Going In Circles

Charlotte Goodman has had enough surprises. In fact, she reached her life’s quotient when her husband of five months walked out on her, only to abruptly change his mind a few weeks later and move back in. Stung by a whiplash of grief, resentment, and confusion, Charlotte calls a time-out, taking a small apartment where she can figure out what she wants. Instead, the thought of making even the simplest choices triggers an anxiety attack. In order to get out of bed in the morning, she must concoct a to-do list for each day, The Plan, one with absolutely no surprises. “Without The Plan, horrible things can happen. I’m likely to end up sitting on a curb beside a taco truck on Sunset Boulevard, crying over a carne asada burrito, wondering where my marriage went. I can’t handle being the Weeping Burrito Girl.” Charlotte knows all this self-absorbed introspection isn’t good for her, but she’s running out of people to turn to, as seemingly everyone in her life is pressuring her to make an immediate decision about her future. Then her new friend Francesca—an impulsive, smartass co-worker—offers Charlotte salvation in the unlikeliest of places: the fast-paced, super-tough, bump-and-bruise-filled world of roller derby. Sure, it’s dangerous. Yeah, she could get hurt. But what’s a little physical pain when healing your soul is at stake? The question is: whether she’s on or off the track, will Charlotte be strong enough to stand on her own two feet?

The debut picture book from the creator of the viral sensation Kid President is a moving take on how we can create bigger and bigger circles of community and connections as we grow—now a New York Times bestseller! In the circles all around us, everywhere that we all go, there's a difference we can make and a love we can all show. This is the story of a circle. When we're first born, our circle is very small, but as we grow and build relationships, our circle keeps getting bigger and bigger to include family, friends, neighbors, community, and beyond. Brad Montague originally created Circles as an Instagram video adorably narrated by his kids, and now this picture book adaptation is the perfect way to start a conversation about how to expand our worlds with kindness and inclusivity—even if it seems scary or uncomfortable. This book makes an ideal new-baby, first-day-of-school, or graduation gift, or any milestone that celebrates someone's world getting bigger.

Dawn Tarnauer’s life isn’t exactly a success story. Already twice divorced, the young Californian is too busy job-hopping to start a career, her current boyfriend insists on living “off the grid,” her Life Coach sister perpetually interferes with incomprehensible affirmations, her eccentric mother is busy promoting the culmination of her life’s work: The Every Holiday Tree, and her father is ending his brief third marriage while scheduling two dates for the same night. Dawn’s only source of security and comfort, it seems, is Chuck, a pit-bull mix from the pound. So, when her boyfriend announces that he’s leaving her for another woman, a despairing Dawn turns to Chuck for solace. “I should have said something sooner,” Chuck confides, as he tries to console her. “Couldn’t you smell her on his pants?” Dawn is stunned. It’s one thing to talk to your pets, but what do you do when they start talking back? It’s not just Chuck, either; she can hear all dogs–and man’s best friend has a lot to say. The ever-enthusiastic Chuck offers his tried-and-true advice on the merits of knocking over garbage and strewing it everywhere, auxiliary competitive peeing etiquette, and the curative powers of tossing a ball. Doubtful of her own sanity, Dawn considers that, in the ways of life and love, it might be better to trust Chuck’s doggie instincts instead of her own. Filled with sharp wit, biting humor, and canine conversation that would make Doctor Dolittle’s jaw drop, Merrill Markoe’s engaging, cleverly written novel is about the confusing search for love and the divine acts of dog.

Diamonds, cubes, rings, and cylinders—shapes are all around us. How many shapes can you find pictured in this book?

Inspired by a startling midwinter dream of ancient hills and prehistoric shrines, the author builds her own stone circle in the wilderness and begins a journal of exploration into the nature of cyclical time, the sacred power of everyday, and the meaning of the eternal feminine. From the Art of Gardening to the Zen of Housepainting, Walking in Circles is a quiet chronicle of midlife passage and homegrown ways, reminding us that our lives are lived in moments, in the thoughts, memories, and rituals spun out in daily life. It is a book about time, the time of our lives, the remembered time we keep in our bodies and minds, the ticking time we use to measure out our days, and the hauntingly timeless time of dreams and moons and ancient stones. Comments from Readers: This book is incredible! It’s great reading. I loved it and it made me remember a lot of things about my own life and rekindled a desire to read. I especially enjoyed its vivid descriptiveness and tempo. - T.M. (jazz musician, Chicago) How amazing and awesome when the truth of a life contains such wisdom. Your imagery is often breathtaking. Sensitive and thought provoking with unending layers of revelation. A brave experiment. - J.S. (poet, Chicago, IL) To say I liked your book would be a vast understatement; to say I loved it would be to leave so many important things left unsaid, like how it speaks to me and takes me to the place where I need to be. Thank you. If I could write, it would be what I would like to say and how I would like to say it. I read it straight through, stopping only to sleep. - A.S. (businesswoman, Denver, CO) I’m only 53 pages into it, but I had to stop to write and tell you- it’s great! The language is fresh, evocative, and poetic. Great work, beautiful storytelling. - M.R. (psychotherapist, Chicago, IL) Your writing is beautiful, lyrical. I love it. You’ve got a great book here. - M.T. (college admissions counselor, Montpelier, VT) Before I had a chance to get to your manuscript, something unusual happened. My husband, who rarely reads and never stays up past ten, picked it up and read late into the night, finally finishing at the breakfast table with the words, “Wow! You’ve got to read this book!” So I was psyched. The book is wonderful. Deep, rich, and vivid. - B.A.C. (therapist, Lake Forest, IL) A friend sent your book up a few weeks ago and I’m writing to tell you how much I enjoyed it. It was like being engaged in a long conversation with an old friend. All through the book I kept saying Yes! Yes! Now another friend is reading it and she says you’ve inspired her to begin writing a journal, and after that Bonnie will read it... you already have a little “fan club” up here in Baraga County. - M.D. (artist, Baraga, MI)

Bushwalking in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, South West Western Australia, including descriptions of the geology, plants, and animals that walkers may encounter.

Moving in Circles draws on Walter Rodney's treatise on underdevelopment. Underdevelopment is to be associated with various factors contributing to the uncertainties that lack of progress begets, regardless of its genesis. Some of the indicators of this condition are pervasive poverty, liquidation of productive assets, and precarious livelihoods. Uncertainty stands out as a cost as it is also a catalyst for low investment in agriculture, low returns non-agricultural activities, inconsistent approach to planning and rule of law and more generally socio-economic backwardness. Development should in a broad sense entail meeting human needs, actualization of local and domestic potential and liberation from uncertainty. In the long term, for 'development' talk to be meaningful, there is a need for progressive transformation of underlying structures, improvement in productive capacity and general adherence to principles of good governance: openness and transparency, accountability and meaningful popular engagement.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Provocative and illuminating essays from women at the forefront of the climate movement who are harnessing truth, courage, and solutions to lead humanity forward. “A powerful read that fills one with, dare I say . . . hope?”—The New York Times NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE There is a renaissance blooming in the climate movement: leadership that is more characteristically feminine and more faithfully feminist, rooted in compassion, connection, creativity, and collaboration. While it’s clear that women and girls are vital voices and agents of change for this planet, they are too often missing from the proverbial table. More than a problem of bias, it’s a dynamic that sets us up for failure. To change everything, we need everyone. All We Can Save illuminates the expertise and insights of dozens of diverse women leading on climate in the United States—scientists, journalists, farmers, lawyers, teachers, activists, innovators, wonks, and designers, across generations, geographies, and race—and aims to advance a more representative, nuanced, and solution-oriented public conversation on the climate crisis. These women offer a spectrum of ideas and insights for how we can rapidly, radically reshape society. Intermixing essays with poetry and art, this book is both a balm and a guide for knowing and holding what has been done to the world, while bolstering our resolve never to give up on one another or our collective future. We must summon truth, courage, and solutions to turn away from the brink and toward life-giving possibility. Curated by two climate leaders, the book is a collection and celebration of visionaries who are leading us on a path toward all we can save. With essays and poems by: Emily Atkin • Xiye Bastida • Ellen Bass • Colette Pichon Battle • Jainey K. Bavishi • Janine Benyus • adrienne maree brown • Régine Clément • Abigail Dillen • Camille T. Dungy • Rhiana Gunn-Wright • Joy Harjo • Katharine Hayhoe • Mary Annaïse Heglar • Jane Hirshfield • Mary Anne Hitt • Ailish Hopper • Tara Houska, Zhaabowekwe • Emily N. Johnston • Joan Naviyuk Kane • Naomi Klein • Kate Knuth • Ada Limón • Louise Maher-Johnson • Kate Marvel • Gina McCarthy • Anne Haven McDonnell • Sarah Miller • Sherri Mitchell, Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset • Susanne C. Moser • Lynna Odel • Sharon Olds • Mary Oliver • Kate Orff • Jacqui Patterson • Leah Penniman • Catherine Pierce • Marge Piercy • Kendra Pierre-Louis • Varshini • Prakash • Janisse Ray • Christine E. Nieves Rodriguez • Favianna Rodriguez • Cameron Russell • Ash Sanders • Judith D. Schwartz • Patricia Smith • Emily Stengel • Sarah Stillman • Leah Cardamore Stokes • Amanda Sturgeon • Maggie Thomas • Heather McTeer Toney • Alexandria Villaseñor • Alice Walker • Amy Westervelt • Jane Zelikova