EDUCATION

Money Management Tips For Working Women

Ever wondered why there are numerous articles written about women and money management. The reason is working women find themselves in unique situations – home maker, mother, caring for the elderly. Working women experience greater disruption in earnings in their life as they take career breaks for different reasons – relocation due to marriage, to raise children, tend to their elders or accommodate family contingencies et al. Statistically it is found that women generally spend seven years out of the work force to have and raise children. In the long term however, such disruptions hurt the family’s wealth creation and though a woman and a man may have started their careers at the same time, she ends up earning far less when they both retire.

Also, studies across the globe show that periodic income disruptions make women risk-averse. This means that they invest in lower-risk and fixed-income investment options such as fixed deposits and bonds for fear of losing money due to factors such as Stock Market fluctuations. The outcome of the preference for fixed-income assets is obvious. The woman’s savings will not suffice in her old age, and she’ll have to depend on the retirement funds of her husband, or other sources. And then there is the reality of a divorce which can be even more painful for dependent spouses. Regardless of how modern the majority claim to be, studies indicate that they lag significantly behind in one area compared to their male counterparts -   that area is financial planning. Most women leave the management of their finances to their fathers/husbands. Failure of marriage, unequal inheritance of wealth, non avoidance of old age, etc all the more necessitates us to be self reliant.

However, taking into consideration the above factors, women need to have a holistic financial plan, that too from a very early age in order to make good the time lost in such career breaks . In the current scenario, personal empowerment and financial independence are the need of the hour. After all financial independence is true empowerment. You know you are empowered when you do not need anyone to tell you how to live Your Life or spend your money. Also, whether or not a woman has her own income, she still needs to know how her family’s money is invested. Therefore, all women need to step up and Learn How to play with the boys. There is no longer a justification for you to not participate in the financial planning that will lend itself to your future.

The following are money management tips (though not exhaustive) which will help women mange their finances better:

Begin Early: One should take managing their finances early on. There is some magic to be found in “compound interest”. The earlier you start the smaller amounts you can invest for a higher gain. Also, when you start early (and continue to invest) you can take greater risks (like investing in equities, equity mutual funds). But remember that compound interest can only work its magic if you give it time. So, start saving now, if you have not started yet! Inflation and interest rate risk eat into the purchasing power of your money if you parked your money in lower risk investment instruments. So investing early in growth assets like equities and equity funds is imperative. Don’t limit yourself to conservative investments such as money market accounts and CDs. Use asset allocation to diversify your portfolio.Build an emergency fund. Ideally 6 months’ monthly expenses could be put in a liquid fund. Without one, losing your Job or incurring a large unexpected bill could force you to take on heavy credit card debt, and could put you into a financial hole that will be difficult if not impossible to dig your way out of.

Cut down Expenses: Cutting down on impulsive expenses and spending money prudently and training the same to children goes a long way in sensibly managing your money.

Invest in Insurance: Insurance is a must investment to protect yours and your family’s health costs and your physical assets. Also to provide financial security to your dependants in your absence. Insurance helps transfer the financial risk from one party to another, i.e., from you to your insurer.

When together, plan your finances together: Invest jointly with your spouse. Share expenses. Ensure expenses are covered by one income, try maximum to avoid loans to help you quit your job if needed. Ideally all money matters should be discussed by couples. Be prepared for the worst; even if you don’t want to take complete charge of your financial future, try and understand where the money is coming and where it is going.

Educate yourself: Personal financial planning and management is not complex. All you need to do is to understand your life goals and plan as per your requirement. You could read some useful books to educate yourself about the subject. Then even if you hire a financial consultant due to lack of time to self manage, you would understand what he/she is doing with your money. Suggested books are given at the end of the article.

Become aware of benefits given to women under different laws: The following are the benefits given to women under different laws:

• Income Tax Act, 1961 – Total income of up to Rs 190000 per year is exempted for woman assesses (below 65 years of age)

The rates of income-tax for FY 2009-10 (AY 2010-11):

• Married Women’s  Property Act, 1874: Under MWP the spouse can assign his life insurance policy in the name of the trust created for the benefit of his wife and/or children. The money set aside in this form is free from creditors, court or tax attachments (even in case of insolvency) forever, provided that the trust under MWP has not been effected to defraud the creditors. The MWP Act, 1874 creates a ring fence protecting the interests of the beneficiaries and safeguards the family against uncertainty of future and possibility of adverse financial conditions.

• Alimony: The purpose of alimony is to avoid any unfair economic consequences of a divorce, even after property is divided and child support, if any, is awarded. For example, a Muslim woman would be entitled to maintenance from her divorced husband as long as she doesn’t remarry.

Estate planning (Wealth Transfer): An effective estate plan can be made by the couple jointly. As the surviving spouse (generally the wife) is likely to end up being the executor of her husband’s estate plan, so ignorance cannot be afforded. It is useful to keep a record of inventory of assets and their beneficiaries for smooth transition of assets to the intended beneficiaries.

These are some important things to consider in your financial planning that are not very different from how a man may approach the same subject. The key is to start early and continue being invested. As a woman, you have a longer life expectancy than a man does. Therefore, your financial planning must encompass the fact that you have more years to fund. Having your finances in order is just one way that you can move toward your ideal lifestyle. Maybe your goal is purchasing the home of your dreams, or going into business for yourself. An active and independent retirement is also a goal. Many people no longer feel confident that they will be able to rely on pensions or social security checks after they have retired. Most goals take more planning than just a savings account and good intentions. Financial Planning involves long term strategic involvement … but it is worth it.

By sticking to your financial plan you can avoid excessive spending and unmanageable debts. You will have a sense of freedom from financial worries that comes with lack of planning, so that you can use your spare time in activities you desire to do but don’t have the time for.As quoted by Diane Ackerman, an American poet, “I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived it the width of it as well.”

You can take the help of a good financial planner to manage your money. To streamline the paperwork and administrative work of financial planning, many of today’s best advisors turn to technology. Investmentyogi provides you with a personal financial software that aggregates all of your financial investments, savings, accounts, etc. onto one easy-to-use web page – giving you 24/7 access to all of your financial information in just a few clicks of a mouse. Check it everyday, check it once a month, check it once a quarter, it’s up to you. The point is that it is there, organized and at your fingertips, when you need it.

About the Author

Investment Yogi is India’s Leading Financial Planning and Investment Planning Adviser which offers advice on Income Tax Planning, Mutual Funds, Tax Planning in 2010, Home Loans, Fixed Deposits etc.

Guardians of Nature Poster $25.00 This beautiful, high quality print is made from original oil and pastel artwork by Ann Altman and carries an inspirational message from the poetry of Diane Ackerman, “…I swear I will not dishonor my soul with hatred, but offer myself humbly as a guardian of nature, as a healer of misery, as a messenger of wonder, as an architect of peace…” The poster size is 22″x28″….

Elephant Parts [VHS] $19.98 He will be forever remembered as a former Monkee (and son of the inventor of Liquid Paper), but Elephant Parts is a reminder that Michael Nesmith was also a pioneer in music and long-form videos. Produced in 1981, the same year MTV made its debut, the hourlong program consists of 41 comedy bits and videos for Nesmith tunes. Of the former, most star Nesmith himself and are short and silly in a…

The First Wives Club [VHS] $0.99 Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton prove that revenge is a dish best served cold. Former college buddies, they reunite at the funeral of a dear friend who took a swan dive onto Fifth Avenue. All three discover they share the same unhappy history of husbands who dove into middle-age by dumping them for trophy wives. Forming a warring triumvirate, they decide to get even, and along the way …

The First Wives Club [VHS] $3.09 Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton prove that revenge is a dish best served cold. Former college buddies, they reunite at the funeral of a dear friend who took a swan dive onto Fifth Avenue. All three discover they share the same unhappy history of husbands who dove into middle-age by dumping them for trophy wives. Forming a warring triumvirate, they decide to get even, and along the way …

Gray Matters $4.20 A woman’s life is turned upside down when discovers she has feelings for her brother’s fianc?ee.Genre: Feature Film-ComedyRating: PG13Release Date: 5-FEB-2007Media Type: DVD…

NOVA: Mystery of the Senses $24.72 MYSTERY OF THE SENSES – DVD Movie…

Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story $19.95 …

Elephant Parts the Movie $24.98 He will be forever remembered as a former Monkee (and son of the inventor of Liquid Paper), but Elephant Parts is a reminder that Michael Nesmith was also a pioneer in music and long-form videos. Produced in 1981, the same year MTV made its debut, the hourlong program consists of 41 comedy bits and videos for Nesmith tunes. Of the former, most star Nesmith himself and are short and silly in a…

Elephant Parts $19.98 He will be forever remembered as a former Monkee (and son of the inventor of Liquid Paper), but Elephant Parts is a reminder that Michael Nesmith was also a pioneer in music and long-form videos. Produced in 1981, the same year MTV made its debut, the hourlong program consists of 41 comedy bits and videos for Nesmith tunes. Of the former, most star Nesmith himself and are short and silly in a…

The Zookeeper’s Wife Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company $6.99 …

A Convergence of Birds $460.75 Edited by Jonathan Safran Foer. Writings by: Jonathan Safran Foer, Diane Ackerman, Martine Bellen, John Burghardt, Mary Caponegro, Robert Coover, Lydia Davis, Siri Hustvedt, Ann Lauterbach, Barry Lopez, Rick Moody, Bradford Morrow, Howard Norman, Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Pinsky, Erik Anderson Reece, Rosemarie Waldrop, Paul West, Diane Williams, John Yau

A Natural History of the Senses $16.95 Diane Ackerman’s lusciously written grand tour of the realm of the senses includes conversations with an iceberg in Antarctica and a professional nose in New York, along with dissertations on kisses and tattoos, sadistic cuisine and the music played by the planet Earth. Delightful . . . gives the reader the richest possible feeling of the worlds the senses take in. –The New York Times. (Literature–Classics & Contemporary)

A Writers’ Aviary $15 Magazine. Essays. Fiction. Poetry. Edited by Bradford Morrow. Published in the Spring and Fall of each year by Bard College. The forty-ninth issue of CONJUNCTIONS is called A WRITERS” AVIARY: REFLECTIONS ON BIRDS and features of work of Peter Orner, Howard Norman, Yannick Murphy, Anne Waldman, Tim Dee, Arthur Sze, Sylvia Legris, Merrill Gilfillan, Forrest Gander, Diane Ackerman, J”Lyn Chapman, D. E. Steward, Micaela Morrissette, Rick Moody, Eric Linsker, Nathaniel Tarn, Elizabeth Robinson, Maureen Howard, John Kinsella, C. D. Wright, David Shields, Melanie Rae Thon, Joseph Campana, William H. Gass, Martine Bellen, Catherine Imbriglio, and Sven Birkerts. Also includes a special John Ashbery Tribute edited by Peter Gizzi and Bradford Morrow.

An Alchemy of Mind $15 From the bestselling author of A Natural History of the Senses comes a playful, rewarding jaunt through the brain’s chemical realities and emotional intangibles ( Kirkus Reviews ).From The Publisher:The most ambitious and enlightening work to date from the bestselling author of A Natural History of the Senses, An Alchemy of Mind combines an artist’s eye with a scientist’s erudition to illuminate, as never before, the magic and mysteries of the human mind.Long treasured by literary readers for her uncommon ability to bridge the gap between art and science, celebrated scholar-artist Diane Ackerman returns with the book she was born to write. Her dazzling new work, An Alchemy of Mind, offers an unprecedented exploration and celebration of the mental fantasia in which we spend our days — and does for the human mind what the bestselling A Natural History of the Senses did for the physical senses.Bringing a valuable female perspective to the topic, Diane Ackerman discusses the science of the brain as only she can: with gorgeous, immediate language and imagery that paint an unusually lucid and vibrant picture for the reader. And in addition to explaining memory, thought, emotion, dreams, and language acquisition, she reports on the latest discoveries in neuroscience and addresses controversial subjects like the effects of trauma and male versus female brains. In prose that is not simply accessible but also beautiful and electric, Ackerman distills the hard, objective truths of science in order to yield vivid, heavily anecdotal explanations about a range of existential questions regarding consciousness, human thought, memory, and the nature of identity.About The Author:Diane Ackerman is a naturalist and poet and the author of ten books of literary nonfiction, including A Natural History of the Senses, A Natural History of Love, and Cultivating Delight. Also the author of six volumes of poetry and several nonfiction children’s books, sh

An Alchemy of Mind: The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain $12.63 From the Publisher: Long treasured by literary readers for her uncommon ability to bridge the gap between art and science, celebrated scholar-artist Diane Ackerman returns with the book she was born to write. Her dazzling new work, An Alchemy of Mind, offers an unprecedented exploration and celebration of the mental fantasia in which we spend our days — and does for the human mind what the bestselling A Natural History of the Senses did for the physical senses.Bringing a valuable female perspective to the topic, Diane Ackerman discusses the science of the brain as only she can: with gorgeous, immediate language and imagery that paint an unusually lucid and vibrant picture for the reader. And in addition to explaining memory, thought, emotion, dreams, and language acquisition, she reports on the latest discoveries in neuroscience and addresses controversial subjects like the effects of trauma and male versus female brains. In prose that is not simply accessible but also beautiful and electric, Ackerman distills the hard, objective truths of science in order to yield vivid, heavily anecdotal explanations about a range of existential questions regarding consciousness, human thought, memory, and the nature of identity.

Common Wealth $31.95 Over the years, Pennsylvania has been graced with an abundance of writers whose work draws imaginatively on the state’s history and culture. Common Wealth sings the essence of Pennsylvania through contemporary poetry. Whether Pennsylvania is their point of origin or their destination, the featured poets ultimately find what matters: heritage, pride, work, inventiveness, struggle, faith, beauty, hope. Keystone poets Marjorie Maddox and Jerry Wemple celebrate Pennsylvania with this wide range of new and veteran poets, including former state poet Samuel Hazo, National Book Award winner Gerald Stern, Pulitzer Prize winners Maxine Kumin, W.S. Merwin, and W.D. Snodgrass, and Reading-born master John Updike. The book’s 103 poets also include such noted authors as Diane Ackerman, Maggie Anderson, Jan, Beatty, Robin Becker, Jim Daniels, Toi Derricotte, Gary Fincke, Harry Humes, Julia Kasdorf, Ed Ochester, Jay Parini, Len Roberts, Sonia Sanchez, Betsy Sholl, and Judith Vollmer. In these pages, poems sketch the landscapes and cultural terrain of the state, delving into the history, traditions, and people of Philadelphia, Dutch country, the coal-mining region, the Poconos, and the Lehigh Valley; the Three Rivers region; the Laurel Highlands; and Erie and the Allegheny National Forest. Theirs is a complex narrative cultivated for centuries in coal mines, kitchens, elevated trains, and hometowns, a tale that illuminates the sanctity of the commonplace–the daily chores of a Mennonite housewife, a polka dance in Coaldale, the late shift at a steel factory, the macadam of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. With its panoramic vision of Pennsylvania, its culture, and its thriving literary heritage, CommonWealth is a collection of remembrance for a state that continues to inspire countless contributions to American literature.

Dawn Light $4.43 Celebrated storyteller-poet-naturalist Diane Ackerman, author of the bestseller The Zookeeper’’s Wife, explores a year of dawns in her most personal book to date.

Dawn Light $42.49 Celebrated storyteller-poet-naturalist Diane Ackerman, author of the bestseller The Zookeeper’’s Wife, explores a year of dawns in her most personal book to date.

Face to Face: Women Writers on Faith, Mysticism, and Awakening $3.07 From the editors of the Sweet Breathing of Plants, a new anthology of women’s writing on faith and spiritualityFrom the vantage points of diverse backgrounds and beliefs, the writings gathered here describe a vast range of spiritual searches and encounters. Sy Montgomery writes about shamans, Terry Tempest Williams about her Mormon heritage, and Starhawk about witchcraft. Mary Gordon captures the attractions of the contemplative life. Ursula Le Guin speaks about the feminine aspects of the Tao te Ching. Jane Goodall reflects on the symbiosis of science and religion after experiencing an ecstatic loss of self in the company of chimpanzees. Facet by facet, these essays and poems–by Molly Peacock, Anne Sexton, Kathleen Norris, Diane Ackerman, and Joy Harjo, among others–reveal and celebrate the special relationship of women to the spiritual realm in a volume that will comfort, provoke, and inspire.

Face to Face: Women Writers on Faith, Mysticism, and Awakening $10.02 From the editors of the Sweet Breathing of Plants, a new anthology of women’s writing on faith and spirituality From the vantage points of diverse backgrounds and beliefs, the writings gathered here describe a vast range of spiritual searches and encounters. Sy Montgomery writes about shamans, Terry Tempest Williams about her Mormon heritage, and Starhawk about witchcraft. Mary Gordon captures the attractions of the contemplative life. Ursula Le Guin speaks about the feminine aspects of the Tao te Ching, Jane Goodall reflects on the symbiosis of science and religion after experiencing an ecstatic loss of self in the company of chimpanzees. Facet by facet, these essays and poems–by Molly Peacock, Anne Sexton, Kathleen Norris, Diane Ackerman, and Joy Harjo, among others–reveal and celebrate the special relationship of women to the spiritual realm in a volume that will comfort, provoke, and inspire.

Horse People $10.37 Deeply I sat, fixed to the slap, slap, slap of her trot, and the counterpoint thud-plod, thud-plod of her heart, enchanted by a soft percussion I felt part of, floating above the syncopated rhythm like a melody. –Diane Ackerman, recalling her beloved Appaloosa mare Horses have inspired devotion, awe, and love in their human companions for millennia; in Horse People more than forty acclaimed writers and artists share their own passion for these magical, mythical animals. Horse People includes deeply moving reminiscences and stories as varied as Jane Smiley’s memories of her return to riding and Rita Mae Brown’s straight-from-the-horse’s-mouth tale told by her horse, Peggy Sue Brown. A wide range of artistic mediums are represented as well: Painter Jamie Wyeth evokes dreamlike memories of a rural past; photographer John Derryberry captures the untamed beauty of wild stallions in Kashmir. Read this moving anthology and you too will yearn to connect–or reconnect–with horses (Town & Country).

I Praise My Destroyer $14 Diane Ackerman’s poems reveal her intense response to the several worlds of nature, science, and society. Her lyricism fuses wit and sobriety, meditation and activism, and she confronts us with figures both real and fantastic. As always, her strong connection with the natural world, the realms of language and literature, myth and imagination, combines with her deep understanding of the sciences to offer her readers a singular American voice. This is not a voice crying in the wilderness, but one that gives forth songs of joy and wonder. Organized into seven sections, including Timed Talk , By Atoms Moved , and Tender Mercies , I Praise My Destroyer is less an assorted collection than an organically coherent whole, one that reveals Ackerman’s true calling as a twentieth-century metaphysical poet of the highest order.

In Short $14.95 Delights and surprises await the reader in this rich gathering of Shorts (ranging from several paragraphs to 2,000 words). From Diane Ackerman’s fascination with hummingbirds to Andrei Codrescu’s idiosyncratic view of nostalgia to Albert Goldbarth’s free-wheeling riff on the universe, each Short becomes a sharply focused lens on an outer world or an inner sensibility.

In Short: A Collection of Brief Creative Nonfiction $153.9 Delights and surprises await the reader in this rich gathering of Shorts (ranging from several paragraphs to 2,000 words). From Diane Ackerman’s fascination with hummingbirds to Andrei Codrescu’s idiosyncratic view of nostalgia to Albert Goldbarth’s free-wheeling riff on the universe, each Short becomes a sharply focused lens on an outer world or an inner sensibility.

Nova-Mystery of the Senses Box Set $49.95 Enjoy a celebration of the senses! Hearing visits the quietest place on earth, the music-rich Maori and a deaf woman regaining her hearing. Smell samples a huge spectrum of smells, from the world’s largest perfumery to sweaty t-shirts. Taste savors the miracle of great cooking and eating. Touch discovers that touching is a potent tonic. And Vision explores how art and science enhance our most magical sense. A mysterious perfume. A mouth-watering meal. An ardent kiss. A stirring song. A radiant painting. Our senses are a source of inexhaustible pleasure as well as endless information.Inspired by the bestseller A Natural History of the Senses by poet, author, adventurer and sensory epicure Diane Ackerman, Mystery of the Senses is a vivid blend of science and imagery, literature and folklore, history and personal adventure. In five one-hour programs, this special NOVA miniseries celebrates each of the five senses – hearing, smell, taste, touch and vision – through Ackerman’s unique perspective. To really have a full ’sense’ of life, Ackerman insists, we need to understand how our senses work- their purpose, range and richness- and think about how they reveal the world to us and fill us with endless pleasures.

On the Wings of Eros: Nightly Readings for Passion and Romance [With Gold Ribbon Marker] $4.08 This luscious collection of romantic readings and amorous suggestions indulges couples’ hearts, bodies, and souls. From Pablo Neruda’s contemplation of the curves of a woman’s body to Diane Ackerman’s rumination on the eroticism of a kiss, On the Wings of Eros will help bring readers to a more passionate state of mind. Line drawings. Ribbon marker.

Origami Bridges $11.95 At the heart of Origami Bridges is the delicate relationship of trust between analyst and patient, a relationship that grows out of the emotional give-and-take of the psychoanalytic process. In this collection, Diane Ackerman, with astonishing candor, lays bare her desires, anger, jealousy, fears, and anxiety, as she probes not only her present emotional landscape but also her past. And what gradually rises to the surface is an understanding of how the poet uses verse to purge her demons, express her delight, or confess secret longing, and through this process come to a better understanding of the self.

Poetry for Students $169.27 P> Each volume of I> X>Poetry /X> for X>Students /X> /I> provides analysis of approximately 20 poems that teachers and librarians have identified as the most frequently studied in literature courses. Some of the poems covered in this volume include: ul> li> On Location in the Loire Valley by Diane Ackerman li> And What if I Spoke of Despair? by Ellen Bass li> Perfect Light by Ted Hughes li> Ordinary Words by Ruth Stone li> The Proem from In Memoriam A.H.H. By Alfred Tennyson li> And more /ul>

Ravishing Disunities $17.95 In recent years, the ghazal (pronounced ghuzzle ), a traditional Arabic form of poetry, has become popular among contemporary English language poets. But like the haiku before it, the ghazal has been widely misunderstood and thus most English ghazals have been far from the mark in both letter and spirit. This anthology brings together ghazals by a rich gathering of 107 poets including Diane Ackerman, John Hollander, W.S. Merwin, William Matthews, Paul Muldoon, Ellen Bryant Voigt, and many others. As this dazzling collection shows, the intricate and self-reflexive ghazal brings the writer a unique set of challenges and opportunities. Agha Shahid Ali’s lively introduction gives a brief history of the ghazal and instructions on how to compose one in English. An elegant afterword by Sarah Suleri Goodyear elucidates the larger issues of cultural translation and authenticity inherent in writing in a borrowed form.

Secret Spaces of Childhood $234.75 Whether it’s real or imaginary, every child has a secret space, and this remarkable book explores them all. For some it’s a treehouse or a hidden spot beneath a bush; for others it’s a private psychic refuge–a favorite book, or a dollhouse that becomes a stage for a young imagination. As the more than four dozen pieces collected here reveal, such spaces play a key role in a child’s development and retain a symbolic power that resonates throughout our adult lives. No reader will put this book down without experiencing a rush of familiar memories and new insights into that bygone world. Poet Diane Ackerman evokes that parallel universe behind the eyes / which no one shared, or dare discover ; Paul Brodeur recalls the fort where he and his brother defended Cape Cod against invaders in World War II; Nobelist Wole Soyinka offers a poignant verse portrait of Africa’s lost children; and Paul West remembers youthful encounters with his eccentric neighbors Edith and Osbert Sitwell. Elsewhere, Robert Coles summons up memories of his first years as a doctor and a wise young patient who taught him a lesson he has never forgotten, and Mary Galbraith shows how childhood loss is transformed into art in Ludwig Bemelmans’s classic Madeline. And these are just a few of the gems in a treasury that includes Anne Frank, the controversial photographs of Sally Mann and the crudely eloquent drawings of young South African refugees, clinical case studies and profoundly personal imagery. A perceptive, thought-provoking work for general readers, Secret Spaces of Childhood opens a wonderful window on the world of the young. Elizabeth Goodenough is Lecturer in Comparative Literature, the ResidentialCollege, University of Michigan.

Sharing The Journey $1.48 A timeless collection of memoirs, culled from the pages of Victoria magazine, by some of the finest women writers around. Such distinguished authors as Diane Ackerman, Jane Howard, Perri Klass, Madeleine L’Engle, Susan Minot, Francine Prose, Carol Shields, and Jane Smiley have contributed to these pages–and their emotionally rich, lovingly crafted essays embrace all phases of a woman’s life, as well as literature and the process of writing itself. The topics so insightfully and often poignantly explored include childhood, motherhood, solitude, rituals, home, sisters, and remembering the past. From Phyllis Theroux’s memories of her convent education to Susan Schneider’s thoughts on living in A Gently Haunted House, each piece will touch your heart, mind, and soul.

Snowed in $15.99 Praise for Christina Bartolomeo and Snowed In As sparkling and transcendent as the first snow. With an alchemist’s eye, Bartolomeo makes magic with a wonderful new novel about love and friendship, need and self-worth, and the way the past impossibly tugs at the future. Slyly funny—and at times heartbreaking— Snowed In is proof positive that even in the deepest freeze of winter, something miraculous—and rare—can happen. – Caroline Leavitt, author of Girls in Trouble This novel is a gem. Once again, Christina Bartolomeo displays her gifts as a first-rate storyteller. She writes with the wit of Diane Johnson and the heart of Josephine Humphreys. Snowed In tells the story of a young marriage in trouble. It is unflinchingly honest, smart, wistful—as engrossing and revealing as a long conversation with a wise friend. Sophie Quinn, the novel’s narrator, is at once clear-eyed and bemused, a closet optimist with a deep streak of fatalism: ‘If you’re the type that’s going to get done in, it happens, ‘ she reports. ‘If you’re not—and sheer luck has more to do with this than anything—you come to a place where it’s just irresistible to get on with things, when all you can think of is that here you are, somehow saved from the wreckage, and now what?’ – Karl Ackerman, author of The Patron Saint of Unmarried Women Snuggle up under your coziest comforter and break out the chocolate! This utterly charming book about finding love and courage is for every woman who has written a to-do list of self-improvement that starts where Sophie’s does: ‘haircut.’ Engaging and funny, I was rooting for Sophie from page one. – Leslie Pietrzyk, author of A Year and a Dayand Pears on a Willow Tree Here’s a book brimming with comfort and courage. Christina Bartolomeo has written a delightful novel. Snowed In is an enchanting book whose main character grows more charming by the page. – Mary Kay Zuravleff, author of The Frequency of Souls

Straight On Till Morning $15.95 The New York Times bestseller: Every page is filled with revelations, gossip and fascinating details about Markham. Diane Ackerman, The New York Times Book Review

The Best American Science Writing 2004 $7.8 What makes the articles found in The Best American Science Writing 2004 the best ? As Dava Sobel, best-selling author of Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter, writes in her introduction, First and most important, all are extremely well written. This sounds obvious, and it is, but for me it means the pieces impart genuine pleasure via the writers’ choice of words and the rhythm of their phrases … ‘I wish I’d written that, ‘ was my own frequent reaction to the articles I ultimately chose. This year, Jennifer Kahn’s Stripped for Parts was selected as the lead story because, as Sobel reveals, it begins with one of the most arresting openings I have ever read. In Columbia’s Last Flight, William Langewiesche recounts the February 1, 2003, space shuttle tragedy, along with the investigation into the nationwide complacency that brought the ship down. K. C. Cole’s Fun with Physics is a profile of astrophysicist Janet Conrad that blends her personal life with professional activity. In Desperate Measures, the doctor and writer Atul Gawande profiles the surgeon Francis Daniels Moore, whose experiments in the 1940s and ’50s pushed medicine harder and farther than almost anyone had contemplated. Also included is a poem by the legendary John Updike, Mars as Bright as Venus. The collection ends with Diane Ackerman’s ebullient essay We Are All a Part of Nature. Together these twenty-three articles on a wide range of today’s most current topics in science — from biology, physics, biotechnology, and astronomy, to anthropology, genetics, evolutionary theory, and cognition — represent the full spectrum of scientific writing from America’s most prominent science authors, provingonce again that good science writing is evidently plentiful (Scientific American).

The Best Spiritual Writing 2010 $16 For more than a decade, Zaleski has collected into single volumes the best spiritual essays and poetry of each. The 2010 edition includes contributions by John Updike, Diane Ackerman, Seamus Heaney, Mary Jo Bang, Amanda Shaw, and many others.

The Ends of the Earth $1.6 Published to commemorate the International Polar Year, this literary anthology features first-person narratives, cultural histories, nature and science writing, and fiction from such legendary polar explorers and writers as Jon Krakauer, Jack London, Diane Ackerman, Barry Lopez, and Ursula K. LeGuin.

The Presence of Whales $15.95 Frank Stewart, an observer, writer, storyteller, and lover of whales gathers the most compelling contemporary essays on cetaceans in the first anthology to bring together many of the foremost marine scientists and nature writers, including Diane Ackerman, Barry Lopez, Farley Mowat, Faith McNulty, and Jonathan White. The essays are organized in five sections that celebrates our ongoing fascination with these fragile giants. Sharing the World of Giants contains essays inspired by being in the presence of whales, Songs from the Deep concentrates on whale vocalizations, Sightings of the Leviathan are compelling accounts of personal observations of whale behavior, Death at Sea and On Shore touch on the mystery of whale groundings and other violent encounters, and A Splendid but Uncertain Company explores teh privilege humans sense when near whales and the compact human contact has had on these glorious but gentle beasts.

The Soothing Soak: A Bathtub Reader $0.01 From the same team that produced the wildly popular Aqua Erotica comes The Soothing Soak: A Bathtub Reader, a collection of sensuous and spiritually uplifting stories, meditations, and poetry. The Soothing Soak is the perfect companion for bathers in search of solitude, relaxation, and revelation, and features lyrical journeys of self-discovery by best-selling and prize-winning authors such as Diane Ackerman, A. S. Byatt, Lao Tzu, D. H. Lawrence, Barry Lopez, Rumi, Henry David Thoreau, and Terry Tempest Williams. Printed in Melcher Media’s patented waterproof DuraBook format, readers can take the book right into a warm bath and unwind with it. Filled with luminous writings that celebrate the balanced life, this book is the perfect antidote to a stressful day.

The Zookeeper’s Wife $152.88 A true story– as powerful as Schindler’s List — in which the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo saved hundreds of people from Nazi hands. When Germany invaded Poland, Stuka bombers devastated Warsaw– and the city’s zoo along with it. With most of their animals dead, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski began smuggling Jews into empty cages. Another dozen guests hid inside the Zabinskis’ villa, emerging after dark for dinner, socializing, and, during rare moments of calm, piano concerts. Jan, active in the Polish resistance, kept ammunition buried in the elephant enclosure and stashed explosives in the animal hospital. Meanwhile, Antonina kept her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and its animal inhabitants– otters, a badger, hyena pups, lynxes. With her exuberant prose and exquisite sensitivity to the natural world, Diane Ackerman engages us viscerally in the lives of the zoo animals, their keepers, and their hidden visitors. She shows us how Antonina refused to give in to the penetrating fear of discovery, keeping alive an atmosphere of play and innocence even as Europe crumbled around her. 8 pages of illustrations.

Twilight of the Tenderfoot: A Western Memoir $3.82 In the twenty-some years since award-winning writer Diane Ackerman first visited the Tequesquite ranch in New Mexico, she has delighted readers with her rich, observant prose in such books as A Natural History of the Senses and, most recently, Cultivating Delight: A Natural History of My Garden. However, her first nonfiction book, Twilight of the Tenderfoot, reveals the strong beginnings of a writer who renders the experience of nature and place into an intimate and magical affair.Now back in print, Twilight of the Tenderfoot lets readers once more glimpse the backbreaking, soul-satisfying work of ranching. Growing up in rural Illinois, Diane Ackerman knew the West through film and television. Her abiding love of horses led her to one day seek to ride alongside cowboys on a traditional New Mexican ranch. At 5:30 the next morning, I buckled on my chaps, and rode out to herd cattle for the first time in my life, not knowing exactly what I would find in an American past mine only by association, a landscape alien as Mars, a desert heat and physical labor so hard it leaves you aching all over. As a tenderfoot — and a woman in a man’s world — Ackerman undergoes an often hilarious initiation: but she is game and spirited, up to the challenges of red-hot chiles, Red Man chewing tobacco, revved-up horses, snakes dangling from brooms, and tough work well before sunrise. For Ackerman, and for her readers, what happened remains indelibly branded in memory.

Two in the Wild: Tales of Adventure from Friends, Mothers, and Daughters $16 Thelma and Louise get sporty (and survive) in this anthology of stories about women for whom getting together to share adventures, big and small, in the great outdoors is more fun than a day of shopping. Here women ski virgin slopes, hike obscure Appalachian trails in the off-season, and bike tough trails in the woods of New York. And in TWO FOR THE ROAD, an anthology of true stories, they’ve found that when it comes to the outdoors, two is more fun than one. Diane Ackerman and a pal bike through an aubergine drapery of forest to circumnavigate Lake Otsego, Marry Morris and her daughter pair up for the road trip of their lives though the California desert, Pam Houston chills out with a friend on a ranch in Colorado, two work colleagues go hiking in the Costa Rican forest, and one women skis through a dangerous storm, comforted only by the fact that she’s accompanied by her childhood best friend, an excellent athlete. Susan Fox Rogers, the editor of Solo: On Her Own Adventure and Another Wilderness: Notes from the New Outdoorswoman, has found fifteen courageous and fun-loving women who will inspire you to fill up your gas tank, lace up your hiking boots, and dig your bike out of the basement. But more than anything, the bond that these women share will inspire you to call your mom, sister, or best friend to see if they’d be up for an adventure as exhilarating, if not always hitch-free, as those in the pages of TWO FOR THE ROAD.

When the Wild Comes Leaping Up: Personal Encounters with Nature $10.15 In this eloquent collection, writers from the United States, Canada, the U.K., and Australia describe a personal encounter with the natural world that moved them, enhanced their understanding of nature, changed them, or was in some other way of prime importance to them. These essays describe childhood memories, everyday walks transformed into life-changing events, being in the grip of a great force, and startling encounters with wild animals. They are funny, sad, reflective, exciting, nostalgic, and outlandish. Each one presents a singular experience, and all are beautifully written and deeply felt. Personal encounters with the natural world written by award-winning authors. Some of the award-winning contributors include Margaret Atwood, Diane Ackerman, David Quammen, Rick Bass, and Wade Davis.

When the Wild Comes Leaping Up: Personal Encounters with Nature $14.84 In this eloquent collection, writers from the United States, Canada, the U.K., and Australia describe a personal encounter with the natural world that moved them, enhanced their understanding of nature, changed them, or was in some other way of prime importance to them. These essays describe childhood memories, everyday walks transformed into life-changing events, being in the grip of a great force, and startling encounters with wild animals. They are funny, sad, reflective, exciting, nostalgic, and outlandish. Each one presents a singular experience, and all are beautifully written and deeply felt. Personal encounters with the natural world written by award-winning authors. Some of the award-winning contributors include Margaret Atwood, Diane Ackerman, David Quammen, Rick Bass, and Wade Davis.

Within the Stone: Nature’s Abstract Rock Art $39.95 Mac guru Bill Atkinson shoots pictures of cut and polished rock slabs, transmuting them into masterpieces of found art with his high-resolution scanning camera and innovative color management techniques. For Within the Stone, Atkinson picks 72 rock images for their evocative painterly qualities. Seven eminent poets and science writers, including Diane Ackerman and John Horgan, take turns responding to each image as a dream, landscape, seduction, or excogitative stimulus. In an appendix, three mineralogists describe each specimen’s provenience, geological setting, and mineral composition. A beautiful work of art. Gems & Gemology. Abstract masterpieces. Popular Photography. Revelations of the inner beauty of rocks. PC Photo High tech meets timeless beauty. Lapidary Journal. Apple’s soft ware star turns his code into art. Macworld Winner of 2004 Gold Ink Award, American Photo Best Photo Book of 2004

Write Screenplays That Sell $21.95 Professional screenwriting technique is the first subject covered in Tallfellow Press’ new Great Teacher Series. Students have had unprecedented success in selling the screenplays developed under his tutelage. Each year for the past seven years, a major motion picture has come from an Ackerman writer! He is a virtuoso in teaching the art of story structure, substance, and style, while offering a treasure trove of information on the writing of quality, saleable screenplays. Ackerman’s students’ films have featured Gwyneth Paltrow, Hillary Swank and Diane Lane; currently in production is Terminal, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Steven Spielberg.

Writers on Writing $3.72 In a second volume of original essays drawn from the long-running New York Times column, Writers on Writing brings together another group of contemporary literature’s finest voices to muse on the challenges and gifts of language and creativity. The pieces range from taciturn, hilarious advice for aspiring writers to thoughtful, soul-wrenching reflections on writing in the midst of national tragedy. William Kennedy talks about the intersecting lives of real and imagined Albany politics; Susan Isaacs reveals her nostalgia for a long-retired protagonist; and Elmore Leonard offers pithy rules for letting the writing, and not the writer, take charge. With contributions from Diane Ackerman, Margaret Atwood, Frank Conroy, Mary Karr, Patrick McGrath, Arthur Miller, Amy Tan, and Edmund White, Writers on Writing offers an uncommon and revealing view of the writer’s world.

Writing Creative Nonfiction $18.99 Writing Creative Nonfiction presents more than 30 instructive essays on today’s hottest literary form–creative nonfiction–by such authors as Philip Lopate, William Least-Heat Moon, Diane Ackerman, Ted Conover, and Dinty Moore.