An Easter story for young readers. This is the tale of a little church mouse named Cheerful who lives in the city with his parents; his brother, Solemnity; and his sisters, Faith and Hope. Cheerful and his brother and sisters spend their time frolicking in the rainbow shadows cast by the church’s stained-glass windows and dining on the crumbs of wedding cakes. But while Solemnity, Faith, and Hope are happy to live in the bustling city, Cheerful’s favorite spot has always been the greenest patches of light under the windows. His dream is to settle in the country, and one day he bids his family farewell and sets off on an adventure. Palmer Brown’s intricate filigreed drawings turn this sweet, simple story into an instrument of enchantment as glorious as a rose window and as intimate as the spun-sugar Easter egg that will finally carry Cheerful to his pastoral home.

Introduction: A contagion, a power -- Early modern cheerfulness. Body, heaven, home : cheerful places -- Among the cheerful : the emotional life of charity -- Medicine, manners, and reading for the kidneys -- Shakespeare, or the politics of cheer -- Montaigne, or the cheerful self -- Cheerful economies and bourgeois culture. Social virtue, enlightenment emotion : Hume and Smith -- Jane Austen, or cheer in time -- Cheerful ambition in the age of capital : Dickens to Alger -- Gay song and natural cheer : Milton, Wordsworth -- Modern cheerfulness. The gay scientists : philosophy and poetry -- It is amazing! Self-help and self-marketing -- "Take it, Satch!" : cheer in dark times -- Conclusion: Cheer in pandemic days.

From "the reliably hilarious" (Entertainment Weekly) author of Love, Nina: a brilliantly funny and heartbreaking story of growing up and finding the independence you might not actually want . . . Teenager Lizzie Vogel has a new job as a dental assistant. This is not as glamorous as it sounds. At least it means mostly getting away from her alcoholic, nymphomaniacal, novel-writing mother. But, if Lizzie thinks being independent means sex with her boyfriend (he prefers bird-watching), strict boundaries (her boss keeps using her loo) or self-respect (surely only actual athletes get fungal foot infections?) she's still got a lot more growing up to do. The winner of the 2019 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction, Reasons to Be Cheerful is a novel that lives up to its title, confirming Nina Stibbe's status as one of the most original and delightful writers at work today.

A timely story of a forgotten emotion Cheerfulness: A Literary and Cultural History tells a new story about the cultural imagination of the West wherein cheerfulness — a momentary uptick in emotional energy, a temporary lightening of spirit — functions as a crucial theme in literary, philosophical, and artistic creations from early modern to contemporary times. In dazzling interpretations of Shakespeare and Montaigne, Hume, Austen and Emerson, Dickens, Nietzsche, and Louis Armstrong, Hampton explores the philosophical construal of cheerfulness — as a theme in Protestant theology, a focus of medical writing, a topic in Enlightenment psychology, and a category of modern aesthetics. In a conclusion on cheerfulness in pandemic days, Hampton stresses the importance of lightness of mind under the pressure of catastrophe. A history of the emotional life of European and American cultures, a breathtaking exploration of the intersections of culture, literature, and psychology, Cheerfulness challenges the dominant narrative of Western aesthetics as a story of melancholy, mourning, tragedy, and trauma. Hampton captures the many appearances of this fleeting and powerfully transformative emotion whose historical and literary trajectory has never before been systematically traced.

“That money talks, I’ll not deny. I heard it once, it said ‘goodbye!’” I grew up hearing this saying, and it often made me chuckle. Maybe that’s because on our farm we had plenty of land and livestock but little cash. Once I began pastoring a church, however, the humor in that little jingle began to fade. There is little doubt that one of the great challenges for Christian leaders today is the task of securing adequate funding and other resources for ministry. There are numerous reasons for this, and Brother Vincent Nwankpa does a tremendous job uncovering these and other issues in his new book, The Joy of Faithful and Cheerful Giving: Wonderful Principles to Embrace. Enjoying the read, I found his research to be biblically solid, up-to-date, and relevant to today’s realities. The people in our pastorate were generous. Even though our salary was low, they gave affection, time, energy, food, and faithful support to my wife and me as we began our ministry life together. But along the road, our years in ministry have been a financial struggle, and for most pastors and missionaries today, the difficulties are a real and present danger to their health, wealth, and mission. Kudos to Dr. Nwankpa for taking the time and energy to share biblical wisdom and a lifetime of experience to encourage and teach all of us in Christian service. You are correct, Brother Vincent, when you assert that too little instruction about giving is being given in churches today. It is time for a renewed focus on the basic principles of giving and the joy that comes from giving generously in the body of Christ! Mick Boersma, PhD Professor Emeritus of Christian Ministry and Leadership Talbot School of Theology Biola University January 17, 2021 When you think of giving to the Lord, do you feel burdened? Or do you get excited about the amazing opportunities that will open up when you surrender your resources to His control? In this wonderful little book, Vincent Nwankpa unlocks Biblical secrets about giving that will show you how giving to the Lord and to others is a pathway to joy and victory that you have never known. Putting these principles in practice will not only transform your giving, but also your walk with God for the rest of your life! by Jack Littlefield

Reprint of the original, first published in 1843.