2 . Books that can help teens manage anxiety

Children experience anxiety differently from adults, and it also looks different in each child. Fortunately, books can serve as tools for guiding children through the anxious thoughts and feelings they may experience. The following are four books that can help children effectively manage their anxiety.

The Healthy Coping Coloring Book and Journal by Pooky Knightsmith

This coloring book is specifically designed for children aged 8 to 14 and activities range from coloring to journaling and drawing, all of which are developed to help children deal with troubling situations. The different activities can be beneficial for self-expression.

Please Explain Anxiety to Me! by Laurie E. Zelinger and Jordan Zelinger

Written by psychologists, this story breaks down both the physical and emotional symptoms of anxiety. The story compares the natural anxiety kids feel to dinosaurs fearing being threatened in the wild. It explains that some anxiety (for example, a dinosaur’s anxiety about being eaten) can be our body’s way of protecting us from threats.

Sea Otter Cove by Lori Lite

This is a book that teaches children how to use proper breathing techniques to calm down, lower stress, and control anger. Through playful sea otters and other delightful characters in the book, children get to experience belly breathing. This effective, self-calming technique is also known as diaphragmatic breathing or deep breathing.

The Worry Glasses by Donalisa Helsley

This book is about a little girl named MJ. It tells the story of how she learns to defeat her worries. All through the story, her wonderful counselor Miss Jessica patiently helps her. The book includes a list of exercises designed to relieve kids’ anxiety. It also offers tips to parents and adults who live with anxious children.

3 . “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World” by Cal Newport is an exploration of the challenges posed by our modern, digitally-driven environment and the strategies one can employ to achieve focused success. Newport researches the concept of deep work, emphasizing its critical role in an era marked by constant distractions.

The book addresses the common issue of information overload and the impact of shallow tasks on productivity. Newport argues that the ability to engage in deep, concentrated work is essential for success. The author supports his claims with research, including experiments comparing brain connectivity patterns during deep work and shallow tasks.

Newport’s work agrees with earlier studies, confirming that handwritten notes outperform (胜过) typed ones in academic performance. Beyond academia, Newport presents evidence of the cognitive (认知的) benefits of deep work.

The book provides practical strategies for integrating deep work into one’s professional life, advocating for routines and intentional changing of the brain to resist distractions. Newport introduces concepts like productive meditation (冥想) and the craftsman approach to tool selection, offering readers actionable advice to enhance their focus and productivity.

“Deep Work” has won widespread praise for its insights into productivity in a distracted world. Many praise Newport’s thorough research, combining neuroscience with practical advice. Readers appreciate the real-world examples, from Carl Jung’s focused mindset to a social media pioneer’s distraction-free writing journey.

In conclusion, “Deep Work” stands as a valuable guide for navigating the challenges of the digital age. Newport’s exploration of deep work as a catalyst (催化剂) for success, supported by research and concrete strategies, has left a lasting impact on how individuals approach their professional and personal lives. It serves as a timely reminder to prioritize focus and concentration in an era defined by constant connectivity and distractions.

4 . A few years ago, we celebrated Frankenstein’s 200th birthday. This famous book, written by British novelist Mary Shelley (1797—1851), is rightly known as the first work of science fiction. Frankenstein is the name of a doctor who creates a creature from human body parts. The doctor’s ambitions for his work are noble, but his experiment has disastrous results.

Shelley was writing in an age when science was beginning to have a great impact on the world. People had different attitudes toward science back then. Some found it inspiring- they thought of the progress medicine was making in curing common illnesses. But others found it a little frightening—it was changing the, making it a lot less familiar.

Science plays a bigger part in our lives than it did two centuries ago. Today, science has brought us great things like the internet, but also nuclear weapons, which, if used in large numbers, could kill off our species. Science still therefore creates the mixed feelings it did in Shelley’s day. It’s because Shelley saw both the promise and the danger of science that she’s still an influence today.

In fact, the subtitle of the book, The Modern Prometheus (普罗米修斯), shows how important myth (神话) was to the writer. Prometheus, a figure from classical Greek mythology, written by ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, steals fire from the gods and gives it to people, an act for which he is terribly punished. Shelley’s husband, the famous poet Percy Shelley, wrote about him in Prometheus Unbound. In the poem, he is a revolutionary hero, who triumphs over the gods. In Mary Shelley’s book, however, her modern Prometheus. Dr Frankenstein, is a highly controversial figure, who sacrifices his home and life for his crazy addiction to his creation.

In short, Mary Shelley’s book is not just a scary and moving story, but a philosophical tale that, even after 200 years, still speaks to modern readers.

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6 . Andrea Lankford quit her job after spending 12 years as a National Park Service forester specializing in search and rescue missions in scenic and remote American landscapes. However, decades later, three young hikers went missing on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). She found herself unable to turn away from the three separate cases despite challenges in the inquiry into them.

Trail of the Lost was her answer.

It’s an absorbing nonfiction narrative (叙事) about the three hikers, including their lives and those of the people looking for them. It also explores the history of the PCT and the rich subculture, practices and even literature that surround it and those who undertake the 2,650-mile journey.

The book is a rich multilayered narrative that works on three different levels. The first is the story of each of the three hikers. Lankford offers a biography (传记) of each of the missing men and shows them through the eyes of those who knew them well and those who joined the search.

Right underneath the narratives about the three hikers are the stories of everyone looking for them. Lankford played a role in each search but she allowed friends, family and even strangers to occupy center stage throughout most of the narrative. The story looks at the role of missing person Facebook groups in the searches and how crucial word of mouth can be. Many warm-hearted individuals came forth and became instrumental in the searches or provided valuable information. But Lankford also writes of the many who lied for no apparent reason and confused the investigations.

The narrative also shines a light on diverse aspects of the PCT. Lankford, who has hiked the entire Appalachian Trail and was the first person to mountain bike the 800-mile Arizona Trail, knows just how the PCT is physically and mentally demanding. Besides, the book explores threats from mountain lions to people with bad intentions who don’t observe the PCT’s unspoken moral rules, serving as a revelation of the well-known, hidden or ignored dangers of the PCT.

Written with a clear, fast-paced, straightforward style, Trail of the Lost is as full of hope and humanity as it is packed with pain, sorrow, danger and tension. Read it and you’ll find more than you seek.

8 . Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair 2024

The Novel Fair is an annual competition initiated by the Irish Writers Centre (IWC). Described by The Irish Times as “A Dragons’ Cave for writers”, each year the Fair aims to introduce up-and-coming writers to top publishers and literary agents.

The Prize

The twelve winners will have the opportunity to present the summary of their novel directly to industry professionals. Leading publishers and agents will be invited by the IWC to meet these writers in person or through a series of online meetings. To get fully prepared for the meeting with publishers and agents, the winners will receive a place in a workshop on “How to Promote Your Novel”, two weeks in advance. Also, applicants who are longlisted (初选) but do not make it to the shortlist of twelve will have their works evaluated and criticized by the judging panel.

How to Enter

Entry fee for application is £55 (Members of IWC can enter for a discounted fee of £45). This competition only accepts manuscripts (原稿) for novels. Applicants are required to send a summary within 300 words and up to five chapters of their novel, which should be 10,000 words (+/-10％). Manuscripts should be submitted online. There is a limit of one entry per applicant.

Entries are welcome from anywhere in the world. Before entering the competition, please ensure that you have read the Novel Fair Terms & Conditions 2024 very carefully as the Fair is open to only novelists who have never published work previously. If you have any questions about the application process, please email novelfair@irishwriterscentre.ie.

9 . Here are 4 books you should read at least once in your life.

It tells the story of a Danish girl growing up in World War II with her best friend, Ellen, who happens to be Jewish. When she learns about the horrors that the Nazis are imposing on the Jewish people, she and her family stop at nothing to protect Ellen and countless other Jews. Lois’ novel is a powerful reminder that cultural and religious differences are no divide between true friends.

It is the story of a little boy who falls to Earth from an Asteroid (小行星) after visiting several other asteroids to try to understand mankind. In his travels he meets a series of strange and delightful characters and an untamed fox. The Little Prince is a heartwarming tale of the power of friendship and trust.

Who doesn’t love a novel about talking animals? It opens the door to imagination, asking us to imagine what a world where animals could talk would be like. On a more serious note, it challenges us to ask ourselves how we’d treat animals if they could talk. If they could tell us their joys and their fears, would mankind treat them more humanely?

The story centers on Jean Louise Finch, an unusually intelligent girl who ages from six to nine years old during the novel. Her father, Atticus Finch, a well-known and respected lawyer, defends Tom Robinson, an African American who is falsely accused of killing a young white woman. It is both a young girl’s coming-of-age story and a darker drama about the roots and consequences of racism and prejudice in society.

10 . Uncertainty pops up frequently in conversations. The pandemic, and the growing climate disasters heighten our awareness of our inability to control many current challenges. No wonder we’re invaded by anxiety and isolation. We know there are stress-reduction techniques like yoga and exercise. Another much-overlooked one that restores sense of well-being is poetry.

Poetry reconnects us with the beauty of the world, while also naming its difficulties. Rather than dismissing hardships, poetry reminds us that others have also lost a loved one, experienced disappointments—have suffered as we now suffer. Poetry allows us to identify our personal confusions, breaks our feeling of isolation, and confirms our sense of belonging. Poetry leads us toward wisdom and acceptance.

Science agrees. The Arts & Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University offers convincing evidence that poetry is good for our health. A study from 2013 in Philippines showed that guided poetry writing sessions significantly lessened depression in a group of abused adolescents. Written eight hundred years ago, the poem “The Guest House” invites us to view life’s experiences and the feelings that arise from them as temporary visitors in the “guest house” of self. With patience and compassion, the author Jalal al-Din Rumi advises us to recognize that even negative moods are precious teachers for our growth.

Think of poetry as an entrance to a timeless place where we find comfort, companionship, connection, wisdom, and healing. Poetry names the disconnects as well, where we have gone blind to threats and personal sorrows that threaten to overwhelm us. With its precision of language, and its naming of experience, poetry, in a small space, usually one page, packs a wallop. Entering a poem, readers can sense painful experiences are re-framed and can be given a new understanding by a poem. That’s because poetry reflects a rich mix of the sweetness and bitterness in life. It refreshes our minds and offers invented landscapes of imagery. For your own peace of mind, I encourage you to take up a friendship with poetry.