Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

By Mindy Kaling

A series of comic essays about Kaling's life, including growing up as the studious child of Indian-American professionals, through her stint as a writer/actor for the television series The Office.  She even included how to conduct her funeral.   I didn't expect too much, since the book is only 240 pages and she's in her early thirties.  Then, I was pleasantly surprised.  I could relate to a childhood of being the shy, awkward, embarrassment for her brother.  But I could laugh and learn about the joy of three girls living is a third floor walkup studio in NYC.  Good, light read... I wish she would have written a longer book.

Introducing Positive Psychology: A Practical Guide

By Bridget Grenville-Cleave

How to identify your positive character strengths, change your mindset, boost your positive emotions, and become more resilient.

This book is written for people that just need a little boost psychologically, not for people that are depressed and need more than a self-help manual.  But maybe that's just because, like me, they read this book full of hope at the beginning, and then lack of self-esteem and drive take over.  Meh

Annoying: The Science of What Bugs Us

By Joe Palca and Flora Lichtman

Why do sirens, fingernails on a blackboard, and one-sided cell phone conversations annoy us so much?  Is there a way to ignore or avoid these distractions?  This book attempts to discover why we have such physical reactions to common annoyances.

The reviews I read stated that this book was mostly just anecdotes strung together, but I disagree.  There are common threads to what annoys us and why.  The most obvious trait is that some people have a predisposition for being annoyed.  They are hypersensitive, so things like trash talking gets under their skin easily.  Let the headbutts ensue.  The one story I found hilarious was Rahm Emanuel purposely cracking his fingers to annoy President Obama during a high-level meeting.  What a fine example of respecting your boss, let alone the POTUS. Gimme a break.

The Power of Habit

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

From Michael Phelps' winning swim strategy, to Proctor & Gamble determining how to best sell Febreeze, Duhigg explores how our automatic habits shape outcomes. 

The book starts out strong, with a woman who transformed her messy life when she stopped smoking.  The woman goes on to running marathons, finding success in her job, and actually changing the neurological patterns in her brain.  Unfortunately, by the end he lost me.  When the author began to tout all the accomplishments of the Obama administration, and how fabulous the Saddleback Church is because they founded their religion on what people wanted or didn't want, I felt I was being indoctrinated into what I should think is good and right. Although I was intrigued by the fact that Martin Luther King Jr. was basically peer pressured into standing behind Rosa Parks. 

However, at the end I wish he would have included guidelines for how to change or improve your own habits.  It would have been a little more helpful than just an anecdote collection.

The Bride Wore Black Leather

by Simon R. Green

The last installment of the Nightside series, John Taylor is about to retire as a detective, become the new Walker in Nightside, marry the bounty hunter of his dreams... and solve one last, big case.  With the help of Julian Advent, Taylor vows to track down and stop the Sun King before he destroys all of Nightside.  But when everyone, even his friends, want him dead, Taylor believes this might truly be his last case.

I love this series.  Just when I think I'm getting tired of reading about John Taylor & the Nightside world, I start another book and get sucked in all over again.  Twelve books in the series, and I am sad that it's all over.  I don't think I've ever read 12 books about anything & enjoyed it.  Terrific series!