Life Beyond Likes


Book Description

With so much of our lives lived online, we’ve never been more connected—or disconnected from what’s most important to us. It’s time to let go of our curated online worlds and get beyond our need for likes. For all that we think we’re getting out of social media, we’re also getting duped. The perfection echo chamber oftentimes makes us feel like we’re getting left behind. The truth is, life is messy, but curated online fabulousness makes it hard to let our true selves show, and it impedes our ability to have real, meaningful connections. Depression, anxiety, and suicide are also on the rise, and the virtual world is partially to blame, affecting our self-worth, our friendships, and the way we choose to navigate our real lives. As the founder and CEO of Squad, an app company built on connectedness, Isa Watson knows firsthand why we need to learn how to be more genuine. The digital world is her lifeblood, but it’s also been an Achilles’ heel: She struggled privately with some of the biggest challenges life can throw at you, while online she seemed to be living her best life—earning high-profile accolades, taking fabulous trips, and partying with the likes of many big name celebrities. It took a personal crisis to make her realize that she needed to change. In Life Beyond Likes, she gets real, sharing practical guidance on: Getting over the addiction to likes, and letting your true self shine Recognizing your own damaging habits and developing healthy ones Determining when a friendship has run its course Getting comfortable with discomfort in order to make real connections Drawing from a wealth of experiences including being the youngest published chemist in the world, working as executive in the upper echelons at JPMorgan Chase, and founding her own company, Isa helps readers better understand what constitutes success, identify what’s really important, and achieve a balance between the curated online world and the enriching, emotionally nourishing world right in front of us.




Before We Were Strangers


Book Description

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Sweet Thing and Nowhere But Here comes a love story about a Craigslist “missed connection” post that gives two people a second chance at love fifteen years after they were separated in New York City. To the Green-eyed Lovebird: We met fifteen years ago, almost to the day, when I moved my stuff into the NYU dorm room next to yours at Senior House. You called us fast friends. I like to think it was more. We lived on nothing but the excitement of finding ourselves through music (you were obsessed with Jeff Buckley), photography (I couldn’t stop taking pictures of you), hanging out in Washington Square Park, and all the weird things we did to make money. I learned more about myself that year than any other. Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. We lost touch the summer after graduation when I went to South America to work for National Geographic. When I came back, you were gone. A part of me still wonders if I pushed you too hard after the wedding… I didn’t see you again until a month ago. It was a Wednesday. You were rocking back on your heels, balancing on that thick yellow line that runs along the subway platform, waiting for the F train. I didn’t know it was you until it was too late, and then you were gone. Again. You said my name; I saw it on your lips. I tried to will the train to stop, just so I could say hello. After seeing you, all of the youthful feelings and memories came flooding back to me, and now I’ve spent the better part of a month wondering what your life is like. I might be totally out of my mind, but would you like to get a drink with me and catch up on the last decade and a half? M




My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business


Book Description

A heartfelt memoir from one of Hollywood's greatest icons Dick Van Dyke, indisputably one of the greats of the golden age of television, is admired and beloved by audiences the world over for his beaming smile, his physical dexterity, his impeccable comic timing, his ridiculous stunts, and his unforgettable screen roles. His trailblazing television program, The Dick Van Dyke Show (produced by Carl Reiner, who has written the foreword to this memoir), was one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1960s and introduced another major television star, Mary Tyler Moore. But Dick Van Dyke was also an enormously engaging movie star whose films, including Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, have been discovered by a new generation of fans and are as beloved today as they were when they first appeared. A colorful, loving, richly detailed look at the decades of a multilayered life, My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business, will enthrall every generation of reader, from baby-boomers who recall when Rob Petrie became a household name, to all those still enchanted by Bert’s “Chim Chim Cher-ee.” This is a lively, heartwarming memoir of a performer who still thinks of himself as a “simple song-and-dance man,” but who is, in every sense of the word, a classic entertainer.




Liferider


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Surfing icon Laird Hamilton offers inspiration to anyone who wants to elevate their ordinary, landlocked lives to do extraordinary things. “When Laird Hamilton surfs, you must watch. When he speaks, I listen. And when he writes a book, I’m damn sure gonna read it. Twice.”—Eddie Vedder, Grammy Award–winning lead vocalist of Pearl Jam Millions of us increasingly seek happiness in fads and self-help books, reaching upward every day toward some enlightened state that we wish to attain. Laird Hamilton is more intent on looking inward and appreciating the brilliant creatures we already are. In Liferider, Laird uses five key pillars—Death & Fear, Heart, Body, Soul, and Everything Is Connected—to illustrate his unique worldview and life practices. This is Laird Hamilton in his own words—raw, honest, and unvarnished—on topics he has rarely explored before. Based on extensive interviews and conversations between Laird and his coauthor, Julian Borra, with additional insights from Laird’s wife, pro-volleyball player Gabby Reece, Liferider takes on human resilience, relationships, business, technology, risk-taking, and the importance of respecting the natural world, all through the lens of Laird’s extraordinary life both in and beyond the ocean. Praise for Liferider “Laird is a hero, if you want him to be. That’s up to your perception. He challenges himself, and he challenges those around him. He shows us that the deeper we puncture into life, the more vibrant the colors get. The Laird Hamilton I know—real, faulty, moody, deeply loving, and communal—comes through on every page of Liferider.”—Josh Brolin, Award-Winning Actor “Laird Hamilton is a true individualist unafraid to carve his own path. These thoughtful mediations offer a unique window — illuminating and inspiring — into one of America's great innovators.”—Rory Kennedy, Documentary Filmmaker




Do What You Love


Book Description

The American claim that we should love and be passionate about our job may sound uplifting, or at least, harmless, but Do What You Love exposes the tangible damages such rhetoric has leveled upon contemporary society. Virtue and capital have always been twins in the capitalist, industrialized West. Our ideas of what the “virtues” of pursuing success in capitalism have changed dramatically over time. In the past, we believed that work undertaken with an ethos of industriousness promised financial stability and basic comfort and security for our families. Now, our working life is conflated with the pursuit of pleasure. Fantastically successful—and popular—entrepreneurs such as Steve Jobs and Oprah Winfrey command us. “You’ve got to love what you do,” Jobs tells an audience of college grads about to enter the workforce, while Winfrey exhorts her audience to “live your best life.” The promises made to today’s workers seem so much larger and nobler than those of previous generations. Why settle for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage and a perfectly functional eight-year-old car when you can get rich becoming your “best” self and have a blast along the way? But workers today are doing more and more for less and less. This reality is frighteningly palpable in eroding paychecks and benefits, the rapid concentration of wealth in the hands of a tiny few, and workers’ loss of control over their labor conditions. But where is the protest and anger from workers against a system that tells them to love their work and asks them to do it for less? While winner-take-all capitalism grows ever more ruthless, the rhetoric of passion for labor proliferates. In Do What You Love, Tokumitsu articulates and examines the sacrifices people make for a chance at loveable, self-actualizing, and, of course, wealth-generating work and the conditions facilitated by this pursuit. This book continues the conversation sparked by the author’s earlier Slate article and provides a devastating look at the state of modern America’s labor and workforce.




The Secret


Book Description

The tenth-anniversary edition of the book that changed lives in profound ways, now with a new foreword and afterword. In 2006, a groundbreaking feature-length film revealed the great mystery of the universe—The Secret—and, later that year, Rhonda Byrne followed with a book that became a worldwide bestseller. Fragments of a Great Secret have been found in the oral traditions, in literature, in religions and philosophies throughout the centuries. For the first time, all the pieces of The Secret come together in an incredible revelation that will be life-transforming for all who experience it. In this book, you’ll learn how to use The Secret in every aspect of your life—money, health, relationships, happiness, and in every interaction you have in the world. You’ll begin to understand the hidden, untapped power that’s within you, and this revelation can bring joy to every aspect of your life. The Secret contains wisdom from modern-day teachers—men and women who have used it to achieve health, wealth, and happiness. By applying the knowledge of The Secret, they bring to light compelling stories of eradicating disease, acquiring massive wealth, overcoming obstacles, and achieving what many would regard as impossible.




Liked


Book Description

For many girls growing up in a generation saturated with social media, seeking "likes", comments, and friends online can become an obsession. Liked, written by author and mom of four daughters Kari Kampakis, offers positive, powerful insights to help girls build lasting relationships and navigate the digital age to break unhealthy obsessions with social media. Kari Kampakis has shared her tips and insight on the TODAY Show, HuffPost, and Yahoo! News. The topics covered in Liked are: Living for God's approval, not human approval Cultivating a true identity Using social media wisely Building a positive reputation online Spreading kindness, love, and compassion Distinguishing online friends from real friends Building deep connections that last Handling rejection, criticism, and volatile emotions Activating your Christian faith Making an eternal difference, not a temporary splash. With relatable age appropriate text, Liked will help: Girls, ages 11-18, to understand how to channel their talents and energies into things with eternal value and, in the process, find the love, friendships, confidence, and strength of character they desire Start great conversations that can quickly unite mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends Small group and youth group discussions for tweens and teens Kari Kampakis' Liked speaks to the female heart to address the need for approval with wisdom, hope, and grace.




The End of Your Life Book Club


Book Description

A profoundly moving memoir of caregiving, mourning, and love between a mother and her son—and about the joy of reading, and the ways that joy is multiplied when we share it with others. “A graceful, affecting testament to a mother and a life well lived.” —Entertainment Weekly, Grade A During her treatment for cancer, Mary Anne Schwalbe and her son Will spent many hours sitting in waiting rooms together. To pass the time, they would talk about the books they were reading. Once, by chance, they read the same book at the same time—and an informal book club of two was born. Through their wide-ranging reading, Will and Mary Anne—and we, their fellow readers—are reminded how books can be comforting, astonishing, and illuminating, changing the way that we feel about and interact with the world around us.




Six Months to Live


Book Description

Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and sentence highlighting for an engaging read aloud experience! Thirteen is supposed to be a great age—dances, cheerleading, boys—but she never thought it would also include cancer. Dawn Rochelle is about to face the toughest fight of her life—a fight she has to win. Otherwise, she has only six months to live.




Every Other Weekend


Book Description

“Two teenagers from broken families find solace in one another’s company” in this “heart-wrenching and hopeful” YA romance novel (Kirkus Reviews). When Adam Moynihan’s oldest brother died, his life fell apart around him. Now his mom cries constantly, he and his remaining brother can’t talk without fighting, and the father he always admired moved out when they needed him most. Jolene Timber is used to being a pawn in her divorced parents’ war. But when she develops an unlikely friendship with a boy who spends every other weekend in the same apartment building that she does, suddenly the future seems less bleak. Can the boy who thinks forgiveness makes him weak and the girl who thinks love is for fools find something real together? They’ll find out . . . every other weekend.