The Secret Art of Being a Grown-up: Tips, Tricks, and Perks No One Thought to Tell You by Bridget Watson Payne

The title is almost longer than the book, but it's a fun, graphically interesting, perky little reminder about the important things.

Wear what you want. Get outside sometimes. Ask for help when you need it. Perfectionism helps no one ... you know these things, but it's always nice to have a refresher. This would be a good gift book. Or a good addition to your personal library for those occasional "brush-ups" on the things that need reminding.

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson

Mental illness isn't funny ... unless maybe when it's Jenny Lawson writing about it.

Lawson is the internet-famous The Bloggess - a profane, hilarious, honest bright spot in the world. This is her second book, and I believe it's less autobiographical and more inspirational than her first. In the first book, Lawson told about growing up, about her marriage, and about their struggle to have a family. In this one, she discusses her medical records and what the myriad diagnoses mean to her everyday life. She talks about the dark times where creating physical pain is the only way to tamp down the emotional pain. She talks about the events she cannot attend due to her extreme anxiety.

And while that sounds dark and sad, this is still Lawson's typically laugh-out-loud, snorting kind of funny, too.

She tells about experiencing Australia as an official tourism visitor - and how you can't just go around hugging koala, apparently. And boomerangs don't always come back, so it's not really stealing if you throw one from the gift shop door and it doesn't return - you're just helping to weed out the defective products.

This book is truly a rollercoaster of emotions that gets to the heart of human existence - we're all just trying to get by. But what a wonderful world it is with Jenny Lawson in it.

And here I note that I listened to the audiobook READ BY THE AUTHOR and it does not not not get any better than this. Period.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

This month's book club choice - and a good one at that ... although I find we have less interesting conversations when we all enjoyed the book.

I actually listened to this one, and liked it so much I then went online and bought a paperback copy for my own collection. I think it'll be the kind of book to reference back to at a later date, as a refresher on the points you really wanted to implement in your own life.

I won't go into too much summary detail because everybody knows about this one: dying man gives lecture on how to live life. I'd read about it, and purposely avoided it because I was afraid it would be a piece of treacle fluff - but I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed it.

Dress Your Best by Clinton Kelly and Stacy London

This book came highly regarded from a group of online friends during a discussion on the dearth of reasonable, attractive clothing for real women.

(Although the book does also include information for men and women.)

The book is broken down into body types: bigger on top, bigger on bottom, curvy, not curvy, etc. Once you determine your shape there are several illustrations on what works for day, night, work, etc. and general tips and guidelines.

I found the book interesting, but not necessarily earth-shattering. Maybe I knew myself better than I'd thought?