Juv Nonfiction: A Smart Girl's Guide to Worry (American Girl) Judy Woodburn, Nancy Holyoke & Brenna Vaughan

A Smart Girl's Guide to Worry: how to feel less stressed and have more fun
American Girl nonfiction/advice books
Judy Woodburn and Nancy Holyoke, illustrated by Brenna Vaughan
ISBN: 9781609587451
Very specific and science-based (mostly CBT) techniques for conquering anxiety.

A very clear and straightforward advice book that focuses attention on the reality-warping aspects of worry and anxiety, and provides Cognitive-Behavioral-Therapy-based mental and physical techniques to counteract those negative impulses and move beyond fear-based thinking.

This isn't a match for a good therapist, but for your run-of-the-mill kiddo who is suddenly anxious about a particular subject or activity, or is growing awkward and walled-off as she grows older and feels less confident in herself, this is a great starting point, making it clear that everyone has to deal with worries, and while some people suffer more than others, there are techniques that will work over time to negate or quiet down those fearful or insecure thoughts.

Recommended.

Juv Nonfiction: School Rules (American Girl) by Emma MacLaren Henke & Stacy Peterson

Just in time for the school year, we've got new copies of some of the American Girl advice books.  These are really great books, and I'm very glad to have them.  As a bonus, the nonfiction books don't actually advertise for American Girl at all, which makes it much easier to review them with a clear conscience.

School Rules! tips, tricks, shortcuts, and secrets to make you a super student
American Girl nonfiction/advice books
Emma MacLaren Henke, illustrated by Stacy Peterson
ISBN: 9781609587437
A generalized preparatory handbook of habits, with a few "quizzes" to show basic tendencies.

This book is a very straightforward school prep guide.  It addresses mental and physical habits to drop and to pick up, talks about procrastination and perfectionism, about the value of appearances vs content, and gives information about study habits and how to best learn new topics.  It also talks about how to request help when needed, and how to handle the stress when projects or topics are difficult to master.

Basic, clear, straightforward, and science-based.  An excellent book that balances excitement about school and learning with clear reassuring facts and advice.

Finance: The One-Page Financial Plan, Carl Richards

The One-Page Financial Plan
Carl Richards
ISBN: 9781591847557
A simplified direct approach to counteracting the tendency to do nothing when you can't do the best.
Read August 2016

Richards is very smart.  He knows that when faced with difficult decisions, the tendency is to waffle back and forth and to hesitate and not do anything, rather than have to know that you DID do the wrong thing (or even perhaps the not the absolute best thing).  This gets really bad when dealing with financial issues, because really, doing SOMETHING is generally better than doing nothing at all.

So he breaks things down into simple (not necessarily easy) suggestions:

Track your daily spending.

Make a budget or use expense-monitoring software and check to see if your ideas about your spending match reality.  Adjust either ideas or reality until they match.  Don't spend time feeling guilty if it's not a match, just make it match however goes best for you.

Figure out what YOU want money for, and what that looks like to you in 5, 10 years?
Security?  Travel?  Kids?  Retirement?  New house?

Keeping your current spending habits and lifestyle in mind, AND what you want for the future, start researching how much money you need to have put aside to make those things happen.

Write a single page that says basically: "We need x $ for our vacation this year.  We need y $ for replacing the roof.  We need z $ for our retirement fund.  We're doing THIS to make it happen."

Automate transfers and deposits and payments as much as possible - so you don't have to constantly think about "sacrificing" to meet your goals.

For emergencies or special-occasions, refer to your actual physical page of goals and needs before deciding.  You've really already decided, just be persistent and DON'T CHANGE YOUR MIND.

Remember things change - check your sheet and your plans purpsefully every year (not when you're tempted by a shiny special occasion or flailing in an emergency) and either re-affirm or modify.

Actually invest something.  Anything.  Find a good financial adviser and follow their directions, or make a 60/40 split in stocks and bonds.  Make stocks safe and VERY DIVERSE holdings.  Every year, take your gains and losses and redistribute them to keep the split at 60/40, and if possible grow the investments instead of cashing them out.  Investing works best long-term.  Anything shorter than a few years needs to be CDs instead.    

Nonfiction: Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. Edited by Laurie Lamson

Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror: Speculative Genre Exercises from Today's Best Writers and Teachers
Edited by Laurie Lamson
ISBN: 9780399165559
Read June 2015

Collects exercises and encouragement from:
Steven Saus
Jule Selbo
Glenn M. Benest
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Kate Bernheimer
Vincent M. Wales
Lisa Renee Jones
Piers Anthony
Aimee Bender
Kim Dower
Brian James Freeman
Brittany Winner
Vonda N. McIntyre
Kealan Patrick Burke
Sabrina Benulis
Elliot Laurence
Steven Barnes
Diego Valenzuela
Danika Dinsmore
Xaque Gruber
Sequoia Hamilton
James Wanless
Michael Reaves
Raymond Obstfeld
Lois Gresh
Michael Dillon Scott
William E. Nolan
Christine Conradt
Derrick D. Pete
Todd Klick
Sara B. Cooper
Ben Thompson
Edward DeGeorge
Lisa Morton
Jan Kozlowski
E.E. King
David Anthony Durham
Mark Sebanc
Melissa Scott
L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
Janice Hardy
Kij Johnson
Chris Howard
Nancy Kress
Harlan Ellison
Pen Densham
Douglas Mcgowan
Marc Scott Zicree
Richard Bleiler
Brianna Winner
Devorah Cutler-Rubenstein
Wendy Mewes
Eric Stener Carlson
Diana Peterfreund
Karen McCoy
Eric Edson
Bruce McAllister
Jeffrey A. Carver
Derek Taylor Kent
Jessica Page Morrell
Stacey Graham
Mark Sevi
Brad Schreiber
Reggie Oliver
James G. Anderson
Gabrielle Moss
Vanessa Vaughn
Maria Acevedo
Jack Ketchum
Rainbow Reed
J. Michelle Newman
Lillian Stewart Carl
Jody Lynn Nye
Scott Rubenstein
Lance Mazmanian
Simon Clark
John Skipp
Ramsey Campbell
David Brin
John Shirley
Jay Lake
Nicholas Royle
Jeremy Wagner
Dana Fredsti
Peter Briggs
Sharon Scott
Joe R. Lansdale

Whew!

All of those lovely authors and writers and industry-persons took time from their schedules to offer advice and exercises and encouragement.  Lots of them didn't mesh with my writing style, some of them were weird, some of them were self-congratulatory (very few of those) and some of them were like little golden nuts to squirrel away into my writer's file to pull out when I need a boost.

A fun resource, and a great summer read.

The Science of Happily Ever After, Ty Tashiro, PhD

The Science of Happily Ever After
Ty Tashiro, PhD
ISBN: 9780373892907 (by HARLEQUIN!!!)
Read March 3, 2014

Nonfiction: relationship advice.

In case you wondered, yes I am in a relationship, and yes, it is pretty good as relationships go.  I read these for the science of relationships and for understanding how people tick.

This one was not as science-y as I had hoped (yes, I'm that person who actually likes to hear about chemicals and responses and causation vs correlation), but still a good fact-and-research based bit of info about what people DO go for (yay society and evolution) vs what they SHOULD go for (because we've got basic survival in the bag, and what makes you LIVE is very different from what makes you HAPPY).

Also, Dr Tashiro has a really engaging and sweet writing style, and he really gives off the impression that he is just rooting for everyone to find someone to be happy with, and to make their relationship work.

I hope he writes another book - I'd read it in a heartbeat.  :)

The Big Disconnect, Catherine Steiner-Adair

The Big Disconnect, Catherine Steiner-Adair

ISBN: 9780062082428

Read November 7, 2013

Nonfiction: scary stories about kids of various ages misusing tech and social media.

Hoped this would be more of an advice-giver, rather than a scary-story collection, but you win some and you lose some.  The subtitle is "Protecting Childhood and Family in the Digital Age" and the takeaway seems to be that it's pretty darn hard to do unless you are a Luddite or convert to Amish until your kid is about 30.  

There are some bits of advice, but sadly, the majority of the book really does just cover horrible events where kids are kids, do something stupid, and the nature of tech and media means that now they'll never live it down.

Harsh lessons, but no real advice or steps to follow to mediate or alter the potential.  Leaves this on the "interesting but not really worthwhile" reading list.

Expecting Better, Emily Oster

Expecting Better, Emily Oster

ISBN: 9781594204753

Read November 5, 2013

Nonfiction: statistics and hard numbers about fertility, pregnancy, and childbirth. 

I'm going to keep this short, lest I gush too hard; this is an EXCELLENT resource, and I am so grateful to Dr Oster for putting it together.  She has my eternal gratitude, and this book has a prominent place on my bookshelf.

If you're satisfied that "Doctor knows best" then this won't be much use.  If, on the other hand, you're a paranoid overthinker who plans and plots and researches anything possible, this book is a wonderful assist.  

Here's hoping she does a sequel on infant care and the mommy wars.