An Oasis In Time

There is a surprising way out of the frenzy, that always-being-behind feeling, and your endless to-do list. Now more than ever, people are seeking a reprieve from the constant pressure to achieve, produce, and consume. While many turn to sporadic bouts of mindfulness and meditation, organizational change specialist Marilyn Paul offers a complementary solution that is as radical as it is ancient. In her new book An Oasis in Time, Paul focuses on the profound benefits of taking a modern-day Sabbath each week for deep rest and nourishing renewal. The energy, perspective, creativity, sense of well-being, and yes, increased productivity that ensue are lifesaving. Drawing on Sabbath tradition, contemporary research, and interviews with scores of busy people, Paul shows that it is possible to introduce these practices regardless of your religious beliefs. Starting with just an hour or two, you can carve out the time from your packed schedule, design your weekly oasis experience, and most importantly, change your mind-set so you can enjoy the pleasure of regularly slowing down and savoring life every week. From surrounding yourself with nature to practicing rituals for beginning and ending oasis time to implementing strategies for connecting with friends and family, self, and source, you will discover practical ways to step off the treadmill and into timeless refreshment on your way to a calmer, richer, more fulfilling life.

There is a surprising way out of the frenzy, that always-being-behind feeling, and the endless to-do list. Now more than ever, people are seeking a reprieve from the constant pressure to achieve, produce, and consume. While many turn to sporadic bouts of mindfulness and meditation, organizational change specialist Marilyn Paul offers a complementary solution that is as radical as it is ancient. In her new book An Oasis in Time, Paul focuses on the profound benefits of taking a modern-day Sabbath each week for deep rest and nourishing renewal. The energy, perspective, creativity, sense of well-being, and yes, increased productivity that ensue are lifesaving. Drawing on Sabbath tradition, contemporary research, and interviews with scores of busy people, Paul shows that it is possible to introduce these practices regardless of your religious beliefs. Starting with just an hour or two, you can carve out the time from your packed schedule, design your weekly oasis experience, and most importantly, change your mind-set so you can enjoy the pleasure of regularly slowing down and savoring life every week. From surrounding yourself with nature to practicing rituals for beginning and ending oasis time to implementing strategies for connecting with friends and family, self, and source, you will discover practical ways to step off the treadmill and into timeless refreshment on your way to a calmer, richer, more fulfilling life.

A vicious and brilliant satire of human vanity from the author of the classic bestseller The Group Long out of print, Mary McCarthy's second novel is a bitingly funny satire set in the early years of the Cold War about a group of writers, editors, and intellectuals who retreat to rural New England to found a hilltop utopia. With this group loosely divided into two factions—purists, led by the libertarian editor Macdougal Macdermott, and the realists, skeptics led by the smug Will Taub—the situation is ripe not only for disaster but for comedy, as reality clashes with their dreams of a perfect society. Though written as a roman à clef, McCarthy barely disguised her characters, including using her former lover Philip Rahv, founder of Partisan Review, as the model for Will Taub. As a result, the novel caused an absolute explosion of outrage among the literary elite of the day, who clearly recognized themselves among her all-too-accurate portraits. Rahv threatened a lawsuit to stop publication. Diana Trilling, Lionel Trilling's wife, called McCarthy a "thug." McCarthy's friend Dwight McDonald (Macdougal Macdermott) called it "vicious, malicious, and nasty." Never one to shy away from controversy, McCarthy's portrait of her generation had indeed drawn blood. But the brilliance of the novel has outlasted its first detonation and can now be enjoyed for its aphoritic, fearless dissection of the vanities of human endeavor. In an added bonus, the renowned essayist Vivian Gornick details in a moving introduction the importance of McCarthy's intellectual and artistic bravery, and how she influenced a generation of young writers and thinkers. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Welcome to the desert. Welcome home. This visually stunning tour of the world’s most amazing desert homes will inspire you to create an oasis with “desert vibes” wherever you are. Creatives are drawn in by the extreme landscapes and limited resources of the desert; in fact, they’re inspired by them, and the homes they’ve built here prove the power of an oasis. From renovated Airstreams to sprawling, modern stucco, desert has become the new beachfront. In Oasis, artist iO Tillett Wright captures the best of this specific culture that emphasizes living simply, beautifully, and in connection with the earth. He highlights the homes that define this desert mindset, featuring the classics like Georgia O’Keefe’s in Abiquiu, New Mexico, alongside more modern homes such as Michael Barnard’s Solar House in Marfa, Texas. With Casey Dunn’s stunning photography, Oasis will transport you to these relaxing refuges, where you’ll learn what elements create the balance of intentionality, ease, style, and function that these homes exude.

This is a book about our inner power to live and flourish in a challenging world. In 1934, a thirteen-year-old boy from a small village in western Egypt is on his first trip across the desert when he discovers something about his life that transforms his future. He's traveling with his seventy-year-old uncle, who is exceptionally wise for any stage of life. The boy and his older relative are also accompanied by a caravan of merchants and animals traveling to Cairo to bring goods to market. The young man has had no idea what awaits him on this trip. His uncle will decide to share with him the basic elements of a practical and yet profound philosophy of life, as they deal with events and challenges that appear throughout the journey. And this wisdom for living will prove to have come at just the right time, when the boy learns that he is on his way, not just to a marketplace, but to a life change that will thrust him into new dangers and opportunities beyond anything he has ever imagined. This book is the short prologue to a forthcoming series of seven novels entitled, Walid and the Mysteries of Phi.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Now a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg. “Enchanting . . . Willy Wonka meets The Matrix.”—USA Today • “As one adventure leads expertly to the next, time simply evaporates.”—Entertainment Weekly A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready? In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the OASIS, a vast virtual world where most of humanity spends their days. When the eccentric creator of the OASIS dies, he leaves behind a series of fiendish puzzles, based on his obsession with the pop culture of decades past. Whoever is first to solve them will inherit his vast fortune—and control of the OASIS itself. Then Wade cracks the first clue. Suddenly he’s beset by rivals who’ll kill to take this prize. The race is on—and the only way to survive is to win. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Entertainment Weekly • San Francisco Chronicle • Village Voice • Chicago Sun-Times • iO9 • The AV Club “Delightful . . . the grown-up’s Harry Potter.”—HuffPost “An addictive read . . . part intergalactic scavenger hunt, part romance, and all heart.”—CNN “A most excellent ride . . . Cline stuffs his novel with a cornucopia of pop culture, as if to wink to the reader.”—Boston Globe “Ridiculously fun and large-hearted . . . Cline is that rare writer who can translate his own dorky enthusiasms into prose that’s both hilarious and compassionate.”—NPR “[A] fantastic page-turner . . . starts out like a simple bit of fun and winds up feeling like a rich and plausible picture of future friendships in a world not too distant from our own.”—iO9