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In a Perfect World

Name: In a Perfect World
Author: Pat Hirst
ISBN: 978-1-4602-5622-0

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS FOR LIFE

by Pat Hirst ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 15, 2015

A practical book that aims to help readers create a better life through better relationships.

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A guide to communication in everyday life.

In this book, Hirst asserts that it’s the quality of one’s interactions that makes or breaks one’s happiness. “Don’t relinquish your opportunity for a happy life and meaningful relationships because of beliefs that do not serve you,” she writes. “If you wait for a ‘perfect world,’ you will be waiting a long time!” She supports this advice with plenty of practical ideas throughout the book, including thought experiments on what interactions are possible and fruitful, a discussion of one’s role in every conversation, and others. She provides exercises, as well, including one that asks readers to consider their top five values or characteristics and how they can nurture them to create the lives they want. By focusing on communication, Hirst gives readers a set of basics to start practicing immediately, and a checklist to prepare for particularly important conversations. Hirst not only asks readers to consider how to communicate, but also when and why, and gives recommendations on how to divide one’s attention between different groups of people, such as family, friends, partners, children, colleagues, and the wider community. She also provides insights into how to manage one’s emotions and conflicts, using clear examples throughout. This book is ideal for anyone doing self-improvement work or who feels that his or her communication style could be better. It’s also an excellent introduction to important concepts, such as the difference between assertiveness and aggression, and the ever-shifting etiquette of text-based, real-time communications. Some readers may not like the work’s slow, methodical pace, or the pauses that Hirst takes in order to share her own stories and those of others. Overall, however, the book is a solid guide to effective communication.

A practical book that aims to help readers create a better life through better relationships.

Pub Date: April 15, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4602-5622-0

Page Count: 304

Publisher: FriesenPress

Review Posted Online: July 2, 2015

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

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

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.