This season’s books feature many titles concerned with simpler and more natural ways of living, including tiny houses, homeopathic health treatments, and natural birth options.
Top 10
The Art of Simple Living: 100 Daily Practices from a Japanese Zen Monk for a Lifetime of Calm and Joy
Shunmyo Masuno. Penguin, Apr. 2 (hardcover, $20, ISBN 978-0-14-313404-6)
This international bestseller from Japanese monk Masuno shares everyday lessons he’s learned on how to relax and find happiness during the hectic swirl of life.
The Committed Life: The Joy of Giving Yourself Away
David Brooks. Random House, Apr. 23 (hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-0-8129-9326-4)
Building off his book The Road to Character, New York Times columnist Brooks argues that society celebrates freedom and choice at the expense of surrendering to a cause, developing roots, and coming together through solidarity and love.
Flash Count Diary: Menopause and the Vindication of Natural Life
Darcey Steinke. FSG/Crichton, June 18 (hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-0-374-15611-4)
After novelist Steinke discovers that human women and female killer whales are the only creatures to go through menopause, she launches an investigation into the many little-understood aspects of menopause.
Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals
Rachel Hollis. HarperCollins Leadership, Mar. 12 (hardcover, $27.99, ISBN 978-1-4002-0960-6)
Hollis, bestselling author of Girl, Wash Your Face and host of the Rise podcast, urges women to stop apologizing for their desires, hopes, and dreams.
Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery
Christie Aschwanden. Norton, Feb. 5 (hardcover, $27.95, ISBN 978-0-393-25433-4)
FiveThirtyEight science writer Aschwanden takes readers on a tour through the booming industry of sports recovery products and services and examines what actually works and what doesn’t.
It’s Great to Suck at Something: The Exceptional Benefits of Being Unexceptional
Karen Rinaldi. Atria, May 7 (hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-1-5011-9576-1)
Rinaldi, publisher of Harper Wave, asks readers to try new things (and fail), rails against humblebrag culture, and suggests strategies for exploring uncomfortable personal and professional terrain in this work that originated in a popular New York Times article.
Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement
Rich Karlgaard. Currency, Apr. 16 (hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-1-5247-5975-9)
Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes magazine, rejects the American cultural obsession with early success and argues that blooming late can be an advantage to long-term achievement.
The Moves That Matter: A Chess Grandmaster on the Game of Life
Jonathan Rowson. Bloomsbury, June 25 (hardcover, $26, ISBN 978-1-63557-332-9)
Chess grandmaster Rowson discloses the teachings chess offers for staying present, sustaining focus, making tough decisions, overcoming failure, and living a fulfilling life.
Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness
Gretchen Rubin. Harmony, Mar. 5 (hardcover, $16.99, ISBN 978-1-984822-80-2)
Rubin, author of bestselling The Happiness Project, suggests clutter-clearing ideas to help readers simplify their homes, focusing on getting rid of things that are no longer used, needed, or loved.
The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life’s Direction and Purpose
Oprah Winfrey. Flatiron, Mar. 26 (hardcover, $27.99, ISBN 978-1-250-30750-7)
Winfrey shares guidance for finding and following a vision. Mining her years of experience, she sets out milestones for creating a personalized definition of contentment.
Body, Mind & Spirit Listings
Atria
Don’t Just Sit There! 44 Insights to Get Your Meditation Practice Off the Cushion and into the Real World by Biet Simkin (Apr. 16, hardcover, $24, ISBN 978-1-5011-9319-4). The founder of Center of the Cyclone, an arts and meditation immersion experience, lays out a week-by-week plan for setting up and sticking to a meditation program.
Bear & Co.
Transcendent Wisdom of the Maya: The Ceremonies and Symbolism of a Living Tradition by Gabriela Jurosz-Landa (Mar. 12, trade paper, $18, ISBN 978-1-59143-334-7). Anthropologist Jurosz-Landa provides an account of ancient Mayan spiritual practices and details her initiation as a Mayan shaman-priestess.
Bloomsbury Continuum
Giving Up Without Giving Up: Meditation and Depressions by Jim Green (May 7, trade paper, $18, ISBN 978-1-4729-5745-0). A mental health researcher and practicing Buddhist, Green presents a guide to meditation and contemplation for those dealing with depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
The Experiment
In Tune: Music as the Bridge to Mindfulness by Richard Wolf (Apr. 2, hardcover, $18.95, ISBN 978-1-61519-535-0). In this set of music-based meditation exercises, Emmy Award–winning composer Wolf helps readers get in tune with the sound of the world by elucidating ways that the skills of musical practice can deepen meditation practice.
Findhorn
Living a Life of Harmony: Seven Guidelines for Cultivating Peace and Kindness by Darren Cockburn (Apr. 9, trade paper, $16.99, ISBN 978-1-62055-890-4). Taking from Buddhism, Christianity, and yoga, spiritual teacher Cockburn presents simple guidelines for better living—honor the body, bring acceptance and awareness to every moment, act with kindness.
Hampton Roads
Be the Light That You Are: Ten Simple Ways to Transform Your World with Love by Debra Landwehr Engle (Apr. 1, trade paper, $15.95, ISBN 978-1-57174-849-2) shares simple ways to live with love—claim one’s unique gifts, foster self-love, and meet others without judgment, among others—by drawing from core principles found in A Course in Miracles.
HarperOne
Your Soul Purpose: Learn How to Access the Light Within by Kim Russo (Apr. 23, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-0-06-285485-8). Psychic medium Russo explains how readers can harness their energy to access the world beyond in this guide for finding one’s purpose in life.
Morrow
Stress Less, Accomplish More: Meditation for Extraordinary Performance by Emily Fletcher (Feb. 19, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-06-274750-1). Basing her “Z technique” on a 15-minute twice-daily plan, Fletcher teaches a meditation plan designed for the hyper-busy and aimed at improving performance, clarity, health, and sleep.
Pantheon
This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom by Martin Hagglund (Mar. 5, hardcover, $28.95, ISBN 978-1-101-87040-2). Addressing both fundamental existential questions and pressing social issues, Hagglund posits that a commitment to freedom and democracy can lead beyond religion and capitalism.
Health & Fitness
The New Rules of Pregnancy: What to Eat, Do, Think About, and Let Go of While Your Body Is Making a Baby by Adrienne L. Simone, Jaqueline Worth, and Danielle Claro (Mar. 5, hardcover, $18.95, ISBN 978-1-57965-857-1). A gynecologist, obstetrician, and health writer guide readers through all aspects of pregnant life.
Da Capo Lifelong
Just Your Type: The Ultimate Guide to Eating and Training Right for Your Body Type by Phil Catudal and Stacey Colino (May 14, trade paper, $18.99, ISBN 978-0-7382-8548-1). Fitness writer Catudal presents a comprehensive plan for matching diet and fitness regimens to body types.
Grand Central Life & Style
31-Day Food Revolution: Heal Your Body, Feel Great, and Transform Your World by Ocean Robbins (Feb. 5, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-1-5387-4625-7). In this action plan for eating food that’s healthy, ethical, sustainable, and delicious, Robbins reveals dirty secrets from the food industry and presents toxin-free alternatives.
Hachette
Birth Without Fear: The Judgment-Free Guide to Taking Charge of Your Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum
by January Harshe (Mar. 5, trade paper, $18, ISBN 978-0-316-51561-0). The founder of the online community Birth Without Fear offers a positive and passionate guide to the many options and issues presented to mothers (and their partners) when preparing for a baby.
Harper Wave
The F*ck It Diet by Caroline Dooner (Mar. 26, hardcover, $26.99, ISBN 978-0-06-288361-2). Comedian Dooner asks readers to stop dieting and reboot their relationship with food in this book that rails against the stringent notions of health that come with many dieting fads.
Little, Brown Spark
Keto Diet: Your 30-Day Plan to Lose Weight, Balance Hormones, and Reverse Disease by Josh Axe (Feb. 19, hardcover, $28, ISBN 978-0-316-52958-7) This guide to five ketogenic protocols explains why picking the right one for every body and lifestyle is fundamental to living a healthy life.
National Geographic
Nature’s Best Remedies: Top Medicinal Herbs, Spices, and Foods for Health and Well-Being by National Geographic (Feb. 5, hardcover, $35, ISBN 978-1-4262-1892-7) provides a guide to therapeutic foods, herbs, spices, and essential oils, with information on the perils of packaged foods and the benefits of phytochemicals, the soothing benefits of essential oils, and methods for maximizing the benefits of salts, vinegars, oils, and more.
North Atlantic
Evolutionary Herbalism: Science, Spirituality, and Medicine from the Heart of Nature by Sajah Popham (Apr. 30, trade paper, $24.95, ISBN 978-1-62317-313-5). Herbal practitioner Popham weaves together herbal and medical traditions from around the world in this take on herbalism that considers both plants and humans.
Rowman & Littlefield
Your Birth Plan: A Guide to Navigating All of Your Choices in Childbirth by Megan Davidson (June 8, trade paper, $19.95, ISBN 978-1-5381-2157-3) aims to honor all birth paths by presenting current medical information with little opinion, guiding and empowering readers to make informed decisions for their own birth experience.
Square One
I Used to Have Cancer: How I Found My Own Way Back to Health by James Templeton (Mar. 1, trade paper, $16.95, ISBN 978-0-7570-0478-0) shares Templeton’s many strategies, both traditional and alternative, that helped him to recover from stage 4 melanoma.
Sterling Ethos
Homeopathy by Albert-Claude Quemoun, with Sophie Pensa (Apr. 2, trade paper, $19.95, ISBN 978-1-4549-2637-5). Homeopathic healers Quemoun and Pensa provide a comprehensive reference on the uses of flowers and herbs to create natural remedies.
St. Martin’s
The Nocturnal Brain: Nightmares, Neuroscience, and the Secret World of Sleep by Guy Leschziner (July 23, hardcover, $37.99, ISBN 978-1-250-20270-3). Neurologist Leschziner shares stories of people unable to get a good night’s rest in this exploration of the symptoms and syndromes behind sleep disorders.
Ten Speed
Wild Beauty: Wisdom & Recipes for Natural Self-Care by Jana Blankenship (June 18, hardcover, $18, ISBN 978-0-399-58281-3) provides 30 recipes for making essential oils, lip balm, face and body oils, bath salts, juices, tonics, and more.
Home & Hobbies
Abrams
Abode: Thoughtful Living with Less by Serena Mitnik-Miller and Mason St. Peter (Apr. 16, hardcover, $35, ISBN 978-1-4197-3454-0). The husband-and-wife owners of the artisan-sourced General Store in California provide tips on making a home, no matter the budget or ability level.
Atria
Elements of Family Style: Elegant Design for the Imperfect Life by Erin Gates (Apr. 2, hardcover, $35, ISBN 978-1-5011-3730-3). Lifestyle blogger Gates teaches readers how to design a beautifully stylish and functional home through a mix of anecdotes, advice, and lessons learned.
Black Dog & Leventhal
The Book of Mini: Inside the Big World of Tiny Things by Kate Esme Ünver (Apr. 16, hardcover, $22.99, ISBN 978-0-7624-6668-9). A lifelong collector of tiny items and popular Instagrammer @dailymini, Ünver selects hundreds of pieces of artwork (many never seen before) organized into such sections as tiny food, diminutive wildlife, and petite pottery.
Clarkson Potter
The Tiny House: Live Small, Dream Big by Brent Heavener (May 14, hardcover, $18, ISBN 978-0-525-57661-7). From the founder of the Instagram @TinyHouse, this book of 250 full-color photographs features the world’s smallest abodes, including vans, boats, tree houses, and cabins.
Creative Homeowner
Green Clean: Natural Cleaning Solutions for Every Room of Your Home by Jill Potvin-Schoff (Feb. 12, trade paper, $19.99, ISBN 978-1-58011-831-6) is a handbook for how to eliminate chemical household cleaning agents and replace them with natural, homemade products.
Living Your Tiny House Dream: The Whys and Hows of Tiny Home Living by Chris Schapdick (Mar. 12, trade paper, $19.99, ISBN 978-1-58011-834-7). The founder of tiny house building company Tiny Industrial reviews the practical considerations that go into building, owning, and living in a tiny home on wheels.
DK
Woodcraft: Master the Art of Green Woodworking with Key Techniques and Inspiring Projects by William Wall (Apr. 2, hardcover, $30, ISBN 978-1-4654-7978-5). Woodworker Wall designs projects for readers all skill levels, including spoons, bowls, shrink boxes, and simple pieces of furniture—no workshop required.
Hardie Grant
Natural Home Cleaning: Over 100 Ways to Clean Your Home Naturally by Fern Green (Feb. 19, trade paper, $19.99, ISBN 978-1-78488-239-6) provides 110 recipes for natural cleaning products, including disinfectant, stain remover, mold cleaner, and laundry detergent.
Harper Design
150 Best Tiny Space Ideas by Francesc Zamora (July 23, hardcover, $29.99, ISBN 978-0-06-290922-0) is an overview of the smallest living space designs, featuring architectural and decorating trends for dwellings under 450 square feet; includes 150 full-color photographs.
HarperOne
Clean Mama’s Guide to a Healthy Home: The Simple, Room-by-Room Plan for a Natural Home by Becky Rapinchuk (Mar. 5, trade paper, $19.99, ISBN 978-0-06-285631-9). The creator of the cleaning website Clean Mama offers a guide to taking the toxins out of any home.
Rizzoli
Magical Rooms: Elements of Interior Design by Fawn Galli (Mar. 26, hardcover, $45, ISBN 978-0-8478-6447-8). Brooklyn designer Galli shares her collaborative approach to show how rooms can be transformed by one’s inspiration into good design. She showcases 12 interiors with full-color photographs.
Running Press
Kawaii Craft Life: Super-Cute Projects for Home, Work & Play by Sosae Caetano and Dennis Caetano (May 14, trade paper, $19.99, ISBN 978-0-7624-9381-4) is a felt-craft, cross-stitch, and embroidery guide for creating kawaii (the Japanese word for “cute”) needlecraft designs, including aprons, pillows, tote bags, bookmarks, slumber masks, and smartphone cases.
Self-Help
Adams Media
Get Your Life Together(ish): A No-Pressure Guide for Real-Life Self-Growth by Julia Dellitt (Apr. 9, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-1-72140-005-8). The journalist and lifestyle writer challenges readers with 50 activities aimed at self-improvement.
Basic
Life Finds a Way: What Evolution Teaches Us About Creativity by Andreas Wagner (June 11, hardcover, $30, ISBN 978-1-5416-4533-2). Biologist Wagner looks into the symmetry between innovation in biological evolution and human cultural creativity, picking out lessons from parallels between the two to help readers better understand artistic, business, and scientific study.
Central Recovery
Loving Like You Mean It: Using Emotional Mindfulness to Transform Your Relationships by Ronald J. Frederick (Apr. 9, trade paper, $17.95, ISBN 978-1-942094-94-4). Psychotherapist Frederick draws from neuroscience and attachment theory to explain how being emotionally present is the key to maintaining a loving connection with a partner.
Chicken Soup for the Soul
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Mom Knows Best: 101 Stories of Love, Gratitude & Wisdom by Amy Newmark (Mar. 19, trade paper, $14.95, ISBN 978-1-61159-987-9) contains stories that celebrate the experience, understanding, and wisdom of mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers, and mothers-in-law.
Chronicle
Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life by James Victore (Mar. 5, trade paper, $19.95, ISBN 978-1-4521-6636-0). Designer Victore guides readers through the trials and tribulations of starting a creative career. Championing risk, Victore instructs readers on how to find their voice and explores strategies for innovation.
Citadel
Living with a Green Heart: Healing Yourself and the Planet by Gay Browne (Mar. 26, trade paper, $15.95, ISBN 978-0-8065-3900-3). The founder of Greenopia, a company dedicated to environmental health, shares incremental changes to daily life that can heal the world.
Dey Street
Trust Ya Process: How to Hustle from the Block to the Boardroom by Jeezy and Benjamin Meadows-Ingram (Feb. 19, hardcover, $22.99, ISBN 978-0-06-289991-0). Rapper Jeezy shares lessons culled from his own life in this business-oriented book about honing one’s talents for commercial success.
Hci
Mensch-Marks: Life Lessons of a Human Rabbi—Wisdom for Untethered Times by Joshua Hammerman (Apr. 2, trade paper, $14.95, ISBN 978-0-7573-2177-1). Rabbi Hammerman divulges a lifetime of lessons learned in this memoir that mirrors the 42 stops the Israelites visited in the wilderness, and considers how to live a life of strong character.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Lightly: How to Live a Simple, Serene, and Stress-Free Life by Francine Jay (Mar. 12, hardcover, $19.99, ISBN 978-1-328-58503-5) advocates for living simply and includes stress-reducing exercises, prompts meant to embolden the spirit, and tasks intended to declutter the home.
Knopf
The Art of Noticing: 131 Ways to Spark Creativity, Find Inspiration, and Discover Joy in the Everyday by Rob Walker (May 7, hardcover, $25, ISBN 978-0-525-52124-2). The workplace advice columnist for the New York Times designs 131 exercises and meditations to encourage and guide readers in rediscovering joy and creativity.
Penguin
Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig (Feb. 12, trade paper, $16, ISBN 978-0-14-313342-1). In this follow-up to his bestselling memoir, Reasons to Stay Alive, Haig looks deeper into how his anxiety has thrived alongside new social, commercial, and technological developments.
Quadrille
Live Green: 52 Steps for a More Sustainable Life by Jen Chillingsworth (Feb. 19, hardcover, $12.99, ISBN 978-1-78713-319-8) gives 52 tips and changes readers can make over the course of a year—concerning food, clothing, gardening, beauty and cleaning products, among others—for living a green, sustainable lifestyle.
She Writes
I’m Saying No! Standing Up to Sexual Assault, Street Harassment, and Sexual Pressure by Beverly Engel (Apr. 2, trade paper, $16.95, ISBN 978-1-63152-525-4). Psychotherapist Engel provides a program to help women who have been silenced by past trauma or have a personal history of sexual abuse.
Skyhorse
Reaching Beyond Boundaries: A Navy Seal’s Guide to Achieving Everything You’ve Ever Imagined by Don Mann and Kraig Becker (Feb. 19, hardcover, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-5107-3667-2). Navy SEAL and motivational speaker Mann teaches how to set and conquer both micro and macro goals through removing excuses, training the right mindset, and learning from failure.
Sourcebooks
Slay Like a Mother: How to Destroy What’s Holding You Back So You Can Live the Life You Want by Katherine Wintsch (Mar. 19, hardcover, $25.99, ISBN 978-1-4926-6940-1). The founder of the Mom Complex, a consulting company, cautions against unrealistic goal-setting tactics that hold many people back. Instead, she provides supportive stories meant to make readers live more confidently.
TarcherPerigee
1000+ Little Things Happy Successful People Do Differently
by Marc and Angel Chernoff (May 21, hardcover, $18, ISBN 978-0-525-54274-2). The bestselling husband-and-wife team of Getting Back to Happy return with a pocket-size book of lists, activities, and lessons intended to help readers rethink their daily habits.
Workman
Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad by Austin Kleon (Apr. 2, trade paper, $12.95, ISBN 978-1-5235-0664-4). Completing a trilogy of books on inspiring creativity, Kleon provides advice and encouragement on how to stay creative, focused, and true to oneself in the face of burnout or distractions.
This article has been updated with new bibliographic information.