It’s time for a history lesson! Get ready for an Anne Boleyn you never knew, and a celebration of the golden age of running. 

THE CREATION OF ANNE BOLEYN:  A New Look at England’s Most Notorious Queen by Susan Bordo. A ground-breaking retelling and reclaiming of Anne Boleyn’s life and legacy from a preeminent cultural thinker puts old questions to rest and raises some surprising new ones.

KINGS OF THE ROAD: How Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Alberto Salazar Made Running Go Boom by Cameron Stracher. For fans of The Perfect Mile and Born to Run, a riveting, three-pronged narrative about the golden era of running in America—the 1970s—as seen through the fascinating lives and careers of running greats, Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Alberto Salazar. 

BLUE ASYLUM by Kathy Hepinstall. Now in paperback. In the midst of the American Civil War, a southern plantation owner’s wife is arrested by her husband and declared insane for interfering with his slaves. She is sent to an island mental asylum to come to terms with her wrongdoing, but instead finds love and escape with a war-haunted Confederate soldier. 

KILL OR CAPTURE: The War on Terror and the Soul of the Obama Presidency by Daniel Klaidman. Now in paperback. From one of the most respected investigative journalists in Washington, a revelatory look at the Obama administration’s internal workings, showing the fractures, competing cliques, and, ultimately, the deepest divides within the president’s own mind as he has struggled to define national security policy differently than his predecessor. 

Happy reading!

Health and happiness, as individuals and as a community, are the focus this week. Take an in-depth look at addiction, read an eye-opening account of the truths children grasp, connect body and mind with a world-class athlete, but don’t forget to eat! 

CLEAN: Overcoming Addiction and Ending America’s Greatest Tragedy by David Sheff. The author of the No. 1 New York Times bestseller Beautiful Boy offers a new paradigm for dealing with addiction based on cutting-edge research and stories of his own and other families’ struggles with – and triumphs over – drug abuse. Share your own stories and learn more in our forum.

WORLD PEACE AND OTHER 4TH GRADE ACHIEVEMENTS by John Hunter.  Award-winning teacher and high-profile public speaker John Hunter offers insights into conflict resolution and collective problem-solving gleaned from his many years teaching kids through the “world peace game,” an innovative global systems simulation he created.

SHELTER CYCLE by Peter Rock. An American original, Peter Rock brings our strangest beliefs to vivid and sympathetic life in this haunting novel inspired by true events: two childhood friends, whose families were members of an extreme religion, suddenly reencounter each other twenty years later. 

FAMILY TABLE: Favorite Staff Meals from Our Restaurants to Your Home by Michael Romano and Karen Stabiner. The best staff meals from Danny Meyer’s acclaimed restaurants—Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Maiolino, Eleven Madison Park, The Modern, Blue Smoke, Untitled at The Whitney, and more—simple enough for any home cook’s weeknight dinners, delicious enough for the most discriminating palates. 

EAT AND RUN: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek and Steve Friedman. Now in paperback. An inspiring memoir from ultrarunner Scott Jurek, star of Born to Run, covering his remarkable running career, fueled, surprisingly, by an entirely plant-based diet.

ARE YOU MY MOTHER? A Comic Drama by Alison Bechdel. Now in paperback. From the best-selling author of Fun Home, Time magazine’s No. 1 Book of the Year, a poignant and hilarious  graphic memoir of Alison Bechdel becoming the artist her gifted mother always wanted to be.

GODFORSAKEN IDAHO by Shawn Vestal. For fans of George Saunders and Raymond Carver, this powerful, imaginative story collection takes readers on a journey from the afterlife to contemporary times to the early days of Mormonism—a stunning debut  by an acclaimed McSweeney’s and Tin House contributor.   

I’ve got running on the brain today as I gear up for the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge. Maybe if I read all three of these at lunch I’ll find some inspiration?

Three men strive to run a four-minute mile in THE PERFECT MILE (I won’t be doing that.)

Scott Jurek runs 100-mile races in mere hours in EAT AND RUN (I won’t be doing that either).

Caleb Daniloff uses running to overcome his addictions in RUNNING RANSOM ROAD.