In My TBR Stack:

The Rodale Book of Composting: Simple Methods to Improve Your Soil, Recycle Waste, Grow Healthier Plants, and Create an Earth-Friendly Garden
Edited by Grace Gershuny and Deborah L. Martin
Rodale Books
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

This revised edition of The Rodale Book of Composting includes all the latest in new techniques, technology, and equipment. Gardeners know composting is the best way to feed the soil and turn food scraps into fresh produce, but even urbanites can get on board thanks to programs like compost pickup and citywide food waste initiatives—there’s no better way to reduce landfill waste (and subsequent emissions) and dependence on fossil fuels while nourishing the earth. 

The Rodale Book of Composting offers easy-to-follow instructions for making and using compost; helpful tips for apartment dwellers, suburbanites, farmers, and community leaders; and ecologically sound solutions to growing waste-disposal problems.

In My TBR Stack:

Ageless Brain: Think Faster, Remember More, and Stay Sharper by Lowering Your Brain Age
by the Editors of Prevention Magazine and Julia Vantine
Rodale Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

It’s normal for the brain to short-circuit every now and again—you put your keys in the fridge,or can’t find the pair of glasses on top of your head. But what if there was away to eat, exercise, and live that could eliminate these “senior moments?” Ageless Brain offers a plan to sharpen your memories and minds so that at 40, you have the quick, agile brain you had at 30. Based Off of groundbreaking scientific research, this plan is filled with brain-healthy foods, exercises, and little ways that you can positively impact your most vital organ every day by de-stressing, adjusting your attitude, and constantly interacting with the world through play.

Scientists have discovered that the human brain continually generates new neurons—forging new pathways and connections in our minds—well into old age as long as we pursue brain-healthy lifestyles from what we eat and how much we sleep, to how we exercise and how we handle stress. Exercising and nourishing our brains just like we do any other ailing organ encourages this growth—improving not only our mental fitness, but also our physical fitness as a side effect.

With Ageless Brain, you will:

· Discover the 10 Commandments of an ageless brain
· Reduce key risk-factors for Alzheimer’s
· Identify and avoid brain poisons lurking in their food, medicines, and home
· Learn to play and engage your brain more in everyday life
· Drop unsafe levels of blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar—as well as belly fat

In My TBR Stack:

The Anxiety Journal: Exercises to Soothe Stress and Eliminate Anxiety Wherever You Are
by Corinne Sweet
Rodale Books
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

A fluttering in the chest, constant worrying, sleepless nights with your breath squeezed from you. One in four people suffer from anxiety, and the symptoms can feel overwhelming. But you can take control. Let psychologist Corinne Sweet help you on your way to eliminating anxiety with this journal full of: 

· Inspiring quotes and advice for when you need a quick, calming fix
· Prompts grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy to help identify the causes of your anxiety for long-term peace of mind 
· Soothing mindfulness exercises 
· Pages to record your thoughts and keep track ofprogress

Practical, supportive, and uplifting, this journal is an indispensable companion on your journey to a peaceful mind.

In My TBR Stack:

Dangerous Personalities: An FBI Profiler Shows You How to Identify and Protect Yourself From Harmful People
by Joe Navarro FBI Special Agent (Ret.) with Toni Sciarra Poynter
Rodale Books
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

“I should have known.”
“How could we have missed the warning signs?”
”I always thought there was something off about him.”

When we wake up to new tragedies in the news every day—shootings, rampages, acts of domestic terrorism—we often blame ourselves for missing the mania lurking inside unsuspecting individuals. But how could we have known that the charismatic leader had the characteristics of a tyrant? And how can ordinary people identify threats from those who are poised to devastate their lives on a daily basis—the crazy coworkers, out-of-control family members, or relentless neighbors?

In Dangerous Personalities, former FBI profiler Joe Navarro has the answers. He shows us how to identify the four most common “dangerous personalities”—the Narcissist, the Predator, the Paranoid, and the Unstable Personality— and how to analyze the potential threat level. Along the way, he provides essential tips and tricks to protect ourselves both immediately and in the long-term, as well as how to heal the trauma of being exposed to the destructive egos in our world.

In My TBR Stack:

T is for Transformation: Unleash the 7 Superpowers to Help You Dig Deeper, Feel Stronger & Live Your Best Life
by Shaun T

Rodale Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

As a fitness icon and motivational mastermind, Shaun T has helped millions of people transform their bodies and their lives through his Hip Hop Abs, INSANITY, and CIZE workouts. But people who think of Shaun T as just a workout force are missing something. He has always focused on building inner strength first, then moving to the exterior. And that inner focus started in his own life. He became the man and motivator he is today after escaping from the abuse he suffered as a child, and fighting his way back from a 50-pound weight gain in his early 20s. He knows firsthand that you can’t drop weight or enjoy better health until you overcome the mental obstacles that cause bad choices in the first place.

In T is for Transformation, Shaun T unveils the 7 transformational principles that guided his progress through life and that are at the core of his incredibly successful workouts. T is for Transformation is a motivational master class as Shaun shows you how to become more flexible and resourceful, give everything you’ve got, and, most importantly, trust and believe in your path to success. The only real obstacles in life are the mental ones, and T is for Transformation can train you to achieve astonishing results in your own life, just as Shaun T has in his.

In My TBR Stack:

The Art of Stopping Time: Practical Mindfulness for Busy People

by Pedram Shojai, OMD
Rodale Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

We’re all struggling to find time in our lives, but somehow there’s never enough to go around. We’re too tired to think, too wired to focus, less efficient than we want to be, and guilty about not getting enough time with our loved ones. 

We all know that we feel starved for time, but what are we actually doing about it? Precious little. In The Art of Stopping Time, New York Times bestselling author Pedram Shojai guides us towards success with what he calls Time Prosperity—having the time to accomplish what you want in life without feeling compressed, stressed, overburdened, or hurried. 

So how do we achieve this Time Prosperity? We learn to Stop Time. To do that, Shojai walks us though a 100-day Gong, which is based on the Chinese practice of designating an amount of time each day to perform a specific task. The ritual helps you become mindful, train your mind, instill new habits, and fundamentally transform your relationship with time. We can find moments of mental awareness while in the shower, eating a snack, listening to podcasts, and even while binge-watching our favorite TV shows.

He shares how to use Gongs to reprogram your habits, reduce stress, increase energy, exercise the ancient practice of mindfulness, and become a master of your time. Whether you do one per day, a bunch at a time, or read the whole book in one sitting, practicing the Gongs is a dedicated act of self-love that snaps us out of our daily trance and brings the light of awareness to our consciousness. The more we practice, the more we wake up, and the better off we are.

In My TBR Stack:

A Sick Life - TLC 'n Me: Stories From On and Off the Stage
by Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins
Rodale Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

As the lead singer of Grammy-winning supergroup TLC, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins has seen phenomenal fame, success, and critical acclaim. But backstage, she has lived a dual life. In addition to the balancing act of juggling an all-consuming music career and her family, Tionne has struggled her whole life with sickle-cell disease—a debilitating and incurable condition that can render her unable to perform, walk, or even breathe.

A Sick Life chronicles Tionne’s journey from a sickly young girl in Des Moines who was told she wouldn’t live to see 30 through her teen years in Atlanta to how she broke into the music scene and became the superstar musician and sickle-cell disease advocate she is today. Through Tionne’s tough, funny, tell-it-like-it-is voice, she shares how she found the inner strength, grit, and determination to live her dream, despite her often unpredictable and debilitating health issues. She dives deep into never-before-told TLC stories, including accounts of her friendship with Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes and her tragic death. Tionne’s unvarnished discussion of her remarkable life, disease, unending strength, and ability to power through the odds offers a story like no other.

In My TBR Stack:

We Rise: The Earth Guardians Guide to Building a Movement That Restores the Planet
by Xiuhtezcatl Martinez
Rodale Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Xiuhtezcatl Martinez is a 16-year-old climate activist, hip-hop artist, and powerful new voice on the frontlines of a global youth-led movement. He and his group the Earth Guardians believe that today’s youth will play an important role in shaping our future. They know that the choices made right now will have a lasting impact on the world of tomorrow, and people—young and old—are asking themselves what they can do to ensure a positive, just, and sustainable future. We Rise tells these stories and addresses the solutions.

Beginning with the empowering story of the Earth Guardians and how Xiuhtezcatl has become a voice for his generation, We Rise explores many aspects of effective activism and provides step-by-step information on how to start and join solution-oriented movements. With conversations between Xiuhtezcatl and well-known activists, revolutionaries, and celebrities, practical advice for living a more sustainable lifestyle, and ideas and tools for building resilient communities, We Rise is an action guide on how to face the biggest problems of today, including climate change, fossil fuel extraction, and industrial agriculture.

If you are interested in creating real and tangible change, We Rise will give you the inspiration and information you need to do your part in making the world a better place and leave you asking, What kind of legacy do I want to leave?

In My TBR Stack:

The Power of a Plant: A Teacher's Odyssey to Grow Healthy Minds and Schools
by Stephen Ritz with Suzie Boss
Rodale Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

What if we taught students that they have as much potential as a seed? That in the right conditions, they can grow into something great?

These are the questions that Stephen Ritz—who became a teacher more than 30 years ago—sought to answer in 2004 in a South Bronx high school plagued by rampant crime and a dismal graduation rate. After what can only be defined as a cosmic experience when a flower broke up a fight in his classroom, he saw a way to start tackling his school’s problems: plants. He flipped his curriculum to integrate gardening as an entry point for all learning and inadvertently created an international phenomenon. As Ritz likes to say, “Fifty thousand pounds of vegetables later, my favorite crop is organically grown citizens who are growing and eating themselves into good health and amazing opportunities.”

The Power of a Plant tells the story of a green teacher from the Bronx who let one idea germinate into a movement and changed his students’ lives by learning alongside them. Since greening his curriculum, Ritz has seen near-perfect attendance and graduation rates, dramatically increased passing rates on state exams, and behavioral incidents slashed in half. In the poorest congressional district in America, he has helped create 2,200 local jobs and built farms and gardens while changing landscapes and mindsets for residents, students, and colleagues. Along the way, Ritz lost more than 100 pounds by eating the food that he and his students grow in school. The Power of a Plant is his story of hope, resilience, regeneration, and optimism.

On My Radar:

Liferider: Heart, Body, Soul, and Life Beyond the Ocean
by Laird Hamilton with Julian Borra
Rodale Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

While the world increasingly seeks happiness in fads and self-help books—millions of us reaching upward every day toward some enlightened being that we wish to be—surfing icon Laird Hamilton is more intent on looking inward and appreciating the brilliant creature we already are. In LIFERIDER, Laird uses five key pillars – Death & Fear, Heart, Body, Soul, and Everything is Connected – to illustrate his unique worldview and life practices, offering inspiration to anyone who wants to elevate their ordinary, landlocked life to do extraordinary things.
 
This is Laird Hamilton in his own words—raw, honest, and unvarnished–on topics he has rarely explored before. Based on extensive interviews and conversations between Laird and his cowriter, Julian Borra, with additional insights from Laird’s wife, pro-volleyball player Gabby Reece, LIFERIDER takes on human resilience, relationships, business, technology, risk-taking, and the importance of respecting the natural world, all through the lens of Laird’s extraordinary life both in and beyond the ocean.

On My Radar:

Everything All At Once: How to Unleash Your Inner Nerd, Tap Into Radical Curiosity, and Solve Any Problem
by Bill Nye
Edited by Corey S. Powell
Rodale Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Everyone has an inner nerd just waiting to be awakened by the right passion. In Everything All At Once, Bill Nye will help you find yours. With his call to arms he wants you to examine every detail of the most difficult problems that look unsolvable—that is, until you find the solution. Bill shows you how to develop critical thinking skills and create change, using his “everything all at once” approach that leaves no stone unturned.

Whether addressing climate change, the future of our society as a whole, personal success, or stripping away the mystery of fire walking, there are certain strategies that get results: looking at the world with relentless curiosity, being driven by a desire for a better future, and being willing to take the actions needed to make change happen. He shares how he came to create this approach—starting with his Boy Scout training (it turns out that a practical understanding of science and engineering is immensely helpful in a capsizing canoe) and moving through the lessons he learned as a full-time engineer at Boeing, a stand-up comedian, CEO of The Planetary Society, and of course, as Bill Nye The Science Guy.

This is the story of how Bill Nye became Bill Nye, how he became a champion of change and an advocate of science. It’s how he became The Science Guy. Bill teaches us that we have the power to make real change. Join him in... dare we say it... changing the world.