Ikigai

Wabi sabi (wah-bi sah-bi) is a captivating concept from Japanese aesthetics, which helps us to see beauty in imperfection, appreciate simplicity and accept the transient nature of all things. With roots in Zen and the way of tea, the timeless wisdom of wabi sabi is more relevant than ever for modern life, as we search for new ways to approach life's challenges and seek meaning beyond materialism.  

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....

Uncover the secrets of the Swedish philosophy of life called Lagom - meaning 'just enough'. At its core is the idea that we can strike a healthy balance with the world around us without having to make extreme changes and without denying ourselves anything. This delightful audiobook, written by Niki Brantmark, founder and curator of the award winning interior design blog My Scandinavian Home, gives a taste of the philosophy behind Lagom and shows how to include some of the principles in our daily lives.

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.

Relax and find happiness amid the swirl of the modern world with this internationally best-selling guide to simplifying your life by a Japanese monk who embodies the wisdom of Zen. Drawing on centuries of wisdom, renowned Zen Buddhist priest Shunmyo Masuno applies the essence of Zen to modern life in clear, practical, easily adopted lessons - one a day for 100 days.

One of the smartest ways to improve fluency is to listen to stories in your chosen language. Finding appropriate literature can be tough when you’re just starting out, but this collection of 30 short stories is a fun and entertaining way of learning Japanese vocabulary and grammar. Each story is around 300 words, making them very quick reads without overwhelming you. Crafted for beginners, this is ideal for newcomers who are trying to approach fluency in a natural way.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of A Monk's Guide to a Clean House and Mind by Shoukei Matsumoto, read by Adam Sims. We remove dust to sweep away our worldly desires. We scrub dirt to free ourselves of attachments. We live simply and take time to contemplate the self, mindfully living each moment. It's not just monks that need to live this way. Everyone in today's busy world today needs it.

Award-winning author and researcher Dan Buettner has traveled the world to meet the planet’s longest-lived people, and learned nine powerful yet simple lessons that could put you on the path to longer life. Where did he find them? In the Blue Zones....

The Book of Forgiving, written together by the Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and his daughter Revd Mpho Tutu, offers a deeply personal testament and guide to the process of forgiveness. All of us have at times needed both to forgive and be forgiven - whether small, everyday harms or real traumas. But the path to forgiveness is not easy, and the process unclear. How do we let go of resentment when we have been harmed, at times irreparably? How do we forgive and still pursue justice? How do we heal our hearts?

An inspiring guide that teaches us how adversity can be an opportunity to make us into stronger, better people. Discover how to rebuild your life after it is broken, repair the cracks, heal emotional wounds, and embrace imperfection. Written by a psychologist, Tomas Navarro, this book explores the Japanese notion of Kintsugi, the ancient Japanese art of mending broken ceramics with gold, leaving visible the repair as a symbol of fragility, strength and beauty.

In contrast to formal Japanese textbooks, Real Japanese is an easy-to-listen-to collection of short stories about Japan, blended with useful phrases and language learning tips. If you are a casual learner or planning on traveling to Japan for a trip, this book will help you break down the language and culture into the real and everyday essentials. This audiobook gives an opportunity to hear all the phrases read by a native Japanese speaker, and provides pauses for you to repeat them yourself.

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.

From the best-selling author of Silence comes an illuminating exploration of the joy of walking. From those perilous first steps to great expeditions, from walking to work to walking to the North Pole, Erling Kagge explains that he who walks lives longer - and better.... 

Chowa is a Japanese concept that is often translated as 'harmony', but more accurately means 'the search for balance'. Chowa is both a philosophy and a set of practices that can help us get to the heart of what is most important to us, and change our way of thinking about ourselves and others. This book will teach you how to apply the lessons of chowa to your own life to better focus on what really matters and cultivate an everyday state of equilibrium and calm that will help you feel ready for anything.

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.