Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye. Continue reading
Tag Archives: self-help
Nonfiction November 2024 – Choosing Nonfiction
This week, Nonfiction November is hosted by Frances at Volatile Rune and it’s all about how we choose nonfiction. Continue reading
Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown
I never initiate recommending self-help books to clients but sometimes they ask for suggestions. And when that happens, my safest pick is always Brené Brown. Her books are insightful, there are lots of takeaway messages, and she includes stuff that you can act on immediately (if that’s your thing). In summary, her books are accessible, broadly applicable, and most importantly, don’t contain stuff that is likely to be triggering, or catch people off-guard.
If there was such a thing as a ‘therapy coffee table book’, Atlas of the Heart is it. I would also describe it as Brené Brown’s Greatest Hits Collection. Continue reading
Drawing a line under 2023 reviews
I’m loathe to do another bunch of short reviews, particularly as I have lots to say about some of these books (and a squillion quotes highlighted) but I also know that I’m unlikely to find the time required, so… Continue reading
Wintering by Katherine May
The subtitle of Katherine May’s memoir-meets-nature-writing, Wintering, is ‘The power of rest and retreat in difficult times’. The subtitle might suggest a how-to guide for coping with pandemics but that’s not the case.
Instead, May’s gentle book examines the cues that flora and fauna take from the weather; and the human response to the cold, including winter recreation (saunas and rolling in snow); and rituals and customs.
Plants and animals don’t fight the winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on living the same lives that they lived in the summer. They prepare. They adapt. They perform extraordinary acts of metamorphosis to get them through. Continue reading
The Comfort Book by Matt Haig
The Comfort Book by Matt Haig is a collection of thoughts and reflections on happiness and hope. Haig doesn’t claim to have any particular insight or expertise. Instead, his words are intended to soothe in times when many people are feeling frayed.
Like any book of this nature, it’s one you can open to any page – it’s probably the best way to read it, taking from it what you need at any one time. As a result, some entries will resonate more than others (although, the entry which simply says – ‘No physical appearance is worth not eating pasta for’ is universal, and equally, ‘It’s rare to escape a maze on the first attempt’, is also useful). Continue reading