From Our Bookshelf

FROM OUR BOOKSHELF BOOMERS Book Recommendations

Whether or not you started the new year with a resolution, it’s a natural time to look for changes you can make in your life. Here are some suggestions of what you can check out from the New Orleans Public Library to make your 2022 a little healthier, wealthier, and wiser.

The 80/80 Marriage: A New Model for a Happier, Stronger Relationship by Nate

Klemp, PhD, and Kaley Klemp

Every relationship is bound to hit rough patches, and working through them can be just as trying as the problems themselves. In this accessible, relatable, and non-judgmental guidebook, husband-and-wife team Nate and Kaley Klemp break down how to build healthier and happier relationships in the modern world.

Inspired by frustrations within their own relationship, the Klemps developed the “80/80 Method,” which encourages focusing on radical generosity and shared success instead of fixating on score-keeping and fairness.

Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind by Judson

Brewer, MD PhD

Judson Brewer’s Unwinding Anxiety will give you the tools to uproot anxiety at its source, using brain-based techniques and small, easy-to-manage hacks. Dr. Brewer teaches readers how to map their brains to discover triggers and defuse them and to train their brains using mindfulness and other accessible practices. Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything by BJ Fogg Not every goal has to be big, and according to Stanford University habit expert BJ Fogg, the most impactful changes are often the smallest. In Tiny Habits, Dr. Fogg shares his breakthrough method for building habits quickly and easily.

This step-by-step guide aims to help readers design habits and make them stick through positive emotion and celebrate small successes. Whether your goals might be, Tiny Habits is a great way to tackle them by starting small.

Marie Simoneaux is the marketing associate responsible for the Library’s social media content and impact stories. Robin Goldblum is the New Orleans Public Library's Adult Education Programming Librarian. She can be reached at rgoldblum@nolalibrary.org or (504) 596-3122.

The Myth of Closure: Ambiguous Loss in a Time of Pandemic and Change by Pauline Boss If you’re struggling to cope with the emotional toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pauline Boss does a fantastic job helping to identify the vague feelings of distress that come with prolonged times of trauma. As we grieve collectively, it can be difficult to locate a source of closure when our losses are not necessarily clearly defined.

Along with validating and naming those feelings, Boss provides strategies for coping while still looking to the future with hope and possibility.

The Maid by Nita Prose Sometimes the healthiest thing you can do for yourself is to just allow yourself some fun, which is exactly what you’ll find in Nita Proses’ debut novel The Maid.

Readers follow Molly, a young maid in an upscale hotel who discovers the body of a wealthy guest while she’s cleaning. After her friend is framed for the murder, Molly assembles a ragtag team of coworkers to solve the case. This fast-past, Clue-like murder mystery quickly develops into a heartwarming journey full of compelling characters, self-acceptance, and plenty of hijinks to satisfy all your cozy mystery cravings.