We’re halfway through the month of January– it’s decision time for determining whether those resolutions you made two weeks ago were for that night or 2009. The nominations are in, and we’ve compiled a list of honorees with a collection of the most popular books in our catalog. Which book would help you most in pursuit of your goal?
For those of you who haven’t read them all, here are the nominees with short descriptions from their pages:
–The Alchemist: “Like the one-time bestseller Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Alchemist presents a simple fable, based on simple truths and places it in a highly unique situation. And though we may sniff a bestselling formula, it is certainly not a new one: even the ancient tribal storytellers knew that this is the most successful method of entertaining an audience while slipping in a lesson or two.”
–The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, and Broke: “If you are tired of struggling to make ends meet but don’t know a 401(k) from Special K, this book is for you. Aimed specifically at “Generation Broke”–those in their twenties and thirties who are working yet buried in credit card debt and student loans–this user-friendly guide offers a clear introduction to practical investing and money management techniques that can turn even a dismal financial situation around.”
– Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: “Author Barbara Kingsolver and her family abandoned the industrial-food pipeline to live a rural life—vowing that, for one year, they’d only buy food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it.”
–The Classics: A Farewell to Arms, Lolita, Moby Dick– like vitamin pills, you know they’re all good for you.
– Outliers: The Story of Success: “Now that he’s gotten us talking about the viral life of ideas and the power of gut reactions, Malcolm Gladwell poses a more provocative question in Outliers: why do some people succeed, living remarkably productive and impactful lives, while so many more never reach their potential?”
–Why We Suck: A Feel-Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid: “In Why We Suck, Dr. Denis Leary uses his common sense, and his biting and hilarious take on the world, to attack the politically correct, the hypocritical, the obese, the thin–basically everyone who takes themselves too seriously.”
–Hot, Flat and Crowded: “In his brilliant, essential new book, Friedman takes a fresh and provocative look at two of the biggest challenges we face today: America’s surprising loss of focus and national purpose since 9/11; and the global environmental crisis, which is affecting everything from food to fuel to forests.”
–The Audacity of Hope: :With his second book The Audacity of Hope, Obama engages themes raised in his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, shares personal views on faith and values and offers a vision of the future that involves repairing a “political process that is broken” and restoring a government that has fallen out of touch with the people.”
–The Snowball: Warren Buffet and the Business of Life: “The legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir, but now he has allowed one writer, Alice Schroeder, unprecedented access to explore directly with him and with those closest to him his work, opinions, struggles, triumphs, follies, and wisdom. The result is the personally revealing and complete biography of the man known everywhere as “The Oracle of Omaha.””
–Or is your goal simply to read as many books as you can rent?
Thanks to everyone who nominated. Cast your vote, and after two weeks we’ll find out– the Top Ten resolution-keeping books!
