Garden Philosophy

Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles?Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you'll never have to do it again. Most methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever.

The history of philosophy has been a predictably tragic or comical succession of palliatives for human disquiet. Thinkers from Spinoza to Berdyaev have pursued the perennial questions of how to be happy, how to be good, how to be loved, and how to live in a world of change and loss. But perhaps we can learn more from cats - the animal that has most captured our imagination - than from the great thinkers of the world. In Feline Philosophy, the philosopher John Gray discovers in cats a way of living that is unburdened by anxiety and self-consciousness....

Since prehistory, humans have braved the business ends of knives, scrapers, and mashers, all in the name of creating something delicious - or at least edible. In Consider the Fork, award-winning food writer and historian Bee Wilson traces the ancient lineage of our modern culinary tools, revealing the startling history of objects we often take for granted. Charting the evolution of technologies from the knife and fork to the gas range and the sous-vide cooker, Wilson offers unprecedented insights.

When Dr. David Hosack tilled the country's first botanical garden in the Manhattan soil more than 200 years ago, he didn't just dramatically alter the New York landscape; he left a monumental legacy of advocacy for public health and wide-ranging support for the sciences. In melodic prose, historian Victoria Johnson eloquently chronicles Hosack's tireless career to reveal the breadth of his impact. The result is a lush portrait of the man who gave voice to a new, deeply American understanding of the powers and perils of nature.

In Japanese gardens, composition follows from placement of the first stone; all elements and plantings become interconnected. These eight essays on Kyoto gardens similarly begin with keen description and build into richly meditative excursions into art, Buddhism, nature, and science. Landscape architect Marc Keane shows how Japanese gardens are both a microcosm of the natural universe and a clear expression of our humanity, mirroring how we think, worship, and organize our lives and communities.

John Homans adopted his dog, Stella, from a shelter for all the usual reasons: fond memories of dogs from his past, a companion for his son, an excuse for long walks around the neighborhood. Soon enough, she is happily ensconced in the daily workings of his family. And not only that: Stella is treated like a family member - in ways that dogs of his youth were not. Spending humanlike sums on vet bills, questioning her diet and exercise regimens, contemplating her happiness - how had this all come to pass, when the dogs from Homans's childhood seemed quite content living mostly out in the yard?

There is no real evidence that humans ever 'domesticated' cats. Rather, it seems that at some point cats saw the potential value to themselves of humans. John Gray's wonderful new book is an attempt to get to grips with the philosophical and moral issues around the uniquely strange relationship between ourselves and these remarkable animals. Feline Philosophy draws on centuries of philosophy, from Montaigne to Schopenhauer, to explore the complex and intimate links that have defined how we react to and behave with this most unlikely 'pet'.

Humans have long turned to gardens—both real and imaginary—for sanctuary from the frenzy and tumult that surrounds them. Those gardens may be as far away from everyday reality as Gilgamesh’s garden of the gods or as near as our own backyard, but in their very conception and the marks they bear of human care and cultivation, gardens stand as restorative, nourishing, necessary havens.

La magia del orden, de Marie Kondo, la gurú japonesa de la organización, ha revolucionado los hogares y las vidas de millones de personas a lo largo del mundo. Este audiolibro presenta el aclamado método KonMari, que explica paso a paso el plegado de todas las prendas desde camisetas hasta calcetines, además de enseñarnos cómo obtener armarios y cajones perfectamente organizados.

After several millennia living as a lone sentinel in the Garden of Eden, the angel Tesque is contemplating leaving his post in rebellion against God. Meanwhile, in another time and place, a professor of mathematics isolates herself in remote Iceland as she finds herself increasingly at odds with society. The connection between these two characters? A letter, a sentient dog, and a deep-seated resistance to the demands of love.

Most people know that Gregor Mendel, the Moravian monk who patiently grew his peas in a monastery garden, shaped our understanding of inheritance. But people might not know that Mendel's work was ignored in his own lifetime, even though it contained answers to the most pressing questions raised by Charles Darwin's revolutionary book, On Origrin of the Species, published only a few years earlier. Mendel's single chance of recognition failed utterly, and he died a lonely and disappointed man.

In the vein of Albert Camus’ great existential novels, The Plague and The Stranger, and JP. Sartre’s existential rite-of-passage, Nausea, M. Vignjevic’s The Peacock Agenda is the story of Ayda Ayduk, a man who is a sort of recluse, and who cannot accept that cannibalism is the dietary norm in his community while at the same time adhering, even enthusiastically so, to the practice himself. This odd man works during the day in the morgue as an assistant to the Chief Medical Examiner and a young man named Krot, all the while surreptitiously retrieving suicide victims for his own ...

An exact reprint of a lost spiritual classic by Neville Goddard. Contains the complete text of the books, Prayer - The Art of Believing, Feeling is the Secret, Freedom For All, Out of this World and Resurrection. As more and more of his first editions are disappearing, it is important to bring back reprinted editions of Neville's work at affordable prices for current students, as well as those new to his works. This edition is identical to the original publication with the exception of a new, previously unread introduction by Neville.

Is there a philosophy behind owning a pet? What was Ayn Rand like with her cats? Why is the death of a pet so devastating and how can you most enjoy them in life? Leonard Peikoff, foremost interpreter of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism, answers these and other questions in this charming new book about pets. This absorbing book makes an amusing and thought-provoking compendium on pets from the world’s foremost Objectivists. In this collection of essays, Peikoff delves with insight, humor, and philosophy into the meaning of loving a pet.

In this fascinating exploration of the changing status of dogs and cats in society, pet lover and award-winning journalist David Grimm explores the rich and surprising history of our favorite companion animals. He treks the long and often torturous path from their wild origins to their dark days in the middle ages to their current standing as the most valued animals on Earth. For pet lovers or anyone interested in how we decide who gets to be a “person” in today’s world, Citizen Canine is a must-have. It is a pet tale like no other.

In his extraordinary new book, Alain de Botton explores the importance of buildings in our lives, pondering our attachment to our homes and considering such questions as: Why do people disagree about taste? Can beautiful surroundings make us good?

Outside in the sunshine, with flowers and plants, Abby Adams, Susan Hill, Christopher Lloyd, and more let their creative juices flow to produce this companion to The Writer in the Garden. It too is filled with passionate observations and philosophical meanderings. Ironic, amusing, and idiosyncratic, these delightful tales are a joyful addition to the first volume. So roll up your sleeves and play in the mud while these talented writers inspire you with their words.

Both Stoicism and Minimalism go hand in hand, decluttering your mind as well as decluttering your life, leaving space and energy for the things that matter and are important to you. Having strategies for both is essential to making the most out of these timeless teachings. Life moves at a very fast pace these days, and the Stoic teachings will enable you to not "sweat the small stuff".

If you feel overwhelmed, stressed, and like you constantly have a huge weight on your shoulders, odds are you need to declutter your life. Decluttering is highly necessary in today’s world, but what is not always known is how to recognize the point at which you need to start. You also need to know how to do it and what to look for to know if it’s working. This audiobook has all that and more. We break it down to a level almost anyone can apply to his or her unique circumstances.

The Devil Wins uncovers the complicated history of lying from the early days of the Catholic Church to the Enlightenment, revealing the diversity of attitudes about lying by considering the question from the perspectives of five representative voices - the Devil, God, theologians, courtiers, and women.