Ikigai

The world has reached unprecedented levels of wealth, but while we have succeeded in getting richer, we have failed in getting happier. While many people live lives of quiet desperation, a few people find themselves at the very top of the scale when it comes to happiness. Their behaviour is different. Their outlook is different. Their priorities are different. What can we learn from the world's happiest people?

Welcome to ikigai, a Japanese mind-set that will change your life. Ken Mogi, a Japanese expert and best-selling writer, reveals all about this mysterious and fascinating miracle that is at the heart of Japan's record-breaking long life, astonishing appreciation of sensory beauty and inherent mindfulness. It is extraordinary that Japanese men's longevity ranks fourth in the world while Japanese women's ranks second. But perhaps this comes as no surprise....

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Art of Life Admin, written and read by Elizabeth Emens. This book will give you many hours of your life back. Every day, an unseen form of labour creeps into our lives, stealing precious moments of free time, placing a strain on our schedules and relationships, and earning neither appreciation nor compensation in return. Scheduling doctor's appointments. Planning a party. Buying a present. Filling out paperwork. This labour is 'life admin' - the kind of secretarial and managerial work necessary to run a life and a household.

Denmark is often said to be the happiest country in the world. That's down to one thing: hygge. ' Hygge has been translated as everything from the art of creating intimacy to cosiness of the soul to taking pleasure from the presence of soothing things. My personal favourite is cocoa by candlelight....' You know hygge when you feel it. It is when you are cuddled up on a sofa with a loved one or sharing comfort food with your closest friends. It is those crisp blue mornings when the light through your window is just right.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Atomic Habits by James Clear, read by the author. A revolutionary system to get 1 percent better every day. People think when you want to change your life, you need to think big. But world-renowned habits expert James Clear has discovered another way. He knows that real change comes from the compound effect of hundreds of small decisions - doing two push-ups a day, waking up five minutes early or holding a single short phone call. He calls them atomic habits. 

Behind a cacophony of traffic noise, iPhone alerts and our ever-spinning thoughts, an elusive notion - silence - lies in wait. But what really is silence? Where can it be found? And why is it more important now than ever? Erling Kagge, the Norwegian adventurer and polymath, once spent 50 days walking solo in Antarctica with a broken radio. In this meditative, charming and surprisingly powerful book, he explores the power of silence and the importance of shutting out the world.

'Is it the world that's busy, or my mind?' The world moves fast, but that doesn't mean we have to. In this timely guide to mindfulness, Haemin Sunim, a Buddhist monk born in Korea and educated in the United States, offers advice on everything from handling setbacks to dealing with rest and relationships.

Understanding and developing the mind throughout life - the new audiobook from the creator of the chimp management mind model and author of the million-copy selling The Chimp Paradox. The Silent Guides explores some neuroscience and psychological aspects of the developing mind, unconscious thinking, behaviours, habit formation and related topics in an easy to understand way. It then offers practical ideas and thoughts for the listener to reflect on using 10 helpful habits as examples.

Learn Japanese: A Complete Phrase Compilation for Traveling to Japan is designed for absolute beginner learners and travelers. You'll learn the must-know travel phrases, survival phrases, vocabulary, and cultural insights to make your trip to Japan a breeze. All were handpicked by our team of Japanese teachers and experts.

Japanese Phase 1, Units 1-5 build on material taught in prior units. Each lesson provides 30 minutes of spoken language practice, with an introductory conversation, and new vocabulary and structures. Detailed instructions enable you to understand and participate in the conversation.

You want to learn Japanese, but with something exciting...and scary! You get 14 stories inside this audiobook. You learn about spooky Japanese superstitions, traditions, and culture while learning the Japanese language at the same time!

What if there was a proven path to success? A path supported by science and research? A path that led to your goals and aspirations in less time, with less risk? Would you take it? Truthful and hard hitting, Life in Half a Second is the first 'fact-based' formula for achieving success in life and business. Proven through thousands of studies and decades of research, it presents the five doors you must walk through to achieve success in your career, business, or personal life.

In Joyful, designer Ingrid Fetell Lee, whose TED talk has been viewed over one million times, explores how the seemingly mundane spaces and objects we interact with every day have surprising and powerful effects on our mood. Drawing on insights from neuroscience and psychology as well as design, she explains why one setting makes us feel anxious or competitive while another fosters delight and sharing - and, most important, she reveals how we can harness the power of our surroundings to live fuller, healthier and truly joyful lives. 

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Rituals for Every Day, written by Nadia Narain and Katia Narain Phillips. We all feel that desire for a calmer, more spacious way of living, but we’re often unsure exactly how to step off the crazy treadmill of day-to-day routines and responsibilities. Nadia and Katia have learned, through years of practice, that simple rituals can help you press the pause button on the pace of modern life. In Rituals for Every Day they share their easy-to-follow advice, step by step. Let rituals bring you back to yourself.

In this era of mass consumption, we are all drowning in 'stuff', despite our best efforts to keep on top of the clutter that collects in our homes, our office spaces and even our cars. All this clutter causes us mental anguish. However, as we all know, throwing things away can be difficult - it clashes with the values instilled in us from an early age of not wasting things, reusing items and keeping things 'for a rainy day'. Simply put, we feel guilty about getting rid of things. Enter Nagisa Tatsumi and her bold suggestion - that it's okay to throw stuff away.