Mind, Body, Spirit, Psychology

Clutter: An Untidy History

by Jennifer Howard

available in January 2022, paperback, Belt Publishing Sparked by the painful two-year process of cleaning out her mother’s house in the wake of a devastating physical and emotional collapse, Howard sets her own personal struggle with clutter against a meticulously researched history of just how the developed world came to drown in material goods. With sharp prose and an eye for telling detail, she shines unsparing light on clutter’s darker connections to environmental devastation and hoarding disorder.

Buddha Boards

“The Buddha Board is one of my favorite things to practice relaxing and meditation, especially over winter break!” –Guinevere

A Great Gift

Soaps & Lotions

Stay Soft, Smell Good

Black-and-White Thinking:

The Burden of a Binary Brain in a Complex World

by Kevin Dutton

available in January 2022, paperback, Picador Several million years ago, natural selection equipped us with binary, black-and-white brains. Though the world was arguably simpler back then, it was in many ways much more dangerous. Since then, the world has evolved—but we, for the most part, have not. Confronted with a panoply of shades of gray, our brains have a tendency to “force quit”: to sort the things we see, hear, and experience into manageable but simplistic categories. We stereotype, pigeonhole, and, above all, draw lines where in reality there are none. This book is a sciencebased wake-up call for an era of increasing extremism and a thought-provoking, uplifting guide to training our gray matter to see that gray really does matter.

Keanu Reeves' Guide

to Kindness: 50 Simple Ways to Be Excellent

by Hardie Grant

available in November, hardcover, Hardie Grant Books

An illustrated guide to how we can all spread a little more kindness à la Keanu Reeves. Including 50 simple acts, such as holding the door open for someone, donating clothes and books to charity and smiling at a stranger, and accompanying illustrations featuring Keanu himself, this book implores us to be kind. Always.

Stay Warm & Cozy

Hats, Gloves, Slippers

The Illustrated Herbiary, Bestiary, and Crystallary Oracle Cards

by Joshua McFadden, Martha Holmberg

available in November, Storey Publishing Fans of Maia Toll's popular book have been clamoring for a deck of larger, sturdier oracle cards designed for frequent use. Each set is packed in a collectible box, 36 cards are accompanied by a short guidebook explaining the symbolism of each plant, animal, or crystal and how to use the cards for self-discovery and spiritual exploration.

A Little Book of Self-Care for Those Who Grieve

by Paula Becker

available now, hardcover, Girl Friday Books The holidays can be fraught for so many of us. It’s hard to celebrate and not think about loved ones we have lost. This beautiful little book, filled with gorgeous artwork and wisdom, provides solace and respite for anyone struggling with grief. So much in such a small package. Breathe. –Claire

Sunday, November 7, 4pm PAULA BECKER

In Person at Village Books in Fairhaven

Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet

by Thich Nhat Hanh

available now, hardcover, HarperOne In this masterful work, one of the most revered spiritual leaders in the world today shares his wisdom on how to be the change we want to see in the world. Beloved Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is blazingly clear: there’s one thing we all have the power to change, which can make all the difference, and that is our mind. Our way of looking, seeing, and thinking determines every choice we make, the everyday actions we take or avoid, how we relate to those we love or oppose, and how we react in a crisis. He shows us a new way of seeing and living that can bring healing and harmony to ourselves, our relationships, and the Earth.

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

by John Koenig

available in November, hardcover, Simon and Schuster Have you ever wondered about the lives of each person you pass on the street, realizing that everyone is the main character in their own story? That feeling has a name: “sonder.” Or maybe you’ve watched a thunderstorm roll in and felt a primal hunger for disaster, hoping it would shake up your life. That’s called “lachesism.” If you’ve never heard of these terms before, that’s because they didn’t exist until John Koenig began his epic quest to fill the gaps in the language of emotion. From “astrophe,” the longing to explore beyond the planet Earth, to “zenosyne,” the sense that time keeps getting faster, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is for anyone who enjoys a shift in perspective, pondering the ineffable feelings that make up our lives.

The Joy of Small Things

by Hannah Jane Parkinson

available in November, hardcover, Faber & Faber Uplifting Literary Collections

Hannah Jane Parkinson is a specialist in savouring the small pleasures of life. She revels in her fluffy dressing gown ("like bathing in marshmallow"), finds calm in solo cinema trips, is charmed by the personalities of fonts ("you’ll never see Comic Sans on a funeral notice"), celebrates pockets and gleefully abandons a book she isn’t enjoying. Parkinson’s everyday exaltations—selected from her immensely successful Guardian column—will utterly delight. A Great Gift

These Precious Days: Essays

by Ann Patchett

available in November, hardcover, Harper A literary alchemist, Patchett plumbs the depths of her experiences to create gold: engaging and moving pieces that are both self-portrait and landscape, each vibrant with emotion and rich in insight. Turning her writer’s eye on her own experiences, she transforms the private into the universal, providing us all a way to look at our own worlds anew, and reminds how fleeting and enigmatic life can be.

The Book of Delights

by Ross Gay

available now, hardcover, Algonquin Books

“This is an essay collection that reflects on small, delightful things. From essays that explore what ensues when you carry a tomato plant onto an airplane to why trains are sacred spaces, if you are looking to gift joy and all that's good in the world, this is the book for you.“ –Madison