I was so thrilled to find this memoir of a young German woman’s experience as an immigrant and newbie farmer in Vermont in the 1940’s. It’s both a classic city slicker in the big country story (love those) and a glorious, contemporaneous depiction of another time, with party lines and pony carts and train travel. I’m treasuring every page.

Gretchen Rubin’s four tendencies framework won’t fully explain you or everyone around you, but once you’re in possession of the possibilities (Upholder, Obliger, Questioner, Rebel) you’ll want to analyze yourself, your partner and anyone else who springs to mind, and you’ll find you’re much more able to understand (and maybe tolerate) their quirks, as well as motivate and be gentler on yourself. Informative and, like all the best analyze-yourself-and-others books, irresistible. (There’s a quiz. You know you’re in.)