This is the time of year when we focus on improving the quality of our lives. We know the benefits of healthy eating and exercise, but why beat yourself up at the start of a new year with another diet you won't commit to? This year, start off with some self care, mindful approaches to a healthy routine, and take some time to appreciate a good book or a local museum.

Keep reading for a few book recommendations and tips to begin a new journey to a better year and a better you.

Slow: Simple Living for a Frantic World by Brooke McAlarty
Slow is an inspirational guide on creating a life filled with the things that really matter, and is meant for anyone seeking peace, meaning, and joy in their otherwise rapid lives. Slowly-of course.

The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings and Discovered Life is Worth More than Anything You Can Buy in a Store by Cait Flanders
This memoir is a compelling story with inspiring insight and practical guidance about the benefits of scaling back.

Delish: Eat Like Every Day’s the Weekend by the Editors of Delish and Joanna Saltz
You don’t have to know how to cook, you just have to love to eat. Inside, you’ll find 275 recipes and ideas that are meant to be devoured, not perfected.

1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List by James Mustich
The title says it all. Time to get started on your reading.

Change Your Schedule, Change Your Life: How to Harness the Power of Clock Genes to Lose Weight, Optimize Your Workout, and Finally Get a Good Night’s Sleep by Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar and Michelle D. Seaton
Bad habits like skipping meals, squeezing in workouts when it’s convenient, working late into the night to maximize productivity and then try to “catch up” on sleep during the weekend disrupt our natural cycles. Read about how our “clock genes” control more than we realize and small changes can make a big difference.

Explore your own backyard!:
Check out our Museum Pass program and visit the Jewish Museum, Stamford Museum & Nature Center, the Children's Museum of Manhattan, and many more! To reserve a Museum Pass, please visit our website OR call us at 914-422-1480.  Note: The Museum Pass Program is for White Plains Public Library cardholders only.