From the legendary music producer, a master at helping people connect with the wellsprings of their creativity, comes a beautifully crafted book many years in the making that offers that same deep wisdom to all of us. "A gorgeous and inspiring work of art on creation, creativity, the work of the artist. It will gladden the hearts of writers and artists everywhere, and get them working again with a new sense of meaning and direction. A stunning accomplishment." --Anne Lamott "I set out to write a book about what to do to make a great work of art. Instead, it revealed itself to be a book on how to be." --Rick Rubin Many famed music producers are known for a particular sound that has its day. Rick Rubin is known for something else: creating a space where artists of all different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer. He has made a practice of helping people transcend their self-imposed expectations in order to reconnect with a state of innocence from which the surprising becomes inevitable. Over the years, as he has thought deeply about where creativity comes from and where it doesn't, he has learned that being an artist isn't about your specific output, it's about your relationship to the world. Creativity has a place in everyone's life, and everyone can make that place larger. In fact, there are few more important responsibilities. The Creative Act is a beautiful and generous course of study that illuminates the path of the artist as a road we all can follow. It distills the wisdom gleaned from a lifetime's work into a luminous reading experience that puts the power to create moments--and lifetimes--of exhilaration and transcendence within closer reach for all of us.

“Thank you for your interest in our school, but we regret to inform you that…” you’re not special. You’re too average. You’re too boring. Well, in that case, she’ll have to show them just how interesting she can be. Elizabeth Zhang is well aware of her place in the world. She’s in the tenth percentile for likability, the seventieth percentile for attractiveness, and the ninety-ninth percentile for academics. While she’s never been the most beautiful or the most liked, she knows she has the intelligence and ambition to achieve her greatest dream: Harvard Law School. But when Harvard rejects Elizabeth for not standing out enough—which she knows means she's just another boring Asian female—her carefully constructed life falls apart. What shocks her even more is that Laura Kim, a classmate at Columbia, got in. Elizabeth can’t figure out how this could have happened. Why was Laura accepted? What makes her so interesting? At first, she follows her because she’s just curious. What Laura orders for lunch. Where Laura shops. What Laura’s hobbies are. All of these things must contribute to her overall package, what makes her an acceptable person to Harvard. But still, Elizabeth just can’t see it. The only thing she sees is that Laura has taken her spot. A spot that she knows she deserves after working so hard. A spot that she’ll simply have to take back. Layered and subversive, this novel brings to light how, in the face of societal expectations and self-inflicted pressures, a person can unlock the darkest parts of themselves and show how far they’re willing to go to achieve their vision of success.

"I began keeping a notebook in a serious way when I met my teacher Marilyn Frasca in 1975 at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. She showed me ways of using these simple things — our hands, a pen, and some paper — as both a navigation and expedition device, one that could reliably carry me into my past, deeper into my present, or farther into a place I have come to call "the image world" — a place we all know, even if we don't notice this knowing until someone reminds us of its ever-present existence. I wasn't quite 20 years old when I started my first notebook. I had no idea that nearly 40 years later, I would not only still be using it as the most reliable route to the thing I've come to call my work, but I'd also be showing others how to use it too, as a place to practice a physical activity — in this case writing and drawing by hand — with a certain state of mind. This practice can result in what I've come to consider a wonderful side effect: a visual or written image we can call 'a work of art,' although a work of art is not what I'm after when I'm practicing this activity. What am I after? I'm after what Marilyn Frasca called "being present and seeing what's there." This book is a collection of bits and pieces from the many notebooks I kept during my first three years of trying to figure out how to teach this practice to my students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison."

A bold, laugh-out-loud funny, and heartwarming story about one young woman’s attempt to navigate adulthood, new motherhood, and her meager bank account in our increasingly online world—from the PEN/Faulkner finalist and critically acclaimed author of The Knockout Queen. As the child of a Hooters waitress and an ex-pro wrestler, Margo Millet's always known she’d have to make it on her own. So she enrolls at her local junior college, even though she can’t imagine how she’ll ever make a living. She’s still figuring things out and never planned to have an affair with her English professor—and while the affair is brief, it isn’t brief enough to keep her from getting pregnant. Despite everyone’s advice, she decides to keep the baby, mostly out of naiveté and a yearning for something bigger. Now, at twenty, Margo is alone with an infant, unemployed, and on the verge of eviction. She needs a cash infusion—fast. When her estranged father, Jinx, shows up on her doorstep and asks to move in with her, she agrees in exchange for help with childcare. Then Margo begins to form a plan: she’ll start an OnlyFans as an experiment, and soon finds herself adapting some of Jinx’s advice from the world of wrestling. Like how to craft a compelling character and make your audience fall in love with you. Before she knows it, she’s turned it into a runaway success. Could this be the answer to all of Margo’s problems, or does internet fame come with too high a price? Blisteringly funny and filled with sharp insight, Margo’s Got Money Troubles is a tender tale starring an endearing young heroine who’s struggling to wrest money and power from a world that has little interest in giving it to her. It’s a playful and honest examination of the art of storytelling and controlling your own narrative, and an empowering portrait of coming into your own, both online and off.

The Subtle Art of Folding Space, is the exhilarating debut science fiction novel from Nebula and Hugo-winning author John Chu channels unhinged physics, generational trauma, and the comfort of really good dim sum. This isn't your usual jaunt through quantum physics. Ellie’s universe, and this one, is falling apart. Her ailing mother is in a coma; her sister, Chris, accuses her of being insufficiently Chinese between assassination attempts; and a shadowy cabal of engineers is trying to hijack the skunkworks, the machinery that keeps the physics of each universe working the way it’s supposed to. Daniel, Ellie's cousin, has found an illicit device in the skunkworks—one that keeps Ellie's comatose mother alive while also creating destabilizing bugs in the physics of this universe. It's not a good day. If she can confront her mother’s legacy and overcome her family’s generational trauma, she just might find a way to preserve the skunkworks and reconcile with her sister…but digging into her family’s past is thornier than it seems, and the secrets she uncovers will force Ellie to choose between her family and the universe itself.

Three years ago, Fhear was a scientist. A fiancée. A fool. The man she loved butchered her family, stole her research, and left her for dead in the ruins of everything she’d built. His betrayal bought him an alliance. And the sphere. But she survived. And she’s done hiding. The fae world that discarded her is rotting from within. Whispers of revolution spread through the underbelly, and she needs something the elite have fought to the truth. Her truth. With nothing left to lose and a debt written in blood, Fhear is rising from the grave they made for her. Revenge isn’t enough. She wants revolution.

Presenting radical new ways to think about love, the acclaimed cultural critic, feminist, and author examines the role of love in our personal and professional lives and how it can be used to end struggles between individuals, communities, and societies. Reader's Guide available. Reprint. 40,000 first printing.

A revolutionary feminist case for child liberation, a utopian project that helps us imagine ways to build insurgent, collective forms of care. We live in a world that is profoundly against children—evident in the genocide in Palestine, the fascist targeting of trans children, and the blatant disregard for the lives of migrant children crossing borders and oceans. It is a world in which climate catastrophe has become the new normal, in which children’s futures are by no means assured.What we need, feminist writer and scholar Madeline Lane-McKinely argues, is a politics of solidarity with children, one that sees children as comrades in our struggle for a better future. Blending personal and political reflection with cultural analysis, Lane-McKinley examines the history of childhood as a system of private property in capitalism, showing how the idea of the child has been weaponized in the service of white supremacy and empire. She disentangles motherhood from the act of caregiving, tracing the possibilities of revolutionary mothering. And she critiques the parents’ rights movement and imagines what education might look like outside schools, considering how we might center children as we challenge the strictures of the nuclear family. Elegantly written and provocative, Solidarity with Children is a book for anyone who cares about children and the struggle for a better world.

He sat me down in a chair and he told me, in no uncertain terms, that magic was real.This is the true story of a spiritual awakening that turned into a mental breakdown. At the age of twenty-seven, an actress joins a wellness organisation and falls in love with its leader. She is sectioned for a psychotic break and diagnosed with bipolar disorder.The Make-Believe is a deeply personal account of these events. It is a wild ride, a searching attempt for understanding and a call for radical empathy. Lyrical and playful, exploring light and dark, it takes readers on a journey to the edges of reality, to a seductive and dangerous world where magic seems possible.

The essential guide to Ubuntu, the South African philosophy which teaches that our common humanity and interconnectedness is key to living a better life. This book will open your eyes, mind and heart to a way of being in the world that will make our world a better and more caring one.--Archbishop Desmond Tutu Ubuntu is a Xhosa word originating from a South African philosophy that encapsulates all our aspirations about how to live life well, together. It is the belief in a universal human bond: I am only because you are. And it means that if you are able to see everyone as fully human, connected to you by their humanity, you will never be able to treat others as disposable or without worth. By embracing the philosophy of Ubuntu and living it out in daily life it's possible to overcome division and be stronger together in a world where the wise build bridges, not walls. These 14 lessons from the Rainbow Nation are an essential toolkit to helping us all to live better, together. In stories that recognise our common humanity, our connectedness and interdependence, Everyday Ubuntu helps to make sense of the world and our place in it. Exploring ideas of kindness and forgiveness, tolerance and the power of listening, it shows how we can all benefit from embracing others. Including practical applications and mindful exercises, it is an inspirational guide to a more fulfilling life as part of the large family to which we all belong.

Demons clash with inheritance claims as secrets unfold and violence is unleashed over twelve harrowing hours trapped in a house with the worst thing family. When Papi Ramon, the patriarch of the wealthy Abreu family dies, he gives the family one last message in the “One of you is el bacà, the demon that I made a deal with. Get rid of them or you will be damned.” Xiomara, the uncontested favorite of Papi Ramon (and therefore the least liked in the family), watches as everyone dismisses this as the joke of a senile old man and demands the lawyer obtain the previous will Papi wrote. While the lawyer drives back to his office, a storm breaks out, forcing the entire family—Xiomara’s aunts and uncles and cousins—to remain in the house. And the words of Papi’s will hangs over their heads even heavier than the rain clouds. Over the course of the night, scandal after scandal is revealed to the public about the family. Suddenly a tense few hours of surviving her family turns into a vicious night of recrimination, violence, accusations…and murder. Xiomara is faced with an impossible uproot a demon and somehow kill it or excise the ghosts that linger within her own family. And the clock is ticking...

Learn how to use color to create a vibrant living space, a wardrobe you love, and a life filled with wonder in this practical guide from the color expert and DIY maven behind The Crafted Life.Color can influence your feelings, affect your moods, control how you interact with your home, and even change how you feel about yourself. In Colorful Living, writer, photographer, and the nation's biggest color enthusiast Rachel Mae Smith explains why color is so powerful and how you can use it to brighten up your world.After a fascinating (and painless!) introduction to color theory, Rachel takes you step by step through your home (walls, furniture, decor, art), your closet (clothing, jewelry, shoes, accessories), and other aspects of your lifestyle, sharing simple, creative, and fun ways to add pops of your desired colors everywhere. Identify your favorite shades and create a calming reading nook, a power outfit to take on the world in, or an entryway that makes guests feel welcome.Easy-to-follow exercises help you define your personal color palette and inspire you to harness the power of color in your life. Rachel's ideas are accessible, affordable, and designed for longevity—because when you mindfully choose items based on colors and styles that make you happy (versus those that social media says you should buy), you're more likely to love what you have.This one-of-a-kind, vividly illustrated guide to color will help you liven up your life, whether you love chartreuse, light gray, hot pink, haint blue—or all four at the same time.

Take a colorful tour of 500 eye-poppingly brilliant spots around the world with The Rainbow Atlas. Spanning natural phenomena, architectural wonders, art installations, and more, the contents of this book range from the pink salt lakes of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula to the eye-catching home façades of Cobh, Ireland. Spectacularly colorful and packed with dreamy photographs, The Rainbow Atlas introduces readers to the most vibrant landmarks the world has to offer.• Entries offer surprising facts and expert advice on when to visit these surreal settings.• Provides readers with hours of inspiration for their future adventures• Explore and learn about places like China's Rainbow Mountains and the colorful streets of Cape Town. The Rainbow Atlas is organized by longitude, creating fun and unexpected juxtapositions. Paired with stunning photographs of each location, The Rainbow Atlas advises readers of the best time of year to visit each spot and explains the particularities of each riotous rainbow locale. • Spectacularly colorful and packed with dreamy rainbow content• The perfect and unique gift for adventure seekers, color enthusiasts, photographers, rainbow chasers, travel addicts, and explorers everywhere • Add it to your collection of books like Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders by Joshua Foer, Dylan Thuras, and Ella Morton; The Bucket List: 1000 Adventures Big & Small by Kath Stathers; and The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St Clair