"I'm here to take you to live with your father. In Tokyo, Japan! Happy birthday!" In the Land of the Rising Sun, where high culture meets high kitsch, and fashion and technology are at the forefront of the First World's future, the foreign-born teen elite attend ICS-the International Collegiate School of Tokyo. Their accents are fluid. Their homes are ridiculously posh. Their sports games often involve a (private) plane trip to another country. They miss school because of jet lag and visa issues. When they get in trouble, they seek diplomatic immunity. Enter foster-kid-out-of-water Elle Zoellner, who, on her sixteenth birthday, discovers that her long-lost father, Kenji Takahara, is actually a Japanese hotel mogul and wants her to come live with him. Um, yes, please! Elle jets off first class from Washington, DC, to Tokyo, which seems like a dream come true. Until she meets her enigmatic father, her way-too-fab aunt, and her hyper-critical grandmother, who seems to wish Elle didn't exist. In an effort to please her new family, Elle falls in with the Ex-Brats, a troop of uber-cool international kids who spend money like it's air. But when she starts to crush on a boy named Ryuu, who's frozen out by the Brats and despised by her new family, her already tenuous living situation just might implode. My Almost Flawless Tokyo Dream Life is about learning what it is to be a family, and finding the inner strength to be yourself, even in the most extreme circumstances.

Some say I am a lucky guy, because I figured it out before it was too late. I figured out what truly matters in life and I live my life by those principles. I almost missed out. I allowed myself to get caught up in life's spin cycle. Too much work, allowing things that ultimately meant nothing to consume my life, being too busy to savor the simple things in life, thinking net worth was the true goal...well, not anymore. As I look around, what amazes me is that everybody wants the same things: We want to be happy, get out of the rat race, enjoy life, have fun, persevere through adversity, maximize joy, take risks, and be proud of who we are, what we have accomplished and the legacy we will leave. I know that because in my 30-year career as a sales executive, entrepreneur, public speaker, and faculty member at top companies and business schools, I have seen it with my own eyes. I have engaged with literally thousands of people of all ages, all over the world. They all want life worth. They want joy and contentment with their lives. They know they need it, they just don't know how to get it. I do. I did it. I am a lucky guy because I figured it out at an age when I could apply it. It wasn't too late. And it is also surprisingly simple, if you know the secrets. The purpose of this book is to share with people of all ages the secrets to achieving a high life worth at any age. Life is too awesome to not be enjoyed every day in every way. It can be done. I know, because I am living it.

A compelling biography of the Polish painter and writer Józef Czapski that takes readers to Paris in the Roaring Twenties, to the front lines during WWII, and into the late 20th-century art world. Józef Czapski (1896–1993) lived many lives during his ninety-six years. He was a student in Saint Petersburg during the Russian Revolution and a painter in Paris in the roaring twenties. As a Polish reserve officer fighting against the invading Nazis in the opening weeks of the Second World War, he was taken prisoner by the Soviets. For reasons unknown to this day, he was one of the very few excluded from Stalin’s sanctioned massacres of Polish officers. He never returned to Poland after the war, but worked tirelessly in Paris to keep alive awareness of the plight of his homeland, overrun by totalitarian powers. Czapski was a towering public figure, but painting gave meaning to his life. Eric Karpeles, also a painter, reveals Czapski’s full complexity, pulling together all the threads of this remarkable life.

Author Megean Weldon, aka The Zero Waste Nerd, gently guides you on an attainable, inspirational, mindful, and completely realistic journey to a sustainable living lifestyle. Find tips, strategies, recipes, and DIY projects for reducing waste in this approachable, beautifully designed and illustrated guide. What is zero waste living? Although the practice has been around for generations out of necessity, it is making a comeback as concerns grow about the fate of our environment. To put it simply: it is attempting to send no waste to landfills. Although you may have read or heard about “zero waste,” “sustainable,” or “green” living, the concept can sometimes seem too complicated, the author’s tone a bit self-righteous, or riddled with advice geared for people with 5 acres of land in the country with dreams of raising livestock and homesteading. This is not that book. Can a “regular” person do this? Absolutely! Zero waste isn’t necessarily about zero, but more about changing or altering the way we see the world around us, how we consume, and how we think about waste. It’s about making better choices when we can, and working to reduce our overall impact by reducing the amount of packaging and single-use plastics we bring into our life. Focusing on the positive, An Almost Zero Waste Life presents simple ways to reduce waste in every aspect of your life: Cleaning: Recipes for natural cleaners and how to ditch paper towels for good. Meal plans: Weekly menus and recipes for zero waste meals that use bulk pantry staples. Shopping: How to shop zero waste at big chain stores and ways to reduce food packaging. Bathroom: Sustainable beauty routine. Recycling: Ingenious ways to repurpose old clothing and how to recycle small metals, like razor blades. Compost: The basics of composting. And much more! An Almost Zero Waste Life will change the way you see the world around you, how you consume, and how you think about waste for a healthier planet and happier you.

Revised edition of the best-selling memoir that has been read by over a million people worldwide with translations in 29 languages. After too many years of unfulfilling work, Bronnie Ware began searching for a job with heart. Despite having no formal qualifications or previous experience in the field, she found herself working in palliative care. During the time she spent tending to those who were dying, Bronnie's life was transformed. Later, she wrote an Internet blog post, outlining the most common regrets that the people she had cared for had expressed. The post gained so much momentum that it was viewed by more than three million readers worldwide in its first year. At the request of many, Bronnie subsequently wrote a book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, to share her story. Bronnie has had a colourful and diverse life. By applying the lessons of those nearing their death to her own life, she developed an understanding that it is possible for everyone, if we make the right choices, to die with peace of mind. In this revised edition of the best-selling memoir that has been read by over a million people worldwide, with translations in 29 languages, Bronnie expresses how significant these regrets are and how we can positively address these issues while we still have the time. The Top Five Regrets of the Dying gives hope for a better world. It is a courageous, life-changing book that will leave you feeling more compassionate and inspired to live the life you are truly here to live.

The World’s Most Influential Book on Personal Success The bestselling classic that made Systems Over Goals, Talent Stacking, and Passion Is Overrated universal success advice has been reborn. Once in a generation, a book revolutionizes its category and becomes the preeminent reference that all subsequent books on the topic must pay homage to, in name or in spirit. How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, is such a book for the field of personal success. A contrarian pundit and persuasion expert in a class of his own, Adams has reached hundreds of millions directly and indirectly through the 2013 first edition’s straightforward yet counterintuitive advice—to invite failure in, embrace it, then pick its pocket. The second edition of How to Fail is a tighter, updated version, by popular demand. Yet new and returning readers alike will find the same candor, humor, and timeless wisdom on productivity, career growth, health and fitness, and entrepreneurial success as the original classic. How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Second Edition is the essential read (or re-read) for anyone who wants to find a unique path to personal victory—and make luck find you in whatever you do.

Poetry. Fiction. Translated from the German by Rosmarie Waldrop. This volume contains almost all of Elfriede Czurda's first book and all of her second, Fast 1 Leben. Czurda comes out of the experimental Wiener Gruppe. She is especially fond of letting repetition and permutation shift words through their whole gamut of meanings and sometimes beyond. However, she is also not averse to thumbing her nose at any rigidities, even those of the experimental imperative. In ALMOST 1 LIFE (novella? politico-cultural satire?), the ruling avant-garde has licenced "monomania" as official language and punishes misuse by expelling the offender into reality. Which is where Czurda positions herself. She combines exploring language with exploring the social power structures embedded in it all with lots of fun and humor."