Small Life

Famously, over a four-year period, James Dyson made 5,127 prototypes of the cyclonic vacuum cleaner that would transform the way houses are cleaned around the world. In devoting all his resources to iteratively developing the technology, he risked it all, but out of many failures and setbacks came hard-fought success. In Invention: A Life, Dyson reveals how he came to set up his own company and led it to become one of the most inventive technology companies in the world. It is a compelling and dramatic tale, with many obstacles overcome.

Dover 1940 As firebombs fall on Dover, Edie Castle's life is thrown into turmoil when the garage where she lives and works is damaged and her beloved boss is arrested. With no job and nowhere else to go, Edie returns to Castle's Café and her formidable mother, Nellie. Living with her mother is never easy, but tensions reach boiling point when an old friend of Nellie's arrives looking for a place to stay. Meanwhile, desperate to clear her boss's name, Edie turns to his nephew for help.

The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things offers a startlingly original look at the revered writer through a variety of key moments, scenes, and objects in her life and work. Going beyond previous traditional biographies which have traced Austen's daily life from Steventon to Bath to Chawton to Winchester, Paula Byrne's portrait - organized thematically and drawn from the most up-to-date scholarship and unexplored sources - explores the lives of Austen's extended family, friends, and acquaintances.

A gripping, groundbreaking biography of the combative man whose genius and force of will created modern capitalism. Founder of a dynasty, builder of the original Grand Central, creator of an impossibly vast fortune, Cornelius “Commodore” Vanderbilt is an American icon. Humbly born on Staten Island during George Washington’s presidency, he rose from boatman to builder of the nation’s largest fleet of steamships to lord of a railroad empire.

When Before You Quit Your Job was written and published, it was a guidebook for aspiring entrepreneurs. Today - with the job market in shambles, overseas outsourcing and high unemployment - it can be a path to the salvation so many are looking for: A way take control of their life and use their skills and talents to create their future. Before You Quit Your Job asks: Do you have a million-dollar idea? Are you afraid of failing? Are you tired of making other people rich? Are you sick of taking order from your boss? Are you tired of working hard and not getting ahead?

Ditch the labels and embrace positive, healthy practices for eating, exercising, and living an authentic life - your way! Deciding to improve your health, your consciousness, and the world can seem so overwhelming that you don’t know where to begin. Author and actor Alicia Witt isn’t here to dole out lists of dos and don’ts, but she is here to show how adopting the “small changes philosophy” allows you to find balance, eat healthier, and feel better physically and emotionally.

Few would argue with the fact that on many fronts, we are a world in crisis. And there are two sides to every crisis, be it a leadership crisis, an economic crisis, an education crisis, or a moral crisis. The two sides to crisis are danger and opportunity. Robert Kiyosaki's new book, Second Chance: for Your Money and Your Life, uses the lessons from the past and a brutal assessment of the present to prepare listeners to see - and seize - the future.

MaryRuth’s brand embodies her core mission—to help others feel and perform their best. Liquids Till Lunch encapsulates her philosophy, and is a roadmap anyone can follow to substantially improve their health, happiness, and psychological well-being. From the importance of portion control to positivity, from fasting to stressing less, each chapter is packed with life-changing anecdotes from her clients, and scientifically backed research.

There are few things Jeremy Marsh was sure he'd never do: He'd never leave New York City; never give his heart away again after barely surviving one failed marriage; and most of all, never become a parent. Now, Jeremy is living in the tiny town of Boone Creek, North Carolina, married to Lexie Darnell, the love of his life, and anticipating the birth of their daughter. But just as his life seems to be settling into a blissful pattern, an unsettling and mysterious message re-opens old wounds.

Long before Dr. Fingal Flahertie O’Reilly made most listeners’ acquaintance in Patrick Taylor's best-selling novel An Irish Country Doctor, he appeared in a series of humorous columns originally published in Stitches: The Journal of Medical Humour. These warm and wryly amusing vignettes provide an early glimpse at the redoubtable Dr. O’Reilly as he tends to the colourful and eccentric residents of Ballybucklebo, a cozy Ulster village nestled in the bygone years of the early '60s.

Ever felt the thrill of a brilliant business idea only to slam into the brick wall of risk and uncertainty? You're not alone. Even giants like Elon Musk and Warren Buffett faced the same daunting question at some point: "Is it worth the risk?" The old business model would have you jump through hoops of fire, risk losing money and time, often only to hit a dead end. But those days are gone. Today, the smartest business owners on the planet know that financial growth doesn't have to be a roll of the dice. Are you ready to step into this new paradigm?

We exhaust ourselves and the planet in the search for very large pleasures, while all around us lies a wealth of small pleasures, which—if we only pay more attention—can bring us solace and joy on a daily basis. This is a guidebook to life's small pleasures: everything from the distinct delight of holding a child's hand to the joy of watching the evening sky. It's an intriguing, evocative collection that will heighten our senses and return us to the world with newfound excitement and enthusiasm.

Karen Sommerfield has been hiding from the big questions of her life - the emotional distance in her marriage, her inability to have children, and her bout with cancer. Getting lost in her high-powered career provides the sense of purpose she yearns for. Until the day she's downsized out of her job and the doctor tells her the cancer may be back. It's a double blow that would send anyone reeling.

Adopted at 13, Dell Jordan was loved, mentored, and encouraged to pursue her passion for music. Now, at 20, after a year abroad with a traveling symphony, a scholarship to Julliard is within reach. But underneath Dell's smoothly polished surface lurk mysteries from the past. Why did her mother abandon her? Who was her father? Are there faces somewhere that look like hers - blood relatives she's never met? Determined to find answers, Dell sets off on a secret journey into Oklahoma's Kiamichi Mountains, drawn by the only remaining link to her origins.

It's easy to feel at home in Mitford. In these high, green hills, the air is pure, the village is charming, and the people are generally lovable. Yet Father Tim, the bachelor rector, wants something more. Enter a dog the size of a sofa who moves in and won't go away. Add an attractive neighbor who begins wearing a path through the hedge. Now, stir in a lovable but unloved boy, a mystifying jewel theft, and a secret that's 60 years old.

We are all looking for significance and meaning in our lives. The world tells us that this comes from dreaming big, achieving personal success, and making a big impact. But the Bible says that self-worth is found in knowing our Creator, and contentment is found in discovering his purpose for our lives.

Jean Gilkyson is floundering in a trailer house in Iowa with yet another brutal boyfriend when she realizes this kind of life has got to stop, especially for the sake of her daughter, Griff. But the only place they can run to is Ishawooa, Wyoming, where Jean's loved ones are dead and her father-in-law, the only person who could take them in, wishes that she was, too.

Ethan Wate has spent most of his life longing to escape the stiflingly small Southern town of Gatlin. He never thought he would meet the girl of his dreams, Lena Duchannes, who unveiled a secretive, powerful, and cursed side of Gatlin, hidden in plain sight. And he never could have expected that he would be forced to leave behind everyone and everything he cares about. So when Ethan awakes after the chilling events of the Eighteenth Moon, he has only one goal: to find a way to return to Lena and the ones he loves.

In today’s political climate, it’s hard not to get discouraged. Isolated, doom scrolling, lacking a sense of purpose or community...it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the dire state of American democracy and do nothing, because why try when the odds are never in our favor?

The vast majority of people that are trying to accomplish something big will fail and it's not even their fault. People with big dreams always encounter daunting challenges. When you apply the Breakthrough Code, no matter how big your goals are, you can get what you want easier and faster. This modern-day parable takes you through the journey of a young boy, Jonathan, who has big dreams and ambitions. Jonathan's promising start after college quickly turns to overwhelm, struggling to succeed at work and finding himself in a situation where both his relationship and his health are failing.