Grin and bear it

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David Bevington

Contains 42 works: PLAYS (37) All’s Well That Ends Well Antony and Cleopatra As You Like It Comedy of Errors Coriolanus Cymbeline Hamlet Julius Caesar King Henry IV. Part 1 King Henry IV. Part 2 King Henry V King Henry VI. Part 1 King Henry VI. Part 2 King Henry VI. Part 3 King Henry VIII King John King Lear King Richard II King Richard III Love’s Labour’s Lost Macbeth Measure for Measure Merchant of Venice Merry Wives of Windsor Midsummer Night’s Dream Much Ado About Nothing Othello Pericles Romeo and Juliet Taming of the Shrew Tempest Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus Troilus and Cressida Twelfth Night Two Gentlemen of Verona Winter’s Tale POEMS (5) Lover’s Complaint Passionate Pilgrim Rape of Lucrece Sonnets Venus and Adonis

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Beth Lisick

Grappling with her lifelong phobia of anything slick, cheesy, or remotely claiming to provide self-empowerment, Beth Lisick wakes up on New Year's Day 2006 with an unprecedented feeling. She is finally able to admit to herself that she's grown tired of embracing the same old set of nagging problems year after year. She has no savings account. Her house feels unorganized and chaotic. She and her husband never hang out together. The last time she exercised regularly was as a member of her high school track team almost twenty years ago.Instead of turning to advice from the abundant pool of local life coaches, therapists, and healers readily available on her home turf of northern California, Beth confronts her fears head-on. She consults the multimillion-dollar-earning pros and national experts, not only reading their bestselling books but also attending their seminars and classes. In Chicago, she gets proactive with The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. In Atlanta, she tries to get a handle on exactly why "women are from Venus," and in a highly comedic bout on the high seas of the Caribbean, she gamely sweats to the oldies on a weeklong Cruise to Lose with Richard Simmons. Throughout this yearlong experiment, Beth tries extremely hard to maintain her wry sense of humor and easygoing nature, even as she starts to fall prey to some of the experts' ideas, ideas she thought she'd spent her whole life rejecting. Beth doesn't think of herself as the typical self-help victim. But is she?

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Meredith Maran

Turning 60 and beginning again can be daunting, especially in the midst of serious personal events. Book critic and author (Why We Write About Ourselves) Maran reinvented herself at just this turning point, after a painful breakup with her wife, the death of a close friend, and harsh financial setbacks. Leaving home, friends, and a freelance writing career behind, she moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles to begin a nine-to-five life out of necessity. What followed were struggles with housing, money, work culture, and the eccentricities of her youth-oriented new city. Her loneliness was pervasive and intensified. Through honest and vividly drawn scenes, she shares her grief and challenges. However, she artfully balances this with humor and keen perspective, and what emerges is another side to her story, one of resilient courage as she embraces her new surroundings with an open mind, reaches out to make new friends, rekindles her creative self, and re-enters the dating scene. A unifying, inspiring, and universal theme builds throughout: despite age and circumstances, it is never too late to start anew.

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Susan Elizabeth Phillips

The utterly exquisite romance novel for any woman who's dreamed of lazing under the Tuscan sun, of wandering through a lush vineyard, or of reforming a deliciously wicked man.She's Dr. Isabel Favor, America's diva of self-help. He's Ren Gage, Hollywood's favorite villain. Sometimes you just know that God has a sense of humor.