Our life's trajectory is determined by how we spend our hours, and our society's trajectory is shaped by how we all live our lives. It behooves us, then, to put some thought into it—into our work, into how we live outside of it, and the intersection of where our work and the world meet. The following four books, all published today, help us step back and examine some of the major forces in life and work, even if they are sometimes made up of the smaller stuff that goes unnoticed much of the time.

All four titles are available online and on local bookshop shelves today. Interested in buying multiple copies for your team, book club, or employee resource group? Follow the links below or give us a call to purchase the books, or check out our services for bulk book buyers to learn more about how we can help.

Unless otherwise noted, all descriptions of the books below come from the publisher.

The Cure at Walden Pond: A Guide to Recovering Our Humanity by Thomas Moore, published by Pegasus Books

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Care of the Soul comes a revelatory approach to healing and renewal.

Among the pages of Henry David Thoreau’s journals and his legendary Walden, Thomas Moore, beloved bestselling author, psychotherapist, and public thinker, has found transformative ideas and approaches that promise to help us live better. As Moore writes, “We need to make the journey to our own ‘Walden Pond’ and find a cure for our cultural lostness.”

Like Moore’s own million-copy-bestselling Care of the Soul, The Cure at Walden Pond will be widely heralded among readers for its beautiful prose, accessible voice, and profound insights into the human condition.

Thoreau was disillusioned in his day by the same kind of frantic consumerism, round-the-clock work, and narrow imagination that trouble us today. Moore will help readers slow down, be more present and mindful in their relationships with their loved ones, and appreciate the beautiful world we share. For Moore, as for Thoreau, there is immense spiritual power all around us.

New Hampshire’s Mount Monadnock is a “natural temple” for all New Englanders, a place of reverence and renewal, and Moore encourages us to find our own places of rejuvenation. There is neglected spirituality—and humanity—in the everyday objects that sustain us too. Moore explores his own memories of an old farmhouse, a grinding stone, and an out-of-tune piano that bring him back to his childhood and his family history.

The journey to Walden Pond is an essential American pilgrimage, and The Cure at Walden Pond embodies Thoreau’s essence, guiding us through Thoreau’s precepts so we can find more harmony in our communities and in ourselves. Immersing ourselves in the music of the natural world The Cure at Walden Pond is a resonate read that will move and inspire any one in search of a new way of being.

Man-Made: How We Designed a World That Leaves Women Out, and How We Can Make It Right by Karen Korellis Reuther, published by Harper Business

An industrial designer and former Global Creative Director at Nike delivers a sharp critique of the consequences of a world built by and for men, and offers an optimistic look at how we might build a better world for us all.

Women and men inhabit the same world, yet it does not suit them both equally.

Women are 73% more likely to be injured in a car crash than men. In the military, women suffer pelvic fractures at a much higher rate than their male counterparts. In construction, 90% of women are unable to find proper fitting safety gear.

These outcomes are not a coincidence—they are a result of products where the female population is an afterthought at best. Automobile crash test dummies used for safety tests are designed based on male anatomy, as is firefighting gear and personal protective equipment. Using a “shrink it and pink it” strategy, sneakers for women are scaled down versions originally designed for a man’s foot, and colored a stereotypical feminine color—like pink. In the design of products and places, the female body is often invisible and ignored. The result is a world less hospitable and more dangerous for women.

It doesn’t have to be this way. A designer for over 40 years at some of the world’s top corporations, including Reebok and Nike, Karen Korellis Reuther has witnessed the way women continue to be excluded from critical product design decisions. But Man-Made isn’t a patriarchal lament; it is a rousing call to action drawn from research-backed insights, market analyses, and expertise from leading designers, executives, and economists.

From the simply insulting and uncomfortable to the dangerous and deadly, the effects of exclusively man-made designs are wide-ranging. Rethinking and expanding product design and architecture, Reuther contends, will not only create a world that better fits women, but a world that better fits everyone.

The Small Stuff: How to Lead a More Gratifying Life by Ian Bogost, published by Atria Books

From popular The Atlantic columnist Ian Bogost, a lively reflection on how we’ve become disconnected from the physical world—and how to reclaim gratification in our day-to-day lives.

In an era dominated by convenience and efficiency, one would think that life would be simpler, easier, and most importantly, happier. After all, shouldn’t all the time saved with machines and technology leave us with more time for ourselves? The Atlantic columnist Ian Bogost thinks not. From digital tickets to automated faucets, he argues that the simple pleasures of daily life have been stripped away, replaced by sleek, but soulless, design.

Through engaging anecdotes and sharp analysis, Bogost uncovers how modern conveniences not only fail to deliver on their promises but also rob us of small, satisfying tasks and moments that keep us grounded and human. He challenges us to rethink our daily interactions with the material world and illuminates how the loss of these tangible interactions has contributed to widespread feelings of disconnection and dissatisfaction.

But all hope is not lost. Bogost guides us to identify and appreciate the overlooked joys hidden in everyday life. By reforming how we approach ordinary tasks, we can rediscover the gratification embedded in the tactile world around us.

Humorous, thought-provoking, and practical, The Small Stuff reveals that finding joy isn’t about achieving monumental happiness or prolonged satisfaction. It’s about doing small things, deliberately and with attention, to unlock the basic pleasures that flavor our daily lives.

Tryhard: A Cautionary Tale of Clocking In and Spinning Out by Laura Mayer, published by HarperOne

A superstar podcast producer delivers a unique, laugh-out-loud, cry quietly invitation to examine our delusional obsessions with work in this eye-opening book—part memoir, part mentoring, part confessional guide—that dissects the emotional ties that bind us . . . to our desks.

For any type-A, high achiever out there, this is the book that sees you. And provides a cathartic, funny, emotionally charged insight into what drives the perfection-oriented.

Laura Mayer was born a girlboss. As a child in suburban Illinois, she played "V.P. of Sales" in her bedroom, dictating important memos to her twin brother and swapping Judy Blume for the buzzy business books of the day. While other kids dreamed of being pop stars or pro athletes, little Laura had a single-minded focus: the corporate ladder.

Some thirty years later, from a dizzying perch on that very ladder—as Executive Producer of Podcasts at ABC News, with such blockbuster shows as Revisionist History, Bad Blood, and Happier with Gretchen Rubin to her credit—and with an identity shaped by annual reviews, performance indicators, and “executive presence” (whatever that means) a disillusioned Laura is calling "bullshit" on the whole work-is-life thing. Sort of.

Tryhard is a gonzo memoir for 9-to-5 devotees who have read every business book and C-suite-or-bust instruction manual yet still find we’re burnt out and unhappy. It is also a deeply personal and poignant examination of why we race at all. Laura detangles this delusional mess of priorities we've created, rejects the “boss-at-any-cost” culture, and invites us to laugh at ourselves (and her) along the way. She offers the modern office worker a new path forward through her own revelations, and implores us, for the love of God, to chill out a little bit.

This is Laura's messy, somewhat enlightened, possibly transformative, heart-wrenching and always entertaining story—a one-of-a-kind sightseeing trip on the Great American hamster wheel.