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Wright writes with a combination of humility and wisdom, summarizing the best research on the science behind Buddhist practices in an approachable manner. This book makes me feel hopeful that there is a life beyond our human neuroses, no matter what form they take, and it’s a great read for both skeptics of meditation and experienced meditators. When it comes to novels set behind the velvet rope, there is a clear winner at the helm in Malibu Rising—especially if you are craving a story that not only offers fun and frivolity, but also depth, humor, and characters that are every bit as frustrating, loveable and contrite as members of your own family. Taylor Jenkins Reid delves out all this and more in her 2021 novel, which takes place over 24 hours at a Malibu house party thrown by four famous siblings—surfer and model Nina, surfer Jay, photographer Hud, and the youngest, Kit. A sexy, scandalous tour de force, with really relatable characters that are sure to spark discussion. Linda Elkins-Tanton (TED-Ed lesson: Why is NASA sending a spacecraft to a metal world?) If creativity and art are what get you out of bed in the morning As part of the design sprint, the team dug deeper into their audiences. Geraghty describes how they developed ‘user personas’ to sketch out the target audience. For the Feel Good Book Club, the initial persona was “a woman...35 plus, who’s interested in her own wellbeing, and potentially the wellbeing of her family and the other people around her”. But when she hurts herself and is unable to return to work at full capacity, she grows close with her replacement, Cameron, a young man newly arrived in town looking for his birth mother.
Why it makes a good book club book: Winter Street is the first book in the Winter Street series of four books, so if book club members like it, they can stay busy with the remainder of the series during the rest of the holiday season. It also offers the storylines of several family members to talk about. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo Although this isn’t a new book — it was published in 1994 — it reminds us that the innate creativity in the mind of an engineer is what matters, not his or her ability to do math. Creativity lies at the heart of all good engineering, and this excellent book shows why so much of the content in our university education programs is wrongly focused, particularly so in this day and age. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe: How to Tell What’s Really Real In a World Increasingly Full of Fake by Steven Novella
Enthusiastic recommendations for uplifting reads, as suggested by TED speakers and TED-Ed educators.
It might seem strange to include a nonfiction book about climate change in a list of feel-good books, but in it, Vince tells how she quit her job as a journalist to travel the world and find people who are having to adapt to our changing world. What she uncovers is an uplifting story of the ingenuity of humans. It’s beautifully written, and you will come away inspired.
Air Traffic was written by one of my mentors, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Pardlo. It helped me deal with the complicated range of emotions that I struggled with after I lost my father last year. This memoir is about a difficult relationship between a father and son, and it shows us love in a form that we rarely see displayed openly. It’s work to try to understand and accept a complex person while still seeing them in all their humanity — including their anguish and their ugliness. Novella is right up there with Carl Sagan as people who taught me the joy and humility that comes with understanding how our brains actually work (or don’t!) in our quest to understand the cosmos and ourselves. This is the ultimate guide to critical thinking, with all the charm and irreverence that Steve and the other “Rogues” bring to their weekly podcast of the same name. As the subtitle suggests, this book comes at a time when we need it most.This memoir is about Armstrong’s journey to find God after she joins a convent at 17 and the unexpected path that she finds herself on. I found this book an inspiring and intriguing look at one woman’s path, the human condition and spirituality. This is a short read, but this classic novel touches on creativity, learning, freedom from conformity, and flying, one of my favorite elements. I first read it when I was in my early 20s and then re-read it years later. It’s served as a touchtone to finding and flying through one’s own passions and paths. There’s a new generation of female illustrators whose work combines art and insight in the same tradition as Kalman’s. My favorite is Kimothy Joy; her illustrated book That’s What She Said is a collection of colorful drawings and Paley’s soothing voice — at times, it feels as if her rhythmic English is an effortless translation of the Yiddish once used by many Jewish immigrants — has the capacity to make the reader enter an alternative universe, one in which empathy is the law of the land. Yet she was also a tireless activist who saw writing as a way to denounce those who abuse power. Her legacy makes one grateful that literature, even though it may appear insignificant to some, is what actually remains.
This book highlights our place in the universe in a very uplifting way. The earth, this place we call our home, is just a tiny spot in the vastness of space, and the book shows us that the small “pale blue dot” where we live is a small dot full of life and love. In a Holidaze is a holiday rom-com that starts after a Christmas in which a lot goes wrong for Maelyn at her family’s usual “Christmas with friends” at a snowy Utah cabin. She leaves wishing to find happiness, and it seems like things can’t get worse until a car crash occurs.In this classic 1865 novel, there’s everything you’d ever need to be inspired: curiosity towards the unknown, challenge, impossible travels, faith in scientific knowledge, and unshakable courage. It also anticipated the lunar landing by more than a century. I read this book when I was 12 years old, and it has greatly inspired my efforts to reach for the stars. SAMARITANS has launched an online book club to encourage self-care and raise vital funds for the charity. This book is all about having courage. Based on 12 years of research, it explains how vulnerability is both the core of difficult emotions like fear, grief and disappointment and the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, empathy, innovation and creativity. If we want to lead full lives, Brown encourages us to step into the arena in all aspects of our lives and dare greatly. She writes, “When we shut ourselves off from vulnerability, we distance ourselves from the experiences that bring purpose and meaning to our lives.” We humans Creating a contract -- yes, a contract! -- could help you get what you want from your relationship
This comical true tale of Bryson’s misadventures as he hikes the Appalachian Trail left me with a stomach ache from laughing out loud. It inspired me to take on new adventures — no matter how ill prepared I might be! The Samaritans offer (among many other things) an emergency 24/7 365days a year helpline to individuals experiencing mental health crisis. So I am always happy to receive my box from the Feel Good book club because even if I did not enjoy the book I never regret supporting their cause! Could your book club use some uplifting books for a change? Many book groups make a point of choosing reading that will lead to serious discussions of important issues, but it's also important to foster the sense of joy and well-being that books can bring into our lives. This nonfiction book made me laugh hard, as it hand-held me through some of the thinking around feminism and gendered roles. It’s a classic, really, and a great gateway drug for anyone who thinks that diving into the incredible canon of feminist writing might not be for them. It is. Let Moran walk you in. Gold Diggers is a coming-of-age story with a big pinch of magical realism, humor, and heart.Neil Narayan is a second generation Indian American teenager growing up during the Bush era in the Atlanta suburbs. Neil’s parents want him to be successful, but all he really wants is Anita Dayal, the girl of his dreams who lives across the cul-de-sac. Then Neil discovers Anita is brewing a magical potion out of stolen gold that harnesses the ambition of the person who owned the gold. And Neil’s life is changed forever.
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Set in a small town on the North Carolina coast in the 70s, haunting stories of the ‘Marsh Girl’ are often passed around and whispered between the locals. Kya Clark, the girl in these rumors, lives an isolated existence on her family’s marshlands. We follow her life story, from her abusive childhood to her vulnerable teenage years and finally, her run-in with the law after she’s accused of murdering a past lover. Kya is a lot smarter than the people around her believe. She’s fiercely independent and has learned all she knows from the wildlife around her. Unfortunately, it’s this very wildness that has led to her imprisonment. Read it because: Owens writes beautifully, you will feel like you’re sitting in the marsh with Kya surrounded by the gulls and sand.It's a great one to discuss too: not only can you discuss the Where the Crawdads Sing ending for hours, but the real-life inspiration behind the story is a thorny but interesting topic for discussion. Feel Free is a collection of intriguing essays that speak about modern-day, socio-political, newsworthy topics, including the movie Get Out and pop icon Justin Bieber. Smith is an inventive free thinker — she’s viscerally, audibly and visually refreshing. Through her writing, she offers readers the opportunity to learn to trust their own voices. I love a read that leaves me believing I can change by practicing simple steps, and this book is all that. Blake teaches us how to tap into our most powerful intelligence — namely, posture, gestures and sensations — and truly live from our authentic power. The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson
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