Fourteen months of Hornby's warm, incisive, and hilarious chronicles of the books he buys and the books he reads.In this latest collection of essays following 'The Polysyllabic Spree,' critic and author Nick Hornby continues the feverish survey of his swollen bookshelves, offering a funny, intelligent, and unblinkered account of the stuff he's been reading. Ranging from the middlebrow to the highbrow (with unrepenting dips into the lowbrow), Hornby's dispatches from his nightstand table serve as useful guides to contemporary letters, with revelations on contemporary culture, the intellectual scene, and English football, in equal measure.

We all have an amusing relationship with dirt. Some of us have just thought about it more than others. How we feel about keeping house speaks volumes about who we are, our roots, relationships, and even our outlook on life. Everyone can relate to DIRT.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Wise and funny. . . . The Lorrie Moore short story, or the Tina Fey memoir, of cleaning tutorials.”—Dwight Garner, The New York Times “Thrillingly titled. . . . For a generation overwhelmed not just by dust bunnies, but by bong water on the carpet, pee stains on the ceiling and vomit seemingly everywhere, Jolie Kerr dispenses cleaning advice free of judgment. . . . A Mrs. Beeton for the postcollege set.” —Penelope Green, The New York Times “Jolie Kerr really cuts through the grease and grime with her new book. I do what she tells me to do.” —Amy Sedaris The author of the hit column “Ask a Clean Person” offers a hilarious and practical guide to cleaning up life’s little emergencies Life is filled with spills, odors, and those oh-so embarrassing stains you just can’t tell your parents about. And let’s be honest: no one is going to ask Martha Stewart what to do when your boyfriend barfs in your handbag. Thankfully, Jolie Kerr has both staggering cleaning knowledge and a sense of humor. With signature sass and straight talk, Jolie takes on questions ranging from the basic—how do I use a mop? —to the esoteric—what should I do when bottles of homebrewed ginger beer explode in my kitchen? My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag proves that even the most nightmarish cleaning conundrums can be solved with a smile, the right supplies, and a little music.

In this fresh, funny, strikingly original memoir, Rafkin talks about her invisible status as a domestic worker in a world of illicit sex and secret lives, of closet alcoholics and binge eaters, unlikely spiritualists, and revealing celebrities.

A classic bestselling resource for every household, Home Comforts helps you manage everyday chores, find creative solutions to domestic dilemmas, and enhance the experience of life at home. “Home Comforts is to the house what Joy of Cooking is to food.” —USA TODAY Home Comforts is an engaging and comprehensive book about housekeeping. It is a lively and readable guide for both beginners and experts in all the domestic arts. From keeping surfaces free of germs, watering plants, removing stains, folding a fitted sheet, cleaning china, tuning a piano, lighting a fire, setting the dining room table—this guide covers everything that people might want to do for themselves in their homes. Further topics include: making up a bed with hospital corners, expert recommendations for safe food storage, reading care labels (and sometimes carefully disregarding them), keeping your home free of dust mites and other allergens, this is a practical, good-humored, philosophical guidebook to the art and science of household management.

The wildly popular YouTube star behind Clean My Space presents the breakthrough solution to cleaning better with less effort Melissa Maker is beloved by fans all over the world for her completely re-engineered approach to cleaning. As the dynamic new authority on home and living, Melissa knows that to invest any of our precious time in cleaning, we need to see big, long-lasting results. So, she developed her method to help us get the most out of our effort and keep our homes fresh and welcoming every day. In her long-awaited debut book, she shares her revolutionary 3-step solution: • Identify the most important areas (MIAs) in your home that need attention • Select the proper products, tools, and techniques (PTT) for the job • Implement these new cleaning routines so that they stick Clean My Space takes the chore out of cleaning with Melissa’s incredible tips and cleaning hacks (the power of pretreating!) her lightning fast 5-10 minute “express clean” routines for every room when time is tightest, and her techniques for cleaning even the most daunting places and spaces. And a big bonus: Melissa gives guidance on the best non-toxic, eco-conscious cleaning products and offers natural cleaning solution recipes you can make at home using essential oils to soothe and refresh. With Melissa’s simple groundbreaking method you can truly live in a cleaner, more cheerful, and calming home all the time.

Learn to be at peace and attain enlightenment while doing all the “little” things around the house in this guide to becoming one with your home and gaining an elevated sense of being. Wash the dishes, do the laundry, mop the floors, scrub the toilets, make the beds, vacuum the rugs…the list goes on and on, with little time to stop, breathe, and take in your beautiful surroundings. Now you can. Zen and the Art of Housekeeping challenges you to put more than elbow grease into your daily routine. You’ll learn how to spirit yourself away during mundane chores as you muse over thought-provoking Zen koans like: If the kitchen is the heart of the home, what is the heart of the kitchen? What is the color of clean? If the purpose of cleaning is to remove dirt, what is the purpose of dirt? What fills empty spaces? Whose footprints are on your floor? With Zen and the Art of Housekeeping, you’ll scrub your way to enlightenment—and a spotless sink.