Examines the small behaviors and habits that create barriers and misunderstandings between blacks and whites, drawing on case studies to reveal the various misconceptions and to explain what they mean and how to avoid them.

In It's All About the Small Things—formerly titled Church of the Small Things—Melanie Shankle helps you embrace what it means to live a simple, yet incredibly meaningful life and how to find all the beauty and laughter that lies right beneath the surface of every ordinary, incredible day. Also features bullet journaling pages and exclusive lists of the small things that bring Melanie joy, including her favorite TV shows and movies to fashion must-haves and more! Is my ordinary, everyday life actually significant? Is it okay to be fulfilled by the simple acts of raising kids, working in an office, and cooking chicken for dinner? It's been said, "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away." The pressure of that can be staggering as we spend our days looking for that big thing that promises to take our breath away. Meanwhile, we lose sight of the small significance of fully living with every breath we take. Melanie Shankle, New York Times bestselling author and writer at The Big Mama Blog tackles these questions head on. Easygoing and relatable, she speaks directly to the heart of women of all ages who are longing to find significance and meaning in the normal, sometimes mundane world of driving carpool to soccer practice, attending class on their college campus, cooking meals for their family, or taking care of a sick loved one. The million little pieces that make a life aren't necessarily glamorous or far-reaching. But God uses some of the smallest, most ordinary acts of faithfulness--and sometimes they look a whole lot like packing lunch.

Shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize "A hypnotic and electrifying Irish tale that transcends country, transcends time." —Lily King, New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers Small Things Like These is award-winning author Claire Keegan's landmark new novel, a tale of one man's courage and a remarkable portrait of love and family It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church. An international bestseller, Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy from one of our most critically lauded and iconic writers.

The beloved debut novel about an affluent Indian family forever changed by one fateful day in 1969, from the author of The Ministry of Utmost Happiness NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • MAN BOOKER PRIZE WINNER Compared favorably to the works of Faulkner and Dickens, Arundhati Roy’s modern classic is equal parts powerful family saga, forbidden love story, and piercing political drama. The seven-year-old twins Estha and Rahel see their world shaken irrevocably by the arrival of their beautiful young cousin, Sophie. It is an event that will lead to an illicit liaison and tragedies accidental and intentional, exposing “big things [that] lurk unsaid” in a country drifting dangerously toward unrest. Lush, lyrical, and unnerving, The God of Small Things is an award-winning landmark that started for its author an esteemed career of fiction and political commentary that continues unabated.

How the leisure class has been replaced by a new elite, and how their consumer habits affect us all In today’s world, the leisure class has been replaced by a new elite. Highly educated and defined by cultural capital rather than income bracket, these individuals earnestly buy organic, carry NPR tote bags, and breast-feed their babies. They care about discreet, inconspicuous consumption—like eating free-range chicken and heirloom tomatoes, wearing organic cotton shirts and TOMS shoes, and listening to the Serial podcast. They use their purchasing power to hire nannies and housekeepers, to cultivate their children’s growth, and to practice yoga and Pilates. In The Sum of Small Things, Elizabeth Currid-Halkett dubs this segment of society “the aspirational class” and discusses how, through deft decisions about education, health, parenting, and retirement, the aspirational class reproduces wealth and upward mobility, deepening the ever-wider class divide. Exploring the rise of the aspirational class, Currid-Halkett considers how much has changed since the 1899 publication of Thorstein Veblen’s Theory of the Leisure Class. In that inflammatory classic, which coined the phrase “conspicuous consumption,” Veblen described upper-class frivolities: men who used walking sticks for show, and women who bought silver flatware despite the effectiveness of cheaper aluminum utensils. Now, Currid-Halkett argues, the power of material goods as symbols of social position has diminished due to their accessibility. As a result, the aspirational class has altered its consumer habits away from overt materialism to more subtle expenditures that reveal status and knowledge. And these transformations influence how we all make choices. With a rich narrative and extensive interviews and research, The Sum of Small Things illustrates how cultural capital leads to lifestyle shifts and what this forecasts, not just for the aspirational class but for everyone.

Featuring beautiful design vignettes and arrangements from today’s top designers, Susanna Salk’s It’s the Little Things inspires us to be personal and artful with our decorating choices, creating spaces that reflect our personality. This jewel of a decorating book looks at the design details that make up a room’s decor, the stylish little touches that can help any room transcend the ordinary. Whether through the luxurious trim and tassel of a bedroom curtain, the whimsy of a uniquely upholstered chair in the dining room, a loose but lush visual landscape on an entry hall table, or a deeply personal arrangement of treasures upon a dressing table, this book celebrates how chic design can be when expressed through personal details and provides a wealth of vignettes to inspire home owners and designers. Organized by type of design arrangement, from full rooms designed with attention to detail and entire walls depicting inspiring arrangements of art and objects, to more intimate still lifes arrayed on desktops, mantels, and bookshelves, It’s the Little Things shows us how to display our beloved objects to create sophisticated interiors. With interiors by some of the world’s top designers, such as Alessandra Branca, Bunny Williams, John Derian, and India Hicks, among others, and with Salk’s encouraging design tips, It’s the Little Things inspires us to slow down and pay attention to the details that can add richness and personality to any interior.

Take the time to enjoy the everyday, and find happiness in the little things. You're stuck in traffic and you're late to work, but it doesn't matter. Your cat woke you up with a kiss this morning, you've just spotted your first freckle of the year (summer must be here) and now your favorite song is playing on the radio. Life is good. Packed with cute, funny and silly everyday scenarios, and beautifully illustrated throughout, this book is a reminder to stop stressing about life's problems and to start appreciating the little things instead. Learn to laugh at the ridiculous, revel in your small achievements, delight in the mundane and start living your best life.