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  Jeff Somers 7:50 pm on 2018/08/09 Permalink
  Tags: a man a can a plan ( 2 ), david joachim, diveorce, guide to life, hard to do, heartburn ( 2 ), john updike ( 4 ), nora ephron ( 4 ), on your own again, Self-Improvement   

  10 Books to Read Before Getting Divorced 

  Despite the knowledge that many marriages aren’t forever, most who say “I do” assume there partnerships will be forever—otherwise, why bother? But divorce really is the answer, sometimes—the right decision for all involved. That doesn’t mean it won’t also be a painful period of transition.

  Or not. The key is considering your options before you make that fateful choice. While no book can speak definitively to your specific situation, there’s a good chance there’s a book out there that can help you do just that. If you’re thinking your marriage is headed for a divorce, you might benefit from a little reading. The following books will offer perspective, advice, and entertainment, and just might make the decision easier for you, whatever you choose.

  If You’re in My Office, It’s Already Too Late, by James J. Sexton
  First a book to help you determine if your relationship is truly beyond repair. Sexton, a successful divorce lawyer who estimates the number of marriages he’s helped dissolve to number in the thousands, muses on what he’s learned about failed marriages from his work, and offers a guide to figuring out just how far gone your own relationship might—or might not—be. As Sexton explains, expectations (realistic and otherwise) are the foundation of a long-term relationship. You might see yourself in his warm and witty book—and find alternative solutions.

  Reconcilable Differences, by Cate Cochran
  Divorce is often equated with failure, but Cochran offers a different take, examining ten “successfully failed” marriages—including her own—where divorce didn’t mean a cataclysmic breakup, thrown crockery, and psychologically-damaged kids. Instead, these couples found their own way forward and made divorce a positive force in their lives, making up new rules that worked better for them and their kids. This could be just the sort of perspective you need.

  Two Homes, One Childhood, by Robert E. Emery
  If you’ve got kids, you’re going to have to start thinking about them before you tackle the divorce itself. It’s possible to insulate them from the worst of the process, but it takes planning and cooperation—so start the planning now, with this excellent book. Emery shifts the focus from your needs to the needs of your children, helping you and your soon-to-be-former partner develop a plan that will evolve along with your kids, and ensure they get to have a childhood despite the dissolution of your marriage.

  On Your Own Again, by Keith Anderson
  Living with someone can become a habit, and one of the scariest things about divorce is the idea that you’ll once again be on your own. Once you accept that divorce is your only way forward, there’s no time to lose in thinking about how you’re going to clear the rubble and start again. Anderson offers a concise and well-organized approach to putting the past behind you and finding a way to live by yourself—how to find the self-confidence that you can, in fact, rely on yourself to not only survive, but thrive.

  A Man, a Can, a Plan, by David Joachim
  Despite the title, this book is for anyone who has no idea how to cook or shop at a grocery store. If your spouse took care of the groceries and the cooking, a divorce might leave you facing epic takeout bills. This book allows anyone—and we mean anyone—to feed themselves with a modicum of style, without knowing anything at all about fresh produce or advanced cooking techniques. While we can’t recommend staying on this meal plan forever, it’ll get you through those first confusing months when dinner no longer magically appears on the table every evening.

  Getting Back Out There, by Susan J. Elliott
  You may not be divorced yet, but if it’s become inevitable, then jumping back into the dating life probably is too. Dating after you’ve been in one relationship for a long time can be a brutal, eye-opening experience—so start getting yourself mentally and emotionally prepared for the modern dating scene, a battlefield intimidating enough for young folks, and almost paralyzing for someone on the other side of a divorce. Elliot doesn’t just offer platitudes or a strategy for catching someone’s eye, she guides you to consider where and why you went wrong before—and how to avoid making those same mistakes.

  The Sociopath Next Door, by Martha Stout
  Dating will bring you into contact with a lot of new people—and some proportion of those, science tells us, will be sociopaths. Stout’s sensational book argues that there are more sociopaths out there than you think, and they can be difficult to identify, and thus avoid. If you want to avoid dating one (or, maybe, dating one again), Stout helps you to learn how to spot one in the wild, before they buy you a drink and turn on their superficial charm.

  This Isn’t the Life I Ordered, by Jenniffer Weigel
  Television personality Weigel offers a fun, entertaining reflection on her own divorce, and tells how embracing the new layout of her life led her to bigger and better things… eventually. If you’re headed for a split, learn from Weigel’s experience, and set yourself up to take advantage of it as a change, not a failure. Weigel’s journey through her own painful split will prepare you for the challenges and missteps to come with your sense of humor intact.

  Heartburn, by Nora Ephron
  Not only was Ephron a great writer, and not only is this a great novel, but the fact that it’s largely autobiographical should be comforting. If a smart, rich, successful people like Ephron can suffer through a brutal divorce, you don’t have to feel too bad about your own. And if she can come out stronger and wittier for it, maybe you can too. As an added bonus, this story of cookbook author Rachel’s split from her philandering husband is side-splittingly funny.

  The Rabbit Angstrom Novels, by John Updike
  John Updike was a writer with myriad obsessions, and they all came together in the four-book, decades-in-the-writing saga of flawed but fascinating Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, who attempts to abandon his young family in book one and doesn’t make life any less complicated for himself as the decades rush on. What you end up with is, in large part, one of the most finely-detailed accounts of the ups and downs of a marriage in literary history. Considered as a whole, Rabbit’s race through life offers the sort of minute study of a relationship that will force you to reconsider you own.

  The post 10 Books to Read Before Getting Divorced appeared first on Barnes & Noble Reads.

   
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  Jeff Somers 3:00 pm on 2018/07/20 Permalink
  Tags: barbara ehrenreich ( 2 ), betrayal marklund, danielle marchant, david mcraney, gretchen rubin ( 3 ), i am so smat s-m-a-t, josh kaufman, lewis dartnell, mark manson, nickel and dimed, pause, prisoners of geography, quiet the rage, r.w. burke, Self-Improvement, the first 20 hours: how to learn anything...fast!, the happiness project, the knowledge ( 2 ), the nordic guide to living 10 years longer, the subtle art of not giving a f*ck ( 2 ), tim marshal, you are not so smart   

  10 The Best Books to Read This Summer to Become a Better, Smarter, Happier Person 

  Summer usually means a bit more free time, which can be used towards much-needed vacations and other relaxing, rejuvenating activities. We’re all stressed out, and that means it’s easy to fall into the habit of using every spare moment to unplug and turn off your brain.

  Nothing wrong with that, but that can lead to missed opportunities—opportunities to improve yourself. Sitting on a beach, on a plane—anywhere you have the time to read for a while this summer is a chance to apply a patch to your personal operating system and do an upgrade—to make yourself better, smarter, and happier. Mix in just a few of these ten books to your summer reading list and make that time off count.

  Be Better

  The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin
  Sometimes the challenge with books that purport to make you better is simply choosing one—after all, you probably have a limited window in which to read and try some new tricks. Rubin’s book is an ideal starting place because it’s not a specific set of instructions or fad—it’s her story of trying all the instructions and fads. Rubin applies the advice from a variety of self-help books, ranging from the ancient to the modern, and reports on her results. Along the way you’ll get plenty of simple, practical advice—but it’s also a great way to pre-test a few things by sharing in Rubin’s experience. Kick off your Summer of Self-Improvement with an overview of the available approaches.

  Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich
  Being a better person begins with empathy, something that often seems to be in short supply. Ehrenreich’s experiment, in which she took on the sorts of low-wage, long-hour jobs that far too often fail to support even modest lifestyles, remains an eye-opening read. We all work hard for what we have, but sometimes the rules aren’t fair—and Ehrenreich plumbs the depths of economic desperation where no matter how hard someone works they keep sliding backwards, the deck stacked against them. Take a moment this summer and contemplate how different your own life could be if you lacked even a few of the advantages you have.

  Quiet the Rage, by R.W. Burke
  We live in contentious times, and half the reason you plan a trip is to get away from your co-workers, relatives, and neighbors with their troubling opinions and confrontational attitudes. These days everyone thinks they have to argue endlessly—but there’s a different approach worth trying. Instead of reacting emotionally to provocations and different opinions—instead of seeking to ‛win’ and thus make other ‛lose,’ perpetuating a cycle of misery, we should seek to control our emotions and try to attain a level of conflict resolution that doesn’t involve turning your life into an endless argument—and coincidentally seeking to punish those who disagree with us. The result might just be a calmer and more effective person.

  Be Smarter

  The Knowledge, by Lewis Dartnell
  This might seem like a strange choice for vacay reading, but this guide to everything you just might need to know if the world ends is more practical than it seems. On the one hand, if the apocalypse is coming it’s not going to care about your vacation schedule. On the other, this book explains not just the systems that support our civilization—technologies we often blindly rely upon—it also explains the fundamentals under those technologies and systems. Reading this book might make you a little better prepared for the end of the world, and in the meantime, it will make you a lot smart about how the world actually works.

  Prisoners of Geography, by Tim Marshall
  Sometimes it’s difficult to understand why there is so much suffering in one area of the world and so much prosperity—and vacationing—in others. It’s easy to assume some not particularly enlightened things about groups of people, but this book lays out how the terrain, climate, and natural borders of a country dictates to a great extent the lives of its people and the fate of its society. This sort of visual thinking might just change your perspective on a lot of different aspects of modern life, especially the crises that never seem to get solved and the political decisions that seem nonsensical at first glance. Using updated maps, Marshall lays it all out for you—making you smarter in the process.

  The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything … Fast!, by Josh Kaufman
  Getting smarter isn’t just the accumulation of facts or even the widening of perspective—it’s also the acquisition of skills. Kaufman presents a system by which you can learn the fundamentals of just about anything with just 20 hours of focused effort—not the 10,000 hours that are often thrown about. While he doesn’t claim this will make you an expert, he does argue that the beginning of learning anything new is always the hardest phase, and the easiest to give up on. Getting though the arduous beginning phase of learning a new skill gives you the foundation to keep going—or to move on to the next thing that you just want a functional knowledge of. As you sit on the beach sipping your drink, ask yourself what you might like to learn if you knew how to get the basics in under a day.

  You Are Not So Smart, by David McRaney
  McRaney’s collection of genius blog posts makes one dismaying argument: you’re not as smart, special, or independent as you think you are—and he has receipts. His analysis of psychological experiments explode the lies we tell ourselves about ourselves, and reading this book can be a painfully eye-opening experience as he correctly guesses what you think about yourself and then grimly lays out the probable truth. Knowing your own limitations and seeing how you’ve been bamboozled in the past is a first step towards a smarter, more aware life, and this summer is your chance to take that step.

  Be Happier

  The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, by Mark Manson
  Let’s start here: most self-help books stroke your ego more than they actually improve things. By telling you that you’re special and have the special je ne sais quoi to change your life and be amazing, they’re just flattering you. Manson argues—forcibly and with a lot of sharp wit—that it’s better to be plainly honest about your own limitations and seek to adjust how you approach life instead of assuming that life should be adjusted to suit your needs. Bracing and sometimes alarming, this book is a dash of cold water to the face that so, so many of us need—and you will be happier for having read it, because the best way to start changing your life for the better is to start seeing it with clear eyes.

  The Nordic Guide to Living 10 Years Longer, by Bertil Marklund
  Marklund, a doctor and professor in Sweden, offers up a refreshingly simple guide to living longer. It’s funny, but if you offered people a pill that would give them an extra decade of life they’d take it, but offer some simple suggestions and suddenly they lose interest. Don’t be that person. Marklund draws on his years of experience along with scientific data to present ten pretty simple, reasonable suggestions, from getting more sleep to getting more exercise, all based on the Swedish lifestyle. This may sound overly simplistic, but the fact is most of us get caught up in remarkably complex exercise and diet regimens rather than simply doing the basics in just the right amount. Read this book while you nap in the sun and return to your life determined to get those extra ten years.

  Pause, by Danielle Marchant
  You’re on vacation and yet you’ve prepared a reading list and consulted this post to fine-tune it. You may not be doing vacations correctly, and Marchant wants you to pause and think about that. Americans work too hard and take too little vacation, and many of us are at risk of burning out without realizing, constantly and exhaustingly driving hard every moment. Marchand, who suffered a bit of a breakdown after years of sustained stress in a high-powered job, argues that everything in your life would be improved by learning how to take a step back at crucial moments when our guts are screaming to move and instead pause and think. A thoughtful moment not only calms nerves and lowers stress, it allows us to choose our moves carefully instead of constantly reacting in a jittery dance of anxiety and sleep-deprivation. This is an ideally thoughtful book to read while you’re (hopefully) far away from your Slack and Facebook feeds (you didn’t pack your work phone…right?).

  What books have helped you become better and smarter?

  The post 10 The Best Books to Read This Summer to Become a Better, Smarter, Happier Person appeared first on Barnes & Noble Reads.

   
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  Jeff Somers 8:30 pm on 2018/01/12 Permalink
  Tags: golden years, Self-Improvement   

  10 Books to Read Before You Retire 

  Some people dream of retiring and living a jobless life. Others want to work until they fall over. No matter which camp you fall into, retirement planning is essential. If you’re like most people, you haven’t done too much thinking about your retirement years, because life is busy enough as it is. If you’re five or ten years away from retiring, it might seem like the distant future, but it’s going to come faster than you think. And unless your last name is Pennybags, you probably need all the help you can get. As usual, books are there for you. If you’re approaching retirement, these 10 books are essential reading, and will help you manage the mental and financial changes coming your way.

  The Retirement Maze, by Robert Pascale
  Pascale founded a successful market research firm and managed to retire relatively young. He fully expected to enjoy his retirement, but was puzzled to find himself bored and unhappy. He decided to use his research skills to delve into the problem, conducting rigorously-designed interviews with people both in person and online to determine what made some people so happy in retirement, and some so unhappy. People often don’t think about the massive life change that retirement represents, and ensuring you’re going to be happy during this period of your life is going to require that you start thinking different now.

  The Five Years Before You Retire, by Emily Guy Birken
  Far too many people defer thinking about their retirement until it’s upon them, passively hoping their 401ks and other investments will be enough, and that they’re prepared—somehow—in all the other ways too. But waiting until your co-workers are singing to you in the conference room is a recipe for a rude awakening. Birken’s book is ideal for folks who are a few years out—time enough to make some late-inning course corrections and mental adjustments, and even to rectify any mistakes you’ve already made. If you’re close enough to retirement to see it, this is the book to start with.

  How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free, by Ernie J. Zelinski
  Zelinski offers up nothing less than a guidebook to the exotic land known as retirement, where the customs are unexpected and the maps are nonexistent. Enjoying your retirement is about a lot more than money—although adjusting expectations to your financial situation is a necessity. This book offers up concrete exercises that will help you figure out what kind of retirement you want, what kind of retirement you can have, and how to be excited about the combination of the two. Instead of a lot of aphorisms and generic advice, Zelinski walks the reader through tools created to assist in retirement planning, adjustments, and challenges in an effort to insulate your retirement from unexpected challenges. A must-read whether your retirement is years away or already here.

  Second Act Careers, by Nancy Collamer
  For a lot of people, retirement doesn’t mean they stop working, it means they can finally work on what they are passionate about. If you’re thinking that your retirement will be your chance to pursue a dream, Collamer’s book offers a plethora of rock-solid advice on turning a passion into income. Finding a way to earn a little extra money while still enjoying your leisure years is a difficult tightrope to walk, and that makes a guide like this essential reading for anyone for whom retirement is going to be just a different way of working.

  Home Sweet Anywhere, by Lynne Martin
  If your retirement dreams include seeing the world but your retirement budget includes counting pennies, you might be prepared for a lot of disappointment. But there’s always a way. Martin and her husband aren’t rich, but in their mid-60s, they sold their home and almost everything they owned to embark on a retirement of travel and adventure, all recorded on their popular blog. This book walks through how they managed it, and is chock-full of their wisdom about money, travel on a budget, and retirement in general. If your dream for your golden years involves all those places you’ve always wanted to see but you haven’t won any lotteries lately, this book is both inspiration and practical guide.

  The Memoir Project, by Marion Roach Smith
  Retirement isn’t the end, it’s just a new chapter—and the life you’ve led is unique. One way to bring meaning to your experience is to organize it and write it down. In other words, write a memoir! If that seems like a daunting task, rest easy—this book is an excellent guide to writing a memoir for people who have never contemplated writing more than a letter. Eschewing standard writing prompts for an approach that will make sense to people who don’t consider themselves writers, this book will help anyone who suddenly find themselves with a lot of free time to create something out of their memories and experiences.

  The Retiring Mind, by Robert P. Delamontagne
  For every person who dreams of retirement and begins planning their world tour at age 35, there is someone who has devoted their life to putting their nose to the grindstone and overcoming every professional challenge. For folks who have been hard-charging their whole lives, the sudden calm of retirement can be daunting in a way work never was—and can result in real depression. Delamontagne offers real tools to determine your personality type and identify the specific mental challenges you may face in retirement, as well as ways to deal with them and overcome your own inner barriers to happiness in your retirement years. If retirement fills you with dread, this may be the book that saves your life.

  A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman
  Backman’s delightful novel is the rare story where a retiree is not only the protagonist, his retirement is a key part of the story. Ove is a cranky, lonely widower forced into retirement. As a man who spent his life being useful (not to mention overly confident that his way of doing, well, everything was the right way), being jobless and alone is a difficult transition. Backman’s charming writing style doesn’t shy away from the mental and emotional challenges of retirement, and offers a gentle and entertaining story that will resonate with retirees of all stripes.

  Start Late, Finish Rich, by David Bach
  Okay, you just realized that you’re going to retire soon, and you haven’t prepared very well financially. You might think you’ll just have to move in with someone or live on the street, but Bach’s book can help you put together a workable nest egg for retirement, no matter how late you are to the game. Back points out that almost no one is ideally prepared for retirement, and more than a few people are woefully unprepared. He then offers up practical, step-by-step plans to rectify that situation, no matter your age or financial situation. If you think it’s too late to set up your retirement fund, this is the book that will change your mind, and show you the way forward.

  Just Move!, by James P. Owen
  For many, an exercise regime is tied to their working schedule—if they have one at all. Retirement sometimes means leisure and inactivity, which means that formerly fit people lose their way and folks who relied on their active work life to keep them fit start to become unhealthy. Owen, a former hard-driving Wall Street icon, discusses strategies for staying healthy at any age. Retirement is about more than money, and more than the mental adjustment—you have to find ways to keep physically fit as well, or your retirement will be less happy and your money will go much faster. When you’re planning your trips and living situation, plan for an exercise regiment that fits your retirement as well.

  The post 10 Books to Read Before You Retire appeared first on Barnes & Noble Reads.

   
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  Ross Johnson 5:00 pm on 2017/12/29 Permalink
  Tags: david zinczenko, fresh starts, Home & Seasonal ( 9 ), How To ( 17 ), keenan mayo, meditation for fidgety skeptics, melissa hartwig, oprah winfrey ( 7 ), Self-Improvement, the super metabolism diet, the whole30 fast & easy cookbook, the wisdom of sundays: life-changing insights from super soul conversations   

  7 Books for a New Year, New You 

  January is almost here! Now’s the time to get your resolutions on the fast-track with 7 books that will help you achieve a happier, healthier 2018.

  The Whole30 Fast & Easy Cookbook: 150 Simply Delicious Everyday Recipes for Your Whole30, by Melissa Hartwig
  Whole30 is all the buzz lately when it comes to fitness and healthy eating, refining a diet style based around eating unprocessed foods with minimal carbs, and eliminating sugars and alcohol. Which will be a lot easier now that the holidays are over, am I right? This new cookbook focuses on convenience, with recipes from Whole30 co-creator Hartwig designed to get you feeling right with minimal time in the kitchen.

  Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How-to Book, by Dan Harris, Carlye Adler, and Jeffrey Warren
  Science has begun to back up the promise of meditation, with benefits that many of us could be enjoying. There are a lot of barriers, though, from misconceptions to confusion about where to begin. ABC News anchor Harris teams up here with meditation teacher Warren to take a cross-country journey exploring some of the myths that keep people from trying it out and interviewing people who’d like to try about why they haven’t. From it all emerges some simple, practical instructions about how to get started and why.

  The Whole30 Day by Day: Your Daily Guide to Whole30 Success, by Melissa Hartwig
  If you’ve started on the Whole30 program of eating minimally processed foods and cutting out sugars, or if you’re just interested, this book is designed to make it easy. It’s intended by program co-creator Hartwig as a daily guidebook to healthy eating; sort of like a portable eating coach. It’s got day-to-day reminders, tips, guidelines, as well as inspiration and ideas for tracking your progress and staying motivated.

  Bobby Flay Fit: 200 Recipes for a Healthy Lifestyle, by Bobby Flay, Stephanie Banyas, and Sally Jackson
  Bobby Flay’s method here is less about eliminating anything from your diet, and more about making the most of each meal. The idea being that you can make satisfying, flavorful recipes using lean protein, whole grains, and fresh fruits and vegetables by knowing how to use your spice drawer. The balanced recipes utilize low-calorie flavor enhancers like rubs and marinades to jazz up meals, and Flay also offers up some satisfying breakfast, snacks, and smoothies as well as some fitness tips to keep your energy up and the weight off.

  The Little Book of Lykke: Secrets of the World’s Happiest People, by Meik Wiking
  Inspired by the happiness habits of his homeland of Denmark, Wiking set out to discover not just what makes Danes so generally happy, but what secrets could be found in other parts of the world. Focusing on six factors—togetherness, money, health, freedom, trust, and kindness—Wiking looks at what makes people content and satisfied all over the world, whether it’s by savoring a meal or dancing a tango. It’s full of tips based on Wiking’s journeys and research into what makes people happy, and how we can apply those lessons to our own lives.

  The Super Metabolism Diet: The Two-Week Plan to Ignite Your Fat-Burning Furnace and Stay Lean for Life!, by David Zinczenko and Keenan Mayo
  Eat This, Not That! author Zinczenko joins Keenan Mayo to provide a complete guide to getting your metabolism going in 2018. Many of us are feeling pretty sluggish this time of year, so it’s a good time to get things cranking. The book includes recipes and menus for keeping that engine going in-between meals, along with shopping guides and workouts. The focus is on balanced proteins and carbs as a way to feel full and full of energy.

  The Wisdom of Sundays: Life-Changing Insights from Super Soul Conversations, by Oprah Winfrey
  Going beyond just our bodies in 2018, Oprah’s new book collects some of the most extraordinary moments of insight and inspiration from her Super Soul Sunday television show. Authors, teachers, writers, and celebrities—people like Shonda Rhimes, Thich Nhat Hanh, Wayne Dyer, and Arianna Huffington share what they’ve learned about finding purpose and making connections in a busy world. The book includes several photographs, as well as an intimate essay from Oprah herself.

  What’s on your new you to-do list?

  The post 7 Books for a New Year, New You appeared first on Barnes & Noble Reads.

   
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  Molly Schoemann-McCann 3:00 pm on 2017/10/11 Permalink
  Tags: 1 page at a time, 52 lists for happiness, 99 things that bring me joy, abrams noterie, adam j. kurt, andrea pippins, becoming me, crown publishing group, cynthia scher, dream journal, How To ( 17 ), i am here now, julia cameron ( 2 ), lisa currie, lisa nola, meera lee patel, moleskin, q&a a day, sasquatch books, Self-Improvement, spirit listophgraphy, start where you are, studio oh, the artist's way workbook, the grass is green enough, the happiness project - one sentence journal, the mindfulness project, the positivity kit, this time next year, write it down   

  20 Journals and Workbooks for Finding Your Inner Wisdom 

  The world is filled with people who are eager to tell you how you should feel and what to do about it, but if you’ve ever found yourself exhausted after trying to follow all their advice, you know it’s just noise. The best way to find clarity, calm, and confidence is to uncover how you really feel, spend some time questioning the stories you’re telling yourself, and accept the truths you discover. Guided journals and workbooks are a beautiful way to tap into your intuition and own experience, and the ones on this list will help you move away from “should” and toward real wisdom and self knowledge.

  The Happiness Project One – Sentence Journal, by Potter
  Journaling doesn’t have to take a lot of time. In fact, just recording a sentence a day can help you identify patterns and themes. Inspired by Gretchen Rubin’s personal Happiness Project, this simple journal will help you make reflection a part of your daily life.

  I Am Here Now, by The Mindfulness Project
  Make mindfulness more than an aspiration with this guided journal. Playful prompts encourage you to pause and turn inward. Observe your mind, body, and emotions with meditation “field notes,” mapping, letter writing, and more.

  Moleskine Smart Writing Set, by Moleskine
  If you’re struggling to bridge analog and digital life, this pen and notebook set offers the experience of writing on paper with the organization and access that comes with digitizing your handwriting. This is perfect for anyone who uses their journal as a planner for both life and work.

  52 Lists for Happiness, by Sasquatch Books
  As gorgeous as it is useful, this weekly journal will prompt you to pay attention to all the positive elements that are already present in your life. Simply fill in lists like Things You Are Really Good At and Scents, Spaces, Textures, and Sounds that Bring You Joy. You’ll enjoy the process—and looking back whenever you need a boost!

  Start Where You Are, by Meera Lee Patel
  With delicate watercolors on every spread, this interactive journal invites you to accept the messy uncertainties of life and protect your dreams and desires, even when you aren’t sure how you will manifest them. Thoughtful prompts will have you making charts, drawing, writing, and more.

  Dream Journal, by Knock Knock
  Wake up to wisdom with this journal that’s designed to help you record and reflect on your nightly dreams. Cheaper than a session with a psychiatrist and more energizing than another nap, this is a book for anyone who knows the answers are inside, if they can just figure out what they mean!

  The Positivity Kit, by Lisa Currie
  When you have the right prompts, journaling just feels good! And this interactive book is filled with them. There are pages for drawing your dream home, a place to nerd out with a positivity playlist, and even a spot for designing your next tattoo! What could be better?

  Q&A A Day, by Crown Publishing Group
  What if every day for a year, you wrote a tiny bit about your life? And then what if you did the same thing for the next five years, and your answers were all next to each other, so you could see yourself growing older and wiser all at once? Wouldn’t that feel good? This journal offers a compact way to do just that! Write, transform, write again. It will all be captured here.

  The Grass Is Green Enough, by Studio Oh!
  When you’re tired of thinking the grass is always greener on the other side, this guided journal will help you see the sunny side of life. With quotes on happiness, peppy prompts, and an emphasis on positivity, perspective, gratitude, goodness, and happiness, you’ll be smiling in no time.

  Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal, by Lighthouse Publications
  If you’re intrigued by bullet journaling (bujo to those in the know), you’ll want to try this creamy, dreamy journal. Lightly dotted paper that never bleeds through, a pocket for keepsakes, a prenumbered table of contents…it’s pure bujo bliss!

  99 Things The Bring Me Joy, by Abrams Noterie
  Musing about everything from sunny weather to compliments is sure to bring you joy. With charming illustrations and simple yet marvelously specific prompts, this journal will help you ignore all the marketing chatter that surrounds us, and instead tune into what makes YOU happy.

  642 Tiny Things to Write About, by Chronicle Books
  If you struggle with turning blank pages into truth when you journal, this chunky collection of prompts may dissolve your writer’s block. Bit by bit, and page by page, you’ll capture who you are and what your life is like.

  It’s Gonna Be Okay Inner-Truth Journal, by Knock Knock
  Intuition often tells us that we might not know how, but it’s all going to work out eventually if we can just hold on. Remind yourself of this inner wisdom with a journal that’s filled with optimistic quotes and reassuring prompts. Journaling as comfort food? Sounds yummy!

  Wreck This Journal, by Keri Smith
  This classic book has sold more than 7 million copies (!) for a reason. It’s packed with creative activities that will help you turn off your inner critic and think an original thought, and its highly sensory nature will help you get out of your brain and into your body.

  One-Minute Gratitude Journal, by Brenda Nathan
  If developing a gratitude practice has been on your New Year’s resolution list for years, but you never manage to do it, this journal offers an easy way to get started. There’s even space for drawing what you’re grateful for on days when writing feels too tricky.

  Becoming Me, by Andrea Pippins
  If writing feels too black and white, this colorful approach to journaling may help you tap into your inner wisdom. Uplifting quotes and prompts are designed to help you express yourself. And with Pippins’ gorgeous lettering and illustrations, this will surely be your most beautiful journaling experience yet!

  The Artist’s Way Workbook, by Julia Cameron
  This companion to the bestselling book provides everything you need to put Cameron’s exercises into practice. Whether you’re an artist, writer, dancer, or simply a human being with human questions, this workbook includes tasks and check-ins to help you tap into your innate creativity.

  This Time Next Year, by Cynthia Scher
  Isn’t this what it’s all about? This time next year, we want to feel different, better, stronger. With daily prompts, this journal will help you know yourself better. And a year later, when you look back at what you’ve written later, you’ll be ready to build a life that’s all your own.

  1 Page at a Time, by Adam J. Kurtz
  Create something every day, that’s Kurtz’s philosophy. Whether it’s a drawing, a list, a poem, or a moment of reflection, this journal invites you to make space to create—every day. Thoughtful prompts and a quirky design will help you do just that!

  Spirit Listography, by Lisa Nola 
  With their emphasis on brevity and speed, listographies are cousins of bullet journals, and their juicy themes can inspire you to move beyond the blank pages of an ordinary journal. This title focuses on helping you visualize and get intentional about creating a balanced life with a healthy mind, body, and spirit.

  What journals do you love?

  The post 20 Journals and Workbooks for Finding Your Inner Wisdom appeared first on Barnes & Noble Reads.