A Happy Life

From "resist the urge to be average" to "speak slowly," psychologist and social scientist David Niven offers concise workplace and lifestyle advice in The 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People: What Scientists Have Learned and How You Can Use It. Niven's "secrets" are based on research by psychologists and sociologists, which he cites in each entry. One study, for instance, observed that six in 10 managers lost friends who weren't promoted as quickly as they were, leading Niven to reassure readers that co-workers' bitterness is "a sincere but unpleasant form of flattery." Each tip also draws on the real-life experiences of successful business owners and other professionals. (Harper San Francisco, $11.95 paper 224p ISBN 0-06-251771-6; Apr.)

For women—particularly working mothers—who are trying to manage their way out of chaos, former Hypertension Research Center director Mary LoVerde (Stop Screaming at the Microwave) offers a different approach: instead of struggling to organize one's environment, one can give up the need for control—and find more energy and contentment. Written with wit and down-to-earth style, I Used to Have a Handle on Life but It Broke: Six Power Solutions for Women with Too Much to Do includes suggestions for using "microactions" to accomplish goals and to anticipate one's Achilles' heel—the vulnerabilities that lead to anxiety and controlling behavior. (Simon & Schuster/Fireside, $12 paper 224p ISBN 0-684-85419-8; Apr.)

"When there is neither desire nor fear, there is but love," counsels Jean Klein, one of the philosophers cited in Yoga Gems: A Treasury of Practical and Spiritual Wisdom from the Ancient and Modern Masters, edited by Georg Feuerstein (The Yoga Tradition), founder and president of the Yoga Research and Education Center. Advice on everything from self-discipline to coping with grief to the process of meditation is found in this slim volume of inspirational quotations that introduces readers to the philosophical foundations of yoga. (Bantam, $12.95 paper 224p ISBN 0-553-38088-5; Apr. 2)

The founding member and lead guitarist of 1970s rock band Grand Funk Railroad is immortalized in From Grand Funk to Grace: The Authorized Biography of Mark Farner. Author Kristofer Engelhardt (Beatles Undercover) recounts the major and minor incidents of Farner's life, from his salvation at age nine (inspired by Billy Graham's televangelism) to the controversial 1973 haircut that robbed him of his trademark butt-length locks. Punctuated by Farner's musings on the Constitution ("our founding fathers would puke if they saw what is happening to this country!"), good and evil, today's music moguls ("bottom-line oriented bean counters") and more. (Collector's Guide [Ingram, dist.], $19.95 312p ISBN 1-896522-74-2; Mar.)