Book Club Choices for December 2015

multiple arches full of books in a library

First, a personal announcement — the paperback of Better Than Before hits the shelves on December 15.

Always a very exciting time for a writer. If there’s a person in your life who is trying to change a habit, this could be a good holiday gift! (Couldn’t resist the plug.)

Okay, enough self-promotion. Now, for the recommendations. Because nothing boosts happiness more than a great book, each month, I suggest:

· one outstanding book about happiness or habits

· one outstanding work of children’s or young-adult literature–I have a crazy passion for kidlit

· one eccentric pick–a widely admired and excellent book that I love, yes, but one that may not appeal to everyone

Shop at IndieBound, BN.com, or Amazon (I’m an affiliate), or your favorite local bookstore. Or my favorite, visit the library! Drumroll…

A book about happiness, good habits, or human nature:

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

An outstanding children’s book:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

An eccentric pick:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Some readers have said that they wished that I’d describe and make the case for my book choices, instead of just providing links. I’ve noticed that many times, when someone describes a book to me, I want to read it less. And often, weirdly, the better a book is, the worse it sounds.

In any event, I assure you that, for all the books I choose, I love them; I’ve read them at least twice if not many times; and they’re widely admired.

If you read last month’s recommendations…what did you think?

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