4 Books to Check Out in October

New York-- What’s scarier than that Clinton/Trump costume you’re going to don for Halloween? Missing out on any of these (relatively) new releases.

Selected from the virtual stacks of book discussion site Good Reads, this month’s list of new, potentially good reads includes lessons on how to ensure there is gender equality in your store to what to do if you just can’t sleep at night.

Read a good book lately we should know about? Email michelle.graff@nationaljeweler.com.

1. But What If We’re Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past
Chuck Klosterman with Junot Díaz

Released in June, the latest book from journalism and pop culture observer Chuck Klosterman asks the question: How will the world of today look to those living 500 years in the future? How certain are we of even the most basic concepts we think we have a complete handle on today, like gravity and time?

The author runs through a wide range of both objective and subjective problems in this book, with input from a number of creative individuals, including Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Díaz (who is listed as a contributor to this book), filmmaker Richard Linklater (Boyhood), and astrophysicist and author Neil deGrasse Tyson.

But What If We’re Wrong? is 272 pages.

2. What Works: Gender Equality by Design
Iris Bohnet

In her book, which was published in March, Iris Bohnet argues that diversity training programs have had limited success and de-biasing individuals is both difficult and expensive.

What she proposes instead is a concept called behavioral design, which de-biases organizations as a whole instead of individuals. She gives readers, including business owners, the tools they need to move the needle toward equality in hiring and promoting women at their workplace.

What Works is 385 pages.

3. How to Be Miserable: 40 Strategies You Already Use
Randy J. Paterson

In this tongue-in-cheek book that came out in May, psychologist and author Randy J. Paterson outlines 40 habits and behaviors that are sure to lead to a lifetime of misery. Focusing on things you can’t change, drinking too much, shutting out family and friends, and eating poorly are just a few of them.

The idea behind How to be Miserable is just the opposite of its title; if you don’t do the 40 things listed, your chances of happiness increase exponentially.

This book is 248 pages.

4. End the Insomnia Struggle: A Step-by-Step Guide to Help You