A Field Guide To Now is a reference manual for creating an extraordinary life out of ordinary moments. This collection of illustrated essays and field notes explores the tenuous line between survival and thriving; between wanderlust and making a home; between being and becoming; and about how these things inevitably converge in the scarce, haphazard, simple moments of right now. It is both an invitation to create whatever opportunity your heart yearns for, and proof that it is possible. Reinvent the way you engage with the moment and explore the texture of your present tense. Imagine if you could look for the present moment in a field guide, the way you might look up the name of a tree you see outside your window? For as long as you can remember, the tree has just been a tree. But when you look it up, it becomes something more—a sassafras maybe, or a tulip maple—and suddenly you can feel the way your attention toward it shifts. You recognize the way its pollen gathers fine and yellow in the weft of your bedroom screen in May, or the way its shade freckles the dying grass at the end of summer. In the act of naming it, in discovering its traits and marks, the tree becomes something more to you. What if you could do this for all the moments that fill your life? That is what this book is about. Begin. Take note. Be right here.

'Ideal for anyone looking to add a little more joy to their journeys' -- Woman's Way 'A timely exhortation to slow down and become more mindful of what has been lost by trading in analog pleasures for digital ones' -- Perceptive Travel Unlike almost every travel book, this one is not about where to go, but how to go. As our daily lives are dominated by devices and an always-connected mentality, more people are using their precious vacation time as an excuse to unplug and re-engage with their surroundings?and themselves. Away & Aware is a beautifully illustrated guide to more mindful travel, with tips and advice for planning off-the-grid trips, minimalist packing, unplugging on the road, connecting with local culture, travelling with children, and easing back into the real world after returning from a trip.

Winner of the National Business Book Award From the New York Times bestselling author of The Organized Mind and This Is Your Brain on Music, a primer to the critical thinking that is more necessary now than ever We are bombarded with more information each day than our brains can process—especially in election season. It's raining bad data, half-truths, and even outright lies. New York Times bestselling author Daniel J. Levitin shows how to recognize misleading announcements, statistics, graphs, and written reports, revealing the ways lying weasels can use them. It's becoming harder to separate the wheat from the digital chaff. How do we distinguish misinformation, pseudo-facts, and distortions from reliable information? Levitin groups his field guide into two categories—statistical information and faulty arguments—ultimately showing how science is the bedrock of critical thinking. Infoliteracy means understanding that there are hierarchies of source quality and bias that variously distort our information feeds via every media channel, including social media. We may expect newspapers, bloggers, the government, and Wikipedia to be factually and logically correct, but they so often aren't. We need to think critically about the words and numbers we encounter if we want to be successful at work, at play, and in making the most of our lives. This means checking the plausibility and reasoning—not passively accepting information, repeating it, and making decisions based on it. Readers learn to avoid the extremes of passive gullibility and cynical rejection. Levitin's charming, entertaining, accessible guide can help anyone wake up to a whole lot of things that aren't so. And catch some weasels in their tracks!

Go beyond forest bathing with 70 mindful ways to unleash your creativity and reconnect with nature Squeezing mindfulness into every day may seem impossible—but it only takes a few moments to go Into Nature. This collection of mindful activities unleashes creativity while helping you engage with your natural surroundings—in a park, in the garden, and even from indoors. From the founders of The Mindfulness Project, here are life-affirming ways to help readers maximize the benefits of being in nature, which has been proven to increase happiness and cultivate calm. Sketch, explore, and record observations as you . . . Notice how your senses shape your experience of nature Draw a landscape, cut it out, and hang it up Color in trees, animals, and flowers to discover their unique qualities Find nature at work, at home, and all around you Follow a bee, a beetle, or a butterfly Retreat from daily chaos and cultivate calm Explore, record, and observe your way to happiness! This book inspires readers to explore the natural world with greater curiosity and find moments of mindfulness in everyday life.

It's OK to slow down. Take a pause and focus on your breath. Let the other animals run around, you do you. Follow a serene and smiley sloth through a series of light meditations and daily reflections with this unexpected and snuggable guide. From simple breathing exercises and guided visualizations to the benefits of chewing your leaves slowly and staying present while hanging from a tree, this little illustrated book of mindfulness will help readers discover the path to a peaceful, philoslothical life. With playful advice and delightfully charming illustrations, this no-sweat approach to enlightenment is a sweet reminder to take it slow and smile.

A comprehensive and accessible guide to understanding how radiation affects our everyday lives Nuclear energy, X-rays, radon, cell phones . . . radiation is part of the way we live on a daily basis, and yet the sources and repercussions of our exposure to it remain mysterious. Now Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Wayne Biddle offers a first-of-its-kind guide to understanding this fundamental aspect of the universe. From fallout to radiation poisoning, alpha particles to cosmic rays, Biddle illuminates the history, meaning, and health implications of one hundred scientific terms in succinct, witty essays. A Field Guide to Radiation is an essential, engaging handbook that offers wisdom and common sense for today's increasingly nuclear world.

Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri turns her satirical eye on her own life in this hilarious new memoir... Most twentysomethings spend a lot of time avoiding awkwardness. Not Alexandra Petri. Afraid of rejection? Alexandra Petri has auditioned for America’s Next Top Model. Afraid of looking like an idiot? Alexandra Petri lost Jeopardy! by answering “Who is that dude?” on national TV. Afraid of bad jokes? Alexandra Petri won an international pun championship. Petri has been a debutante, reenacted the Civil War, and fended off suitors at a Star Wars convention while wearing a Jabba the Hutt suit. One time, she let some cult members she met on the street baptize her, just to be polite. She’s a connoisseur of the kind of awkwardness that most people spend whole lifetimes trying to avoid. If John Hodgman and Amy Sedaris had a baby…they would never let Petri babysit it. But Petri is here to tell you: Everything you fear is not so bad. Trust her. She’s tried it. And in the course of her misadventures, she’s learned that there are worse things out there than awkwardness—and that interesting things start to happen when you stop caring what people think.