In this short but powerful book of interlinked essays, noted cultural critic Vijay Prashad examines the contradictions of the American economy. Prashad assesses a range of related issues: the oft-vaunted US economy, propped up by the rising debt of poor and middle-class workers; welfare policies that punish those attempting to escape the grip of debt and poverty; and a prison industry that regulates and houses the unemployed, as well as a reserve army of laborers. In Keeping Up with the Dow Joneses, Prashad argues that the advent of mass production and advertising has converted citizens into consumers whose desires are captured by the phrase "keeping up with the Joneses." Yet, as Prashad so persuasively demonstrates, keeping up with the Joneses is a trap: Americans have gone into massive consumer debt, with the poorest forty percent of the public borrowing money to compensate for stagnant incomes, not to spend on luxuries. Only the richest twenty percent borrow money to invest in stocks. Not surprisingly, in the last few years, income and wealth differentials have risen to record highs. By making crystal-clear connections between the economy, welfare reform and the profit-driven prison industrial complex, Prashad offers a vision for a sustainable and vital anti-imperialist movement. Vijay Prashad is Associate Professor and Director of International Studies, Trinity College. He is the author of several books including Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting: Afro-Asian Connections and the Myth of Cultural Purity, Fat Cats and Running Dogs and The Karma of Brown Folk. Each was included in the Village Voice’s "25 Best Books of the Year" list.

“There's no writer alive like de Botton” (Chicago Tribune), and now this internationally heralded author turns his attention to the insatiable human quest for status—a quest that has less to do with material comfort than love. Anyone who’s ever lost sleep over an unreturned phone call or the neighbor’s Lexus had better read Alain de Botton’s irresistibly clear-headed new book, immediately. For in its pages, a master explicator of our civilization and its discontents explores the notion that our pursuit of status is actually a pursuit of love, ranging through Western history and thought from St. Augustine to Andrew Carnegie and Machiavelli to Anthony Robbins. Whether it’s assessing the class-consciousness of Christianity or the convulsions of consumer capitalism, dueling or home-furnishing, Status Anxiety is infallibly entertaining. And when it examines the virtues of informed misanthropy, art appreciation, or walking a lobster on a leash, it is not only wise but helpful.

In Love Your Life, Not Theirs, Rachel Cruze shines a spotlight on the most damaging money habit we have: comparing ourselves to others. Then she unpacks seven essential money habits for living the life we really want--a life in line with our values, where we can afford the things we want to buy without being buried under debt, stress, and worry. The Joneses are broke. Life looks good, but hidden beneath that glossy exterior are credit card bills, student loans, car payments, and an out-of-control mortgage. Their money situation is a mess, and they're trying to live a life they simply can't afford. So why exactly do we try so hard to keep up with the Joneses? Are we really living the lives we want, or are we chasing someone else's dream, just trying to keep up appearances on social media, at church, and in our community? Why are we letting other people set the pace for our own family's finances? In Love Your Life, Not Theirs, Rachel shows you how to buy and do the things that are important to you--the right way. That starts by choosing to quit the comparisons, reframing the way you think about money, and developing new habits like avoiding debt, living on a plan, watching your spending, saving for the future, having healthy conversations about money, and giving. These habits work, and Rachel is living proof. Now, she wants to empower you to live the life you've always dreamed of without creating the debt, stress, and worry that are all too often part of the deal. Social media isn't real life, and trying to keep up with the Joneses will never get you anywhere. It's time to live--and love--your life, not theirs. "I've never read a book about money that takes this approach--and that's a good thing! Comparison has a way of weaving itself throughout all aspects of our lives, including our money. In Love Your Life, Not Theirs, Rachel Cruze outlines the seven money habits that really matter--and they have nothing to do with keeping up with the Joneses!" Candace Cameron-Bure Actress, author, and co-host of The View "Love Your Life, Not Theirs is full of the kind of practical, straightforward advice we've come to expect from Rachel Cruze. She offers guidance on paying down debt, smart saving, and the right way to talk to your spouse about money. These indispensable tips can help with day-to-day spending decisions and put you on a path to establishing healthy financial habits." Susan Spencer Editor-in-Chief for Woman's Day "Cruze's self-deprecating and honest voice is a great resource for anyone wanting to take charge of their money. With humor and approachability, she helps her readers set themselves up for success and happiness, no matter what current financial state they may be in." Kimberly Williams-Paisley New York Times best-selling author of Where the Light Gets In "In today's world of social media, the temptation to play the comparison game is stronger than ever. Love Your Life, Not Theirs is the perfect reminder that, when it comes to money, comparison is a game you can't win. A terrific--and much needed--read." Jean Chatzky Financial Editor, NBC TODAY and Host of HerMoney with Jean Chatzky Podcast

Keeping up with the Joneses isn’t all it’s made out to be. In this intriguing novel full of drama and plot twists, one family tries to hold on to their “perfect” life before their secrets, lies, and scandals are exposed. On the outside, the Joneses seem like the ideal family: Royce Jones, a funeral home mogul, and his wife, Lexi, are parents to Charity, Hope, and Lovie—and everybody wants to be them. But it’s true that money can’t buy happiness, and the Joneses are harboring secrets that can’t stay hidden forever… The funeral home business has been slow lately, and Royce is in serious trouble. When Lexi learns of their financial strain, she vows to hold on to her status by any means necessary—even if it means going behind her husband’s back. Lovie, seeing his beloved mother so stressed, will do whatever it takes to put a smile back on her face. And sibling rivalries tense up when Charity and Hope both fall for the same guy. On top of this, they all have secrets they’re hiding not only from people outside their family—but from each other. It’s only a matter of time before the Joneses’ perfect life goes spinning out of control and they’re revealed for who they truly are.

Deep in the gap between the stars, the TARDIS is damaged by a temporal mine. It’s not life-threatening, but the Tenth Doctor will need a while to repair the damage. But he’s not alone. The strangely familiar-looking Christina thinks the Doctor has arrived in her bed and breakfast, somewhere in Wales. In fact, the TARDIS seems to have enveloped Christina’s entire town – and something else is trapped inside with it. A violent, unnatural storm threatens them all and – unless it’s stopped – the entire universe.

Homesickness today is dismissed as a sign of immaturity, what children feel at summer camp, but in the nineteenth century it was recognized as a powerful emotion. When gold miners in California heard the tune "Home, Sweet Home," they sobbed. When Civil War soldiers became homesick, army doctors sent them home, lest they die. Such images don't fit with our national mythology, which celebrates the restless individualism of colonists, explorers, pioneers, soldiers, and immigrants who supposedly left home and never looked back. Using letters, diaries, memoirs, medical records, and psychological studies, this wide-ranging book uncovers the profound pain felt by Americans on the move from the country's founding until the present day. Susan Matt shows how colonists in Jamestown longed for and often returned to England, African Americans during the Great Migration yearned for their Southern homes, and immigrants nursed memories of Sicily and Guadalajara and, even after years in America, frequently traveled home. These iconic symbols of the undaunted, forward-looking American spirit were often homesick, hesitant, and reluctant voyagers. National ideology and modern psychology obscure this truth, portraying movement as easy, but in fact Americans had to learn how to leave home, learn to be individualists. Even today, in a global society that prizes movement and that condemns homesickness as a childish emotion, colleges counsel young adults and their families on how to manage the transition away from home, suburbanites pine for their old neighborhoods, and companies take seriously the emotional toll borne by relocated executives and road warriors. In the age of helicopter parents and boomerang kids, and the new social networks that sustain connections across the miles, Americans continue to assert the significance of home ties. By highlighting how Americans reacted to moving farther and farther from their roots, Homesickness: An American History revises long-held assumptions about home, mobility, and our national identity.

GEORGE & TAMMY IS NOW A LIMITED SERIES—STARRING JESSICA CHASTAIN AND MICHAEL SHANNON! Georgette Jones—the only child of country music’s “First Couple,” George Jones and Tammy Wynette—pens a memoir about life with her parents and the journey back to a relationship with her estranged father. The marriage of George Jones and Tammy Wynette was hailed as a union made in honky-tonk heaven. And when little Tamala Georgette Jones was born in 1970, she was considered country music’s heir apparent. For the first four years of her life, Georgette had two adoring parents who showed her off at every opportunity, and between her parents, grandparents, older sisters, and cheering fans, Georgette’s feet seldom hit the ground. But as in every fairy tale, dark forces were just around the corner. Her parents fought, and George drank. George and Tammy divorced when Georgette was four, and it would be years before she understood just what that meant. The Three of Us is an honest and heartfelt look into the life of a broken family living in the glare of the public spotlight. Like so many of her generation, Georgette had to make sense of loving two parents who couldn’t love each other. With never-before-told stories about George and Tammy, it recounts Tammy’s descent into prescription pill addiction, her dependence on her fifth husband, George Richey, and her untimely death at the age of fifty-five. Georgette opens up about her broken relationship with her father and what it took for them to come back together. Lastly, Georgette discusses the ups and downs of her adult life: failed marriages, illness, an arrest, and now, an unexpected but thrilling career as a musician. A story of both extreme privilege and great trials, of larger-than-life people with larger-than-life problems, The Three of Us is rich in country music history. It is filled with twists and turns, highs and lows, but in the end, it stands as an intensely moving tale of love, loss, heartbreak, and what it means to be a family.

To Janie Margolis, “assistant contractor” sounds like the ideal job for a mom whose role raising kids has become routine―but her perfect plan starts to unravel when she and her husband, Wim, find themselves arguing about everything from money to masonry to man caves. Then the economy collapses, and it’s hard to surmount the reality ahead: they are about to sink their entire savings into rebuilding a new house they can’t afford while trying unsuccessfully to sell the one they already own. Will Janie back herself so far into a corner that she’ll find herself homeless before she finds herself a home? From crushes on contractors to frenzied shopping expeditions to the erection of a cupola that looks a little too phallic for her upscale new neighborhood―or really any neighborhood!―Janie navigates the pitfalls of building. Along the way, she deals with a con artist kitchen designer, a construction worker and architect who fight like schoolgirls, and a tile guy who turns her shower into a pornographic work of art, all while struggling to stay out of debt and keep her marriage going. In the end, she comes face to face with her flaws and learns that dreams can be achieved―but the only way to authentic happiness is through truth and acceptance.

Messages from the media and pressures from peers all seem to conspire against raising children with strong Christian values. As kids grow older the potential for things to go wrong just seems to multiply. How can parents nurture their families with confidence, without the fear that they are making some big mistake? Tim Stafford sets you free from worrying about the Joneses or anyone else. He shows you how to build core Christian values into your children in a way that fits who God made your family to be, unique and different from every other family. In this practical and freeing book, you'll find: Why your family doesn't have to be like other families How to build core values into your children that will last a lifetime How you can find the patterns that fit who you and your family are Ways to build family life that kids enjoy and that parents find satisfying Why there's more than one, good, right way to be a family How to build grace and freedom into your family life while still providing structure and security Release from the fear that you are parenting the wrong way Stafford identifies thirteen core biblical values and describes a wide variety of ways to build these into families. He explores the many options that are available for parents to help their children develop in truthfulness, contentment, hard work, joy, rest, forgiveness and putting God first. Some books suggest there is only one right way to parent, no matter who you are. In Never Mind the Joneses Stafford frees you to explore the ways God has provided that fit your family best.