Handbook of Nothin'

Thought for Today
"Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day."
--Henri Nouwen

Suggested Reading

Book: Handbook of Nothin'
Author: N. K. Wright

About the book

Straight from the middle-late 20th century comes the tale of a teen always on the cusp of trouble!
The year is 1972. Against the stormy backdrop of a nuclear arms race, Watergate break-ins, the Vietnam war, and indescribable acts of terror, a teenage boy lives out his simple, rural life. But despite his seemingly tranquil farm life, “Nothin’ Right”—as he’s known to many of his seventh-grade classmates—faces trouble on numerous fronts and against several adversaries. Can a resourceful farm boy solve his own epic problems when the often-violent world around him is on the verge of self-destruction?

Handbook of Nothin' is a 1972 snapshot of rural western America as told through the experiences of a 13-year-old junior high boy and the scrawled pencil drawings in his school notebook.
Handbook of Nothin' could be considered a higher-end middle grade book, but is a fun read for all ages.

This was such a fun book! No matter if you are 10 or 100, this is a story we can all relate to in some way. "Nothin' Right" is a lovable character and his experiences totally cracked me up. Very entertaining read!
Handbook of Nothin' is available on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-of-Nothin-ebook/dp/B00DT7YLIS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377399958&sr=1-1&keywords=the+handbook+of+nothin

I Say Again, We Are That We Might Have Joy

With all the things going on in the world today, it is so easy to allow negativity to cloud our view and bring us down about life. Yes, there is misery everywhere we turn, but there is also beauty and joy, and so many things to be grateful for. We should never turn a blind eye or close ourselves off to the affairs of the world, but we do need to remember that we are meant to have joy, which means being grateful for what we have been given in this life, living the best we can, and doing what we can to make the world better by being here. Yes, there are moments when we all complain, and that is okay because we are human, but the trick is to allow ourselves that moment, then move on.

Everyone's circumstances are different and some of us are far worse off than others, but there are people who possess little and still smile each day simply because they are alive. True, I've never walked in anyone's shoes but my own, but I have worn many different pairs of shoes in my life. Some have been pretty comfortable and some have hurt like nobody's business, but I've learned something about myself while wearing every pair, and I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything, because each was a different lesson in learning to be happy while reaching to attain something more.
Thinking outward brings inner joy. And therein lies true happiness.
Here are a few neat little quotes on finding joy.

The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not on our circumstances. We carry the seeds of the one or the other about with us in our minds wherever we go. --Martha Washington

We either make ourselves happy or miserable. The amount of work is the same.--Carlos Castaneda

Resolve to keep happy and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.--Helen Keller

To get up each morning with the resolve to be happy…is to set our own conditions to the events of each day. To do this is to condition circumstances instead of being conditioned by them.--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Suggested Reading
 Book: My Lady Coward

Author: Jaimey Grant

About the Book
"My Lady Coward" debuted as a serial romance, each installment posted somewhere online as it was written. "My Lady Coward: An Episodic Regency Romance" is a compilation of those ten installments. They have not been changed from the original postings, merely formatted into one file for those who desire to have the whole story in one convenient place.
 
A lady knows her place, no matter what...
With Maria's vows came a title and security. At her wedding she gained a position amongst Society's elite. With her marriage Maria acquired everything a young woman could possibly desire. 
Except love. 
Going about her day-to-day activities, all Maria wants is Richard's love, the attentions he lavishes upon his mistress. But can she set aside her ladylike training long enough to tell him?