Time Out 1000 Books to Change Your Life


Book Description

Someone once said that books furnish a room. They also change our lives. We go to books for consolation and companionship, to be transported, moved and entertained, sometimes even to be terrified. The books furnishing our rooms tell the story of our lives and also help us to make sense of them. This is not a work of reference; it doesn't prescribe a canon or tell you how to read. Instead 1000 Books to change your life celebrates the transforming power of literature. 50 leading novelists, writers and critics draw the arc of a life lived in books, from birth to death. With Kate Clanchy on motherhood, Ali Smith on reading as a child, and Jonathan Franzen, Jonathan Coe and Zadie Smith on the volumes that changed their lives, this book is a reminder of the difference that books make. Organised around themes inspired by Shakespeare's 'Seven Ages of Man', the book ranges from birth to death, taking in topics at all points in between, and covering both fiction and non-fiction, graphic novels as well as literary classics. Commentaries by Ali Smith, Nigella Lawson, Jonathan Franzen, Zadie Smith, Sarah Waters, Jonathan Coe, Barney Hoskyns, Amanda Craig and Nicholas Royle, to name a few, are complemented by Top Ten lists chosen by Time Out's unrivalled team of critics. Part of the 1,000 series launched with the bestselling 1,000 films to change your life 1,000 books is a similarly inspirational book.







This Book Will Change Your Life


Book Description

Is the year ahead looking much the same as the last? Another 365-day grind of meetings, dinner dates, and deadlines? If so, try this book--the perfect gift for the adventurous reader. Part instruction manual, part therapy, part religious cult, part sheer anarchy, This Book Will Change Your Life will help you poke a stick in the spokes of your routine. It's not the soft-hearted kind of book that's interested in what you have to say; rather it contains 365 daily orders, each one of which could turn your humdrum existence into a daily free-fall. Whether learning to tell one joke properly, spending an hour talking to a tree, or choosing a motto to live by, This Book Will Change Your Life will lead you to make every day of the next year the first day of your new life.




Please Kill Me


Book Description

The twentieth anniversary edition of the “utterly and shamelessly sensational” history of punk music—featuring new photos and an afterword by the authors (Newsday). A contemporary classic, Please Kill Me is the definitive oral history of the most nihilistic of all pop movements. Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Richard Hell, the Ramones, and scores of other punk figures lend their voices to this decisive account of that explosive era. Editors Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain—two of punk music’s greatest chroniclers—follow the movement from its roots in the 1960s underground of New York City, to its arrival in the UK with bands like The Sex Pistols and The Clash, to its unlikely emergence as a global cultural force whose impact is still felt today.




Jonathan Coe


Book Description

Jonathan Coe is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed contemporary British writers. This comprehensive introduction places his work in clear historical and theoretical context, offering extensive readings of the author's ten novels from The Accidental Woman to Expo 58, including the remarkable What a Carve Up! The book explores Coe's biography and his experimentations with narrative, genre and comedy, as well as his thematic preoccupations with history, memory, loss and nostalgia. The first volume devoted entirely to Coe, this book includes: - A supporting timeline of key dates in literature and current events - An examination of the critical reception to Coe's works - An exclusive interview with Jonathan Coe himself




Catcall


Book Description

It's a time of change for Josh. He has a relatively new stepdad and a brand new baby sister. But for Josh's younger brother, Jamie, the family upheaval has deeply disturbing consequences: he refuses to speak, and after a vivid, frightening dream develops an obsession with wild cats. With his parents so preoccupied, it's up to Josh - who's always been the quiet one - to keep the family together and find a cure for his brother's strange behaviour. And in helping Jamie to recover his voice, Josh discovers an unexpectedly resonant one of his own. CATCALL is a tense, gripping and atmospheric novel, full of powerful ideas, and blending deep psychological tension with fast-paced action - highly-acclaimed author Linda Newbery at her most compelling and insightful.




Change or Die


Book Description

Change or Die. What if you were given that choice? If you didn't, your time would end soon—a lot sooner than it had to. Could you change when change matters most? This is the question Alan Deutschman poses in Change or Die, which began as a sensational cover story by the same title for Fast Company. Deutschman concludes that although we all have the ability to change our behavior, we rarely ever do. From patients suffering from heart disease to repeat offenders in the criminal justice system to companies trapped in the mold of unsuccessful business practices, many of us could prevent ominous outcomes by simply changing our mindset. A powerful book with universal appeal, Change or Die deconstructs and debunks age-old myths about change and empowers us with three critical keys—relate, repeat, and reframe—to help us make important positive changes in our lives. Explaining breakthrough research and progressive ideas from a wide selection of leaders in medicine, science, and business (including Dr. Dean Ornish, Mimi Silbert of the Delancey Street Foundation, Bill Gates, Daniel Boulud, and many others), Deutschman demonstrates how anyone can achieve lasting, revolutionary changes that are positive, attainable, and absolutely vital.




Atomic Habits


Book Description

The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 20 million copies sold! Translated into 60+ languages! Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights. Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field. Learn how to: make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy); overcome a lack of motivation and willpower; design your environment to make success easier; get back on track when you fall off course; ...and much more. Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.




1,000 Books to Read Before You Die


Book Description

“The ultimate literary bucket list.” —THE WASHINGTON POST Celebrate the pleasure of reading and the thrill of discovering new titles in an extraordinary book that’s as compulsively readable, entertaining, surprising, and enlightening as the 1,000-plus titles it recommends. Covering fiction, poetry, science and science fiction, memoir, travel writing, biography, children’s books, history, and more, 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die ranges across cultures and through time to offer an eclectic collection of works that each deserve to come with the recommendation, You have to read this. But it’s not a proscriptive list of the “great works”—rather, it’s a celebration of the glorious mosaic that is our literary heritage. Flip it open to any page and be transfixed by a fresh take on a very favorite book. Or come across a title you always meant to read and never got around to. Or, like browsing in the best kind of bookshop, stumble on a completely unknown author and work, and feel that tingle of discovery. There are classics, of course, and unexpected treasures, too. Lists to help pick and choose, like Offbeat Escapes, or A Long Climb, but What a View. And its alphabetical arrangement by author assures that surprises await on almost every turn of the page, with Cormac McCarthy and The Road next to Robert McCloskey and Make Way for Ducklings, Alice Walker next to Izaac Walton. There are nuts and bolts, too—best editions to read, other books by the author, “if you like this, you’ll like that” recommendations , and an interesting endnote of adaptations where appropriate. Add it all up, and in fact there are more than six thousand titles by nearly four thousand authors mentioned—a life-changing list for a lifetime of reading. “948 pages later, you still want more!” —THE WASHINGTON POST




Are Markets Moral?


Book Description

This volume scrutinizes the functionality of a capitalist market society, which is usually praised for the efficiency and dynamism, rather than for its morality. It addresses the dualism behind capitalism's encouragement of greed, which is usually considered to be a moral failing, while also being a driver behind economic growth.