanding and validating the speaker’s perspective. The listener summarizes and reflects back what they have heard, avoiding interruptions and making the speaker feel heard and understood. The exercise is repeated with the roles reversed, allowing both partners to have a turn at speaking and listening. The goal of the exercise is to build trust, increase understanding, and reduce conflict.
  • Acknowledge the goal of the conversation: is it to be heard, or is it to solve a problem? Don’t rush to problem solve for or with your partner unless they ask you to.

Gottman Book Selections

Gottman’s most well-known books include:

  1. “The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work”: This book provides a framework for building a strong and healthy marriage, based on Gottman’s research on what makes relationships successful.
  2. “Why Marriages Succeed or Fail”: This book provides a scientific analysis of what makes marriages work and what causes them to fail.
  3. “And Baby Makes Three”: This book provides advice on how to maintain a strong relationship after having a baby and how to navigate the challenges of parenthood as a couple.
  4. “The Mathematics of Marriage”: This book offers a data-driven approach to improving relationships, and provides practical tools and techniques for building a stronger and more fulfilling partnership.

About the Author

John Gottman is a renowned American psychologist and relationship expert. He is a professor emeritus in psychology at the University of Washington and the co-founder of The Gottman Institute, which provides workshops and resources for couples and mental health professionals. Gottman is the author of numerous books on relationships and his research has been featured in many media outlets.

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Books I Want My Kids to Read Someday: A Self-improvement Self-education

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Make no mistake: Self-help reading isn’t just self-help books. Nonfiction of all kinds contributes to a person’s physical, intellectual, emotional, financial, spiritual, and relational well-being. For this reason, I’ve made use of my obsession with all kinds of nonfiction (and love of note-taking) to compile a comprehensive-as-possible recommended reading list for people looking to achieve their own feats of great strength. This list includes books on business, finance, psychology, sociology, history, spirituality and more. For each book listed, I provide a brief content summary, then offer practical takeaways from a self-help lens.

Does your next feat of great strength require research–more than you have time to do? Subscribe to the right for a comprehensive self-improvement self-education, featuring summaries and tips from over 400 works of psychology, sociology, biography, history, anthropology, spirituality, science, memoir, economics, self-help and more.

Psychology

When Panic Attacks: The New, Drug-Free Anxiety Therapy That Can Change Your Life, David Burns

The Feeling Good Handbook: The New Mood Therapy, David Burns

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcom Gladwell

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert Cialdini

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work, Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, Chip and Dan Heath

Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment, Martin Seligman

Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being, Martin Seligman

Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life, Martin Seligman

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, Brene Brown

I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t): Telling the Truth about Perfectionism, Inadequacy, and Power, Brene Brown

Rising Strong: The Reckoning. The Rumble. The Revolution., Brene Brown

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, Dan Ariely

The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home, Dan Ariely

Irrationally Yours: On Missing Socks, Pickup Lines, and Other Existential Puzzles, Dan Ariely

Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, Jordan B. Peterson

This is How: Proven Aid in Overcoming Shyness, Molestation, Fatness, Spinsterhood, Grief, Disease, Lushery, Decrepitude & More. For Young and Old Alike, Augusten Burroughs

The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence, Gavin de Becker

The Noonday Demon: An Atlas Of Depression, Andrew Solomon

Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why, Laurence Gonzales

The Hilarious World of Depression, John Moe

Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression–And the Unexpected Solutions, Hari Johann

Blissology: The Art and Science of Happiness, Andy Baggott

Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself, Joe Dispenza

Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice: A Revolutionary Program to Counter Negative Thoughts and Live Free from Imagined Limitations, Robert Firestone

Depression: How It Happens and How It’s Healed, John Medina

Depression Is Contagious: How the Most Common Mood Disorder Is Spreading Around the World and How to Stop It, Michael Yapko

Dibs: In Search of Self: Personality Development in Play Therapy, Virginia Axline

Don’t Shoot the Dog: The Art of Teaching and Training, Karen Pryor

Dressing Your Truth: Discover your Personal Beauty Profile, Carol Tuttle

Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, Daniel Goleman

Engineering Happiness: A New Approach for Building a Joyful Life, Manel Baucells and Rakesh Sarin

Freedom from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Personalized Recovery Program for Living with Uncertainty, Jonathan Grayson

Happiness: Lessons from a New Science, Richard Layard

Happiness: The Science Behind Your Smile, Daniel Nettle

Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth, Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener

How We Decide, Jonah Lehrer

Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resistence and Finding Joy, Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant

Self-compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself, Kristin Neff

Stumbling on Happiness, Daniel Gilbert

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Bessel van der Kolk

The Compass of Pleasure: How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning, and Gambling Feel So Good, David Linden

The Consuming Instinct: What Juicy Burgers, Ferraris, Pornography and Gift Giving Reveal About Human Nature, Gad Saad

The Dangerous Passion: Why Jealousy Is as Necessary as Love or Sex, David Buss

The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter–And How to Make the Most of Them Now, Meg Jay

The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work, Shawn Achor

The Happiness Equation: Want Nothing + Do Anything = Have Everything, Neil Pasricha

The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars, and Save Our Lives, Shankar Vedantarn

The How of the Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want, Sonja Lyubomirsky

The Inner Game of Work: Focus, Learning, Pleasure, and Mobility in the Workplace, W. Timothy Gallway

The Magic of Thinking Big, David Joseph Schwartz

The Mindful Brain: The Neurobiology of Well-Being, Daniel Siegel

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do, and How to Change, Charles Duhigg

The Power of Negative Thinking: An Unconventional Approach to Achieving Positive Results, Bob Knight and Bob Hammel

The Power of Positive Thinking: A Practical Guide to Mastering the Problems of Everyday Living, Norman Vincent Peale

The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse, Gregg Easterbrook

The Science of Happiness: How Our Brains Make Us Happy-and What We Can Do to Get Happier, Stefan Klein and Stephen Lehmann

The Smart But Scattered Guide to Success: How to Use Your Brain’s Executive Skills to Keep Up, Stay Calm, and Get Organized at Work and at Home, Peg Dawson and Richard Guare

The Underachiever’s Manifesto: The Guide to Accomplishing Little and Feeling Great, Ray Bennett

Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill

Tinker Dabble Doodle Try Unlock the Power of the Unfocused Mind, Srinivasan S. Pillay 

Unchain Your Brain: 10 Steps to Breaking the Addictions That Steal Your Life, Daniel Amen and David Smith

What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite, David DiSalvo

Why We Feel: The Science of Human Emotion, Victor Johnston

You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You’re Deluding Yourself, David McRaney

You Need Help!: A Step-by-Step Plan to Convince a Loved One to Get Counseling, Mark Komrad and Rosalynn Carter

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed, Lori Gottlieb
Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life, Christie Tate

Sociology

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, Malcom Gladwell

What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures, Malcom Gladwell

The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, Barry Schwartz

Far from the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity, Andrew Solomon

A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What the World’s Largest Experiment Reveals About Human Desire, Sai Goddam and Ogi Ogas

Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America, Barbara Ehrenreich

Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Lives of Adolescent Girls, Mary Pipher

The Disappearance of Childhood, Neil Postman

The Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation, Matt Ridley

The Plug-In Drug: Television, Computers and Family Life, Marie Winn

The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins

The Sober Truth: Debunking the Bad Science Behind 12-Step Programs and the Rehab Industry, Lance Dodes and Zachary Dodes

The War Against Boys: How Misguided Policies Are Harming Our Young Men, Christina Hoff Summers

White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son, Tim Wise

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, Neil Postman

The Content of Our Character: A New Vision of Race In America, Shelby Steele

Relationships

For Better: How the Surprising Science of Happy Couples Can Help Your Marriage Succeed, Tara Parker-Pope

The Surprising Secrets of Highly Happy Marriages: The Little Things That Make a Big Difference, Shaunti Feldhahn

Wired for Love: How Understanding Your Partner’s Brain and Attachment Style Can Help You Defuse Conflict and Build a Secure Relationship, Stan Tatkin

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, John Gottman

Why Marriages Succeed or Fail, John Gottman

His Needs, Her Needs: Building an Affair-Proof Marriage, Willard F. Harley, Jr.

Venus on Fire, Mars on Ice: Hormonal Balance, the Key to Life, Love and Energy, John Gray

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus: The Definitive Guide to Relationships, John Gray

Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love, Sue Johnson

Love Sense: The Revolutionary New Science of Romantic Relationships, Sue Johnson

Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find – and Keep – Love, Amir Levine and Rachel Heller

Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself, Melody Beattie

Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life, Emily Nagoski

Couples, Gender, and Power: Creating Change in Intimate Relationships, Carmen Knudson-Martin and ‎Anne Rankin Mahoney

How to Break Your Addiction to a Person: When–and Why–Love Doesn’t Work, Howard Halpern

Love Is Never Enough: How Couples Can Overcome Misunderstanding, Aaron Beck

Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough, Lori Gottlieb

Mating in Captivity: Sex, Lies and Domestic Bliss, Esther Perell

Neale Donald Walsch on Relationships, Neale Donald Walsch

Nonviolent Communication: Create Your Life, Your Relationships, and Your World in Harmony with Your Values, Marshall Rosenberg

Not “Just Friends”: Rebuilding Trust and Recovering Your Sanity After Infidelity, Sheila Glass

The Ethical Slut: A Practical Guide to Polyamory, Open Relationships, & Other Adventures, Janet Hardy and Dossie Easton

The Impossibility of Sex: Stories of the Intimate Relationship between Therapist and Client, Susie Orbach

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships, John Gottman and Joan DeClaire

The Science of Trust: Emotional Attunement for Couples, John Gottman

Ten Lessons to Transform Your Marriage: America’s Love Lab Experts Share Their Strategies for Strengthening Your Relationship, John Gottman

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country’s Foremost Relationship Expert, John Gottman and Nan Silver

Why Marriages Succeed or Fail and How You Can Make Yours Last, John Gottman

Treating Out of Control Sexual Behavior: Rethinking Sex Addiction, Douglas Braun-Harvey

Economics and Business

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!, Robert Kiyosaki

What Would Google Do?: Reverse-Engineering the Fastest Growing Company in the History of the World, Jeff Jarvis

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert Cialdini

Grapevine: The New Art of Word-of-Mouth Marketing, Dave Balter and John Butman

Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcom Gladwell

Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers, Seth Godin

The Big Red Fez: How to Make Any Website Better, Seth Godin

The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick), Seth Godin

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner

Superfreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner

Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner

Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose, Tony Hsieh

Discover Your Inner Economist, Tyler Cowen

Life After the 30-Second Spot: Energize Your Brand with a Bold Mix of Alternatives to Traditional Advertising, Joseph Jaffe

Evil Plans: Having Fun on the Road to World Domination, Hugh MacLeod

Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists, Joel Best

More Damned Lies and Statistics: How Numbers Confuse Public Issues, Joel Best

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More, Chris Anderson

What Would Google Do?: Reverse-Engineering the Fastest Growing Company in the History of the World, Jeff Jarvis

Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead, Sheryl Sandberg

Get Slightly Famous: Become a Celebrity in Your Field and Attract More Business with Less Effort, Steven Van Yoder

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, David Allen

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t, Jim Collins

Mindsharing: The Art of Crowdsourcing Everything, Lior Zore

Never Eat Alone and Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time, Keith Ferrazzi

Quitter: Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job & Your Dream Job, Jon Acuff

The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre and Every Business Is a Stage, Joseph Pine and James Gilmore

The Four-Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich, Timothy Ferriss

The Fred Factor: How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary into the Extraordinary, Mark Sanborn

The One-Minute Manager, Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential–in Business and in Life, Leo Babauta

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, Stephen R. Covey

The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business, Tara Hunt

Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust, Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter, How Today’s Smartest Businesses Grow Themselves, Adam Penenberg

What Color Is your Parachute?: A Practical Manual for Job-hunters and Career-changers, Richard Nelson Bolles

The Freedom Formula: How to Put Soul in Your Business and Money in Your Bank, Christine Kloser

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, Seth Godin

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, Seth Godin

Science

Fringeology: How I Tried to Explain Away the Unexplainable – And Couldn’t, Steve Volk

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality, Brian Greene

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, Neil deGrasse Tyson

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, Atul Gawande

Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe, Robert Lanza and Bob Berman

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, Mary Roach

Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, Mary Roach

Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, Mary Roach

Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery, Scott Kelly

Genome: The Autobiography of A Species in 23 Chapters, Matt Ridley

Spaceman: An Astronaut’s Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe, Mike Massimino

The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think, Jennifer Ackerman

The Disappearing Spoon and Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements, Sam Kean

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality, Brian Greene

The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of A Citizen Scientist, Richard Feynman

The Particle at the Edge of the Universe: How the Hunt for the Higgs Boson Leads Us to the Edge of a New World, Sean Carroll

The User Illusion: Cutting Consciousness Down to Size, Tor Norretranders

Zoobiquity: What Animals Can Teach Us About Health and the Science of Healing, Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers

Lucid Dreaming: A Concise Guide to Awakening in Your Dreams and in Your Life, Stephen LaBerge

A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming: Mastering the Art of Oneironautics, Dylan Tuccillo, Jared Zeizel and Thomas Peisel

History

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in an Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander

Alexander of Macedon, 356-323 B.C.: A Historical Biography, Peter Green

An American Childhood, Annie Dillard

A Short History of Financial Euphoria, John Kenneth Galbraith

Bomb: The Race to Build–and Steal–the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon, Steve Sheinkin

Citizen Soldiers: The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany, Stephen E. Ambrose

Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier, Katie Hafner

Don’t Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned, Kenneth Davis

Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage, Alfred Lansong

How the Web Was Won: How Bill Gates and His Internet Idealists Transformed the Microsoft Empire, Paul Andrews

In Cold Blood, Truman Capote

Inside the Third Reich: Memoirs, Albert Speer

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, James W. Loewen

Miracle at Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention, May to September 1787, Catherine Drinker Bower

Mythology, Edith Hamilton

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration, Isabel Wilkerson

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, Michael Pollan

The Fasting Girl: A True Victorian Medical Mystery, Michelle Stacy

The Hundred Year Diet: America’s Voracious Appetite for Losing Weight, Susan Yager

The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: Volume 1: Ancient Times, Susan Wise Bauer

The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: Volume 2: The Middle Ages, Susan Wise Bauer

The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 3: Early Modern Times, Susan Wise Bauer

The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 4: The Modern Age, Susan Wise Bauer

Education and Parenting

The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence, Josh Waitzkin

Nurture Shock: New Thinking About Children, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman

Learning All the Time: How Small Children Begin to Read, Write, Count, and Investigate the World, Without Being Taught, John Holt

Instead of Education: Ways to Help People Do Things Better, John Holt

Home Grown: Adventures in Parenting off the Beaten Path, Unschooling, and Reconnecting with the Natural World, Ben Hewitt

The Nourishing Homestead: One Back-to-the-Land Family’s Plan for Cultivating Soil, Skills, and Spirit, Ben Hewitt

No Contest: The Case Against Competition, Alfie Kohn

The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing, Alfie Kohn

Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes, Alfie Kohn

In Their Own Way: Discovering and Encouraging Your Child’s Multiple Intelligences, Thomas Armstrong

Seven Kinds of Smart: Identifying and Developing Your Multiple Intelligences, Thomas Armstrong

Einstein Never Used Flash Cards: How Our Children Really Learn–And Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek

Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Howard Gardner

Free-Range Learning: How Homeschooling Changes Everything, Laura Grace Weldon

Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-class Performers From Everybody Else, Geoffrey Colvin

The Mismeasure of Man, Stephen Jay Gould

The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had, Susan Wise Bauer

The Well-trained Mind: A Guide to a Classical Education at Home, Susan Wise Bauer

What Your Kindergartener Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good Kindergarten Education, E.D. Hirsch

What Your First Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good First-Grade Education, E.D. Hirsch

What Your Second Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good Second-Grade Education, E.D. Hirsch

What Your Third Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good Third-Grade Education, E.D. Hirsch

What Your Fourth Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good Fourth-Grade Education, E.D. Hirsch

What Your Fifth Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good Fifth-Grade Education, E.D. Hirsch

What Your Sixth Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good Sixth-Grade Education, E.D. Hirsch

Attachment Parenting: Instinctive Care for Your Baby and Young Child, Katie Allison Granju and Betsy Kennedy

Between Parents and Child, Haim G. Ginott

Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five, John Medina

How to Talk So Your Kids Will Listen: From Toddlers to Teenagers; Connecting with Your Children at Every Age, H. Norman Wright

If I Have to Tell You One More Time …: The Revolutionary Program That Gets Your Kids to Listen Without Nagging, Reminding, or Yelling, Amy McCready

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, Richard Louv

Liberated Parents, Liberated Children: Your Guide to a Happier Family, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too, Adele Faber andd Elaine Mazlish

Oh Crap! Potty Training: Everything Modern Parents Need to Know to Do It Once and Do It Right, Jamie Glowacki

Parenting with Dignity: Getting Beyond Crisis Management–A Five-Point Plan for Raising Responsible, Independent Kids, Mac Bledsoe

Parenting with Love and Logic: Teaching Children Responsibility, Foster Cline and Jim Fay

Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child: The Heart of Parenting, John Gottman and Joan DeClaire

The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby From Birth to Age Two, Barry Sears

The Case for Make-Believe: Saving Play in a Commercialized World, Susan Linn

The Trouble with Perfect: How Parents Can Avoid the Overachievement Trap and Still Raise Successful Children, Elisabeth Guthrie and Kathy Matthews

The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind, Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson

Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason, Alfie Kohn

Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids: Why Being A Great Parent Is Less Work and More Fun Than You Think, Bryan Douglas Caplan

The Child Whisperer: The Ultimate Handbook for Raising Happy, Successful and Cooperative Children, Carol Tuttle

Spirituality

Ten Percent Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works—A True Story, Dan Harris

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, Eckhart Tolle

A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, Eckhart Tolle

Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha, Tara Brach

Whatever Arises, Love That: A Love Revolution That Begins with You, Matt Kahn

Loving What Is: How Four Questions Can Change Your Life, Byron Katie

A Mind at Home with Itself: How Asking Four Questions Can Free Your Mind, Open Your Heart, and Turn Your World Around, Byron Katie and Stephen Mitchell

Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue, Book One, Neale Donald Walsch

Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue, Book Two, Neale Donald Walsch

Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue, Book Three, Neale Donald Walsch

Dying to Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing, Anita Moorjani

Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness, Jon Kabat-Zinn

I Need Your Love–Is That True?: How to Stop Seeking Love, Approval, and Appreciation and Start Finding Them Instead, Byron Katie

Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness, Sharon Salzberg

Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives, Brian Weiss

Meditation Without Gurus: A Guide to the Heart of Practice, Clark Strand

Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life, Thich Nhat Hanh

Living Buddha, Living Christ, Thich Nhat Hanh

Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity, Bruce Bawer

The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery, Don Miguel Ruiz and Don Jose Ruiz

The Quantum Doctor: A Quantum Physicist Explains the Healing Power of Integrative Medicine, Amit Goswami

The Search For Grace: A Documented Case of Murder and Reincarnation, Bruce Goldberg

The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity, William Young

Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation In Everyday Life, Jon Kabat-Zinn

You Are the Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter, Joe Dispenza

How God Changes your Brain: Breakthrough Findings From A Leading Neuroscientist, Andrew Newberg

Life After Life: The Investigation of a Phenomenon–Survival of Bodily Death, Raymond A. Moody, Jr.

Everything You Need to Know to Feel Go(o)d, Candace Pert

Molecules of Emotion: Why You Feel the Way You Feel, Candace Pert

Science and the Near-Death Experience: How Consciousness Survives Death, Chris Carter

Visions, Trips, and Crowded Rooms, David Kessler

The Wisdom of No Escape and the Path of Loving Kindness, Pema Chodron

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times, Pema Chodron

Food & Nutrition

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, Michael Pollan

Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It, Gary Taubes

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, Eric Schlosser

The Food Therapist: Break Bad Habits, Eat with Intention, and Indulge Without Worry, Shira Lenhewski

Mindful Eating: A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food, Jan Chozen Bays

Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, Brian Wansink

Crave: Why You Binge Eat and How to Stop, Cynthia Bulik

Eat Fat Get Thin: Why the Fat We Eat Is the Key to Sustained Weight Loss and Vibrant Health, Mark Hyman

Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor’s Proram for Conquering Disease, Joel Fuhrman

How to Make Almost Any Diet Work, Anne Katherine

Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach, Evelyn Tribole & Elyse Resch

Neanderthin: A Cave Man’s Guide to Nutrition, Ray Audette and Tony Gilchrist

Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss–and the Myths and Realities of Dieting, Gina Kolata

The Diet Cure: The 8-Step Program to Rebalance Your Body and End Food Cravings, Weight Gain and Mood Swings-Naturally, Julia Ross

Love Hunger: Breaking Free from Food Addiction, Frank Minirth, Paul Meier, Robert Hemfelt and Sharon Sweed and Don Hawkins

The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet, Robb Wolf

The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability, Liere Keith

Trick and Treat: How “Healthy Eating” Is Making Us Ill, Barry Groves

Women, Food and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything, Geneen Roth

When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair: 50 Ways to Feel Thin, Gorgeous, and Happy (When You Feel Anything But), Geneen Roth

Breaking Free from Emotional Eating, Geneen Roth

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, Michael Pollan

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, Michael Pollan

Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease, Gary Taubes

Writing and Creativity

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, Elizabeth Gilbert

Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity, Hugh MacLeod

Aspects of the Novel, E.M. Forster

A Whack On the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative, Roger von Oech

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott

Don’t Make Me Think!: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, Steve Krug

Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction, Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd

Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads, Luke Sullivan

Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Them Go, Leslie Edgerton
How Fiction Works, James Wood

How to Be Funny: The One and Only Practical Guide for Every Occasion, Situation, and Disaster (No Kidding), Jon Macks

Manuscript Makeover: Revision Techniques No Fiction Writer Can Afford to Ignore, Elizabeth Lyon
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Steven King

Plot and Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish, James Scott Bell

Save the Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need, Blake Snyder

Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies: The Screenwriter’s Guide to Every Story Ever Told, Blake Snyder

Sick in the Head: Conversations about Life and Comedy, Judd Apatow

Spunk and Bite: A Writer’s Guide to Punchier, More Engaging Language and Style, Arthur Plotnik

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, Lester Kaufman and Jane Straus

The Elements of Style, William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White

The Fire in Fiction: Passion, Purpose, and Techniques to Make Your Novel Great, Donald Maass

The Non-Designer’s Design Book, Robin Williams

The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master, Martha Alderson

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battle, Steven Pressfield

The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency as a Commercial Freelancer in Six Months or Less, Peter Bowerman

The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, Christopher Vogler

Writing Irresistible Kidlit: The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Fiction for Young Adult and Middle Grade Readers, Mary Cole

Writing the Breakout Novel: Insider Advice for Taking Your Fiction to the Next Level, Donald Maas

Your Life Is A Book: How to Craft and Publish Your Memoir, Brenda Peterson and Sarah Jane Freymann

Memoir

When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi

Educated: A Memoir, Tara Westover

Go Ask Alice, Anonymous

A Stolen Life: A Memoir, Jaycee Dugard

A House in the Sky, Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett

Into the Wild, John Krakauer

Untamed, Glennon Doyle

Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis

The Cross and the Switchblade, David Wilkerson

A Severe Mercy, Sheldon Vanauken

A Grief Observed, C.S. Lewis

Classic Nonfiction

The Holy Bible
The writings of Buddha (500s–300s BCE)
The Analects, Confucius (500s BCE)
Tao Te Ching, Lao Tze (500s BCE)
The Art of War, Sun Tzu (500s BCE)
The Magna Carta (1200s)
The Declaration of Independence (1700s)
The Constitution of the United States (1700s)
The Bill of Rights (1700s)
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Olaudah Equiano (1700s)
Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, Thomas de Quincey (1800s)
The Gettysburg Address (1800s)
Narrative of Sojourner Truth, Sojourner Truth (1800s)
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe (1800s)
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs (1800s)
Walden, Henry David Thoreau (1800s)
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Frederick Douglass (1800s)
The Souls of Black Folks, W. E. B. DuBois (1900s)
Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, James Weldon Johnson (1900s)
I Have a Dream, Martin Luther King, Jr. (1900s)
The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank (1900s)
The Story of My Life, Helen Keller (1900s)
Roots, Alex Haley (1900s)
Autobiography of Malcom X, Malcom X (1900s)
The Jungle, Upton Sinclair (1900s)
Black Boy, Richard Wright (1900s)
Native Son, Richard Wright (1900s)
Black Like Me, John Howard Griffin (1900s)
The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom (1900s)
A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking (1900s)
The Meaning of It All, Richard Feynman (1900s)

Advanced Classic Nonfiction

The Histories, Herodotus (400s BCE)
The Republic, Plato (400s BCE)
History of the Peloponnesian War, Thucydides (400s BCE)
Rhetoric, Aristotle (300s BCE)
Apology, Plato (300s BCE)
Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle (300s BCE)
On the Nature of Things, Lucretius (60s BCE)
De Republica, Cicero (50s BCE)
The Early History of Rome, Livy (20s BCE)
Wars of the Jews, Josephus (70s CE)
Annals, Tacitus (100s CE)
The Twelve Caesars, Suetonius (100s CE)
Anabasis of Alexander, Arrian (100s CE)
Meditations, Marcus Aurelius (100s CE)
Lives of Noble Greeks and Romans, Plutarch (100s CE)
Enchiridion, Epictetus (100s CE)
The Confessions, Saint Augustine (300s)
The City of God, St. Augustine (400s)
The Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius (500s)
The Quran (600s)
The Ecclesiastical History, Adam Bede (700s)
The Letters of Abelard and Heloise, Peter and Heolise Abelard (1100s)
Summa Theologiae, Thomas Aquinas (1200s)
The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis (1400s)
In Praise of Folly, Erasmus (1500s)
The Education of a Christian Prince, Erasmus (1500s)
The Freedom of a Christian, Martin Luther (1500s)
Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin (1500s)
History of the Reformation, John Knox (1500s)
The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila, Teresa of Avila (1500s)
The Interior Castle, St. Teresa of Avila (1500s)
Dark Night of the Soul, St. John of the Cross (1500s)
The Defense of Poesy, Sir Philip Sidney (1500s)
Novum Organum, Frances Bacon (1600s)
The Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes (1600s)
Meditations on First Philosophy, Rene Descartes (1600s)
Discourse on Method, Rene Descartes (1600s)
Essay Concerning Human Understanding, John Locke (1600s)
The Second Treatise of Government, John Locke (1600s)
The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Samuel Pepys (1600s)
Wonders of the Invisible World, Cotton Mather (1600s)
An Essay on Criticism, Alexander Pope (1700s)
An Essay on Man, Alexander Pope (1700s)
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin (1700s)
The Rights of Man, Thomas Paine (1700s)
Common Sense, Thomas Paine (1700s)
On Liberty, John Stuart Mill (1800s)
The Social Contract, Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1700s)
The Journal of John Woolman, John Woolman (1700s)
The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith (1700s)
A Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant (1700s)
On American Taxation, Edmund Burke (1700s)
Life of Johnson, James Boswell (1700s)
The Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton (1700s)
Memoir, Correspondence and Misc., Thomas Jefferson (1800s)
The Memoirs of Victor Hugo, Victor Hugo (1800s)
Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville (1800s)
A Child’s History of England, Charles Dickens (1800s)
For Self-Examination, Soren Kierkegaard (1800s)
On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection, Charles Darwin (1800s)
The Education of Henry Adams, Henry Adams (1800s)
Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Frederich Nietzsche (1800s)
Beyond Good and Evil, Frederich Nietzsche (1800s)
An Autobiography, Annie Besant (1800s)
Notes on Nursing, Florence Nightingale (1800s)
Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler (1900s)
Civilization and Its Discontents, Sigmund Freud (1900s)
The Ego and the Id, Sigmund Freud (1900s)
The Interpretation of Dreams, Sigmund Freud (1900s)

Other Recommended Books

703: How I Lost More Than a Quarter Ton and Gained a Life, Nancy Makin
A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka: A Memoir, Lev Golinkin
A Field Guide to Happiness: What I Learned in Bhutan About Living, Loving, and Waking Up, Linda Leaming
Aku-Aku: The Secret of Easter Island, Thor Heyerdahl
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination, Elizabeth McCracken
Angry Fat Girls/Eating Ice Cream with My Dog, Frances Kuffel
A Queer and Pleasant Danger, Kate Bornstein
As a Man Thinketh: Classic Wisdom for Proper Thought, Strong Character, and Right Actions, James Allen
Running with Scissors: A Memoir, Augusten Burroughs
Dry: A Memoir, Augusten Burroughs
Lust and Wonder, Augusten Burroughs
A Wolf at the Table, Augusten Burroughs
Toil and Trouble: A Memoir, Augusten Burroughs
Autobiography of A Face, Lucy Grealy
A Way of Being, Carl Rogers
A Year by the Sea: Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman, Joan Anderson
Basic Counseling Techniques: A Beginning Therapist’s Toolkit, Wayne Perry
Becoming Myself: A Psychiatrist’s Memoir, Irvin Yalom
Beyond Order, Jordan B. Peterson
Blue Collar Intellectuals: When the Enlightened and the Everyman Elevated America, Daniel Flynn
Bossypants, Tina Fey
Boy Erased, Garrard Conley
Chelsea Handler
Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert
Committed, Elizabeth Gilbert
Cult Child, Vennie Kocsis
Cult Insanity: A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement
Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness, William Styron
David Sedaris
Devotion: A Memoir, Dani Shapiro
Disaster Preparedness, Heather Harrilesky
Dying: A Memoir, Cory Taylor
Eating the Dinosaur, Chuck Klosterman
Escape from Babel: Toward a Unifying Language for Psychotherapy Practice, Scott Miller, Barry Duncan and Mark Hubble
Excavation: A Memoir, Wendy Ortiz
Fall to Pieces: A Memoir of Drugs, Rock ‘n’ Roll, and Mental Illness, Mary Forsberg Weiland
Fargo Rock City, Chuck Klosterman
Favorite Wife: Escape From Polygamy, Susan Schmidt
Fifty Acres and a Poodle: A Story of Love, Livestock, and Finding Myself on a Farm, Jeanne Marie Laskas
Five Men Who Broke My Heart: A Memoir, Susan Shapiro
Flat Broke with Two Goats: A Memoir, Jennifer McGaha
Found: A Memoir, Jennifer Lauck
Full: How I Learned to Satisfy My Insatiable Hunger and Feed My Soul, Kimber Simpkins
Girl in a Band: A Memoir, Kim Gordon
Girl in the Woods: A Memoir, Aspen Matis
Girl Walks Out of A Bar: A Memoir, Lisa Smith
Give Me Everything You Have, James Lesdun
God Hunger, Desiree Ayres
Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith, Anne Lamott
Growing Up Amish: A Memoir
Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers, Anne Lamott
Hidden Valley Road, Robert Kolker
Holy Hunger: A Memoir of Desire, Margaret Bulitt-Jonas
How I Gave Up My Low-Fat Diet and Lost 40 Pounds-And How You Can, Too!, Dana Carpender
How Starbucks Saved My Life, Michael Gill
How To Stay Married: The Adventures of a Woman Who Learnt to Travel Light in Life, Love and Relationships, Mary-Lou Stephens
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body, Roxanne Gay
Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl: A Memoir, Carrie Brownstein
Hyperbole and a Half, Allie Brosh
In Memory of Bread: A Memoir, Paul Graham
In Small Doses, Marc Pollard
In Therapy: The Unfolding Story, Susie Orbach
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, Gabor Matt
Into the Magic Shop, James Doyt
It Was Me All Along: A Memoir, Andie Mitchell
Jennifer, Gwyneth and Me, Rachel Bersche
Kathy Griffin’s Celebrity Run-Ins, Kathy Griffin
Killing Yourself to Live, Chuck Klosterman
Klostermann II, Chuck Klostermann
Lab Girl, Hope Jahren
Learning to Eat Along the Way: A Memoir, Margaret Bendet
Let’s Take the Long Way Home: A Memoir of Friendship
Letters to a Young Therapist, Mary Pipher
Lights On, Rats Out: A Memoir, Cree LeFavour
Lit, Mary Karr
Locked Up for Eating Too Much, Debbie Danowski
Lost and Found, Geneen Roth
Love in a Time of Homeschooling, Laura Brodie
Love Warrior: A Memoir, Glennon Doyle
Lucky Man: A Memoir, Michael J. Fox
Madness: A Bipolar Life, Marya Hornbacher
Manic, Terri Cheney
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home, Rhoda Janzen
Mental: Lithium, Love, and Losing My Mind, Jaime Lowe
MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend, Rachel Bertsche
My Glory Was I Had Such Friends, Amy Silverstein
My Two Moms, Zach Wahls
Nightmare in Wichita: The Hunt for the BTK Strangler, Robert Beattie
Obsessed, Allison Britz
Official Book Club Selection, Kathy Griffin
On Becoming a Better Therapist: Evidence-based Practice One Client at a Time, Barry Duncan
On Becoming a Person, Carl Rogers
Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year, Anne Lamott
Orange Is the New Black: My Year in A Women’s Prison, Piper Kerman
Ordinary Light: A Memoir, Tracy K. Smith
Out of Orange: A Memoir, Cleary Wolters
Pajama School: Stories From the Life of a Homeschool Graduate, Natalie Wicham
Passage, Connie Willis
Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner and Saint
Plan B, Anne Lamott
Primates of Park Avenue: A Memoir, Wednesday Martin
Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey Into the Afterlife, Eben Alexander
Proudly Serving My Corporate Masters, Adam Bau
Purge: Rehab Diaries, Nicole Johns
Red, Hot and Holy: A Heretic’s Love Story
Same Kind of Different as Me, Ron Hall
Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream, Adam Shepard
Seasons of a Mother’s Heart, Sally Clarkson
Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, Chuck Klostermann
Sex, Drugs and Meditation: How One Woman Changed Her Life, Saved Her Job and Found a Husband by Mary-Lou Stephens
Sex Object: A Memoir, Jessica Valenti
Sin Bravely: A Memoir of Spiritual Disobedience, Maggie Rowe
Spy Secrets That Can Save Your Life, Jason Hanson
Stephen Fry in America: Fifty States and the Man Who Set Out to See Them All, Stephen Fry
Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair, Anne Lamott
Straight Pepper Diet: A Memoir, Joseph W. Naus
The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do, Jeff Goins
The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee, Sarah Silverman
The Boston Strangler, Gerold Frank
The Chicken Chronicles, Alice Walker
The Child Bride, Cathy Glass
The Chronology of Water, Lidia Yuknavitch
The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success, Darren Hardy
The Craggy Hole in My Heart and the Cat Who Fixed It, Geneen Roth
The Fat Girl’s Guide to Life, Wendy Shanker
The Gift of Therapy, Irvin Yalom
The Good Eater, Ron Saxen
The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin
The Janus Point, Julian Barbour
The Making of a Therapist, Louis Cozolino
The Man with the Candy, Jack Olsen
The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance: A Memoir, Elna Baker
The Night of the Grizzlies, Jack Olsen
The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain, Bill Bryson
The Rules Do Not Apply, Ariel Levy
The Secrets of Exceptional Counselors, Jeffrey A. Kottler
The Seven Good Years: A Memoir, Etgar Keret
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, Elisabeth Tova Bailey
The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy, Ann Rule
The Two Kinds of Decay, Sarah Manguso
The Wishing Year: A House, a Man, My Soul: A Memoir of Fulfilled Desire, Noelle Oxenhandler
The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion
The Year of No Clutter, Eve M. Schaub
They Left Us Everything: A Memoir, Plum Johnson
This Close to Happy: A Reckoning with Depression, Daphne Merkin
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith, Anne Lamott
Triumph: Life After the Cult–A Survivor’s Lessons
Two of a Kind: The Hillside Stranglers, Darcy O’Brien
Vow: A Memoir of Marriage (and Other Affairs), Wendy Plum
Waiting: The True Confessions of a Waitress, Debra Ginsberg
What Therapists Don’t Talk About and Why, Pope, Sonne & Greene
When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi
Why I Left the Amish: A Memoir, Saloma Miller Furlong
Wild, Cheryl Strayed
Year of No Sugar: A Memoir, Eve O. Schaub
You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me: A Memoir, Sherman Alexie
Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Paul Theroux
I Pledge Allegiance…: The True Story of the Walkers: An American Spy Family, Howard Blum
Is Paris Burning?, Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre
Jay J. Armes, Investigator, Jay J. Armes and Fredrick Nolan
Riding the Iron Rooster, Paul Theroux
The Bridge at Chappaquiddick, Jack Olsen
The Devil’s Triangle, Richard Winer
The War Magician, David Fisher
Treblinka, Jean-Francois Steiner
Twelve Great Philosophers, Wayne Pomerleau
The Year of Living Dangerously: Adventures in Homeschooling, Quinn Cummings
The Unschooling Handbook, Mary Griffith
Teach Your Own: The John Holt Book of Homeschooling, John Holt
Un-Jobbing: The Adult Liberation Handbook, Michael Fogler
Unschooling Rules, Clark Aldrich
Getting Things Done: The ABCs of Time Management, Edwin Bliss
The Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence
The Top Ten Things Dead People Want to Tell YOU, Mike Dooley
Triumph Over Disease By Fasting and Natural Diet, Dr. Jack Goldstein
The Fit for Life Solution, Harvey Diamond
The Great Cholesterol Con, Dr. Malcolm Kendrick
Quick Fasting, Nathaniel Hawthorne Bronner, Jr.
Mastering Leptin, Byron J. Richards
Fit for Life; Not Fat for Life, Harvey Diamond
Natural Hygiene, Herbert Shelton
The End of Overeating, David A. Kessler
The Fasting Cure, Upton Sinclair
Why Weight?, Geneen Roth
The Philosophy of Fasting; A Message for Sufferers and Sinners, Edward Earle Purinton
Autobiography of A Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda

Naked House Interview: “Minimalism Is About Personal Growth”

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Kelly Kandra Hughes has been a professional housesitter since 2016. She is also a minimalism coach. Visit her website at KellyKandraHughes.com.

Mollie: Have you ever significantly changed your life to become more minimalist? What led to the decision and what did you change?

Kelly: Yes. I got rid of approximately 95 percent of my belongings by donating, giving away, selling, recycling, or trashing them. Essentially, I wasn’t happy in my current life and I wanted to make radical changes. I followed a career trajectory of which some people only dream: college, a PhD program (for which I had a full-ride scholarship), tenure track position, and tenure. Yet it wasn’t the life I really wanted to live. I had all sorts of health issues related to stress and sleep. My weight dropped to 97 pounds. I developed severe adult acne. I used to hope that I would get in a nonfatal car crash, just so I could take a break from my life for a while.

It wasn’t until I was granted a paid sabbatical for the 2014-2015 academic year that I finally got time to myself. I didn’t miss my job for one second of one minute of one day. That was a wake-up call to me that I needed to make some changes.

While on sabbatical, and after I realized I needed to quit my job, I woke up in the middle of the night and thought, housesitting. I had already been pet-sitting and housesitting for friends while I was on a sabbatical. I wrote down my idea and went back to bed.

The next morning a Google search informed me that, yes, pet-sitting and housesitting is a viable way to live these days. That became my plan: to no longer have a place of my own, but to live in other people’s houses. I didn’t want the burden of storing of my belongings, so I made the choice to get rid of them. My husband and I have been on a long-term housesit in the northwest corner of Connecticut since September 2016. At the time we began, everything we owned fit into our car.

Mollie: What are your most prized beliefs regarding minimalist lifestyle—the ideas you want most to spread?

Kelly: The idea I most want to spread is that minimalism is not just about tidying up and reducing clutter. It’s about personal growth, and most importantly, the understanding that there is no one way to best accomplish this growth. Being a minimalist means you have a good understanding of who you are and how you want to live your own best life … and then acting accordingly. This understanding can be accomplished through self-reflection (e.g., journaling, creating vision boards, praying, meditating, etc.) or with the help of professionals (e.g., therapists, life coaches, pastors, career counselors, etc.).

I also want people to know that the first thing I recommend people get rid of is mental clutter. By knowing who you are and how you want to live your best life, you can say no to things that don’t serve you. Of course, it’s not easy and it takes a certain amount of courage to start saying no. But this freedom then brings benefits in other areas of your life, including increased time, energy, and financial resources to pursue the things that are most important to you.

Start by identifying your core life values. These are the five to seven values that are fundamental to who you are as person. Ask yourself questions such as, “When have I experienced the most joy in my life? When did I experience my lowest points? What happens on the days when I can’t wait to get out of bed? What happens on the days where I dread getting out of bed? Who inspires me? If I could have any job in the world, what would it be and why? What did I dream of being when I was a child? If I could live a perfect day every day, what would that day look like? What are some times in my life I thought I was doing the right thing, but it turned out to be wrong for me?” Look for common themes and patterns, then name those ideas using a single word, such as achievement, service, fairness, creativity, or spirituality.

The second thing I recommend is to identify specific interests in your life related to those values. Values and interests go hand-in-hand. For example, you may value creativity, but you may have no interest in Renaissance art. If that’s the case, next time you visit an art museum, give yourself the freedom to skip over entire floors and head to the impressionists who you find whimsical and inspiring. The good news is, you’ve probably already uncovered most of your interests if you’ve spent time reflecting on your core life values. Review your answers to the above questions and notice what specific activities and events are associated with your more joyful times. Keep those in mind for making your day-to-day and long-term decisions on how you’re going to spend your time, effort, and money.

Mollie: I love everything you said so much. Any final thoughts, Kelly?

Kelly: Here’s something that I don’t think gets mentioned too often: it’s important to stay open-minded and empathetic to others while living a minimalist life. I’ve found that people who experience the kind of personal growth that comes with minimalism are so excited about their journeys, they think their way is not only the best way, but the only way. We may end up self-righteous and judgmental of others who are still struggling on their own paths. I know I certainly did!

We need to remember where we started from and extend empathy to others who may not be there yet. When you live a life of joy and one that lines up with your core life values and interests, people become interested in what you’re doing. When they ask, be happy to give advice on what worked best for you. Otherwise, it’s not our place to judge. Stay focused on your own life and lead by example. I know it’s cliché, but Gandhi was on to something when he said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

A place for everything and everything in its place. Get The Naked House: Five Principles for a Minimalist Home.

Naked House Interview: “I Lost Almost Everything in a Fire”

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Kurt Niziak is a software trainer and data analyst from Massachusetts.

Mollie: Have you ever significantly reorganized and decluttered your home? What led to the decision and what did you change?

Kurt: Yes, but not consciously. Instead, it somehow chose me!

Over a decade ago, my career and financial situation was vastly different. In fact, my own “personal paper route” (as I call it) was surprisingly easy. Financially, I was preparing myself for a life of moderate wealth. The bottom fell out, however, and I was forced to abide by a lifestyle which would be the antitheses of what I once thought I had.

In July of 2018, I had a major fire in my once well-furnished condo. I had stepped out of my home for a mere thirty-five minutes only to return and witness that almost all of what I had acquired over the years had vanished. I say the word almost because, my most important possession (my dog) was miraculously spared. (Thank God).

After the complete shock of losing almost everything had slowly worn off, I was surprised to feel an incredible sense of gratitude. I realized that as terrible as things were, at least my dog was okay. This horrific event proved to be the genesis of a priceless awakening. I began to understand that I really didn’t need many possessions in order to keep on living on a day-to-day basis. Material things somehow revealed themselves in their most generic form, serving as nothing more than distractions.

Mollie: What is your lifestyle like now?

Kurt: I suppose that I am a bit more grounded. I am cognizant about how we are all such insatiable consumers. I try instead to take better care of the things that I do have, rather than fantasizing about what I don’t have. Furthermore, before purchasing or storing anything, I think about whether I really need it.

We all are conditioned to believe that our lives can only improve via addition—as if we were painting a picture, adding more and more layers. Unfortunately, this approach seldom gets us the results we are looking for. Perhaps it’s a sculpture that we should be creating instead, our goal only arrived at via subtraction. We discard the pieces that are not necessary.

Mollie: Can you share a few specific tips for cleaning, organizing and simplifying a home?

Kurt: In his wonderful book 12 Rules of Life: An Antidote to Chaos, Jordan Peterson is quick to point out an approach towards minimalism which (at first look) appears rather benign. However, this simple concept has saved me, time and time again, from the shackles of a personal two- or three-day funk. Peterson states that one risks feeling depressed, anxious and powerless should they fail to keep their bedroom clean, or surroundings in order. Whenever I motivate myself to use this simple tactic, it has never failed to make me feel more balanced—more in control.

Cleaning, organizing, etc. are extremely powerful minimalist tools. They help combat feelings of chaos. If things are clean and in order, I have a better chance at having a more positive experience in the outside world. Physical clutter seems to muddle my brain and often prevents me from having any semblance of harmony. It is so simple, yet it seems to always have positive results.

Minimalism (to me) is not merely the act of owning less. It also leads to appreciating things more. It proves itself, time and time again, as a powerful life approach. All I know is that when I fail to encompass minimalism, I am at risk of feeling like nothing more than the proverbial hole of a doughnut.

I will say however, that my own personal happiness has neither significantly decreased nor increased over the years. It is just less complicated. One doesn’t end up wasting time fooling themselves into thinking that acquiring more will improve one’s life.

I do what I need to do in order to survive. I often (jokingly) say that I am just as miserable now, as I’ve always been. A bigger house, better car or more stuff will not enhance my life very much. These things might be nice to have but it becomes a fool’s errand to obsessively pursue. It’s just an example of victory through surrender.

A place for everything and everything in its place. Get The Naked House: Five Principles for a Minimalist Home.

Sometimes, You Get Way Too Excited (My Byron Katie Detox, Part One)

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A lot of times, when you discover something great, you overestimate its greatness just a bit. Well, okay, sometimes more than a bit.

Sometimes you get way too excited.

Every once in a while, though, your excitement proves justified. And when that happens, you cross the line. Before you were a fan, a follower, an advocate.

Now, you’re a believer.

Granted, when I discovered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, my hopes were high for good reason. According to articles by the National Institute for Mental Health, the National Center for Biotechnology Information and, of course, Wikipedia, CBT is the most-practiced evidence-based therapy for tons of emotional and personality disorders.

More important, when I tried it, it worked.

Unfortunately, I was late to the party; I’ve had depression my whole life, but didn’t learn about CBT till age thirty-eight. Yikes, right? I often wonder what I was thinking, not looking up popular depression therapies sooner. Then I remember exactly what I was thinking.

I was thinking spirituality was the answer.

Ouch.

I mean, spirituality is great. Spirituality works. But sometimes, other stuff works better. And every once in a while, you hit the proverbial jackpot, and you find a regular therapy that’s spiritual, too.

Which is where Byron Katie comes in.

Soon after discovering CBT, I found this teacher, and when I did, the above process repeated itself. Excitement. Enthusiasm. Fandom. Advocacy.

Then, full-on belief.

Here’s how that happened.

***

It was one of Those Moments. You know the kind. They feel normal at first, then later earn an unexpected spot on your greatest-hits playlist. It was evening, and I was depressedmuch more so than usual. Worse, earlier that day I’d taken a three-mile walk and even that, my go-to strategy, hadn’t helped. I didn’t get an endorphin high. I didn’t clear my mind.

I felt just as bad after as before.

If you struggle with a mood disorder I don’t have to tell you what a frightening realization this was. Will I have to starting walk more than three miles now? I wondered. Has my body acclimated to this level of exercise? Heavily pregnant, with two other children in tow, I couldn’t imagine putting more time and effort into walking than I already did. And so, after dinner, after my husband had taken our two boys to the mall, I decided to try something different. Desperate, I went to my office to scan the titles on my bookshelf, looking for anything that might help.

I didn’t actually believe I’d find something.

But I did. I found The Feeling Good Handbook by David Burns.

One year prior, I’d bought the Handbook on the advice of my doctor and then, after a brief review, dismissed it. Platitudes, I thought. Nothing new here. Nothing I haven’t heard a million times before. I had no idea it was a psychotherapy classic. (Why hadn’t the doctor told me that? Sheesh.)

That day, thoughthat greatest-hits dayI sat on the couch and for the first time, gave the method a chance. After reading a few chapters, I took its suggestion and started writing down every negative thought in my head. When I couldn’t think of any more, I stopped writing and counted the pages.

I’d filled seven pieces of paper on both sides.

Okay, I thought. Maybe the book is right. Maybe my depression really is caused by my thoughts.

Prior to that time, I knew negativity played a role in depression. But I had no idea how big that role was. I’m a positive person, I thought. I’m hopeful about the future. It’s a chemical imbalance that’s to blame.

And I still believe that. I’ve been moody my whole lifenever lighthearted, even as a kid. But maybe, just maybe, there’s more to the story. Maybe part of the problem is solvable.

Because, it turned out, I wasn’t the optimist I thought I was. I was actually sort of the opposite, but in a different way. The kind of thoughts I wrote down that day had nothing to do with my faith in God or my many dreams of success. They weren’t about my overall health, or my financial or familial satisfaction.

They were about the little annoyances of life.

They were about the way my clothes fit, the kids’ morning moods, the tyranny of my family’s need to eat. Only a few of my troubles even mattered long-term. And yet, when I emptied the contents of my head, these silly little details were what I found. Obviously, my pessimism wasn’t as much about the significance of my negative thoughts as it was about the sheer number of them.

I had accumulated a bunch of mental crap.

And so, that night I began the process of excavation. And I haven’t stopped since.

Even after that first writing session, I noticed a changea lifting, even a slight high. I felt the way I feel after a thirty-minute jog, or a long talk with a friend, or an especially enjoyable night out.

Holy crap, I realized. It worked.

And it did so when I was at my very worst.

And so, like I said before, after discovering CBT, my hopes were ridiculously high. Somehow, I knew that this was my game-changer, my next major level up.

Somehow, I knew it would be epic.

The cool thing is that I was right. During the month that followed the discovery, I was the most hopeful I’d been in my life regarding my ability to deal effectively withmaybe even overcomemy depression. Then, a shocking twist: I found another strategy, a variation of CBT. And for me, it was even more powerful. You probably already know what that method was. It was Byron Katie’s process of self-inquiry called The Work.

Byron Katie is a spiritual teacher, someone you may have heard of before. I had, too; the previous fall I’d even read her free ebook, The Work of Byron Katie: An Introduction. At that time, though, her ideas didn’t particularly appeal to me.

Truth be told, I wasn’t desperate enough to try it.

But after practicing CBT for a while, her name came up again, and I thought back on what I’d read. Wait a sec, I realized, Now that I think about it, The Work is a lot like CBT.

I decided to look into it again.

More about Byron Katie’s method later, and how it compares with CBT. Suffice it to say here that it’s a way to look objectively at your favorite (or not-so-favorite) thoughts. It gives you four questions to ask yourself that help you realize, deep down, what is true and what is, well, a bit crazy.

And as with CBT, my first experience with The Work didn’t disappoint.

Naked Interview: “My Car Is My Home and the World is My Bedroom”

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Nick D’Urso is a freewheeling AirBnB rental owner. He teaches people how to make their money work for them (rather than the other way around) at NickDurso.com.

Read my full interview with Nick and many others. Today is the last day to get the Kindle version of The Naked House for 99 cents on Amazon.

Mollie: Have you ever significantly minimized your possessions and simplified your life? Tell me the story.

Nick: In July 2019 I left my corporate job back home in Brooklyn, New York. I bought a car in Phoenix, Arizona to drive to Argentina. I pretty much left everything I owned except a few clothes, my laptop, a camera, and a drone. I built a bed in the back of the car and I have been living on the road ever since, camping at some of the most beautiful places in Mexico. I’m about to enter Belize.

My car is my home and the world is my bedroom.

Mollie: What did you buy along the way? Do you have good camping equipment?

Nick: I haven’t bought much. I bought a new suspension for the car and two front lower control arms. The car is old and I was worried about the rust and being stuck in a country with no parts if something happened. Other than that, I bought a cooler, folding chairs, and a BBQ. At some point I’ll have to buy winter clothes when I reach Argentina but I’ll tackle that when I get there. I also bought a new phone using Google Fi because it works in over 200 countries on their unlimited plan.

Mollie: How long do you plan to travel and what will you do after that?

Nick: Everyone asks me this question. Truthfully I’m planning this trip to find a place where I can build another AirBNB property close to the water so I can run scuba diving excursions. I don’t have a time limit. My goal is to travel around the entire world and it’s taken me 6 months to do all of Mexico. I promised my mom and dad I would spend Christmas with them in 2020. But other than that I don’t have a time limit.

Mollie: What led to this drastic change?

Nick: The thing that led me to this decision was being caught up in the humdrum of everyday corporate life living in New York City. I personally couldn’t take going to work every day to make money to spend at a bar on the weekends with friends, over and over again. I wanted to get more out of life.

Mollie: What do you want to get out of life?

Nick: I would like to teach people that money isn’t everything. It’s a vehicle to get you to where you want to be. We’re all taught that we need to go to school and get a job that pays well. Everyone wants a raise and to earn more money. But the truth is that you most likely make enough money and that money can actually make you more money but your habits prevent that. People look at my Instagram and ask me how I do this. I tell them I drive a ‘98 Chevy Blazer with a bed in it. You don’t need a lot of money to do what I’m doing; you just need to change your habits. And that’s the mark I want to leave. Money is great, but you don’t need to exchange time to earn more. Other than that I would say I just want to be happy and meet amazing people all around the world.

Mollie: What are your most prized beliefs regarding minimalist lifestyle—the ideas you most want to spread?

Nick: My most prized beliefs behind my minimalist lifestyle change is that it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks about you. I want to spread that to everyone around. With social media nowadays, most people seem to be in competition with people they don’t even know.

Naked Interview: “I Shed Tears Through the Process”

Mary Potter Kenyon is a grief counselor and the author of seven books, including Called to Be Creative and Refined By Fire: A Journey of Grief. She lives in Dubuque, Iowa. For more information, see MaryPotterKenyon.com.

Read my full interview with Mary and many others. Get the Kindle version of The Naked House for 99 cents for the next three days on Amazon.

Mollie: Have you ever significantly reorganized and decluttered your home? What led to the decision and what did you change?

Mary: In April 2018, I was offered my dream job an hour from where I lived. I made the decision to sell the four-bedroom, two-story house where my husband David and I had raised the last four of our eight children. David had died in 2012 and my seventh child was poised to leave the nest, leaving me with one daughter and a huge house. Not only did I need to declutter in order to sell my house, the house I purchased in my new town was 760 square feet. I had to do some serious purging, with less than two months to do it.

I began by deciding which furniture could come with me, and my heart sank when I realized my four bookshelves, my huge solid oak desk and my mother’s kitchen table would not fit. The owner of the house I was buying agreed to leave a folding IKEA table in the kitchen, the only kind of table that worked. Two living room chairs would need to be sold. A beautiful closed cabinet that was filled with office supplies and photo albums. A kitchen shelf. The one thing I knew had to come with me was a shaker-style cabinet I’d inherited from my mother, but it would need to be emptied of some of her things to make room for the single shelf of books I would keep.

I went through closets of clothing. As I pulled things off hangers, I priced those I thought would sell. I even had a box of my husband’s shirts stashed away, which my sister Joan agreed to take off my hands and make into Christmas stockings for my children. I wasn’t just dealing with stuff, I was dealing with memories, and I shed tears through the process. I went through thousands of books. The first two boxes sold for $150 at a bookstore, alleviating the distress a little. By the time I held my first garage sale, I’d whittled down my possessions drastically. The most daunting task, though, was the paper: a file cabinet and a trunk filled with letters, college papers, photos, and even scrapbooks from high school. I handed my son a bag filled with twenty daybooks (daily diaries) to burn because I couldn’t bear to dispose of them myself.

After two garage sales, several trips to a thrift store, and even filling my front lawn with items I advertised for free on a local online giveaway board, I ended up with less than half my original possessions. By then, it felt freeing to have dealt with years of accumulated clutter—to have made decisions about which things meant the most and gave me pleasure and joy when I looked at them. I would come to regret only the loss of the desk and the daybooks.

While I no longer have a separate office, I do have my own space, a back room that spans the entire width of the house and serves as both bedroom and office. Everything in it was consciously chosen to survive the Great Purge of 2018. The bedroom portion is sparse: an end table and a twin bed topped with a mockingbird quilt that matches the curtains. Outside of a washer and dryer in the opposite far corner, the rest of the large room is designed around the comfy brown recliner my children gave me for Christmas. When I sit in it to write or read, I’m surrounded by things that bring a smile to my face.

There is the Shaker-style cabinet I inherited from my mother, filled with things I treasure: my collection of autographed books, a hand-blown glass turtle my son Michael made, a toy sheep from my childhood, and bricks my daughter Rachel painted to look like the covers of my books. My grandmother’s trunk is topped by one of Mom’s quilts and her hand-carved Saint Michael statue, his sword upraised in regal glory.

Walls are adorned with paintings by my mother and daughter Emily, along with photographs taken by my son Dan, one framed and another on canvas. A rustic wooden rack is attached to one wall, the wire baskets holding stationery and greeting cards. Wooden letters with the cover designs of my six books on another wall spell the word “writer,” handmade by my daughter Elizabeth. Finally, there’s a book-themed lamp atop an end table Katie painted to look like book spines. I love my smaller space.

Read my full interview with Mary and many more. Get the Kindle version of The Naked House for 99 cents for the next three days on Amazon.

“We Have Two Big Rules in Our House”; and, “Fights” Is Free Today on Amazon

It’s the last day to get Fights You’ll Have After Having a Baby for free on Amazon.

Here, an excerpt from the interviews section of the book.

ZURIE: “We Have Two Big Rules in Our House”

Zurie is 40 years old and has been with her partner for eight years.

Mollie: What have some of your biggest disagreements as couple been about?

Zurie: We don’t have children, just cats, which might be why our biggest fight so far was about cats (except not really). Before that, our biggest struggle was learning to grocery shop together without murderous thoughts.

Mollie: Tell me more about that.

Zurie: It was a thing when we first moved in together. He works from home and I was working in an office. We both dislike the task, so we do it together (unless circumstances prevent it.)

I made a comment a while back about two types of people (on a spectrum): basically, planners and non-planners. My husband is squarely a planner. Lists, schedules, plan of attack. I can (and do) plan, but can also can make a quick decision just to get something done.

So basically, we had several things going wrong.

  • I’m an introvert and being at the office all day exhausts me. He works from home, so he’s excited to go out.
  • We weren’t functioning off a list, so we were buying random things that we did/didn’t need and still having to figure out dinners after.
  • We both wanted to shop how we were used to shopping.

I got mad at him for staring at stacks of American cheese for entirely too long trying to determine the best price on something that I felt didn’t matter. He challenged me when I just grabbed a gallon of milk. “Why that milk? Do you like it better? This one’s cheaper.”

After several months and lots of sit-downs and me being mad, then him being frustrated (not huge fights but intense talks), we’ve figured out and refined our system:

  • I frequently save recipes that I think we’ll enjoy that are healthy enough for me and easy enough for him. We pick two for the week and build a list off of that.
  • We grocery shop on Sundays so I’m not tired and we have a date night once a weekish so he gets out of the house. He has also finally, just this summer, gotten a laptop to give himself the ability to leave the house once in a while.
  • There are brands I’m loyal to. When it’s time to pick up those, I tell him to kick rocks off to the toilet paper aisle to find us the best deal. I give in to him on the generic canned beans because I don’t care and he lets me buy the expensive canned tomatoes without argument.

It works so much better now. We usually have as good a time as you can at the grocery store. And I even stay quiet when he asks the clerk to put the milk in bags (which is silly because the gallons have handles!).

Mollie: You seem like a pretty good problem solver. Do you use these same negotiating skills in other areas of your relationship?

Zurie: We don’t have to formally negotiate too often. We try and function as a team so if one person is doing something, the other dives in to help. We’ve got two big rules in our house:

  • Everyone gets what they need.
  • You have to ask for what you need.

Spats are usually due to me not being able to sort out what I’m feeling before I get crabby.

Mollie: I love those rules! The needs of one person can be dramatically different from the needs of another. Beautiful way to phrase this concept.

So what was the cat thing about?

Zurie: We fought about when to get a new cat after our last two girls died in the spring. I wanted to get a new one and he wasn’t ready.

Honestly, it was 100 percent me not slowing down to figure out what I was feeling so I could verbalize it. Eventually I just realized that I was in an enormous amount of pain and just wanted something to help. I was deeply disappointed that he wasn’t ready even though it was valid.

Once I worked through all that emotion, I was able to explain what was going on. I apologized and he listened and we compromised. We got new kitties sooner than he was ready for and later than I wanted, but they’re perfect.

Mollie: Is there something about your partner you have tried to change? What was your strategy? How well did it work?

Zurie: Sure, there are things we’ve tried to change about each other. He’s organized, but holy cow was his apartment filthy when he moved out. I’m clean, but completely disorganized. Before we moved in together, we talked a lot about chores and values. He sees the value in having things clean, though he just doesn’t notice it. I see the value in having things organized (being able to find my keys is amazing) but I’m not always as good about it as him.

I think we’ve both really tried to be patient with each other. There are times when I have to remind him that it’s okay if I haven’t put something back where it belongs because there’s a reason I didn’t or whatever. And I have 100 percent complained to myself after he does the dishes that he didn’t scrub down the stove. But I also know that criticizing will just make a person shut down, so I think a lot about “how much does this matter?” I’ve had to teach him how to clean the bathroom and the floors and the kitchen and the reasons behind it. He really gives it a good-faith effort, so I let go of the fact that he doesn’t see the dirt and is always surprised that it’s time to clean. It just doesn’t matter.

Mollie: Can you think of a time you became overly defensive in an argument? Tell me the story.

Zurie: When we first met, he used to tell a joke, then say, “Get it? It’s funny because …” and I used to feel like he thought I was so stupid or not funny if he felt he had to explain every joke to me. My dad was really hard on my brother and me and would ask us if we were stupid whenever we did something wrong, so he was really stepping on a land mine he didn’t know was there. I finally told him one night how much it hurt my feelings. I was angry and asked flat-out if he thought I was an idiot. He was horrified. Apparently, this was just something he had always said as part of a joke. He thought it was funny and had no idea that I took it personally.

While I was relieved that I was misinterpreting, I also made it clear that I was never going to be okay with it. He’d done it for so long that he wasn’t sure he could just stop. So we decided that he would make an honest attempt to say it less and I would make an honest attempt to let it roll off my back if he did say it. And honestly, I haven’t heard it in years.

Mollie: Do you think it’s important to apologize even when you weren’t exactly in the wrong, or do you save your apologies for the important stuff?

Zurie: We tend to apologize to each other when we feel it’s warranted. Honestly, we don’t fight dirty or often so I don’t feel that I’ve had to apologize when I wasn’t exactly wrong.

Mollie: Generally speaking, how much do you enjoy partnership? What do you like about it?

Zurie: I love being married. We haven’t reached a point yet where I’ve considered it difficult or a hardship. I really enjoy being on a team with him. I can be exactly who I am at any given moment with him. I can be ridiculous and silly or sad or a big baby and he understands and loves it. I love doing the same for him. I love hearing him sing songs to the cats or laugh at his podcasts while he works. I am so delighted and thankful to be with him and he seems to feel the same way. We married late-ish—I was thirty-seven and he was forty—so we’d gone through those mid-twenties struggles already and had started establishing our own values when we met. Maybe that has something to do with it.

Mollie: Do you have any ongoing arguments that can’t seem to be resolved, even with your great communication skills?

Zurie: Not that I can think of, so definitely nothing major. Things are tough right now for us, but not between us. I’m lucky: he’s funny, responsible, hard working, compassionate and loyal. We make a good team.

It’s the last day to get Fights You’ll Have After Having a Baby for free on Amazon.


			

“Finally, Our House Feels Like a Home”; and, “Fights” Is Free Today on Amazon

Right now, get Fights You’ll Have After Having a Baby for free on Amazon.

Here, an excerpt from the interviews section of the book.

CAL: “Finally, Our House Feels Like a Home”

Cal, age forty-four, has four children with his wife of twenty years.

Mollie: Is there an argument that just keeps coming up between you and your wife?

Cal: Many of the long-running arguments that we have seen to be centered around the lack of defined roles in our relationship. We are both products of the feminist movement—women aren’t going to be forced to be at home taking care of children and cooking dinner! So the systems of our household are perpetually left leaderless as both adults strive for success and validation outside our home.

This lack of definition has plagued us since the days we just started living together and couldn’t agree on who did what chores and who was responsible for what. It’s rather embarrassing to say that we still run across these problems twenty years later. At least a few generations ago they had one person who gathered resources and one person who saw that those resources were well managed in producing a family. Now we are both responsible for everything, and that leads to chaos and frustration for us.

Mollie: Can you give me more specifics? Which chores are still up for grabs? Which chores have you come to an agreement on?

Cal: We have written out three sheets of information for the family. One sheet gives our vision, values, expectations and measures of success. It’s funny that after being married over twenty years we are still working out what our vision for our home is. We’ve had other vision statements in the past, but they seem to have a finite life span. The vision needs to be renewed and revived periodically; for us, it seems like we can agree on one for about two years.

The next sheet shows the systems we are working on to make the household run more smoothly. We started with agreeing on twenty minutes of cleaning and that’s going really well thus far (maybe for the past two months). We’re still working on figuring out the rest.

Finally, we have a chores sheet. This is laminated (yes, we have a laminator and every family needs one!). We assign and check off the chores using a dry erase marker. There are six of us, and six people cleaning a single area isn’t going to work, so we have two or three areas separated out into five days (our goal is to clean five days per week). We schedule the cleaning via group text message at least two hours ahead of time. Then we assemble at the table, pick a day, assign the jobs, start the timer, start some music, and clean for twenty minutes. If someone finishes early, they get re-assigned to another job until we have all worked for twenty minutes. We clean with whoever is home at the time, even if it’s only a couple of us.

This cleaning system has finally gotten our house to feel like a home. We all now have clean, paired socks and vacuumed hallways.

Bedroom cleaning is handled by a different system of weekly room inspections.

Mollie: Any other ongoing arguments?

Cal: Nothing is jumping to mind. My wife and I are pretty low-key people, but we have still managed to have some pretty turbulent times in our marriage. This point isn’t one of them. Our kids are now 18, 16, 14 and 11. They are old enough that they are becoming self-sufficient, but young enough not to realize how clueless they are in the real world. It’s a frustrating time. I think we’ve been handling it well, overall, but have been far from perfect.

Mollie: Finally, how much do you enjoy your marriage? Is it worth the hardship?

Cal: I do enjoy my marriage. The sex is amazing, and that’s a large part of male happiness. Consistent access to a female is success in an evolutionary sense. Beyond just meeting physical needs, my wife is a wonderful friend who I still enjoy having dinner with or accompanying to one of our children’s events. I made a really good decision before we started dating: I had just had a mediocre dating experience with a pretty red-haired girl, who treated me like a distraction. Based on that experience, I decided that the next person I was going to spend my time with would be one who I enjoyed being with. My wife is remarkable in that I was always sorry when the evening came to an end; there never seemed to be enough time.

Twenty-three years later, I still think that was a wise decision. I haven’t had the most exciting life from the outside, but I’ve enjoyed most minutes because I made a really good choice. I married an honest friend who I really enjoyed being around. Fights come and go, but we still like having dinner, watching a movie or doing a project together. Even when we are at our worst, there has always been that underlying layer of friendship and enjoyment that we fell back on. It’s a pretty amazing connection.

Today, Just 99 Cents: The Naked House

Meet a man who rents out his apartment to fund his world travels, a woman who got out from under a huge debt by selling her belongings, and several experienced home organizers.

Featuring ten additional interviews with experienced minimalists, the updated version of The Naked House: Five Principles for a Minimalist Home is 99 cents on Amazon today.

Get your copy here.

Free Audiobooks Now Available: The Naked House

Meet a man who rents out his apartment to fund his world travels, a woman who got out from under a huge debt by selling her belongings, and several experienced home organizers.

Featuring ten additional interviews with experienced minimalists, The Naked House: Five Principles for a Minimalist Home is available on Amazon today. Get your copy here.

In addition, currently I have several Audible Audiobook versions to give away. Email me at mollie at mollieplayer.com if interested and I will try to get one of them to you.

Today, Just 99 Cents: The Naked House

Meet a man who rents out his apartment to fund his world travels, a woman who got out from under a huge debt by selling her belongings, and several experienced home organizers.

Featuring ten additional interviews with experienced minimalists, the updated version of The Naked House: Five Principles for a Minimalist Home is 99 cents on Amazon today.

Get your copy here.

Today, Just 99 Cents: The Naked House

Meet a man who rents out his apartment to fund his world travels, a woman who got out from under a huge debt by selling her belongings, and several experienced home organizers.

Featuring ten additional interviews with experienced minimalists, the updated version of The Naked House: Five Principles for a Minimalist Home is 99 cents on Amazon today.

Get your copy here.