Which cities offer the best quality of life? How do you build a good school? How do you run a city? Who makes the best coffee? And how do you start your own inspirational business? With chapters on the city, culture, travel, food, and work, the book also provides answers to some key questions. Works as a guide but also includes essays that explore what makes a great city, how to make a home and why culture is good for you
A fiendish lifestyle guide for today’s discerning evil-doers from the author of the perilously popular How to Be a Villain. All those aspiring ne’er-do-wells who cackled all the way to the cash register with the Neil Zawacki’s How to Be a Villain are ready to embrace the finer points of the evil life with The Villain’s Guide to Better Living. It covers all the topics contemporary villains care about, such as: Home d cor—Gothic? Apocalyptic? Ikea? Friends—Do I have any? Can I make them? Work—Should I be a mad scientist or obsessed with revenge? Or both?
This quick, 25-day plan for thinking more clearly and effectively in every area of life shows readers how desires and emotions distort thinking and how they can correct such situations.
Better critical thinking can transform your life and help you improve every decision you make! Now, in just 30 days, master specific, easy-to-learn critical thinking techniques that help you cut through lies, gain insight, and make smarter choices in every area of your life -- from work and money to intimate relationships. World-renowned critical thinking experts Dr. Linda Elder and Dr. Richard Paul show how to overcome poor thinking habits caused by self-delusion or out-of-control emotions... clarify what you really want... recognize what you don’t know… ask better questions... resist brainwashing, manipulation, and hypocrisy... critically evaluate what you’re told by advertisers, politicians, your boss, and even your family… avoid worrying, conformism, and blame. Every day, you'll focus on a specific thinking habit, mastering practical strategies for achieving results, tracking your progress, gaining confidence, and getting smarter! Expanded, improved, and easier to use, Discover the Power of Critical Thinking, Revised and Expanded edition offers today's most complete, practical plan for using critical thinking to build a better life. This edition adds five new "days" of critical thinking workouts, delivering even more powerful "life improvement" ideas. Brand-new illustrations and diagrams help you see the direct relevance of critical thinking in your own life, and you'll find a practical new introduction to the authors' Paul-Elder Framework for Critical Thinking, which is now being used by critical thinkers worldwide!
The New York Times film critic shows why we need criticism now more than ever Few could explain, let alone seek out, a career in criticism. Yet what A.O. Scott shows in Better Living Through Criticism is that we are, in fact, all critics: because critical thinking informs almost every aspect of artistic creation, of civil action, of interpersonal life. With penetrating insight and warm humor, Scott shows that while individual critics--himself included--can make mistakes and find flaws where they shouldn't, criticism as a discipline is one of the noblest, most creative, and urgent activities of modern existence. Using his own film criticism as a starting point--everything from his infamous dismissal of the international blockbuster The Avengers to his intense affection for Pixar's animated Ratatouille--Scott expands outward, easily guiding readers through the complexities of Rilke and Shelley, the origins of Chuck Berry and the Rolling Stones, the power of Marina Abramovich and 'Ode on a Grecian Urn.' Drawing on the long tradition of criticism from Aristotle to Susan Sontag, Scott shows that real criticism was and always will be the breath of fresh air that allows true creativity to thrive. "The time for criticism is always now," Scott explains, "because the imperative to think clearly, to insist on the necessary balance of reason and passion, never goes away."
How to Do It shows us sixteenth-century Italy from an entirely new perspective: through manuals which were staples in the households of middlebrow Italians merely trying to lead better lives. Addressing challenges such as how to conceive a boy, the manuals offered suggestions such as tying a tourniquet around your husband's left testicle. Or should you want to goad female desires, throw 90 grubs in a liter of olive oil, let steep in the sun for a week and apply liberally on the male anatomy. Bell's journey through booklets long dismissed by scholars as being of little literary value gives us a refreshing and surprisingly fun social history. "Lively and curious reading, particularly in its cascade of anecdote, offered in a breezy, cozy, journalistic style." —Lauro Martines, Times Literary Supplement "[Bell's] fascinating book is a window on a lost world far nearer to our own than we might imagine. . . . How pleasant to read his delightful, informative and often hilarious book." —Kate Saunders, The Independent "An extraordinary work which blends the learned with the frankly bizarre." —The Economist "Professor Bell has a sly sense of humor and an enviably strong stomach. . . . He wants to know how people actually behaved, not how the Church or philosophers or earnest humanists thought they should behave. I loved this book." —Christopher Stace, Daily Telegraph
Draws on the wisdom of one of the twentieth century's most acclaimed authors to provide a lively guide to enhancing the quality of everyday life as revealed in the words of Virginia Woolf, covering such topics as Accept Solitude, Take on Challenging Friendships, Change Routine, Lie to Encourage Your Friends, and Read and Be More. Original. 35,000 first printing.
A reference on how to minimize the risk posed by unhealthy lifestyle choices counsels readers on such topics as poor sleep, smoking, drinking, and eating habits.
A timely handbook helping readers think about how to slow down, reconnect, and live a gentler life. Monocle has always been a champion of taking it slow. Past issues have encouraged readers to dive into a lake and go for a run. To sleep well. To eat food made with love. Even today, in a tense moment in history, the magazine has done its bit to argue for a new modern etiquette where communities are generous with their time, hospitality, and forgiveness. Now its editors and correspondents have brought all of this together into one volume with The Monocle Manifesto for a Gentler Life, a book that urges us all to slow down, reconnect, make good things, and think about the spaces we call home. Some of the highlights of this volume include: An illustrated guide to being nice, respecting your neighbors, and controlling your social media rants; practical tips on how to design a house that’s good for you and your family; Q&As with the people who have decided to take a gentler approach to work and living; and a celebration of locally made food—with featured recipes—as well as the chefs that bring people together. The helpful tips and insights in this guide make it the perfect handbook for anyone looking to slow down and enjoy life.
