End-of-the-Year Sale and Clearance

Join us for our end-of-season sale and clearance!

Use the code SAVE at checkout to save 20% on most books. Use the code SAVEMAX to save 25% and get faster processing (the books may be a little dinged up).

Save up to 60% during our in-store sale and clearance.

Don’t forget: We always have audiobooks and gift cards.

In-Store Shopping Hours

The Rest of the Holiday Season

Friday, December 29, 2023 from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM

~~Saturday, December 30, 2023 from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM~~

UPDATE*Due to unforeseen circumstances, we’re closed Saturday, December 30th

Gift Ideas: Audiobooks and Gift Cards

Audiobooks

Gift Cards

Book News

New this Week: Feel-Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal

Lea says: “So, I’ve had my eye on this book for about three years. ‘But it’s a new release’ you say? It is. But, during the pandemic lockdown, I started watching a lot of YouTube. Like, a lot, a lot. One of the YouTubers I watched regularly was a British doctor named Ali Abdaal. The premise of his channel was interesting: He was a practicing doctor who did YouTube part-time. Not as inherently entertaining as Dr. Mike reacting to ‘House’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ but the idea of a whole doctor spending hours creating productivity content was intriguing.

“Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You” by Ali Abdaal

It turns out that Ali started his YouTube channel back when he was still in medical school and did videos about effective study habits and time management. It was reminiscent of Cal Newport’s blog and books. One of the things I’ve always been interested in is time management. Part of that is because I’ve been chronically over-scheduled since middle school, but that’s a story for another day. What set Ali apart from other time management gurus is that he would track and explain his practices in really deep detail and then would do ‘work with me’ videos. The cynical part of me saw the videos as a way to rack up watch-time with little effort. The part of me that isn’t quite as jaded could see the value in what he was doing. It’s the explain-demonstrate-try on your own teaching method. When Ali mentioned that he had a book deal, I made a note of it and made a point of circling back regularly to see if the book would ever come to fruition. Fast forward to this year.

Although ‘Feel-Good Productivity‘ came out this week, I jumped at the chance to read it in advance. [Shout out Macmillan for the advance review copy] After watching so much of Ali’s videos, I was expecting a book that closely mirrored the approach he took in his videos. Which is an almost scientific approach to time management and productivity. So, I was a little surprised that the book spends a fair amount of time encouraging readers to focus on what they love and enjoy doing.

To be fair, the title of the book is pretty straightforward about the ‘feel-good’ thing. After turning off my Meebook* and thinking for a few minutes, I had an epiphany. I’m talking an end of ‘The Sixth Sense,’ did a facepalm, actually said ‘Oh!’ type of epiphany: The parts about finding what you love and building your productivity from that were always in the videos. What threw me off is that productivity and time management books generally don’t give as much time or attention to the role that finding what brings you joy and building your life around that plays in productivity. I get that it’s almost cliche to read a productivity book around this time of year, but the more positive approach is a good reason to try with this one.”

*I’ll be doing a full review on the Meebook eReader next month. It’s an Android-based e-ink reader that lets you download apps from the Google Play store. Which means that you can use it to play audiobooks.

Books in the News

Topic: Christianity and the current political moment

How American Evangelicalism Became ‘Mister Rogers With a Blowtorch’ by Jennifer Szalai, 12/02/2023

“In his new book, “The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory,” the journalist Tim Alberta subjects his faith’s embrace of right-wing extremism to critical scrutiny.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/02/books/review/the-kingdom-the-power-and-the-glory-tim-alberta.html