Book Reviews

4.9

H.D. Ronay's independently published children's picture book pairs a loveable, stink-powered cat hero with a surprisingly earnest rescue mission, earning a "Get It" verdict from Kirkus Reviews for winning over even readers wary of its gross-out premise.

Apr 5, 2026

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz

4.7

Don Miguel Ruiz's The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom is a self-help book grounded in Toltec teachings that distills a four-part code of conduct — be impeccable with your word, don't take anything personally, don't make assumptions, and always do your best — into a compact guide designed to help readers dismantle self-limiting beliefs and pursue what Ruiz frames as freedom, happiness, and love. Published in 1997 by Amber-Allen Publishing, it spent over a decade on The New York Times bestseller list and has sold approximately 15 million copies in the United States alone, reaching readers in 53 languages. This review is based on published sources and the book's documented record; it does not reflect hands-on use or application of the framework.

Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys by Kate Fletcher

4.7

Kate Fletcher's Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys, published by Routledge in its fully revised second edition, stands as a landmark academic text that systematically maps the lifecycle sustainability challenges of fashion and textiles — and charts credible, design-led paths forward. Structured across eight chapters divided into product- and systems-level thinking, it draws on lifecycle analysis, slow fashion theory, localism, and participatory design to offer fashion and textiles professionals and students a rigorous, pluralistic framework. Endorsed by educators, designers, and publications including Nature and Treehugger, it remains the go-to reference for those serious about embedding sustainability into the practice of fashion.

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

Marjan Kamali's The Lion Women of Tehran is a New York Times bestseller that traces the decades-long friendship of Ellie and Homa against the turbulent backdrop of twentieth-century Iran, from the early 1950s through 2022. Published by Gallery Books on July 2, 2024, the novel earned a starred notice from Kirkus Reviews as "a touching portrait of courage and friendship," and People called it "an evocative read and a powerful portrait of friendship, feminism, and political activism." Kamali, a 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Award recipient whose books have been translated into more than thirty languages, brings her command of Iranian history and culture to what is widely regarded as her most ambitious work to date.

Styled: Secrets for Arranging Rooms, from Tabletops to Bookshelves by Emily Henderson, Angelin Borsics

Published by Potter Style in October 2015, Styled is a New York Times bestseller that translates Emily Henderson's professional styling expertise into a home-focused handbook, co-written with Angelin Borsics and photographed by David Tsay, offering readers ten core steps and over 1,000 design ideas for transforming any room without requiring a decorator's budget or timeline.

How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain―How We Create by Lisa Barrett

How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain is a landmark work of popular neuroscience in which psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett dismantles the dominant classical view of emotion and replaces it with her theory of constructed emotion — arguing that feelings are not hardwired reactions triggered in dedicated brain regions but are actively built, moment to moment, by core systems spanning the entire brain, shaped by a lifetime of learning.

Think Like a Cat: How to Raise a Well-Adjusted Cat--Not a Sour Puss by Pam Johnson-Bennett

Think Like a Cat: How to Raise a Well-Adjusted Cat—Not a Sour Puss is Pam Johnson-Bennett's comprehensive guide to understanding feline instincts, covering everything from kitten selection and veterinary care to litter box management and behavior troubleshooting. Originally published in 2000 and revised, updated, and expanded in a 2011 Penguin Books edition, it is widely regarded as one of the most thorough cat ownership resources available, earning Johnson-Bennett the title "the queen of cat behavior" from author and pet expert Steve Dale. This review covers the book's content and published reception, not hands-on use.

Sho-Time: The Inside Story of Shohei Ohtani by Jeff Fletcher

Jeff Fletcher's Sho-Time is the most thoroughly reported portrait of Shohei Ohtani available in English, drawing on Fletcher's years covering the Los Angeles Angels beat to trace Ohtani's journey from a snowy childhood in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, to his historic 2021 AL MVP season — though the subject's own guardedness means the book illuminates the phenomenon more fully than the person behind it.

Apr 5, 2026

Paradise Lost by John Milton

4.5

Milton's Paradise Lost, presented here in the Penguin Classics edition edited and introduced by John Leonard, is widely considered the greatest epic poem in the English language — a work of over ten thousand lines that retells the biblical story of Satan's rebellion, the temptation of Adam and Eve, and humanity's expulsion from the Garden of Eden, while grappling with free will, obedience, and the possibility of redemption.

Master Your Emotions: A Practical Guide to Overcome Negativity by Thibaut Meurisse

4.5

Master Your Emotions by Thibaut Meurisse is a self-help guide designed to help readers understand the mechanics of their emotions and apply practical strategies to overcome negativity — a concise, accessible entry point that has found a remarkably wide global audience, selling over 500,000 copies and appearing in more than 30 languages.

The Reboot (Jeez and the Gentile) by Stephen W. Hiemstra

The Reboot is the concluding volume of Stephen W. Hiemstra's Jeez and the Gentile series, sending eighteen-year-old college student Tom back through time to walk dangerous roads in first-century Israel and brave a sea voyage to Rome alongside Jeez — a journey designed to strip away borrowed ambitions and reveal both characters' true callings.

The Way of the Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of by David Deida

David Deida's The Way of the Superior Man is a long-selling spiritual guidebook for men that addresses career, intimate relationships, sexuality, and purpose through the lens of masculine spirituality; having sold over a million copies, its 20th Anniversary Edition — published by Sounds True / St. Martin's Essentials and featuring a new introduction by Deida — brings its central challenge to a new generation of readers, though its framework of polarity between masculine and feminine energies remains a point of genuine debate.