Self Help Archives
Acting in Film: An Actor's Take on Movie Making, Michael Caine - Michael Caine was a Cockney with burning ambition, unproven talent and few connections.
Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life), Cathie Black - Many people who are unhappy with their jobs or just eager to move up have used company time to work on their résumés.
Better Writing - I clicked on one of my favorite websites, expecting the usual blast of bad news and good opinion.
Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott - I was talking to an artist about why artists have it easy. “Nobody knows how to paint,” I said.
Bit Literacy by Mark Hurst -     Bit Literacy: Productivity in the Age of I
Cosmo Doogood's Urban Almanac, 2006, Eric Utne -       Cosmo Doogood's Urban Almanac, 2006 Eric Utne Year after year, if you're like me, you buy a Farmer's Almanac.
Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Lynne Truss - Good grammar and proper usage --- the topics of On Writing Better, my long-simmering rant about the phrases that drive me (and many of you) craz
Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life, Judith Orloff - Judith Orloff announces she's a doctor right on the cover of her books.
Endangered Pleasures: In Defense of Naps, Bacon, Martinis, Profanity, and Other Indulgences, Barbara Holland - Our ancestors came to this country to escape intolerance.
Gardening Made Easy - Mud fight! Readers have quickly weighed in on the merits of these books. Here’s the debate (so far):  T.
Grandma's Dead: Breaking Bad News with Baby Animals, Amanda McCall & Ben Schwartz - Grandma's Dead: Breaking Bad News with Baby Animals Amanda McCall & Ben Schwartz “Afraid to tell your girlfriend her ass looks fat?&rdquo
Happier, Tal Ben-Shahar -   Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment Tal Ben-Shahar The first year Tal Ben Shahar offered a cou
Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Physical and Spiritual Well-Being, by Andrew Weil, M.D. - Andrew Weil is America's best-known revolutionary.
How Not to Look Old: Fast and Effortless Ways to Look 10 Years Younger, 10 Pounds Lighter, 10 Times Better, Charla Krupp - One of my favorite scenes in “The Big Sleep” ---  the classic film adapted from one of Raymond Chandler's best thrillers --- has Hum
I Am Awake, Fern Nesson - Norman Mailer said you don’t really know a woman “until you meet her in court.”   I might add, “Or until she sends you he
Improv Wisdom, Patricia Ryan Madson - I have no interest in improvisational theater. I doubt you do.
In Lieu of Flowers: A Conversation for the Living, Nancy Cobb - My mother, bless her, is 94 and going strong. It’s my friends who are starting to die.   And when I’m not with the 9-year-old at one
Intimate Death: How the Dying Teach Us How to Live, Marie de Hennezel - A Head Butler reader wrote to tell me about her 88 year-old mother, who was, last month, clearly failing.
Life Is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally, Patti Digh - In the beginning, this book annoyed the hell out of me. Here's the set-up: “In October of  2003, my stepfather was diagnosed with lung can
Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence, Esther Perel - Two guys are sitting at the bar of a chic New York restaurant when a woman of astonishing beauty enters. Conversation stops. Jaws drop.