Healthy Lives: The Book Club

Effective January 2014 The Healthy Lives Book Club will become a mystery genre book club called The Is That A Gun In Your Pocket? Book Club. For more information visit their page: http://www.booksinc.net/gun-your-pocket-book-club 

 

The Healthy Lives Book Club

 

Store Manager Earle Peterson teams up with local psychologist, Pamela Rudd, to co-host Healthy Lives: The Book Club, designed to explore the pleasures and pressures of our modern lives.  

The book club meets at Books Inc. in Burlingame the last Thursday of each month at 7:00 PM.

 

 

What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets By Michael J. Sandel Cover Image
$19.00
ISBN: 9780374533656
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Farrar, Straus and Giroux - April 2nd, 2013

August 2013 Selection: A renowned political philosopher rethinks the role that markets and money should play in our society Should
we pay children to read books or to get good grades? Should we put a
price on human life to decide how much pollution to allow? Is it ethical
to pay people to test risky new drugs or to donate their organs? What
about hiring mercenaries to fight our wars, outsourcing inmates to
for-profit prisons, auctioning admission to elite universities, or
selling citizenship to immigrants willing to pay? In his "New York
Times" bestseller "What Money Can't Buy," Michael J. Sandel takes up one
of the biggest ethical questions of our time: Isn't there something
wrong with a world in which everything is for sale? If so, how can we
prevent market values from reaching into spheres of life where they
don't belong? What are the moral limits of markets? In recent
decades, market values have crowded out nonmarket norms in almost every
aspect of life. Without quite realizing it, Sandel argues, we have
drifted from "having "a market economy to "being "a market society.
In "Justice," an international bestseller, Sandel showed himself to be a
master at illuminating, with clarity and verve, the hard moral
questions we confront in our everyday lives. Now, in "What Money Can't
Buy," he provokes a debate that's been missing in our market-driven age:
What is the proper role of markets in a democratic society, and how can
we protect the moral and civic goods that markets do not honor and
money cannot buy?


Where'd You Go, Bernadette: A Novel By Maria Semple Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9780316204262
Availability: In Stock Now - Click Title to See Store Inventory. Please allow up to 48-hours for Curbside Pickup orders to be processed.
Published: Back Bay Books - April 2nd, 2013

July 2013 Selection:Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a
fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in
Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary
architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply,
Mom. Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report
card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But
Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle--and people in general--has
made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her
most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic. To
find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents,
secret correspondence--creating a compulsively readable and touching
novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an
absurd world.


Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake: A Memoir of a Woman's Life By Anna Quindlen Cover Image
$17.00
Unavailable, Out of Stock, or Out of Print
ISBN: 9780812981667
Published: Random House Trade Paperbacks - April 23rd, 2013

June 2013 Selection: In this irresistible memoir, Anna Quindlen writes about a woman's life,
from childhood memories to manic motherhood to middle age, using the
events of her life to illuminate ours. Considering--and
celebrating--everything from marriage, girlfriends, our mothers,
parenting, faith, loss, to all the stuff in our closets, and more,
Quindlen says for us here what we may wish we could have said ourselves.
As she did in her beloved "New York Times "columns, and in "A Short
Guide to a Happy Life," Quindlen uses her past, present, and future to
explore what matters most to women at different ages. Quindlen talks
about Marriage: "A safety net of small white lies can be the bedrock
of a successful marriage. You wouldn't believe how cheaply I can do a
kitchen renovation." Girlfriends: "Ask any woman how she makes it
through the day, and she may mention her calendar, her to-do lists, her
babysitter. But if you push her on how she really makes it through her
day, she will mention her girlfriends. " Our bodies: "I've finally
recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system,
designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and in
the years to come." Parenting "Being a parent is not transactional.
We do not get what we give. It is the ultimate pay-it-forward endeavor:
We are good parents not so they will be loving enough to stay with us
but so they will be strong enough to leave us." Candid, funny, and
moving, "Lots""of Candles, Plenty of Cake" is filled with the sharp
insights and revealing observations that have long confirmed Quindlen's
status as America's laureate of real life.


Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone By Eric Klinenberg Cover Image
$19.00
Unavailable, Out of Stock, or Out of Print
ISBN: 9780143122777
Published: Penguin Books - January 29th, 2013

May 2013 Selection: Going Solo is an examination of the most significant
demographic shift since the Baby Boom -- the sharp increase in the
number of people who live alone. In 1950, only 22 percent of American
adults were single. Today, more than 50 percent of American adults are
single and 31 million -- roughly one out of every seven adults -- live
alone. In Going Solo, renowned sociologist and author Eric Klinenberg
proves that these numbers are more than just a passing trend. They're
actually evidence of the biggest demographic shift since the Baby Boom.
We are crafting new ways of living. Klinenberg explores the seismic
impact "going solo" is having on culture, business, and politics. Though
conventional wisdom tells us that living by oneself leads to loneliness
and isolation, the facts tell us that most solo dwellers are deeply
engaged in social and civic life.


Snobs: A Novel By Julian Fellowes Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781250020369
Availability: Backordered-Could Take 2-4Weeks
Published: St. Martin's Griffin - May 8th, 2012

April 2013 Selection: The best comedies of manners are often deceptively simple, seamlessly
blending social critique with character and story. In his superbly
observed first novel, Julian Fellowes, creator of the Masterpiece
sensation "Downton Abbey "and winner of an Academy Award for his
original screenplay of Gosford Park, brings us an insider's look at a
contemporary England that is still not as classless as is popularly
supposed. Edith Lavery, an English blonde with large eyes and nice
manners, is the daughter of a moderately successful accountant and his
social-climbing wife. While visiting his parents' stately home as a
paying guest, Edith meets Charles, the Earl Broughton, and heir to the
Marquess of Uckfield, who runs the family estates in East Sussex and
Norfolk. To the gossip columns he is one of the most eligible young
aristocrats around. When he proposes. Edith accepts. But is she
really in love with Charles? Or with his title, his position, and all
that goes with it? One inescapable part of life at Broughton Hall is
Charles's mother, the shrewd Lady Uckfield, known to her friends as
"Googie" and described by the narrator---an actor who moves comfortably
among the upper classes while chronicling their foibles---"as the most
socially expert individual I have ever known at all well. She combined a
watchmaker's eye for detail with a madam's knowledge of the world."
Lady Uckfield is convinced that Edith is more interested in becoming a
countess than in being a good wife to her son. And when a television
company, complete with a gorgeous leading man, descends on Broughton
Hall to film a period drama, "Googie's" worst fears seem fully
justified. In this wickedly astute portrait of the intersecting
worlds of aristocrats and actors, Julian Fellowes establishes himself as
an irresistible storyteller and a deliciously witty chronicler of
modern manners.


Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women By Geraldine Brooks Cover Image
$18.00
Unavailable, Out of Stock, or Out of Print
ISBN: 9780385475778
Published: Anchor - December 1st, 1995

February 2013 Selection: As a prizewinning foreign correspondent for "The Wall Street Journal,"
Geraldine Brooks spent six years covering the Middle East through wars,
insurrections, and the volcanic upheaval of resurgent fundamentalism.
Yet for her, headline events were only the backdrop to a less obvious
but more enduring drama: the daily life of Muslim women. Nine Parts of
Desire""is the story of Brooks' intrepid journey toward an understanding
of the women behind the veils, and of the often contradictory
political, religious, and cultural forces that shape their lives.
Defying our stereotypes about the Muslim world, Brooks' acute analysis
of the world's fastest growing religion deftly illustrates how Islam's
holiest texts have been misused to justify repression of women, and how
male pride and power have warped the original message of a once
liberating faith.


Einstein's Dreams (Vintage Contemporaries) By Alan Lightman Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9781400077809
Availability: In Stock Now - Click Title to See Store Inventory. Please allow up to 48-hours for Curbside Pickup orders to be processed.
Published: Vintage - November 9th, 2004

Janauary 2013 Selection: A modern classic, Einstein' s Dreams is a fictional collage of stories
dreamed by Albert Einstein in 1905, when he worked in a patent office in
Switzerland. As the defiant but sensitive young genius is creating his
theory of relativity, a new conception of time, he imagines many
possible worlds. In one, time is circular, so that people are fated to
repeat triumphs and failures over and over. In another, there is a place
where time stands still, visited by lovers and parents clinging to
their children. In another, time is a nightingale, sometimes trapped by a
bell jar. Now translated into thirty languages, Einstein' s Dreams
has inspired playwrights, dancers, musicians, and painters all over the
world. In poetic vignettes, it explores the connections between science
and art, the process of creativity, and ultimately the fragility of
human existence.


The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry By Jon Ronson Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9781594485756
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Riverhead Books - May 1st, 2012

October 2012 Selection: They say one out of every hundred people is a psychopath. You probably
passed one on the street today. These are people who have no empathy,
who are manipulative, deceitful, charming, seductive, and delusional.
"The Psychopath Test" is the "New York Times" bestselling exploration of
their world and the madness industry.


A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster By Rebecca Solnit Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780143118077
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Penguin Books - August 31st, 2010

September 2012 Pick: The 2012 One City One Book SelectionThe most startling thing about disasters, according
to award-winning author Rebecca Solnit, is not merely that so many
people rise to the occasion, but that they do so with joy. That joy
reveals an ordinarily unmet yearning for community, purposefulness, and
meaningful work that disaster often provides. "A Paradise Built in Hell"
is an investigation of the moments of altruism, resourcefulness, and
generosity that arise amid disaster's grief and disruption and considers
their implications for everyday life. It points to a new vision of what
society could become-one that is less authoritarian and fearful, more
collaborative and local. 


The Way of the Small: Why Less Is Truly More By Michael Gellert, Thomas Moore (Foreword by) Cover Image
By Michael Gellert, Thomas Moore (Foreword by)
$14.95
Unavailable, Out of Stock, or Out of Print
ISBN: 9780892541294
Published: Nicolas-Hays, Inc - November 1st, 2007

August 2012 pick: A practical and spiritual guide to making everyday living sacred. The Way of the Small: Why Less is Truly More explores the principals of a sound, wholesome exisistence for both the individual and society. Addressing the search for finding true happiness, meaning and success, The Way of the Small gives us new perspectives based on old wisdom on what makes for a truly lived life. A practical and spiritual guide to fulfillment, it illustrates that happiness is found in "the small"-in ways to celebrate the precious small gifts of ordinary life and experiencing the sacred in all aspects of life. We are reminded that "Less Is More, Simpler Is Better." The Way of the Small teaches ways to embrace even life's more difficult passages such as aging, failure, illness, or the loss of a loved one, making even our pain a path to the sacred that helps us find meaning in life as it happens. * Offers 22 key principles to activate the way of the small--simplify and discover true happiness. * Especially relevant for mid-lifers, helping the process of sifting through life experience and finding what is of true essence, personally, spiritually and worldly. * Relates the how "smallness" is part of established major religions and spiritual teachings. * A practical and spiritual guide to help us navigate a way of living in our complex times that leads to a happier and more meaningful and balanced life.


The Sense of an Ending (Vintage International) By Julian Barnes Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780307947727
Availability: In Stock Now - Click Title to See Store Inventory. Please allow up to 48-hours for Curbside Pickup orders to be processed.
Published: Vintage - May 29th, 2012

July 2012 Pick: A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a
single setting, "The Sense of an Ending" has the psychological and
emotional depth and sophistication of Henry James at his best, and is a
stunning new chapter in Julian Barnes's oeuvre. This intense novel
follows Tony Webster, a middle-aged man, as he contends with a past he
never thought much about--until his closest childhood friends return
with a vengeance: one of them from the grave, another maddeningly
present. Tony thought he left this all behind as he built a life for
himself, and his career has provided him with a secure retirement and an
amicable relationship with his ex-wife and daughter, who now has a
family of her own. But when he is presented with a mysterious legacy, he
is forced to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the
world.Winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize.


June 2012 Pick: In today's self-broadcasting culture, where amateurism is celebrated and anyone with an opinion, however ill-informed, can publish a blog, post a video on YouTube, or change an entry on Wikipedia, the distinction between trained expert and uninformed amateur becomes dangerously blurred. When anonymous bloggers and videographers, unconstrained by professional standards or editorial filters, can alter the public debate and manipulate public opinion, truth becomes a commodity to be bought, sold, packaged, and reinvented.
The very anonymity that the Web 2.0 offers calls into question the reliability of the information we receive and creates an environment in which sexual predators and identity thieves can roam free. While no Luddite--Keen pioneered several Internet startups himself--he urges us to consider the consequences of blindly supporting a culture that endorses plagiarism and piracy and that fundamentally weakens traditional media and creative institutions.
Offering concrete solutions on how we can reign in the free-wheeling, narcissistic atmosphere that pervades the Web, THE CULT OF THE AMATEUR is a wake-up call to each and every one of us.


Imagine: How Creativity Works By Jonah Lehrer Cover Image
$26.00
Unavailable, Out of Stock, or Out of Print
ISBN: 9780547386072
Published: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - March 19th, 2012

May 2012 Pick: "New York Times"-bestselling author Lehrer ("How We Decide") introduces readers to musicians, graphic artists, poets, and bartenders to show how they can use science to be more imaginative and make their cities, their companies, and their culture more creative.
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The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams By Deepak Chopra Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9781878424112
Availability: In Stock Now - Click Title to See Store Inventory. Please allow up to 48-hours for Curbside Pickup orders to be processed.
Published: Amber-Allen Publishing - November 9th, 1994

March 2012 Pick: The creation of wealth has always been regarded as a process that requires hard work and luck--often at the expense of others. In this remarkable book, the author of Quantum Healing and other bestsellers reveals how to align with the subtle yet powerful, unseen forces that affect the flow of money in our lives.


Drinking: A Love Story By Caroline Knapp Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780385315548
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Dial Press Trade Paperback - May 12th, 1997

February 2012 Pick: In this extraordinarily candid and revealing memoir of her twenty years as a functioning alcoholic, Caroline Knapp offers important insights not only about alcoholism, but about life itself and how we learn to cope with it. "Presents just enough science and provides a wrenching inner look at what this disease and the recovery from it feels like".--"San Francisco Chronicle".