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HAPPY IS COOL.

HOW TO IGNITE THE TRUE HAPPINESS IN YOU

Professional life coach Brocato’s (Manage Yourself, 2011, etc.) third self-help book describes how to achieve “coolness” by cultivating positive traits that engender happiness.
The concept of coolness changes at different stages of life. High schoolers may be preoccupied with wearing eyeliner, for example, while adults may be consumed by their desires to have families and contribute to their communities. This book shows that wherever one is on the spectrum, coolness is fundamentally about having self-confidence based on genuine achievements, which allows one to feel good and project happiness to others. In a conversational style, Brocato presents a single idea at the beginning of each chapter, such as “Empathize with Others” or “Limit Your Worry,” and then delineates precisely what it means. For “Respect Everyone,” for example, he writes, “No one in this world is better than anyone else. Someone might be the president of the United States, or a scratch golfer, or a billionaire, but he or she is no better than any one of us as a person or spiritual being. Every single person in this world deserves the utmost respect.” He groups these ideas into sets of five, and then reviews them in “Visioning Coaching Keys” sections, which invite readers to answer specific questions (“What would your life be like if you took more time to think before you spoke? Would your relationships be stronger?”). The book’s warm, good-natured approach to life leads to solid, if unoriginal, advice, and Brocato’s examples of “cool” moments, such as trusting one’s gut feelings in matters of love and risk-taking, are inspiring without being groundbreaking. That said, the book’s broad advice will help readers who are willing to put the work into understanding their own desires. It also offers them the comfort of knowing that by honoring such values, they’ll eventually attain a feeling that’s far more desirable than the chilly, removed perspective traditionally associated with being “cool.”

A straightforward, concise self-help guide for readers who have the courage to trust their own feelings.

Pub Date: June 29, 2014

ISBN: 978-0615906034

Page Count: 294

Publisher: Intense Publishing

Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2014

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NUTCRACKER

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.

Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955

ISBN: 0670717797

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955

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