Jess's bookshelf: all en-US Mon, 09 Oct 2023 12:58:02 -0700 60 Jess's bookshelf: all 144 41 https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Hopeless (Chestnut Springs, #5)]]> 13259066 256 To Be Announced 1439159688 Jess 0 to-read 0.0 2023 Hopeless (Chestnut Springs, #5)
author: To Be Announced
name: Jess
average rating: 0.0
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/09
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Best of Me 53487334 “Genius… It is miraculous to read these pieces… You must read The Best of Me.” —Andrew Sean Greer, New York Times Book Review

A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
A CNN and Christian Science Monitor Best Book of the Month

For more than twenty-five years, David Sedaris has been carving out a unique literary space, virtually creating his own genre. A Sedaris story may seem confessional, but is also highly attuned to the world outside. It opens our eyes to what is at absurd and moving about our daily existence. And it is almost impossible to read without laughing.
 
Now, for the first time collected in one volume, the author brings us his funniest and most memorable work. In these stories, Sedaris shops for rare taxidermy, hitchhikes with a lady quadriplegic, and spits a lozenge into a fellow traveler’s lap. He drowns a mouse in a bucket, struggles to say “give it to me” in five languages, and hand-feeds a carnivorous bird.
 
But if all you expect to find in Sedaris’s work is the deft and sharply observed comedy for which he became renowned, you may be surprised to discover that his words bring more warmth than mockery, more fellow-feeling than derision. Nowhere is this clearer than in his writing about his loved ones. In these pages, Sedaris explores falling in love and staying together, recognizing his own aging not in the mirror but in the faces of his siblings, losing one parent and coming to terms—at long last—with the other.
 
Taken together, the stories in The Best of Me reveal the wonder and delight Sedaris takes in the surprises life brings him. No experience, he sees, is quite as he expected—it’s often harder, more fraught, and certainly weirder—but sometimes it is also much richer and more wonderful.
 
Full of joy, generosity, and the incisive humor that has led David Sedaris to be called “the funniest man alive” (Time Out New York), The Best of Me spans a career spent watching and learning and laughing—quite often at himself—and invites readers deep into the world of one of the most brilliant and original writers of our time.]]> 387 David Sedaris 0316628247 Jess 0 currently-reading 4.19 2020 The Best of Me
author: David Sedaris
name: Jess
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/10/15
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness]]> 43306206
The Courage to Be Disliked shows you how to unlock the power within yourself to become your best and truest self, change your future and find lasting happiness. Using the theories of Alfred Adler, one of the three giants of 19th-century psychology alongside Freud and Jung, the authors explain how we are all free to determine our own future free of the shackles of past experiences, doubts and the expectations of others. It’s a philosophy that’s profoundly liberating, allowing us to develop the courage to change, and to ignore the limitations that we and those around us can place on ourselves.

The result is a book that is both highly accessible and profound in its importance. Millions have already read and benefited from its wisdom. Now that The Courage to Be Disliked has been published for the first time in English, so can you.]]> 288 Ichiro Kishimi Jess 0 currently-reading 3.85 2013 The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness
author: Ichiro Kishimi
name: Jess
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/10/05
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rules of Estrangement: Why Adult Children Cut Ties and How to Heal the Conflict]]> 51711280
“Finally, here’s a hopeful, comprehensive, and compassionate guide to navigating one of the most painful experiences for parents and their adult children alike.”—Lori Gottlieb, psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

Labeled a silent epidemic by a growing number of therapists and researchers, estrangement is one of the most disorienting and painful experiences of a parent's life. Popular opinion typically tells a one-sided story of parents who got what they deserved or overly entitled adult children who wrongly blame their parents. However, the reasons for estrangement are far more complex and varied. As a result of rising rates of individualism, an increasing cultural emphasis on happiness, growing economic insecurity, and a historically recent perception that parents are obstacles to personal growth, many parents find themselves forever shut out of the lives of their adult children and grandchildren.

As a trusted psychologist whose own daughter cut off contact for several years and eventually reconciled, Dr. Joshua Coleman is uniquely qualified to guide parents in navigating these fraught interactions. He helps to alleviate the ongoing feelings of shame, hurt, guilt, and sorrow that commonly attend these dynamics. By placing estrangement into a cultural context, Dr. Coleman helps parents better understand the mindset of their adult children and teaches them how to implement the strategies for reconciliation and healing that he has seen work in his forty years of practice. Rules of Estrangement gives parents the language and the emotional tools to engage in meaningful conversation with their child, the framework to cultivate a healthy relationship moving forward, and the ability to move on if reconciliation is no longer possible.

While estrangement is a complex and tender topic, Dr. Coleman's insightful approach is based on empathy and understanding for both the parent and the adult child.]]> 320 Joshua Coleman 0593136861 Jess 0 currently-reading 3.99 2021 Rules of Estrangement: Why Adult Children Cut Ties and How to Heal the Conflict
author: Joshua Coleman
name: Jess
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/10/05
shelves: currently-reading
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]]> <![CDATA[The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent]]> 218873 Esther and Jerry Hicks, who present the teachings of the Non-Physical entity Abraham, is about having a deliberate intent for whatever you want in life, while at the same time balancing your energy living the Art of Allowing along the way. But it’s important to note that the awareness of the need to balance your energy is much more significant than goal-setting or focusing on ultimate desires. And it is from this very important distinction that this work has come forth.
 
As you come to understand and effectively practice the processes offered here, you will not only achieve your goals and desired outcomes more rapidly, but you’ll enjoy every single step along the path even before their manifestation. As such, you’ll find that the living of your life is an ongoing journey of joy, rather than a series of long dry spells between occasional moments of temporary satisfaction.]]> 336 Esther Hicks 1401906966 Jess 0 currently-reading 4.26 2006 The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent
author: Esther Hicks
name: Jess
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/10/05
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma]]> 18693771 A pioneering researcher transforms our understanding of trauma and offers a bold new paradigm for healing.

Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world's foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers' capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust. He explores innovative treatments—from neurofeedback and meditation to sports, drama, and yoga—that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain's natural neuroplasticity. Based on Dr. van der Kolk's own research and that of other leading specialists, The Body Keeps the Score exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.]]> 464 Bessel van der Kolk 0670785938 Jess 0 currently-reading 4.32 2014 The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
author: Bessel van der Kolk
name: Jess
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2014
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/10/05
shelves: currently-reading
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]]> <![CDATA[Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver]]> 34272476
“No matter where one starts reading, Devotions offers much to love, from Oliver's exuberant dog poems to selections from the Pulitzer Prize-winning American Primitive, and Dream Work, one of her exceptional collections. Perhaps more important, the luminous writing provides respite from our crazy world and demonstrates how mindfulness can define and transform a life, moment by moment, poem by poem.” —The Washington Post

“It’s as if the poet herself has sidled beside the reader and pointed us to the poems she considers most worthy of deep consideration.” —Chicago Tribune

Throughout her celebrated career, Mary Oliver has touched countless readers with her brilliantly crafted verse, expounding on her love for the physical world and the powerful bonds between all living things. Identified as "far and away, this country's best selling poet" by Dwight Garner, she now returns with a stunning and definitive collection of her writing from the last fifty years.

Carefully curated, these 200 plus poems feature Oliver's work from her very first book of poetry, No Voyage and Other Poems, published in 1963 at the age of 28, through her most recent collection, Felicity, published in 2015. This timeless volume, arranged by Oliver herself, showcases the beloved poet at her edifying best. Within these pages, she provides us with an extraordinary and invaluable collection of her passionate, perceptive, and much-treasured observations of the natural world.]]> 456 Mary Oliver 0399563245 Jess 0 currently-reading 4.56 2017 Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver
author: Mary Oliver
name: Jess
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/10/05
shelves: currently-reading
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]]> Is This Anything? 50722115 The first book in twenty-five years from Jerry Seinfeld features his best work across five decades in comedy.

Since his first performance at the legendary New York nightclub “Catch a Rising Star” as a twenty-one-year-old college student in fall of 1975, Jerry Seinfeld has written his own material and saved everything. “Whenever I came up with a funny bit, whether it happened on a stage, in a conversation, or working it out on my preferred canvas, the big yellow legal pad, I kept it in one of those old school accordion folders,” Seinfeld writes. “So I have everything I thought was worth saving from forty-five years of hacking away at this for all I was worth.”

For this book, Jerry Seinfeld has selected his favorite material, organized decade by decade. In page after hilarious page, one brilliantly crafted observation after another, readers will witness the evolution of one of the great comedians of our time and gain new insights into the thrilling but unforgiving art of writing stand-up comedy.]]> 480 Jerry Seinfeld 1982112697 Jess 0 currently-reading 3.71 2020 Is This Anything?
author: Jerry Seinfeld
name: Jess
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/10/05
shelves: currently-reading
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]]> <![CDATA[Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life]]> 44595007
What would be possible if you followed through on your best intentions? What could you accomplish if you could stay focused and overcome distractions? What if you had the power to become "indistractable"?  

International best-selling author, former Stanford lecturer, and behavioral design expert, Nir Eyal, wrote Silicon Valley's handbook for making technology habit-forming. Five years after publishing Hooked, Eyal reveals distraction's Achilles' heel in his groundbreaking new book.  

In Indistractable, Eyal reveals the hidden psychology driving us to distraction. He describes why solving the problem is not as simple as swearing off our devices: Abstinence is impractical and often makes us want more.  

Eyal lays bare the secret of finally doing what you say you will do with a four-step, research-backed model. Indistractable reveals the key to getting the best out of technology, without letting it get the best of us.  

Inside, Eyal overturns conventional wisdom and reveals: 


Why distraction at work is a symptom of a dysfunctional company culture - and how to fix it  
What really drives human behavior and why "time management is pain management"  
Why your relationships (and your sex life) depend on you becoming indistractable  
How to raise indistractable children in an increasingly distracting world 
Empowering and optimistic, Indistractable provides practical, novel techniques to control your time and attention - helping you live the life you really want.]]> 290 Nir Eyal 194883653X Jess 0 currently-reading 3.70 2019 Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
author: Nir Eyal
name: Jess
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/10/05
shelves: currently-reading
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]]> The Blue Island 9344002 156 William T. Stead 114052688X Jess 5 4.13 1922 The Blue Island
author: William T. Stead
name: Jess
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1922
rating: 5
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date added: 2021/10/05
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]]> Upstream: Selected Essays 29358559 Upstream finds beloved poet Mary Oliver reflecting on her astonishment and admiration for the natural world and the craft of writing.  

As she contemplates the pleasure of artistic labor, finding solace and safety within the woods, and the joyful and rhythmic beating of wings, Oliver intimately shares with her readers her quiet discoveries, boundless curiosity, and exuberance for the grandeur of our world. 

This radiant collection of her work, with some pieces published here for the first time, reaffirms Oliver as a passionate and prolific observer whose thoughtful meditations on spiders, writing a poem, blue fin tuna, and Ralph Waldo Emerson inspire us all to discover wonder and awe in life's smallest corners.]]> 178 Mary Oliver 1594206708 Jess 5 favorites 4.16 2016 Upstream: Selected Essays
author: Mary Oliver
name: Jess
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2021/01/05
date added: 2021/10/05
shelves: favorites
review:
This book I took my time with, and I am glad I did. There are a few essays in the middle I was rather meh about, but the little nuggets at the beginning and the end make up for it. I have a lot of bent pages I often go back to. Oliver has a way with words that feels like she is shining a light on our soul that speaks to the beauty and vulnerability that is this physical experience.
]]> <![CDATA[Daily Observations: Thoreau on the Days of the Year (Spirit of Thoreau (University of Massachusetts Press))]]> 452325 128 Steve Grant 1558495002 Jess 3 currently-reading 3.78 2005 Daily Observations: Thoreau on the Days of the Year (Spirit of Thoreau (University of Massachusetts Press))
author: Steve Grant
name: Jess
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/10/05
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself]]> 1963638 The Untethered Soul offers simple yet profound answers to these questions.

Whether this is your first exploration of inner space, or you’ve devoted your life to the inward journey, this book will transform your relationship with yourself and the world around you. You’ll discover what you can do to put an end to the habitual thoughts and emotions that limit your consciousness. By tapping into traditions of meditation and mindfulness, author and spiritual teacher Michael A. Singer shows how the development of consciousness can enable us all to dwell in the present moment and let go of painful thoughts and memories that keep us from achieving happiness and self-realization.

Copublished with the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) The Untethered Soul begins by walking you through your relationship with your thoughts and emotions, helping you uncover the source and fluctuations of your inner energy. It then delves into what you can do to free yourself from the habitual thoughts, emotions, and energy patterns that limit your consciousness. Finally, with perfect clarity, this book opens the door to a life lived in the freedom of your innermost being.]]> 183 Michael A. Singer Jess 5 4.18 2007 The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself
author: Michael A. Singer
name: Jess
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2021/06/05
date added: 2021/10/05
shelves:
review:
If you want to change your life, read this book. One of the greatest philosophies I've ever come across and Singer takes you to places with words that feel familiar yet revolutionary.
]]> <![CDATA[No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering]]> 36334268 117 Thich Nhat Hanh 9386021765 Jess 5 Many many many life-changing lessons. ]]> 4.41 2014 No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering
author: Thich Nhat Hanh
name: Jess
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2019/12/29
date added: 2021/02/03
shelves:
review:
This book lit my soul on fire. I loved it so much <3
Many many many life-changing lessons.
]]> <![CDATA[Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman]]> 29340182 260 Lindy West 0316348406 Jess 0 to-read 4.15 2016 Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman
author: Lindy West
name: Jess
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2020/04/13
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Worth Every Penny: Build a Business That Thrills Your Customers and Still Charge What You're Worth]]> 19191722 213 Sarah Petty 1608322823 Jess 0 to-read 4.21 2012 Worth Every Penny: Build a Business That Thrills Your Customers and Still Charge What You're Worth
author: Sarah Petty
name: Jess
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2020/04/13
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[You 2: A High Velocity Formula for Multiplying Your Personal Effectiveness in Quantum Leaps]]> 464198 37 Price Pritchett 0944002048 Jess 0 to-read 4.05 1994 You 2: A High Velocity Formula for Multiplying Your Personal Effectiveness in Quantum Leaps
author: Price Pritchett
name: Jess
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1994
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/04/07
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[YOU² ( squaring your results )]]> 41853006 41 Tim D Ayila Jess 0 to-read 4.13 YOU² ( squaring your results )
author: Tim D Ayila
name: Jess
average rating: 4.13
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2020/04/07
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth]]> 30900534 “A cheerful manifesto on removing obstacles between yourself and the income of your dreams.” —New York Magazine

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of You Are a Badass, a life-changing guide to making the kind of money you’ve only ever dreamed of

You Are a Badass at Making Money will launch you past the fears and stumbling blocks that have kept financial success beyond your reach. Drawing on her own transformation—over just a few years—from a woman living in a converted garage with tumbleweeds blowing through her bank account to a woman who travels the world in style, Jen Sincero channels the inimitable sass and practicality that made You Are a Badass an indomitable bestseller. She combines hilarious personal essays with bite-size, aha concepts that unlock earning potential and get real results.

Learn to:

• Uncover what's holding you back from making money
• Give your doubts, fears, and excuses the heave-ho
• Relate to money in a new (and lucrative) way
• Shake up the cocktail of creation
• Tap into your natural ability to grow rich
• Shape your reality—stop playing victim to circumstance
• Get as wealthy as you wanna be

“This book truly crystallizes the concept that financial abundance is an inside job—in that it all begins with your mindset—and Sincero gets serious (in the funniest ways possible) about helping you identify your particular limiting beliefs surrounding money.” —PopSugar]]> 267 Jen Sincero 0735222975 Jess 4 3.87 2017 You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth
author: Jen Sincero
name: Jess
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2019/12/11
date added: 2020/04/01
shelves:
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]]> Post Office 40409718 162 Charles Bukowski Jess 5 3.88 1971 Post Office
author: Charles Bukowski
name: Jess
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1971
rating: 5
read at: 2020/04/01
date added: 2020/04/01
shelves:
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]]> My Husband's Wife 31227076
But Lily is not the only one with secrets. Her next-door neighbor Carla may be only nine, but she has already learned that secrets are powerful things. That they can get her whatever she wants.

When Lily finds Carla on her doorstep twelve years later, a chain of events is set in motion that can end only one way.]]> 373 Jane Corry 0735220956 Jess 4 3.45 2016 My Husband's Wife
author: Jane Corry
name: Jess
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2020/04/01
date added: 2020/04/01
shelves:
review:

]]> Eat, Pray, Love 19501
Around the time Elizabeth Gilbert turned thirty, she went through an early-onslaught midlife crisis. She had everything an educated, ambitious American woman was supposed to want—a husband, a house, a successful career. But instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she was consumed with panic, grief, and confusion. She went through a divorce, a crushing depression, another failed love, and the eradication of everything she ever thought she was supposed to be.

To recover from all this, Gilbert took a radical step. In order to give herself the time and space to find out who she really was and what she really wanted, she got rid of her belongings, quit her job, and undertook a yearlong journey around the world—all alone. Eat, Pray, Love is the absorbing chronicle of that year. Her aim was to visit three places where she could examine one aspect of her own nature set against the backdrop of a culture that has traditionally done that one thing very well. In Rome, she studied the art of pleasure, learning to speak Italian and gaining the twenty-three happiest pounds of her life. India was for the art of devotion, and with the help of a native guru and a surprisingly wise cowboy from Texas, she embarked on four uninterrupted months of spiritual exploration. In Bali, she studied the art of balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence. She became the pupil of an elderly medicine man and also fell in love the best way—unexpectedly.

An intensely articulate and moving memoir of self-discovery, Eat, Pray, Love is about what can happen when you claim responsibility for your own contentment and stop trying to live in imitation of society’s ideals. It is certain to touch anyone who has ever woken up to the unrelenting need for change.]]> 368 Elizabeth Gilbert 0143038419 Jess 5 3.65 2006 Eat, Pray, Love
author: Elizabeth Gilbert
name: Jess
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/03/13
shelves:
review:
Love this book! I was late to the game! one of my favorites for sure!
]]> <![CDATA[No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering]]> 20949716
Thich Nhat Hanh acknowledges that because suffering can feel so bad, we try to run away from it or cover it up by consuming. We find something to eat or turn on the television. But unless we’re able to face our suffering, we can’t be present and available to life, and happiness will continue to elude us.

Nhat Hanh shares how the practices of stopping, mindful breathing, and deep concentration can generate the energy of mindfulness within our daily lives. With that energy, we can embrace pain and calm it down, instantly bringing a measure of freedom and a clearer mind.

No Mud, No Lotus introduces ways to be in touch with suffering without being overwhelmed by it. "When we know how to suffer," Nhat Hanh says, "we suffer much, much less." With his signature clarity and sense of joy, Thich Nhat Hanh helps us recognize the wonders inside us and around us that we tend to take for granted and teaches us the art of happiness.]]> 128 Thich Nhat Hanh 1937006859 Jess 5 favorites 4.26 2014 No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering
author: Thich Nhat Hanh
name: Jess
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2020/01/13
date added: 2020/03/13
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> Girl Wash your Face 35542451 With wry wit and hard-earned wisdom, popular online personality and founder of TheChicSite.com founder Rachel Hollis helps readers break free from the lies keeping them from the joy-filled and exuberant life they are meant to have.

Founder of the lifestyle website TheChicSite.com and CEO of her own media company, Chic Media, Rachel Hollis has created an online fan base of hundreds of thousands of fans by sharing tips for living a better life while fearlessly revealing the messiness of her own. Now comes her highly anticipated first book featuring her signature combination of honesty, humor, and direct, no-nonsense advice.

Each chapter of Girl, Wash Your Face begins with a specific lie Hollis once believed that left her feeling overwhelmed, unworthy, or ready to give up. As a working mother, a former foster parent, and a woman who has dealt with insecurities about her body and relationships, she speaks with the insight and kindness of a BFF, helping women unpack the limiting mind-sets that destroy their self-confidence and keep them from moving forward.

From her temporary obsession with marrying Matt Damon to a daydream involving hypnotic iguanas to her son's request that she buy a necklace to "be like the other moms," Hollis holds nothing back. With unflinching faith and tenacity, Hollis spurs other women to live with passion and hustle and to awaken their slumbering goals.]]> 240 Rachel Hollis 1400201667 Jess 2 Not because Hollis is a poor writer, but because it felt rushed.
I respect the hell out of how boss she is, but sometimes her message is a tad out-of-line, and a bit braggadocios. I believe her intent was not that, so maybe I'm interpreting it poorly, and that's on me. ]]> 3.55 2018 Girl Wash your Face
author: Rachel Hollis
name: Jess
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at: 2019/04/14
date added: 2020/01/14
shelves:
review:
I felt this was preachy, a bit showboaty, and poorly written.
Not because Hollis is a poor writer, but because it felt rushed.
I respect the hell out of how boss she is, but sometimes her message is a tad out-of-line, and a bit braggadocios. I believe her intent was not that, so maybe I'm interpreting it poorly, and that's on me.
]]> <![CDATA[Choose Wonder Over Worry: Move Beyond Fear and Doubt to Unlock Your Full Potential]]> 36516721
"Amber Rae is the Elizabeth Gilbert of her generation." —Stacy London, New York Times bestselling author of The Truth about Style

WONDER is what we’re born with.
WORRY is what we learn.
NOW IS THE TIME TO RETURN TO WONDER.

Why do we hold back from pursuing what matters most? Why do we listen to the voice inside our head that tells us we're not good enough, smart enough, or talented enough? How can we move beyond the fear and doubt that prevents us from creating a life that reflects who we truly are?

CHOOSE WONDER OVER WORRY is your official invitation to face your fears, navigate your discomfort, and rewrite the "worry myths” in your mind that keep you from being your best and truest self.

Journey with inspirational speaker and artist AMBER RAE as she connects you with your voice of worry and wonder, teaches you to listen to your emotions rather than silence them, and encourages you to seize your dreams. Through a thoughtful blend of vulnerability, soulfulness, and science, Amber Rae guides you in expressing the fullness of who you are and the gifts you’re here to give.

You don’t have to be held back by Worry when Wonder awaits you every moment of every day.

Worry or Wonder: which will you choose?]]> 235 Amber Rae 1250175259 Jess 5 The idea of observing our emotions and welcoming them to teach us and gain clarity in our lives is life-changing information and I wish more people, especially parents, knew and trusted the concept. ]]> 3.78 2018 Choose Wonder Over Worry: Move Beyond Fear and Doubt to Unlock Your Full Potential
author: Amber Rae
name: Jess
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2020/01/14
date added: 2020/01/14
shelves:
review:
This is a great book for people looking to get into mindfulness practices.
The idea of observing our emotions and welcoming them to teach us and gain clarity in our lives is life-changing information and I wish more people, especially parents, knew and trusted the concept.
]]> <![CDATA[The Joy of Missing Out: Live More by Doing Less]]> 44442025 240 Tanya Dalton 1400214335 Jess 0 to-read 3.77 2019 The Joy of Missing Out: Live More by Doing Less
author: Tanya Dalton
name: Jess
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/01/05
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Mindful Relationship Habits: 25 Practices for Couples to Enhance Intimacy, Nurture Closeness, and Grow a Deeper Connection]]> 37770467 gets lost in the shuffle is the love you share with your partner. Maybe you've neglected some of the positive habits you adopted when you were dating to win over your love partner. Or perhaps all of your conversations seem to end in arguments? Or worse, you might occasionally wonder if your relationship is even worth salvaging. The Build Mindful Relationship Habits If you want to build a deeper connection with your spouse or partner, then one solution is to build "Mindful Relationship Habits." In a mindful relationship, you are intentional about all your choices and interactions with your partner. You become more proactive in responding to each other's needs and less reactive to the challenges that often arise. You evolve to a higher level of interaction with one another. Mindful Relationship Habits -- 25 Practices for Couples to Enhance Intimacy, Nurture Closeness, and Grow a Deeper Connection In Mindful Relationship Habits, Wall Street Journal bestselling authors S.J. Scott and Barrie Davenport show you how to have a more mindful relationship by applying 25 specific practices. These habits will help you be more present with one another, communicate better, avoid divisive arguments, and understand how to respond to one another's needs in a more loving, empathic, and conscious way. With the relationship advice outlined in this book, you will get insights and lessons learned from a variety of relationship and mindfulness experts -- all backed by scientific research. Each habit presented offers a clear explanation of why it's valuable to the health of your relationship and instructions on how to make the habit a natural part of your interactions with your partner. Would You Like To Know More? Download now to re-create the magic in the most valuable relationship in your life. Scroll to the top of the page and select the buy now button.]]> 282 S.J. Scott 1946159077 Jess 0 to-read 4.01 2018 Mindful Relationship Habits: 25 Practices for Couples to Enhance Intimacy, Nurture Closeness, and Grow a Deeper Connection
author: S.J. Scott
name: Jess
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/01/05
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe]]> 42583943 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A renowned psychic medium teaches us how to recognize and interpret the life-changing messages from loved ones and spirit guides on the Other Side.

Laura Lynne Jackson is a psychic medium and the author of the New York Times bestseller The Light Between Us. She possesses an incredible gift: the ability to communicate with loved ones who have passed, convey messages of love and healing, and impart a greater understanding of our interconnectedness. Though her abilities are exceptional, they are not unique, and that is the message at the core of this book. Understanding "the secret language of the universe" is a gift available to all. As we learn to ask for and recognize signs from the other side, we will start to find meaning where before there was only confusion, and see light in the darkness. We may decide to change paths, push toward love, pursue joy, and engage with life in a whole new way.

In Signs, Jackson is able to bring the mystical into the everyday. She relates stories of people who have experienced uncanny revelations and instances of unexplained synchronicity, as well as others drawn from her own experience. There's the lost child who appears to his mother as a deer that approaches her unhesitatingly at a highway rest stop; the name written on a dollar bill that lets a terrified wife know that her husband will be okay; the Elvis Presley song that arrives at the exact moment of Jackson's own father's passing; and many others. This is a book that is inspiring and practical, deeply comforting and wonderfully motivational, in asking us to see beyond ourselves to a more magnificent universal design.]]> 288 Laura Lynne Jackson 0399591591 Jess 0 to-read 4.12 2019 Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe
author: Laura Lynne Jackson
name: Jess
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/01/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[You Were Born for This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance]]> 37959939
Modern astrology isn’t about passively accepting our fate, it’s about action, and beloved astrologer Chani Nicholas shows you how to bring this life-changing practice into your life and embrace self-empowerment, intentionality, and spirituality. Gone are the days of "on Tuesday you will meet your prince charming" horoscopes. Instead, Nicholas is spearheading a radical new approach to astrology. In her hip, inspirational weekly horoscopes, she doesn’t tell readers what will happen to them. Instead, she encourages her devotees to take control—to confront themselves, their desires, and their needs—to fulfill their potential using the power of the stars.

Written in her lyrical, cool-girl, feminist writing style, You Were Born for This explains how knowing your star signs and what they mean for your individual character can be revelatory. Understanding the astrological chart can help you refine your intentions, identify your strengths, recognize areas for growth, become more connected to your core self, and steer you on your spiritual path.

In an era when growing numbers of people feel a sense of meaninglessness and a desire to learn more about themselves, You Were Born for This teaches you how to harness the zodiac to help you become more in tune with yourself and your place in the universe.]]> Chani Nicholas 0062866915 Jess 0 to-read 4.20 2020 You Were Born for This: Astrology for Radical Self-Acceptance
author: Chani Nicholas
name: Jess
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2020/01/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money—That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!]]> 69571 195 Robert T. Kiyosaki 0751532711 Jess 0 currently-reading 4.08 1997 Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money—That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
author: Robert T. Kiyosaki
name: Jess
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/12/29
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> As a Man Thinketh 81959
Purity of mind leads inevitably to purity of life, to the precious love and understanding that should control our everyday acts and attitudes towards friends and foes.

But where must one look for guidance? How does one achieve purity of mind that alone brings happiness and confidence?

The author offers his clear answers in this book As A Man Thinketh. His words have helped millions for more than a century--and they continue to point the true way to a better life for a troubled humanity.

"Out of a clean heart comes a clean life and a clean body," James Allen writes. "Out of a defiled mind proceeds a defiled life and a corrupt body."

Too many mortals strive to improve only their wordly position--and too few seek spiritual betterment. Such is the problem James Allen faced in his own time. The ideas he found in his inner-most heart after great searching guided him as they will guide you.]]> 80 James Allen 1585425648 Jess 0 to-read 4.22 1902 As a Man Thinketh
author: James Allen
name: Jess
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1902
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/12/29
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]]> <![CDATA[The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles]]> 90556 205 Bruce H. Lipton 0975991477 Jess 0 to-read 4.13 2005 The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles
author: Bruce H. Lipton
name: Jess
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2005
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/12/29
shelves: to-read
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]]> Man's Search for Meaning 4069 Man's Search for Meaning has become one of the most influential books in America; it continues to inspire us all to find significance in the very act of living.]]> 165 Viktor E. Frankl 080701429X Jess 0 to-read 4.38 1946 Man's Search for Meaning
author: Viktor E. Frankl
name: Jess
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1946
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/12/29
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Don't Keep Your Day Job: How to Turn Your Passion into Your Career]]> 43263445
Don't Keep Your Day Job will get you fired up, ready to rip it open and use your zone of genius to add a little more sparkle to this world. Cathy Heller, host of the popular podcast Don't Keep Your Day Job, shares wisdom, anecdotes, and practical suggestions from successful creative entrepreneurs and experts, including actress Jenna Fischer on rejection, Gretchen Rubin on the keys to happiness, Jen Sincero on having your best badass life, and so much more. You'll learn essential steps like how to build your side hustle, how to find your tribe, how to reach for what you truly deserve, and how to ultimately turn your passion into profit and build a life you love.]]> 256 Cathy Heller 1250193605 Jess 0 to-read 3.86 2019 Don't Keep Your Day Job: How to Turn Your Passion into Your Career
author: Cathy Heller
name: Jess
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/12/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results]]> 16256798 The One Thing explains the success habit to overcome the six lies that block our success, beat the seven thieves that steal time, and leverage the laws of purpose, priority, and productivity.

In The One Thing, you'll learn to:
• cut through the clutter;
• achieve better results in less time;
• build momentum toward your goal;
• dial down the stress;
• overcome that overwhelmed feeling;
• revive your energy;
• stay on track;
• master what matters most.]]> 240 Gary Keller 1885167776 Jess 5 4.10 2012 The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results
author: Gary Keller
name: Jess
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2019/11/06
date added: 2019/12/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Do You Mind If I Cancel?: Things That Still Annoy Me]]> 43263670
Gary spends his twenties in New York, dreaming of starring on soap operas while in reality working at a hotel where he lusts after an unattainable colleague and battles a bellman who despises it when people actually use a bell to call him. He chronicles the torture of finding a job before the internet when you had to talk on the phone all the time, and fantasizes, as we all do, about who to tell off when he finally wins an Oscar. As Gary himself says, "These are essays from my childhood and young adulthood about things that still annoy me."

Original, brazen, and laugh out loud funny, Do You Mind if I Cancel? is something not to be missed.]]> 159 Gary Janetti 1250225825 Jess 5 I love this book! So relatable. It was like I was having lunch with a friend and he went on a monologue about things. I loved Janetti's voice, and the pattern of long-winded sentences between sticatto statements.
I feel so much better about life now that I've read it.
Gary, if you're reading this, can we have coffee? I think you're so cool. ]]> 3.48 2019 Do You Mind If I Cancel?: Things That Still Annoy Me
author: Gary Janetti
name: Jess
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/11/12
date added: 2019/11/12
shelves:
review:
OH MY GOD!!!
I love this book! So relatable. It was like I was having lunch with a friend and he went on a monologue about things. I loved Janetti's voice, and the pattern of long-winded sentences between sticatto statements.
I feel so much better about life now that I've read it.
Gary, if you're reading this, can we have coffee? I think you're so cool.
]]> It Would Be Night in Caracas 43884206 Told with gripping intensity, It Would be Night in Caracas chronicles one woman’s desperate battle to survive amid the dangerous, sometimes deadly, turbulence of modern Venezuela and the lengths she must go to secure her future.

In Caracas, Venezuela, Adelaida Falcon stands over an open grave. Alone, except for harried undertakers, she buries her mother–the only family Adelaida has ever known.

Numb with grief, Adelaida returns to the apartment they shared. Outside the window that she tapes shut every night—to prevent the tear gas raining down on protesters in the streets from seeping in. When looters masquerading as revolutionaries take over her apartment, Adelaida resists and is beaten up. It is the beginning of a fight for survival in a country that has disintegrated into violence and anarchy, where citizens are increasingly pitted against each other. But as fate would have it, Adelaida is given a gruesome choice that could secure her escape.

Filled with riveting twists and turns, and told in a powerful, urgent voice, It Would Be Night in Caracas is a chilling reminder of how quickly the world we know can crumble.]]> 240 Karina Sainz Borgo 0062936867 Jess 5
Such an important read; what's happening in Venezuela is tragic. I appreciated the vivid picture of anarchy and putting the reader at the center of it, which is important because if one has never experienced living in anarchy directly, one would never understand it.

Another important aspect of the book are the flashbacks of a peaceful and normal childhood, something which is part of the Venezuelan identity for the older generations of Venezuelans. It depicts how the country has been erased from their memory and the political gaslighting of the government there leaves its people confused, ashamed, and numb.

I am so curious how much of this account was true, because some details seemed so specific it would be hard to make them up. I wish this book on everyone. It's such a necessary piece of liturature in todays world. I would love more from Borgo, and I'd also love this to be made into a picture. I feel more people need to know about Venezuela, it's heartbreaking that it's in a similar timezone as New York, but if you asked most New Yorkers where Venezuela was they'd have no idea.]]> 3.62 2019 It Would Be Night in Caracas
author: Karina Sainz Borgo
name: Jess
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/11/06
date added: 2019/11/06
shelves:
review:
I'm obsessed with Karina Sainz Borgo after reading this. The English translation was perfect, (although I wish I knew Spanish because something tells me the power of this book in its original text is twice that of what it is translated... either way, it was powerful).

Such an important read; what's happening in Venezuela is tragic. I appreciated the vivid picture of anarchy and putting the reader at the center of it, which is important because if one has never experienced living in anarchy directly, one would never understand it.

Another important aspect of the book are the flashbacks of a peaceful and normal childhood, something which is part of the Venezuelan identity for the older generations of Venezuelans. It depicts how the country has been erased from their memory and the political gaslighting of the government there leaves its people confused, ashamed, and numb.

I am so curious how much of this account was true, because some details seemed so specific it would be hard to make them up. I wish this book on everyone. It's such a necessary piece of liturature in todays world. I would love more from Borgo, and I'd also love this to be made into a picture. I feel more people need to know about Venezuela, it's heartbreaking that it's in a similar timezone as New York, but if you asked most New Yorkers where Venezuela was they'd have no idea.
]]> Year of Yes 29540318 Grey's Anatomy and Scandal and executive producer of How to Get Away with Murder and Catch, reveals how saying YES changed her life -- and how it can change yours too. With three hit shows on television and three children at home, Shonda Rhimes had lots of good reasons to say no when invitations arrived. Hollywood party? No. Speaking engagement? No. Media appearances? No. And to an introvert like Shonda, who describes herself as 'hugging the walls' at social events and experiencing panic attacks before press interviews, there was a particular benefit to saying no: nothing new to fear. Then came Thanksgiving 2013, when Shonda's sister Delorse muttered six little words at her: You never say yes to anything. Profound, impassioned and laugh-out-loud funny, in Year of Yes Shonda Rhimes reveals how saying YES changed -- and saved -- her life. And inspires readers everywhere to change their own lives with one little word: Yes.]]> 352 Shonda Rhimes 1471157326 Jess 0 to-read 4.04 2015 Year of Yes
author: Shonda Rhimes
name: Jess
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/03/05
shelves: to-read
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]]> Love Is a Dog from Hell 23534 A classic in the Bukowski poetry canon, Love Is a Dog from Hell is a raw, lyrical exploration of the exigencies, heartbreaks, and limits of love.

Charles Bukowski was a man of intense emotions, someone an editor once called a “passionate madman.” Alternating between tough and gentle, sensitive and gritty, Bukowski lays bare the myriad facets of love—its selfishness and its narcissism, its randomness, its mystery and its misery, and, ultimately, its true joyfulness, endurance, and redemptive power.]]> 312 Charles Bukowski 0876853629 Jess 5 to-read 3.99 1977 Love Is a Dog from Hell
author: Charles Bukowski
name: Jess
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1977
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly]]> 33313 A deluxe, annotated edition of Kitchen Confidential to celebrate the life of Anthony Bourdain, featuring new photo inserts

Over two decades ago, the New Yorker published a now infamous article, “Don’t Eat Before Reading This,” by then little-known chef Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain spared no one’s appetite as he revealed what happens behind the kitchen door. The article was a sensation, and the book it spawned, the now iconic Kitchen Confidential, became an even bigger sensation and megabestseller. Frankly confessional, addictively acerbic, and utterly unsparing, Bourdain pulls no punches in this memoir of his years in the restaurant business.

Fans will love to return to this deliciously funny, delectably shocking banquet of wild-but-true tales of life in the culinary trade, laying out Bourdain’s more than a quarter-century of drugs, sex, and haute cuisine. Including a handwritten introduction and annotations done by Bourdain about a decade after the book was originally published, this edition also features previously unpublished photos to accompany the now-classic text.]]> 312 Anthony Bourdain 0060899220 Jess 0 currently-reading 4.19 2000 Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
author: Anthony Bourdain
name: Jess
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/01/29
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Soup: A Recipe to Create a Culture of Greatness (Jon Gordon)]]> 7944570 176 Jon Gordon 0470487844 Jess 2 4.05 2010 Soup: A Recipe to Create a Culture of Greatness (Jon Gordon)
author: Jon Gordon
name: Jess
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2010
rating: 2
read at: 2019/01/01
date added: 2019/01/29
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Art of Closing the Sale: The Key to Making More Money Faster in the World of Professional Selling]]> 1399609
Early in his sales career, world-renowned sales expert Brian Tracy couldn't find a way to overcome that simple five-word objection and close the sale. Then he discovered a technique that worked. Business boomed. Tracy broke every sales record in his company and increased his income twenty-fold.

Since that breakthrough many years ago, Tracy has meticulously studied and collected the best of the best in sales-closing techniques. Now, in The Art of Closing the Sale, he shares this wealth of knowledge that has already helped more than one million people maximize their sales results.

No matter how eloquent or passionate a salesperson you may be, no matter how friendly your smile or likable your personality, if you can't close the sale, your efforts yield nothing.

The Art of Closing the Sale teaches the learnable skills that anyone can use to transform the sales process into a consistent win. This book is an absolute must-read for every sales professional seeking to boost their career and create a future of success.]]> 224 Brian Tracy 0785214291 Jess 5 4.15 2007 The Art of Closing the Sale: The Key to Making More Money Faster in the World of Professional Selling
author: Brian Tracy
name: Jess
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2019/01/27
date added: 2019/01/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Happiness Hack: How to Take Charge of Your Brain and Program More Happiness into Your Life]]> 34297914 128 Ellen Petry Leanse 1492656917 Jess 4 3.40 2017 The Happiness Hack: How to Take Charge of Your Brain and Program More Happiness into Your Life
author: Ellen Petry Leanse
name: Jess
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2018/12/31
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[You/Poet: Learn the Art. Speak Your Truth. Share Your Voice.]]> 39939480 Offering a variety of advice for tapping into your creative voice, sharing your work online, and honing your writing skills, You/Poet shows you how to express yourself creatively through the art of poetry.You may think that writing poetry requires a specific set of skills. You may have read books on writing poetry that were stuffy and full of strict rules and regulations. But You/Poet proves that all you need to be a poet is the desire to share your inner thoughts and emotions with the world. Let HerHeartPoetry—an online poetry community, Instagram, digital zine, and poetry press—take you on a journey of self-discovery and surprise, and show you how to embrace the world of writing poetry with arms wide open. Writing poetry is an act of bravery. It’s just you, your thoughts and feelings, and the words you choose to express them. You/Poet can help you do just that. With encouragement and advice on poetry writing basics, how to identify your unique creative voice, and prompts and exercises to help you channel your thoughts and emotions through writing, this all-in-one guide will help you share your talent with the world.]]> 257 Rayna Hutchison 1507208359 Jess 0 currently-reading 4.42 You/Poet: Learn the Art. Speak Your Truth. Share Your Voice.
author: Rayna Hutchison
name: Jess
average rating: 4.42
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/12/01
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Sun and Her Flowers 35606560 256 Rupi Kaur 1449486797 Jess 4 4.08 2018 The Sun and Her Flowers
author: Rupi Kaur
name: Jess
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2018/11/27
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Capital Gaines: Smart Things I Learned Doing Stupid Stuff]]> 34460629
In Capital Gaines, we walk alongside him as he relives some of his craziest antics and the lessons learned along the way. His mentors taught him to never give up and his family showed him what it meant to always have a positive attitude despite your circumstances. Throw in a natural daredevil personality and a willingness to do (or eat!) just about anything, and you have the life and daily activity of Chip Gaines.

Capital Gaines is the perfect book for anyone looking to succeed not only in business but more importantly in life. ]]> 224 Chip Gaines 0785216308 Jess 5 3.96 2017 Capital Gaines: Smart Things I Learned Doing Stupid Stuff
author: Chip Gaines
name: Jess
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2018/11/27
date added: 2018/11/27
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Playing Big: Practical Wisdom for Women Who Want to Speak Up, Create, and Lead]]> 25310678  
In her coaching and programs for women, Tara Mohr saw how women were "playing small" in their lives and careers, were frustrated by it, and wanted to "play bigger." She has devised a proven way for them to achieve their dreams by playing big from the inside out. Mohr’s work helping women play bigger has earned acclaim from the likes of Maria Shriver and Jillian Michaels, and has been featured on the Today show, CNN, and a host of other media outlets.
 
Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In gave many women new awareness about what kinds of changes they need to make to become more successful; yet most women need help implementing them. In the tradition of Brené Brown’s Daring Greatly , Playing Big provides real, practical tools to help women quiet self-doubt, identify their callings, “unhook” from praise and criticism, unlearn counterproductive good girl habits, and begin taking bold action.
 
While not all women aspire to end up in the corner office, every woman aspires to something. Playing Big fills a major gap among women’s career books; it isn’t just for corporate women. The book offers tools to help every woman play bigger—whether she’s an executive, community volunteer, artist, or stay-at-home mom.
 
Thousands of women across the country have been transformed by Mohr’s program, and now this book makes the ideas and practices available to everyone who is ready to play big.]]> 304 Tara Mohr 1592409601 Jess 0 to-read 4.17 2014 Playing Big: Practical Wisdom for Women Who Want to Speak Up, Create, and Lead
author: Tara Mohr
name: Jess
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/09/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Ten Poems to Change Your Life 835249
Through the voices of ten inspiring poets and his own reflections, the author of Sacred America shows how poetry illuminates the eternal feelings and desires that stir the human heart and soul. These poems explore such universal themes as the awakening of wonder, the longing for love, the wisdom of dreams, and the courage required to live an authentic life. In thoughtful commentary on each work, Housden offers glimpses into his personal spiritual journey and invites readers to contemplate the significance of the poet's message in their own lives.

In Ten Poems to Change Your Life , Roger Housden shows how these astonishing poems can inspire you to live what you always knew in your bones but never had the words for.

"The Journey" by Mary Oliver
"Last Night as I Was Sleeping" by Antonio Machado
"Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman
"Zero Circle" by Rumi
"The Time Before Death" by Kabir
"Ode to My Socks" by Pablo Neruda
"Last Gods" by Galway Kinnell
"For the Anniversary of My Death" by W. S. Merwin
"Love After Love" by Derek Walcott
"The Dark Night" by St. John of the Cross]]> 144 Roger Housden 0609609017 Jess 1 Went in with no expectations.
Came out feeling like I wasted my time. ]]> 4.02 2001 Ten Poems to Change Your Life
author: Roger Housden
name: Jess
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2001
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2018/08/26
shelves:
review:
Did not change my life.
Went in with no expectations.
Came out feeling like I wasted my time.
]]> <![CDATA[The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1)]]> 32075671
Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl's struggle for justice.

An alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780062498533 can be found here.]]> 453 Angie Thomas 0062498533 Jess 0 to-read 4.46 2017 The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1)
author: Angie Thomas
name: Jess
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/08/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Thirst 42632 Thirst, a collection of forty-three new poems from the Pulitzer Prize-winner Mary Oliver, introduces two new directions in the poet's work. Grappling with grief at the death of the love of her life and partner of over forty years, the remarkable photographer Molly Malone Cook, she strives to experience sorrow as a path to spiritual progress, grief as part of loving and not its end. And within these pages she chronicles for the first time her discovery of faith, without abandoning the love of the physical world that has been a hallmark of her work for four decades. In three stunning long poems, Oliver explores the dimensions and tests the parameters of religious doctrine, asking of being good, for example, "To what purpose? / Hope of Heaven? Not that. But to enter / the other kingdom: grace, and imagination, / and the multiple sympathies: to be as a leaf, a rose,/ a dolphin."]]> 88 Mary Oliver 0807068969 Jess 4 4.31 2006 Thirst
author: Mary Oliver
name: Jess
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2018/08/26
shelves:
review:
I love Mary Oliver. I was hoping this would be a book a bit more raw, because of the loss of her lover, but it seemed like a way to hide from the loss. Didn't see much difference in her usual work, aside from the first few poems. Just her observing the world the way she always does, perhaps from a slightly slower lens.
]]> Essential Bukowski: Poetry 29100335 225 Charles Bukowski 0062565281 Jess 5 4.21 2016 Essential Bukowski: Poetry
author: Charles Bukowski
name: Jess
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2018/08/26
shelves:
review:
This book made me a forever student of Bukowski. I love his raw and real style of writing and it helps me understand men in a whole new way. Though some women would claim he is a misogynist, I thank him for his work, and really appreciate getting to see the inside of a sensitive, broken, gritty, and hilarious soul such as Bukowski.
]]> The Magnolia Story 29423083
These famous words are now synonymous with the dynamic husband-and-wife team Chip and Joanna Gaines, stars of HGTV s Fixer Upper. As this question fills the airwaves with anticipation, their legions of fans continue to multiply and ask a different series of questions, like Who are these people?What s the secret to their success? And is Chip actually that funny in real life? By renovating homes in Waco, Texas, and changing lives in such a winsome and engaging way, Chip and Joanna have become more than just the stars of Fixer Upper, they have become America s new best friends.

The Magnolia Story is the first book from Chip and Joanna, offering their fans a detailed look at their life together. From the very first renovation project they ever tackled together, to the project that nearly cost them everything; from the childhood memories that shaped them, to the twists and turns that led them to the life they share on the farm today.

They both attended Baylor University in Waco. However, their paths did not cross until Chip checked his car into the local Firestone tire shop where Joanna worked behind the counter. Even back then Chip was a serial entrepreneur who, among other things, ran a lawn care company, sold fireworks, and flipped houses. Soon they were married and living in their first fixer upper. Four children and countless renovations later, Joanna garners the attention of a television producer who notices her work on a blog one day.

In The Magnolia Story fans will finally get to join the Gaines behind the scenes and discover: The time Chip ran to the grocery store and forgot to take their new, sleeping baby Joanna s agonizing decision to close her dream business to focus on raising their children When Chip buys a houseboat, sight-unseen, and it turns out to be a leaky wreck Joanna s breakthrough moment of discovering the secret to creating a beautiful home Harrowing stories of the financial ups and downs as an entrepreneurial couple Memories and photos from Chip and Jo s wedding The significance of the word magnolia and why it permeates everything they do The way the couple pays the popularity of Fixer Upper forward, sharing the success with others, and bolstering the city of Waco along the way

And yet there is still one lingering question for fans of the show: Is Chip really that funny? Oh yeah, says Joanna. He was, and still is, my first fixer upper. "]]> 182 Chip Gaines 0718079183 Jess 5 Makes me feel so much better about being an entrepreneur and hearing how long they had to keep on keepin' on and how many times they started over. I appreciated how laid back the writing was, and could almost hear their voices, (wondered if they used a talk type software to write it). Anyway, I recommend it to all entrepreneur friends.
And from someone who does not like to get on trends, and was 6 years late to the fixer-upper party, I am so happy to be fans. This couple worked hard to be where they are today, and acknowledge all the luck and support they received along the way, no doubt. ]]> 4.28 2016 The Magnolia Story
author: Chip Gaines
name: Jess
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2018/08/26
shelves:
review:
Didn't really know what to expect going into this, but I have a new respect for the Gaines and am so happy to have read this book. So inspiring to read about how they literally had no money, and had to kind of scrape along and eventually became this mega success, but worked for every ounce of that. At one point I was a little sad at Jo, for always kinda going along with Chip's ideas for the family, but then I remembered that she chose to marry a spontaneous and crazy dude, and that was part of the ride.
Makes me feel so much better about being an entrepreneur and hearing how long they had to keep on keepin' on and how many times they started over. I appreciated how laid back the writing was, and could almost hear their voices, (wondered if they used a talk type software to write it). Anyway, I recommend it to all entrepreneur friends.
And from someone who does not like to get on trends, and was 6 years late to the fixer-upper party, I am so happy to be fans. This couple worked hard to be where they are today, and acknowledge all the luck and support they received along the way, no doubt.
]]> <![CDATA[Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative]]> 13099738 160 Austin Kleon 0761169253 Jess 4 3.96 2012 Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
author: Austin Kleon
name: Jess
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2018/08/26
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear]]> 24453082 Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.]]> 276 Elizabeth Gilbert 1594634718 Jess 5 3.95 2015 Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
author: Elizabeth Gilbert
name: Jess
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2018/08/26
date added: 2018/08/26
shelves:
review:
Although there were corny parts of this story, I didn't care, because the message behind it was far more important than any cheesy way Gilbert found to outline a creative form of spirituality. This book is an anthem for creatives, and truly revealed a superior way of thinking for creatives than any gritty-buck-up kind of way before. I enjoyed it so much, and found it refreshing to envision a new persona of creative that's a bit more responsible, a bit more curious, and a bit less of a diva. Totally changed my life.
]]> The Bell Jar 6514 294 Sylvia Plath Jess 0 currently-reading 4.05 1963 The Bell Jar
author: Sylvia Plath
name: Jess
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1963
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/04
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[All I Want To Do Is Live: A Collection of Creative Nonfiction]]> 33634407 224 Trace Ramsey 1939899281 Jess 0 to-read 4.58 All I Want To Do Is Live: A Collection of Creative Nonfiction
author: Trace Ramsey
name: Jess
average rating: 4.58
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/09/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Last Time I'll Write About You]]> 32862824 Thankful
Or
Regretful
That my only idea
Of love
Is
You?]]> 176 Dawn Lanuza Jess 0 to-read 3.58 2016 The Last Time I'll Write About You
author: Dawn Lanuza
name: Jess
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/09/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Little Black Dress Called Madness]]> 27236200 19 Thom Young Jess 0 to-read 4.59 A Little Black Dress Called Madness
author: Thom Young
name: Jess
average rating: 4.59
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Love Her Wild 33208115 The first collection of poetry by Instagram sensation Atticus.

Love Her Wild is a collection of new and beloved poems from Atticus, the young writer who has captured the hearts and minds of hundreds of thousands of avid followers on his Instagram account.

In Love Her Wild, Atticus captures what is both raw and relatable about the smallest and the grandest moments in life: the first glimpse of a new love in Paris; skinny dipping on a summer’s night; the irrepressible exuberance of the female spirit; or drinking whiskey in the desert watching the rising sun. With honesty, poignancy, and romantic flair, Atticus distills the most exhilarating highs and the heartbreaking lows of life and love into a few perfectly evocative lines, ensuring that his words will become etched in your mind—and will awaken your sense of adventure.]]> 227 Atticus . 1501171232 Jess 3 I have trouble knowing how original they are. I loved the curation of the book, but the innocent/naive high school love poetry kinda got to me. I couldn't believe this guy was over age 25. I also thought it frames romance in such a patriarchal way... like this is how women think they have to be now?
I'm glad I read it though... 3 stars because I loved the quality of the paper. I also enjoyed its zine-ness.
]]> 3.96 2017 Love Her Wild
author: Atticus .
name: Jess
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2017/08/30
shelves:
review:
While I think Atticus has some well worked lines that are punchy and clever,
I have trouble knowing how original they are. I loved the curation of the book, but the innocent/naive high school love poetry kinda got to me. I couldn't believe this guy was over age 25. I also thought it frames romance in such a patriarchal way... like this is how women think they have to be now?
I'm glad I read it though... 3 stars because I loved the quality of the paper. I also enjoyed its zine-ness.

]]> I Am More Than a Daydream 34688452 73 Jennae Cecelia 1544237197 Jess 2
Before I go on, I want to give a huge huge thanks to Jennae Cecelia for sharing this with us. I can't begin to say how brave that was. God, I haven't published a book, so what do I know, right? You're making money on your poems so take my salt with a grain of sand.

Needless to say, and I don't mean to be the maiden of darkness, I found the poems rudimentary.
I bought the book because I was attracted to the cover... I have this thing for dandelions, and it was a good reminder that somewhere, I forgot to smother the angsty teenager I once was.

There were obvious echoes of Rupi Kaur's "Milk and Honey" which, after that book, how can there not be? However, I think, what put me off about that, is Kaur took similar issues and commanded them, where as Cecelia beat around the bush a bit. There's weight to words, and I think Cecelia could work at demanding them.

I haven't read any more of Cecelia's books so I can't say I understand her progression but, I will say, A lot of people will rip apart books with the intent to wound. I'm no poetry god, but I will not leave without giving some construct. Know, that poetry is subjective. Raw. But no matter how coarse, it can still be polished.
I'm going to conclude with examples of work that I thought were on the right track.

First, I will address tone.
The prose, Love doesn't always mean security. (pg. 47) has the tone that I believe good poets have. Short. Neat. and bites like a bit. However, I thought the content was too obvious. You could find a million other ways to say that without saying it, but I guess that's just writing. Which leads me to my next point—

Editing.
I think a lot of these poems have been written before. Not exactly the same way, but if you're going to use the bones of previous poets, I believe editing is the trick that makes it different. By removing all the fluff, words have more weight; more command.
For example, the poem "we are all milk jugs in the end." (pg.39) re-written by me, for the sake of lecture,

How would we treat people
if stamped with expirations?
Who would we savor—
who would we waste?

I made the bones into a skeleton, you see? I think the content of this piece is most interesting, So I'll roll into the next matter.

Content.
Aside from "we are all milk jugs in the end." I thought "mirror, mirror, on the wall" (pg. 48) was the deepest line in the whole book, though the title killed it for me. See what I mean about using bones of the former? The idea that our beauty is not what we know, is worth exploring... But again with the editing— it could use some weight. Oh, the irony.

Finally, I'll address rhythm, which I believe is poetry's most important distinction altogether. Rhythm is voice. Stay true to it, but don't be afraid to punctuate, pronounce, and most of all, play! In the beginning, I got excited about some semi colons but after page 16 I was neigh. Some words I felt could use isolation, another factor to weight. For example, the poem "you can gift yourself flowers" (pg. 53) I thought it had amazing content and even had, dare I say, edge, but it was smothered in fluff. So here I go with my minimalistic style again— In the name of teaching...

You could pluck
1000 petals
but all that'd be left
are a bunch of limp stems.

Suggestive, no? Imply. Let the reader breathe with the line. Let them filter themselves. That's what makes powerful poetry.

Anyway, now that I've proven myself a pretentious prick, I'll leave.
Jennae, if you're reading this, please know, I honor your work. I honor what you do,
so with that, I wrote this poem:

who do I think I am?
to train your voice...
but I wanted it loud
so I had no choice.]]> 3.84 2017 I Am More Than a Daydream
author: Jennae Cecelia
name: Jess
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at: 2017/08/14
date added: 2017/08/14
shelves:
review:
Now, hear me out, I am all about positivity. In fact, I have taught my mind happiness by default, but there is a small, cynic, bitch that still lives inside me, and unfortunately, the only time she's allowed to speak is when reading/writing poetry.

Before I go on, I want to give a huge huge thanks to Jennae Cecelia for sharing this with us. I can't begin to say how brave that was. God, I haven't published a book, so what do I know, right? You're making money on your poems so take my salt with a grain of sand.

Needless to say, and I don't mean to be the maiden of darkness, I found the poems rudimentary.
I bought the book because I was attracted to the cover... I have this thing for dandelions, and it was a good reminder that somewhere, I forgot to smother the angsty teenager I once was.

There were obvious echoes of Rupi Kaur's "Milk and Honey" which, after that book, how can there not be? However, I think, what put me off about that, is Kaur took similar issues and commanded them, where as Cecelia beat around the bush a bit. There's weight to words, and I think Cecelia could work at demanding them.

I haven't read any more of Cecelia's books so I can't say I understand her progression but, I will say, A lot of people will rip apart books with the intent to wound. I'm no poetry god, but I will not leave without giving some construct. Know, that poetry is subjective. Raw. But no matter how coarse, it can still be polished.
I'm going to conclude with examples of work that I thought were on the right track.

First, I will address tone.
The prose, Love doesn't always mean security. (pg. 47) has the tone that I believe good poets have. Short. Neat. and bites like a bit. However, I thought the content was too obvious. You could find a million other ways to say that without saying it, but I guess that's just writing. Which leads me to my next point—

Editing.
I think a lot of these poems have been written before. Not exactly the same way, but if you're going to use the bones of previous poets, I believe editing is the trick that makes it different. By removing all the fluff, words have more weight; more command.
For example, the poem "we are all milk jugs in the end." (pg.39) re-written by me, for the sake of lecture,

How would we treat people
if stamped with expirations?
Who would we savor—
who would we waste?

I made the bones into a skeleton, you see? I think the content of this piece is most interesting, So I'll roll into the next matter.

Content.
Aside from "we are all milk jugs in the end." I thought "mirror, mirror, on the wall" (pg. 48) was the deepest line in the whole book, though the title killed it for me. See what I mean about using bones of the former? The idea that our beauty is not what we know, is worth exploring... But again with the editing— it could use some weight. Oh, the irony.

Finally, I'll address rhythm, which I believe is poetry's most important distinction altogether. Rhythm is voice. Stay true to it, but don't be afraid to punctuate, pronounce, and most of all, play! In the beginning, I got excited about some semi colons but after page 16 I was neigh. Some words I felt could use isolation, another factor to weight. For example, the poem "you can gift yourself flowers" (pg. 53) I thought it had amazing content and even had, dare I say, edge, but it was smothered in fluff. So here I go with my minimalistic style again— In the name of teaching...

You could pluck
1000 petals
but all that'd be left
are a bunch of limp stems.

Suggestive, no? Imply. Let the reader breathe with the line. Let them filter themselves. That's what makes powerful poetry.

Anyway, now that I've proven myself a pretentious prick, I'll leave.
Jennae, if you're reading this, please know, I honor your work. I honor what you do,
so with that, I wrote this poem:

who do I think I am?
to train your voice...
but I wanted it loud
so I had no choice.
]]> Her Blue Body 27134570 33 Warsan Shire 1905233485 Jess 0 to-read 4.61 2015 Her Blue Body
author: Warsan Shire
name: Jess
average rating: 4.61
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Milk and honey 23513349 Milk and Honey is a collection of poetry and prose about survival. About the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity.

It is split into four chapters, with each chapter dealing with a different pain. Healing a different heartache. Milk and Honey takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them -- because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look.]]> 204 Rupi Kaur 1502784270 Jess 4 I think it was important that this book was written, but I definitely think you should borrow it from a friend before you choose to purchase it.]]> 3.95 2014 Milk and honey
author: Rupi Kaur
name: Jess
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2017/01/01
date added: 2017/08/13
shelves:
review:
Profound. Perfect book to keep by your nightstand, when you're worried about tomorrow or yesterday, will absolutely take your mind off things, but only because it's so so heavy. The only reason I gave it less than 5 is, although I believe Kaur an incredible poet with an intoxicating mind, I feel this collection of work was not as curated as one might have hoped. Kaur obviously uses her writing as a platform for healing, and one should be aware of this.
I think it was important that this book was written, but I definitely think you should borrow it from a friend before you choose to purchase it.
]]> Girls in Trucks 2336101 But Sarah can't quite ignore the barbarism just beneath all that propriety, and as soon as she can she decamps South Carolina for a life in New York City. There, she and her fellow displaced Southern friends try to make sense of city sophistication, to understand how much of their training applies to real life, and how much to the strange and rarefied world they've left behind.
When life's complications become overwhelming, Sarah returns home to confront with matured eyes the motto "Once a Camellia, always a Camellia"- and to see how much fuller life can be, for good and for ill, among those who know you best.
Girls in Trucks introduces an irresistable, sweet, and wise voice that heralds the arrival of an exciting new talent.]]> 256 Katie Crouch 0316002119 Jess 5 All the negative reviews are disheartening. I think, yes, Crouch may have introduced characters without giving them anymore than an introduction, but I felt it was true to that which is New York and life in general.
Maybe I'm naive in the genre, but I think people should give Crouch a bit more credit. ]]> 2.84 2008 Girls in Trucks
author: Katie Crouch
name: Jess
average rating: 2.84
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2017/08/13
shelves:
review:
Crouch has a beautiful way with the pattern of language. Short, descriptive, but each word is so full. I took a chance on this book, I'm not usually into chick-lit or romance, but the cover jumped out at me, and I needed a good story. There are still lines that echo through my head even after all the books that have followed.
All the negative reviews are disheartening. I think, yes, Crouch may have introduced characters without giving them anymore than an introduction, but I felt it was true to that which is New York and life in general.
Maybe I'm naive in the genre, but I think people should give Crouch a bit more credit.
]]> <![CDATA[Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm]]> 13623836 —Sogyal Rinpoche

Fear is destructive, a pervasive problem we all face. Vietnamese Buddhist Zen Master, poet, scholar,  peace activist, and one of the foremost spiritual leaders in the world—a gifted teacher who was once nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King Jr.—Thich Nhat Hanh has written a powerful and practical strategic guide to overcoming our debilitating uncertainties and personal terrors. The New York Times said Hanh, “ranks second only to the Dalai Lama” as the Buddhist leader with the most influence in the West. In Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting through the Storm, Hanh explores the origins of our fears, illuminating a path to finding peace and freedom from anxiety and offering powerful tools to help us eradicate it from our lives
]]> 164 Thich Nhat Hanh 0062004727 Jess 4 4.11 2012 Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm
author: Thich Nhat Hanh
name: Jess
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2017/08/13
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Words of Paradise: Selected Poems]]> 265564 109 Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi 071121509X Jess 3 3.87 2000 Words of Paradise: Selected Poems
author: Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi
name: Jess
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2000
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2017/08/13
shelves:
review:
Sometimes I feel bad for Rumi, because some translations of his poems are awful and it's not his fault. This book, in english, is just that.
]]> The Seven Year Bitch 7653934
What’s a fabulous New York City girl supposed to do when she finds herself fantasizing about the Grim Reaper more than she fantasizes about her husband? When she can’t help but give him the finger on the set of Sesame Street ? And when she doesn’t exactly hope for a safe landing when he goes away on business?

No, ex-hedge fund manager and new mom Isolde Brilliant hasn’t got the seven year itch—taking care of her baby and husband and having a growing suspicion that she’s living life in captivity has turned her into a seven year bitch.

That’s New York author Jennifer Belle’s deliciously provocative phrase for the boredom, anger, and hurt that can creep into even the best of marriages—and affect even the most saintly of wives. In the tradition of Jennifer Weiner and Meg Wolitzer, Belle delivers a dead-on, raw and hilarious novel about motherhood and marriage and discovering the life you have is exactly the one you wanted.  ]]> 336 Jennifer Belle 1594487553 Jess 0 to-read 3.18 2010 The Seven Year Bitch
author: Jennifer Belle
name: Jess
average rating: 3.18
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth]]> 13376363 37 Warsan Shire 1905233299 Jess 0 to-read 4.23 2011 Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth
author: Warsan Shire
name: Jess
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hilarious 24462969 Louis C.K. Jess 0 to-read 4.25 2009 Hilarious
author: Louis C.K.
name: Jess
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Louis C.K. and Philosophy: You Don't Get to Be Bored (Popular Culture and Philosophy, 99)]]> 25778113
Twenty-five philosophers examine the wisdom of Louis C.K. from a variety of philosophical perspectives. The chapters draw upon C.K.’s standup comedy, the show Louie, and C.K.’s other writings.

One writer looks at the different meanings of C.K.’s statement, “You’re gonna be dead way longer than you were alive.” One chapter shows the affinity of C.K.’s “sick of living this bullshit life” with Kierkegaard’s “sickness unto death.” Another pursues Louis’s thought that we may by our lack of moral concern “live a really evil life without thinking about it.”

C.K.'s insistence that “things that are not can’t be” points to the philosophical problem of nothingness in relation to being. His religion is “apathetic agnostic,” conveyed in his thought experiment that God began work in 1982. Louis’s argument that you can have the kind of body you want if you make yourself want a disgusting, shitty body, is the Stoic ethics of Epictetus. And, as C.K. has shown in so many ways, the fact that we’re soon going to die has its funny side.]]> 288 Mark Ralkowski 0812699068 Jess 0 to-read 3.85 2016 Louis C.K. and Philosophy: You Don't Get to Be Bored (Popular Culture and Philosophy, 99)
author: Mark Ralkowski
name: Jess
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Song of Myself 293918 80 Walt Whitman 142092706X Jess 0 to-read 4.16 1856 Song of Myself
author: Walt Whitman
name: Jess
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1856
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Leaves of Grass 27494 624 Walt Whitman Jess 0 to-read 4.12 1855 Leaves of Grass
author: Walt Whitman
name: Jess
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1855
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Bite Every Sorrow: Poems (Walt Whitman Award of the Academy of American Poets)]]> 467290 Her ability to tap the ordinary and draw forth profundity is brilliantly displayed in "You Can't Have It "

But you can have the fig tree and its fat leaves like clown handsgloved with green. You can have the touch of a single eleven-year-old fingeron your cheek, waking you at one a.m. to say the hamster is back.You can have the purr of the cat and the soulful lookof the black dog, the look that says, If I could I would biteevery sorrow until it fled

Whether honoring a dead friend or reveling in the lustful music of insects, Ras's poems poke into unlikely nooks and invented crannies, uncovering questions that matter to everyone -- how to laugh, how to hope, how to love.]]> 88 Barbara Ras 0807122645 Jess 0 to-read 3.90 1998 Bite Every Sorrow: Poems (Walt Whitman Award of the Academy of American Poets)
author: Barbara Ras
name: Jess
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Chaos of Longing 30325231 The Chaos of Longing is a brutally honest exploration of desire—physical, emotional, and spiritual. This revised and expanded edition contains over 50 pages of all-new material.

Organized in four sections – Inception, Longing, Chaos, and Epiphany – K.Y. Robinson's debut poetry collection explores what it is to want in spite of trauma, shame, injustice, and mental illness. It is one survivor's powerful testimony, and a love letter "to those who lie awake burning." ]]> 118 K.Y. Robinson 0692649093 Jess 0 to-read 3.64 2016 The Chaos of Longing
author: K.Y. Robinson
name: Jess
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Wrote This For You (I Wrote This For You #4)]]> 13105527 194 pleasefindthis 1926760689 Jess 0 to-read 4.11 2011 I Wrote This For You (I Wrote This For You #4)
author: pleasefindthis
name: Jess
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately]]> 29059581
Alicia decided to self publish this effort after leaving her publishing house. She views this book as her "independence" and official separation from that venture. She also drew the front and back cover herself.

Alicia is a contributing writer for many blogs and news outlets, including the Huffington Post and multiple Gannett Publications. She writes regularly on drug addiction and how it directly affects families. Because of this, she has chosen to donate 100% of royalties to the Willow Tree Center in New Jersey. www.willowtree.org. Follow Alicia on Instagram: @thealiciacook or check out her website: www.thealiciacook.com.]]> 126 Alicia Cook 1522949259 Jess 0 to-read 3.76 2016 Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately
author: Alicia Cook
name: Jess
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Screams From the Balcony: Selected Letters 1960-1970]]> 50463 384 Charles Bukowski 0876859147 Jess 0 to-read 4.24 1993 Screams From the Balcony: Selected Letters 1960-1970
author: Charles Bukowski
name: Jess
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1993
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Betting on the Muse: Poems & Stories]]> 92497 402 Charles Bukowski 1574230026 Jess 0 to-read 4.13 1996 Betting on the Muse: Poems & Stories
author: Charles Bukowski
name: Jess
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1996
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Pulp: Charles Bukowski's Final Hardboiled Noir Comedy – Lady Death, Aliens, and the Absurd]]> 141526 208 Charles Bukowski 0876859260 Jess 0 to-read 3.72 1994 Pulp: Charles Bukowski's Final Hardboiled Noir Comedy – Lady Death, Aliens, and the Absurd
author: Charles Bukowski
name: Jess
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1994
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Nature and Other Essays 26457793 226 Ralph Waldo Emmerson 1494283131 Jess 0 owned-but-not-read 4.13 2013 Nature and Other Essays
author: Ralph Waldo Emmerson
name: Jess
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/11
shelves: owned-but-not-read
review:

]]> Faithfully Religionless 28236065
If you consider yourself spiritual but not religious, you’re going to love this book! And if you want to lead a simple and uncomplicated life with happiness at your fingertips, then you’ll want to read it more than once.

“It’s not that I’m against religion, I simply don’t have one (nor do I believe that we need it to be ethical). My faith is doctrine-free, with a definition of God that doesn't conjure a white, bearded man in the sky who dispenses blessings for good behavior and condemns the bad. That’s because I don’t believe God does that; religion does. You see, faith is a spiritual practice of continually letting go of certainty, of ego, and of the underlying need to know, while religion is a ceremonial tradition of hanging on, clinging to concrete dogmas, stubborn rigidity, and ageless ritual.”

Discover the difference between feelings and emotions, the disparity between truths and facts, and the countless benefits of mindful living.]]> 136 Timber Hawkeye 0985836954 Jess 0 to-read 4.32 2016 Faithfully Religionless
author: Timber Hawkeye
name: Jess
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Buddhist Boot Camp: Ancient Wisdom for Living Peacefully, Finding Purpose, and Cultivating Gratitude]]> 16283548
So whether it's Mother Teresa's acts of charity, Gandhi's perseverance, or your aunt Betty's calm demeanor, as long as you're motivated to be better today than you were yesterday, it doesn't matter who inspires you. Regardless of religion, geographical region, race, ethnicity, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, flexibility, or vulnerability, if you do good you feel good, and if you do bad you feel bad.

Buddhism isn't just about meditating. It's about rolling up your sleeves to relieve some of the suffering in the world. If you are ready to be a soldier of peace in the army of love, welcome to Buddhist Boot Camp!]]> 160 Timber Hawkeye 0062267434 Jess 0 to-read 4.25 2012 Buddhist Boot Camp: Ancient Wisdom for Living Peacefully, Finding Purpose, and Cultivating Gratitude
author: Timber Hawkeye
name: Jess
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> I, Me, Mine 35521 456 George Harrison 0811859002 Jess 0 owned-but-not-read 4.04 1980 I, Me, Mine
author: George Harrison
name: Jess
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1980
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/08/11
shelves: owned-but-not-read
review:

]]> Wonderful Tonight 764063
She met the Beatles in 1964 when she was cast as a schoolgirl in A Hard Day’s Night . Ten days later a smitten George Harrison proposed. For twenty-year-old Pattie Boyd, it was the beginning of an unimaginably rich and complex life as she was welcomed into the Beatles inner circle—a circle that included Mick Jagger, Ron Wood, Jeff Beck, and a veritable who’s who of rock musicians. She describes the dynamics of the group, the friendships, the tensions, the musicmaking, and the weird and wonderful memories she has of Paul and Linda, Cynthia and John, Ringo and Maureen, and especially the years with her husband, George.

It was a sweet, turbulent life, but one that would take an unexpected turn, starting with a simple note that began “dearest l.”

I read it quickly and assumed that it was from some weirdo; I did get fan mail from time to time.... I thought no more about it until that evening when the phone rang. It was Eric [Clapton]. “Did you get my letter?”... And then the penny dropped. “Was that from you?” I said....It was the most passionate letter anyone had ever written me.

For the first time Pattie Boyd, former wife of both George Harrison and Eric Clapton, a high-profile model whose face epitomized the swinging London scene of the 1960s, a woman who inspired Harrison’s song “Something” and Clapton’s anthem “Layla,” has decided to write a book that is rich and raw, funny and heartbreaking—and totally honest and open and breathtaking. Here is the truth, here is what happened, here is the story you’ve been waiting for.]]> 321 Pattie Boyd 0307393844 Jess 5 3.71 2007 Wonderful Tonight
author: Pattie Boyd
name: Jess
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2007
rating: 5
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]]> Twelve Moons 201215 Twelve Moons, Pulitzer Prize-winning Mary Oliver continues to explore the alluring, yet well-nigh inaccessible kingdoms of nature and human relationships, and man's profound, persistent desire for a joyous union with them. These vibrant, magical poems pulse with an aching awareness of nature's unaffected beauty. Her absorbing intimate vision leads us into the natural and human kingdoms we only fleetingly grasp.]]> 77 Mary Oliver 0316650005 Jess 0 to-read 4.43 1979 Twelve Moons
author: Mary Oliver
name: Jess
average rating: 4.43
book published: 1979
rating: 0
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]]> Wild Geese 201222
Mary Oliver is one of America's best-loved poets. Her luminous poetry celebrates nature and beauty, love and the spirit, silence and wonder, extending the visionary American tradition of Whitman, Emerson, Frost and Emily Dickinson.

The winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, she has lived for many years on Cape Cod. Her extraordinary poetry is nourished by her intimate knowledge and minute daily observation of the New England coast, its woods and ponds, its birds and animals, plants and trees.

Mary Oliver is hugely popular in the States, where her many books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies. These include four recent collections published in Britain by Bloodaxe Books. Wild Geese is a selection of her best-known poems, including the title-poem and 'The Journey'.]]> 160 Mary Oliver 1852246286 Jess 0 to-read 4.62 2004 Wild Geese
author: Mary Oliver
name: Jess
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2004
rating: 0
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]]> Tao Te Ching 67896 A lucid translation of the well-known Taoist classic by a leading scholar-now in a Shambhala Pocket Library edition.

Written more than two thousand years ago, the Tao Teh Ching, or -The Classic of the Way and Its Virtue, - is one of the true classics of the world of spiritual literature.

Traditionally attributed to the legendary -Old Master, - Lao Tzu, the Tao Teh Ching teaches that the qualities of the enlightened sage or ideal ruler are identical with those of the perfected individual.

Today, Lao Tzu's words are as useful in mastering the arts of leadership in business and politics as they are in developing a sense of balance and harmony in everyday life. To follow the Tao or Way of all things and realize their true nature is to embody humility, spontaneity, and generosity.

John C. H. Wu has done a remarkable job of rendering this subtle text into English while retaining the freshness and depth of the original. A jurist and scholar, Dr. Wu was a recognized authority on Taoism and the translator of several Taoist and Zen texts and of Chinese poetry.

This book is part of the Shambhala Pocket Library series. The Shambhala Pocket Library is a collection of short, portable teachings from notable figures across religious traditions and classic texts.

The covers in this series are rendered by Colorado artist Robert Spellman. The books in this collection distill the wisdom and heart of the work Shambhala Publications has published over 50 years into a compact format that is collectible, reader-friendly, and applicable to everyday life.]]> 107 Lao Tzu 0679724346 Jess 5 T.H.E. spiritual text. 4.28 -350 Tao Te Ching
author: Lao Tzu
name: Jess
average rating: 4.28
book published: -350
rating: 5
read at: 2017/01/01
date added: 2017/08/11
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T.H.E. spiritual text.
]]> <![CDATA[The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation]]> 95747 Thich Nhat Hanhs enkla, rättframma stil går rakt in i hjärtat och förmedlar en stark känsla av sinnesnärvaro. Han vet hur man gör för att släppa taget om alla tankar som driver oss hit och dit och hindrar oss från att vara närvarande i stunden.
Praktiska övningar varvas med enkla berättelser ur vardagen som visar att vi alltid kan välja att fokusera på det väsentliga och därmed fånga nuet. Thich Nhat Hanh lär oss att diska varje kopp och tallrik varsamt, som om de vore heliga ting. På köpet lär vi oss att se värdet i vardagliga göromål och finna ro i oss själva.
Han delar också med sig av meditationsövningar som leder oss inåt mot vårt autentiska jag. Vi är större än vad vi tror och genom att iaktta och släppa taget om negativa tankar och föreställningar kan vi så småningom leva ett mer medvetet och glädjefyllt liv.]]> 140 Thich Nhat Hanh 0807012394 Jess 5 favorites 4.19 1975 The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation
author: Thich Nhat Hanh
name: Jess
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1975
rating: 5
read at: 2017/01/09
date added: 2017/08/11
shelves: favorites
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Outstanding for anyone who is ready to feel good about their life. I want every human to read this book just once! Breaks down meditation and mindfulness into short digestible concepts. A lot of people in the western world are so perplexed and actually get anxious at the idea of controlling/slowing their thoughts, but this book, THIS BOOK, is the start of understanding how.
]]> Crow Milk 2149493 80 Rick Agran 1882291557 Jess 4 4.00 1997 Crow Milk
author: Rick Agran
name: Jess
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 2017/01/01
date added: 2017/08/11
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Such delicate and beautiful poetry. Perfect for an afternoon.
]]> <![CDATA[The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra]]> 243650 56 Thich Nhat Hanh 0938077112 Jess 5 4.41 1987 The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra
author: Thich Nhat Hanh
name: Jess
average rating: 4.41
book published: 1987
rating: 5
read at: 2017/01/01
date added: 2017/08/11
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Great for a morning read with your coffee. Thay explores fascinating, profound, and often taboo concepts that can resonate with anyone. I love how digestible his content is. He does not aim to convert or enlighten anyone, just to bring peace to his readers. Really comforting. I will always have one of his books in my hand, that is a given.
]]> The Art of Mindfulness 12561666
In The Art of Mindfulness, one of the most revered Buddhist teachers in the world, Thich Nhat Hanh delivers a life changing practice to overcome our overdriven mind, to let go of preoccupations and multitasking and focus solely on the task at hand. By devoting 100% of our attention 100% of the time on what we are doing in the moment, we can alleviate suffering, fear, and anxiety. With the energy of mindfulness and the capacity of looking deeply, we can find the insights to transform and heal any situation.]]> 30 Thich Nhat Hanh Jess 0 to-read 4.25 2012 The Art of Mindfulness
author: Thich Nhat Hanh
name: Jess
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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]]> Letters to a Young Muslim 29635593
From the Ambassador of the UAE to Russia comes Letters to a Young Muslim, a bold and intimate exploration of what it means to be a Muslim in the twenty-first century.

In a series of personal and insightful letters to his sons, Omar Saif Ghobash offers a vital manifesto that tackles the dilemmas facing not only young Muslims but everyone navigating the complexities of today’s world. Full of wisdom and thoughtful reflections on faith, culture and society. This is a courageous and essential book that celebrates individuality whilst recognising it is our shared humanity that brings us together.

Written with the experience of a diplomat and the personal responsibility of a father; Ghobash’s letters offer understanding and balance in a world that rarely offers any. An intimate and hopeful glimpse into a sphere many are unfamiliar with; it provides an understanding of the everyday struggles Muslims face around the globe.

*One of Time 's Most Anticipated Books of 2017, a Bustle Best Nonfiction Pick for January 2017, a Chicago Review of Books Best Book to Read in January 2017, a Stylist Magazine Best Book of 2017, included in New Statesman 's What to Read in 2017*]]> 272 Omar Saif Ghobash 1250119847 Jess 0 owned-but-not-read 4.04 2017 Letters to a Young Muslim
author: Omar Saif Ghobash
name: Jess
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent: Living the Art of Allowing]]> 2921503 304 Esther Hicks 1401906958 Jess 0 owned-but-not-read 4.36 2006 The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent: Living the Art of Allowing
author: Esther Hicks
name: Jess
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2006
rating: 0
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]]> The Way of the Shaman 691034 221 Michael Harner 0062503731 Jess 0 owned-but-not-read 4.06 1980 The Way of the Shaman
author: Michael Harner
name: Jess
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1980
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Vortex: Where the Law of Attraction Assembles All Cooperative Relationships]]> 6491899 This Leading Edge work by Esther and Jerry Hicks, who present The Teachings of Abraham®, will help you understand every relationship you are currently involved in as well as every relationship you have ever experienced.

This book uncovers a myriad of false premises that are at the heart of every uncomfortable relationship issue, and guides you to a clear understanding of the powerful creative Vortex that has already assembled the relationships that you have desired. Abraham will show you how to enter that Vortex, where you will rendezvous with everything and everyone you have been looking for.

Abraham says: "It is our desire to help you to solve the mystery of those seemingly impossible relationships; to sort out the details of joyously sharing your planet with billions of others; to rediscover the beauty of your differences; and, most of all, to reestablish the most important relationship of all: your relationship with the Eternal, Non-Physical Source that is really you.

"It is our desire that you experience an enhanced appreciation of your planet; your body; your family; your friends; your enemies; your government; your systems; your food; your finances; your animals; your work and your play; your purpose; your Source; your Soul; your past, your future, and your present. . . ."

]]> 238 Esther Hicks 1401918824 Jess 0 owned-but-not-read 4.36 2009 The Vortex: Where the Law of Attraction Assembles All Cooperative Relationships
author: Esther Hicks
name: Jess
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2009
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[The Wounded Woman: Healing the Father-Daughter Relationship]]> 903358 179 Linda Schierse Leonard 0394721837 Jess 0 owned-but-not-read 4.02 1982 The Wounded Woman: Healing the Father-Daughter Relationship
author: Linda Schierse Leonard
name: Jess
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1982
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul]]> 170165 446 Jane Roberts Jess 0 to-read 4.19 1972 Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul
author: Jane Roberts
name: Jess
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1972
rating: 0
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]]> THE IMPERSONAL LIFE 1516925 257 Joseph Benner 0875163017 Jess 0 to-read 4.40 1941 THE IMPERSONAL LIFE
author: Joseph Benner
name: Jess
average rating: 4.40
book published: 1941
rating: 0
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]]> The I AM Discourses 18942037 361 Godfré Ray King Jess 0 to-read 4.31 2013 The I AM Discourses
author: Godfré Ray King
name: Jess
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[Dying to Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing]]> 12291050 are spiritual beings having a human experience . . . and that we are all One!]]> 191 Anita Moorjani 1401937519 Jess 0 to-read 4.12 Dying to Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing
author: Anita Moorjani
name: Jess
average rating: 4.12
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rating: 0
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]]> Do Not Become Alarmed 33155774
When Liv and Nora decide to take their families on a holiday cruise, everyone is thrilled. The ship's comforts and possibilities seem infinite. The children - two eleven-year-olds, an eight-year-old, and a six-year-old—love the nonstop buffet and the independence they have at the Kids' Club. But when they all go ashore in beautiful Central America, a series of minor misfortunes leads the families farther and farther from the ship's safety. One minute the children are there, and the next they're gone.

What follows is a riveting, revealing story told from the perspectives of the adults and the children, as the once-happy parents - now turning on one another and blaming themselves - try to recover their children and their lives.

Celebrated for her ability to write vivid, spare, moving fiction, Maile Meloy shows how quickly the life we count on can fall away, and how a crisis changes everyone's priorities. The fast-paced, gripping plot of Do Not Become Alarmed carries with it an insightful, provocative examination of privilege, race, guilt, envy, the dilemmas of modern parenthood, and the challenge of living up to our own expectations.]]> 352 Maile Meloy 0735216525 Jess 0 to-read 3.40 2017 Do Not Become Alarmed
author: Maile Meloy
name: Jess
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2017/08/11
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]]>