How to be Fine: What We Learned from Living by the Rules of 50 Self-Help Books by Jolenta Greenberg & Kristen Meinzer

Jolenta and Kristen are the hosts of the funny and insightful podcast, By the Book.  In each episode, they read a chosen self-help book, spend two weeks living by the book’s guidelines, and then offer their opinions of the book’s premise.  When they had read and lived by 50 different books, they decided to write one of their own.  How to be Fine highlights what they learned from their experiment.  

Their book is divided into three sections: the good things they learned, the things that didn’t work at all or were actually harmful, and the advice they wish they had found in the book but did not.  Kristen and Jolenta are very candid in their critiques, pulling no punches when authors promote unhealthy ideas or perpetuate ugly stereotypes.  They are also very open about their own personal struggles and offer some excellent advice of their own about self-care.  

If you’re drawn to self-help titles, this is a great way to experience 50 books in one.  The authors distill the knowledge into the most important take-away ideas, while sharing their own experiences with a good deal of humor and compassion.

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: And Other Questions About Dead Bodies by Caitlin Doughty

Author, blogger, YouTube personality, and (most importantly) mortician Caitlin Doughty has compiled a list of the best questions about death that she’s received from kids and answers them in this hilarious book. As a mortician with a degree in medieval history, she answers these questions with science and history in an easy-to-understand matter while touching on her "death positive" movement, in which she believes that we should stop the cultural censorship of death for the betterment of society. All of the odd questions you’ve ever had about death but were too afraid to ask will probably be answered, and if they’re not in this book, she has two others as well. What happens to a body in space? Can I have a Viking funeral? You’ll have to read the book to find out, but fair warning: you probably will laugh out loud!

Doughty narrates the audiobook of this and really brings the book to life. Emphasizing certain words in her sarcastic manner shows you that she’s kidding. Some of the humor may get a little lost in reading the book rather than listening, so if you’re reading it in print or e-book and are unsure--she’s probably kidding.

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Glennon Doyle, author of the New York Times bestseller Love Warrior, has written a book that is part memoir, part self-help, part uplifting feminist theory. She discusses what it means to be a girl or woman living in a cage, being taught to doubt herself and be demure and little instead of big and, as she calls it, "knowing." Basing her theories and revelations on events in her own life, as well as spirituality, Doyle brings to light the oppressing factors that women deal with in society every day.

Doyle does a fantastic job creating a narrative around social stereotypes in young girls and women, highlighting the obstacles she herself, as well as her family, have had to endure. Discussing struggles in marriage, with self-doubt, personal image, and other issues she is able to preach on the importance of "knowing:" knowing who you are, trusting your knowing, etc. She did a phenomenal job connecting social paradigms with real life and was able to write a moral boosting book. It was an enjoyable experience listening to Glennon Doyle's passion as she narrated the audio version herself. For readers who enjoy light self-help with a focus on feminism, mixed with some spirituality and personal experiences.

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson

Bookshelves are awash with advice for those wishing to organize their living spaces.  Techniques vary from no-nonsense clutter-busting to thanking and discarding items that no longer spark joy.  Anyone who has had to clear out a relative's home will understand the practicality of the Swedish concept of death cleaning: the organizing of one's worldly goods before passing away.  The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning serves as a friendly guide to undertaking this admittedly gloomy-sounding project at any stage of life.

Making the book as much a memoir as motivation, Swedish artist Margareta Magnusson illustrates the process by describing her own death cleaning practices, including charming stories about her possessions.  Her eventual decision to sell a beloved family sailboat is somehow both sentimental and pragmatic.  She concludes that its value lay in happy memories, not in the physical object, which should go on to delight another family, rather than sit unused in storage.

A quick read, this is a warm and humorous approach to tidying that combines the life-changing magic of Marie Kondo with the cozy simplicity of Scandinavian hygge.

Thanks a Thousand by A.J. Jacobs

A.J. Jacobs found himself feeling petty and angry more often than grateful and content. So being the "human guinea pig" that he is, he decided to embark on a gratitude experiment to try to be more appreciative of the little things in his life. He started with his morning cup of coffee.

He decided to try to thank everyone who made his cup of coffee possible, from the baristas to the water sanitation workers to the coffee cup lid designers to the South American farmers. Altogether, he makes it his mission to thank one thousand people who contributed in some way to his daily cup of coffee.

This is an uplifting book that narrowly skirts coming off as cloying. By honestly contemplating whether the thank-ees appreciate his words or see them as a waste of their time, and by consulting experts about the difference between gratitude and complacency, he manages to keep the book on level ground. It's a quick read with a heartfelt premise, perfect for if you're looking for a sense of connection in this tumultuous time.

Schedule a curbside pickup by calling us, or check out the e-book from Library on the Go (Libby/Overdrive)!

The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure

The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie is equal parts a biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder and a memoir of author Wendy McClure as she goes on a journey into Wilder's history to uncover how her life and her books overlapped.

Growing up in the 1970s, I wanted to live with Laura Ingalls Wilder. I could envision myself listening to Pa play his fiddle while I did the daily chores, with hopes that Almanzo would come past the Homestead. I loved the television series as well as the books, but as with all adaptions onto television or the big screen, things are often lost or added. For instance, Laura Ingalls Wilder did not really have a step brother named Adam, and they did not have bread at every meal, but there indeed was a Nellie Olson.

Wendy McClure writes as if I, too, am taking the adventure with her and bringing my favorite childhood book characters to life-- right down to her trip to Mansfield, Missouri and stopping off at an American Girl Place. It reminded me so much of those stories that now that I have finished The Wilder Life, I want to read about Kirsten and Felicity's adventures in the American Girl books. And someday, when the time comes for travel, I, too, want to be one of the Laura Ingalls Wilder tourists in Pepin, Wisconsin collecting lake pebbles. 

Check out one of our e-book copies of this book through Axis360!

Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered by Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark

If you're a feminist true crime fan with a sense of humor, then do yourself a favor and give a listen to your new pals, Karen and Georgia.  These hosts of the popular My Favorite Murder podcast have written a book and narrate the audiobook version themselves.  While they dish about the sordid details of various murders on their podcast, their book is more autobiographical in nature.

Kilgariff and Hardstark open up about their battles with personal demons many women face, such as alcoholism and eating disorders, as well as the influences that may have caused them.  They also offer commentary on why so many crime victims are women and how cultural attitudes need to change so that we can all live safely.  They encourage women to reject societal pressure to put politeness and conformity above personal safety, while demanding authorities deal more seriously with violence against women.

Though the subject matter is rather heavy, the ladies inject their trademark humor into the narrative, making this both a thought-provoking and enjoyable listen. Check out our e-book or e-audiobook copies through Axis360!

The Only Girl in the World by Maude Julien

The Only Girl in the World is Maude Julien's story of her upbringing in a large estate where her parents raised her to be "Super Human," forcing her into hard, physical labor and studies beyond her comprehension. Her mother and father used force and manipulation to mold Maude into a hardened and stoic person. Keeping her isolated from the rest of the world, they found her weaknesses and brought her pain to make her stronger. But by reading books about how children are treated in the real world, and because she is paired up with an intelligent music teacher, she is able to escape this world where she is the only girl.

I listened to this audiobook, read by the author, and it was dark and emotional, sometimes hard to listen to. Hearing Ms. Julien's story of how she herself became a strong and diligent young woman who eventually grew confident enough to rebel and stand against her father's wishes made this story heroic. Thankfully her music teacher persistently worked for years to convince her father to send her to his music school in the city, where Maude was eventually able to break away from his grasp and lead the normal, fulfilled life she had longed for since her youth. This memoir was gripping and emotional, a recommended read (or listen) to those who appreciate memoirs about unconventional upbringings (like Educated or The Glass Castle).

Toujours Provence by Peter Mayle

Push your cold weather blues away with an escape to the south of France! Peter Mayle, a British expat, writes about his life in picturesque Provence. As the pages turn, Mayle brings to life the sights and sounds of the region and its people. Readers were first introduced to Mayle’s France in A Year in Provence, which described his first year adapting to the Provencal culture and lifestyle. However, Toujours Provence can easily be appreciated on its own. Each chapter is its own tale. Readers get a fascinating description of a Luciano Pavoratti concert, learn of the mystery and intrigue surrounding truffles, go on an unexpected treasure hunt when gold is found on Mayle’s property, explore amazing gastronomic depictions, and so much more. Picking up Toujours Provence or any of Peter Mayle’s travel memoirs is one of the quickest, cheapest, and most rewarding travel experiences!

Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos by Lucy Knisley

Kid Gloves is a memoir about Lucy Knisley’s journey from just before pregnancy to just after. She highlights some tough and personal issues she personally went through trying to conceive "Pal," the nickname she gives her son in the comic, as well as the awful medical emergency she endured at the end of her pregnancy/birth of her son. In between her chapters, marked by what trimesters she was entering, she offered up amazing facts and history about contraception, conception, pregnancy, births, babies, mothers, etc.

This was such a well put together memoir of Knisley's experience. The way she separated her experience by trimester was such a cute and original idea, and adding the facts and interesting history in between really brought the reading experience together in a fun and delightful way. The entire book was emotional, especially the ending. Overall it was a fantastic comic and memoir, and I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.

#IMomSoHard by Kristen Hensley and Jen Smedley

#Imomsohard ("I Mom So Hard") is a book written by two moms and YouTube sensations, Kristen Hensley and Jen Smedley, who "tell it like it is” in their videos about parenting. Meaning, they are completely truthful about everything-- not just the good, but the bad and the ugly, too! Using humor and wit, they recount some of their personal stories raising their sons and daughters. Not limited to just funny stories about labor and school lunches, they also speak directly to moms, encouraging them to call for help, to help one another, and-- more importantly-- to never judge a mom, because you just never know what they are going through.

The audiobook is read by the two authors and they are so fantastic to listen to! They bring their own personality and flare to the pages (or in this case discs) and talk to their readers/listeners as if we were all hanging out at dinner over appetizers. Listening to them talk about their life stories brings relief and humor to your own life, knowing that they’ve been through it all, too, and that moms are not alone in this journey.

Evicted by Matthew Desmond

Every day, in cities across the country, thousands of people are evicted from their homes. Eviction is traumatic for everyone, but for the extremely poor, it's a waking nightmare that runs on repeat. Evictions can make you lose your job (as you're forced to spend your day moving your belongings or trying to find a place to stay), they can make you ineligible for public housing, they can get you rejected by private landlords, they can force you to move into unsafe locations, they can make you impose on friends and family, they can force you to stay in homeless shelters, and on and on and on. The home is supposed to be the stable foundation of a person's life, and when they're forced out of it, it can uproot everything else along with it. This book delves into the lives of several Milwaukee residents, across a surprisingly wide spectrum of life experiences, who had their lives changed by eviction.

This book won its author a slew of prizes, including a Pulitzer, and with good reason. It's an intense collection of stories, many of them intertwined, giving you a heartfelt and crushing view of its subjects. If you're a fan of narrative nonfiction, this deep dive into the world of deep poverty and housing insecurity is one that will stick with you for a long time.

Hitler's Pawn by Stephen Koch

Herschel Grynszpan (pronounced "Greenspan") was a German-born Polish Jew living in Hanover with his family until, following the Nazis rise to power, his parents sent him to live with his aunt and uncle in Paris in 1935. Following his family’s forced deportation in 1938, and a deterioration of his relationship with his aunt and uncle, Grynszpan decided to act. On the morning of November 7th, 1938, Grynszpan purchased a gun and walked to the German Embassy, where he shot and killed a German official. Grynszpan was arrested, putting up no fight. The act was used as a pretext by the Nazis to launch Kristallnacht, their most vicious pogrom against the Jewish people. Grynszpan himself spent the entirety of World War II in enemy hands, awaiting a massive trial that never happened. The exact reasons why are the subject of theories and conspiracies, all of which are debated.

Grynszpan is something of an anomaly in history as, in spite of his importance, he is not well known. Hitler’s Pawn does a fantastic job of detailing his life, and the legacy which he left behind. Stephen Koch’s detail regarding the time Grynszpan spent in Nazi hands is particularly incredible, as is the reaction by Nazi officials to the assassination he perpetrated. The book reads, by and large, like a work of fiction following a central character, though that does call into question whether or not some portions are dramatized or guesswork by the author. If you are looking for something fresh about World War II, though, this book is definitely for you.

Anthony Bourdain Remembered by CNN

This was an endearing and lovingly compiled book honoring Anthony Bourdain's legacy in the world of food and culture. Looking through this collection, we see how many lives Bourdain touched with his books, shows, and essays, clearly reaching a number of chefs, restaurant workers, self-proclaimed foodies, and armchair travelers alike. The professional photos on every page were fantastic, capturing Bourdain with  many meals spent with every day people from all over the world.

Creating a book for the purpose of displaying how many people were effected by Bourdain was both empowering and bittersweet. It's absolutely wonderful that one man could have such an impact on people's lives, but because of his death we read these testimonies with joy, as well as a heavy heart. This compilation of memories reminded me of just how much Anthony Bourdain will forever be missed.

Belonging by Nora Krug

In this graphic memoir, framed like a scrapbook, German ex-pat Nora Krug tries to answer a question that lives in the heart of many Germans: "What role did my family play in the Holocaust?"

To find answers, she delves into local archives and government records, as well as her relatives' memories and photo albums. Her ultimate hope is to alleviate her sense of inherited guilt, but of course nothing is ever so straightforward. On her journey, she meets new relatives, fact-checks family lore, and is eventually able to see her long-gone family members as real people with real lives and real emotions, and finally accept her heritage, mixed bag that it is.

Germany has always been a particular interest of mine, so I was completely fascinated by this first-hand, highly personal account of a modern German grappling with the guilt and shame of her country's past. While not graphically explicit, the story packs an emotional gut punch. Peppered with tidbits of German culture from toadstools to laundry detergent, this is an incredible read for anyone interested in a modern German perspective on World War Two.

Notes From a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi

By the time he was twenty-seven, Kwame Onwuachi had competed on TopChef, cooked at the White House, and opened and closed one of the most talked-about restaurants in America. In this inspiring memoir, he shares the remarkable story of his culinary coming-of-age. Growing up in the Bronx and Nigeria (where he was sent by his mother to "learn respect"), food was Onwuachi's great love.

This was a well-written memoir, with Onwuachi shaping and molding his story to both inform and entertain his readers. Each chapter ends with a recipe, which I found especially cozy. I enjoyed reading about his journey from the streets of New York, to Africa, to serving a prestigious dinner at the National Museum of African American History, to being a chef at his own restaurant. He seems to have an incredible work ethic, a fierce tenacity, and an incredible sense of street wise. His demeanor in his kitchen, never berating or belittling his staff, is very agreeable and makes me like him even more. Overall, I am most impressed, however, with his unwavering refusal to give in to clichéd stereotypes.

The Daily Show (The Book): An Oral History by Chris Smith

For almost seventeen years, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart brilliantly redefined the borders between television comedy, political satire, and opinionated news coverage. It launched the careers of some of today's most significant comedians, highlighted the hypocrisies of the powerful, and along the way managed to earn 23 Emmys. Now you can see behind the scenes on one of the most influential television shows of the modern era. Correspondents, guests, and staff all tell the story of The Daily Show from its humble beginnings, through incisive election coverage, Jon Stewart's emotional monologue in the wake of 9/11, his infamous confrontation on Crossfire, passionate debates with President Obama, feuds with Bill O'Reilly, Indecisions and more. Highly recommended for fans of the show.

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

“Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.”

Rainer Maria Rilke, a German poet now revered for his beautiful and moving works, was relatively unknown in his own time. Despite that, a young military cadet and budding poet named Kappus stumbled upon one of his books and was so taken with it that he sent Rilke a fan letter praising him and asking for advice. Happily, Rilke wrote back, kicking off years of correspondence on a huge breadth of topics, from the futility of literary criticism to the nature of solitude. They include passionate calls to write, somber ruminations on depression, and comforting advice about love and marriage. After Rilke's death, Kappus published a collection of his letters under the title Letters to a Young Poet.

I'm not often a fan of old classics or poetry, but this was an absolutely breathtaking work. It is endlessly quotable, and some of Rilke's observations are truly heart-rending. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Dan Stevens, and was unable to multitask while listening, because I kept pausing to contemplate Rilke's words. It's a very short work, but definitely worth reading if you have any interest in poetry, philosophy, writing, or Rilke.

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay

Bestselling author Roxane Gay has written with intimacy and sensitivity about food and bodies, using her own emotional and psychological struggles as a means of exploring our shared anxieties over pleasure, consumption, appearance, and health. As a woman who describes her own body as “wildly undisciplined,” Roxane understands the tension between desire and denial, between self-comfort and self-care. In Hunger, she casts an insightful and critical eye on her childhood, teens, and twenties—including the devastating act of violence that acted as a turning point in her young life—and brings readers into the present and the realities, pains, and joys of her daily life. 

With the bracing candor, vulnerability, and authority that have made her one of the most admired voices of her generation, Roxane explores what it means to be overweight in a time when the bigger you are, the less you are seen. Hunger is a deeply personal memoir from one of our finest writers, and tells a story that hasn’t yet been told but needs to be.

From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty

Known for her web series, Ask a Mortician, Caitlin Doughty is a proponent of making funerals more natural and meaningful than the current impersonal, profit-driven model. In this, her second book, she explores funeral customs and death rituals of other cultures: visiting cemeteries, witnessing funerals, and attending celebrations of the dead the world over. She describes old-fashioned funeral pyres, cremation ceremonies involving chopsticks, and the reverent tending of mummified relatives. Many of these seemingly exotic rituals include close personal interactions with the deceased’s earthly remains; a stark contrast to the rather antiseptic practices promoted by the American funeral industry. Doughty laments that we have so distanced ourselves from death, that it is only viewed with fear and disgust, whereas other cultures continue to foster relationships with their loved ones, remembering them, honoring them, and including them in family life even after they have passed on.

If you like the readable nonfiction style of Mary Roach or have ever wondered why a burial can’t be a simpler, less expensive affair, this book will interest you. You may also wish to read Doughty’s first book, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, a memoir of her time working in a crematory.