What the staff at Poor Richard’s Books suggest for your next great read
As part of The Colorado Sun’s literature section – SunLit – we feature staff picks at bookstores statewide. >> Click here for more SunLit
This week’s library: Poor Richard’s Books & Gifts, 320 N. Tejon St., Colorado Springs
From the publisher: Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron shares life-changing practices for living with wisdom, confidence, and integrity in confusing situations and uncertain times. We live in difficult times. Life so often resembles a turbulent river threatening to drown us and destroy our world. Why, then, should we not cling to the certainty of comfort – to our deep habits and familiar ways?
Because, teaches Pema Chodron, this kind of fear-based attachment keeps us from having the infinitely more powerful experience of being fully alive. The Buddhist teachings she presents here – known as the “Three Commitments” – provide a treasure trove of wisdom for learning to step straight into the unknown, to fully and fearlessly embrace the groundlessness of being human. , for people of all faiths.
From Jeffery Payne, Book Department Coordinator: It’s an upside down world. The ability to step back and re-evaluate how we react to the things around us is a gift or luxury that most of us don’t have. We live fear-based lives that challenge us, and we do little to get past the “comfortable with discomfort” aspect that we all cling to.
Buddhist nun Pema Chodron’s timely book introduces us to three perspectives that help bring awareness and presence to our lives and emotions. Her writing style is incredibly accessible and heartfelt. It’s like she’s right in front of you, sipping her tea and engaging in serious conversation. A book for everyone, whatever their journey of faith.
>> To buy
From the publisher: Welcome to Charon’s Crossing. The tea is hot, the scones are fresh and the dead are just passing by. When a reaper comes for Wallace at his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect that he might be dead. And when Hugo, the owner of a strange teahouse, promises to help him across, Wallace decides he is definitely dead. But even in death, he’s not ready to give up the life he barely lived, so when Wallace has a week to go through, he sets out to live a whole life in seven days. Hilarious, haunting, and sweet, this book is an uplifting story about a life spent in the office and a death spent building a house.
From Jeffery Payne, Book Department Coordinator: Unusual and absolutely delicious. The author’s skill in dealing with death, grief, and living with a second chance makes this a gem of a book. It’s a challenge to truly love the main character at first, but as the story progresses there are glimpses of hope and redemption. The fiery characters (pun intended) will make you smile and think about the choices we make in this surprisingly cheerful read.
>> To buy
Dress codes: how fashion laws shaped history
By Richard Thompson Ford
Simon & Schuster Paperbacks
$19.99
January 18, 2022
>> To buy
From the publisher: In “Dress Codes,” law professor and cultural critic Richard Thompson Ford presents a “deeply informative and entertaining” (The New York Times Book Review) history of fashion laws from the Middle Ages to the present day, a walk in the red Of the history. carpet to discover and examine the canons, manners and customs of dress – rules that we often take for granted. After reading dress codes, you’ll never think of fashion as superficial again – and dressing will never be the same.
From Jeffery Payne, Book Department Coordinator:
Whether we want to admit it or not, we everything have a dress sense. Clothing has been used to send subtle (and not-so-subtle) messages to those around us and to the broad social masses. Think the “mighty red tie” used by politicians, the papal badges and insignia, the iconic overalls and white t-shirt of James Dean, and the flamboyant, sequined, dazzling attire of a drag queen. Each of them represents a different attitude and presence that we all easily see and recognize.
Richard Thompson Ford’s excellent book on fashion lineage explores and illuminates the fascinating world of style and the myriad dictates of clothing. We learn how clothing communicates, signals social strata and means to those around us. Explore the story of why we wear what we wear in this highly engaging read.
>> To buy
