When you hear about a movie adaptation of a book you loved, do you instinctively think, “Noooo, they’ll ruin it!”? Well, you’re not alone. “The book was better than movie” is a fair criticism of most big-screen translations simply because a film rarely captures the introspection and subtle complexit…
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When the main character (spoiler alert) dies on the very first page of the book, you know you're about to go on a ride with the author. In fact, from a snowy night in 1910 to the end of World War II, Kate Atkinson's Life After Life, published in April, kills its protagonist, Ursula Todd, a dozen dif…
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Harry Potter and The Hunger Games brought adult readers of YA books out of the closet, but why should you stop there? There’s a magical world of kids books just begging to be reread (or simply read).  The best children’s stories are subtly layered, and when we read them with our adult perspective, w…
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If you think Oscar season commences with the Academy’s nominations on January 16, 2014, you’re sadly mistaken. Predictions for the cinematic Super Bowl gain early steam in May with the release of summer blockbusters, pick up momentum with the late summer and fall film festivals, and charge ahead ful…
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VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 Author: Mark Bittman Premise: Bittman, a New York Times food writer, proposes eating vegan until 6 p.m., when you can allow yourself moderate amounts of meat and dairy. Bittman devised this diet for himself and saw a drop in pounds and an improvement in his heart health. S…
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Vegan and gluten-free diets are becoming more popular, but adopting these lifestyles comes with a learning curve in both the kitchen and the grocery store. For a fee, two popular online services cook up downloadable weekly menus, meal prep tips and shopping lists to make it easier. Happy Herbivore’s…
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In 1997, a dynamic group of women at investment banking firm Goldman Sachs—located then at 85 Broad Street in New York City—formed a paid-membership networking group to foster each others’ success. Today, 85 Broads boasts 30,000 “game changers” in myriad industries and spans 130 countries. Membershi…
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This scenario has happened to just about everyone who has ever tried a little DIY home improvement. You tape half-dozen paint swatches on your wall, choose the perfect shade of ocean aqua, pick up to cans at Home Depot, and start painting Mr. Miyagi-style on the wall. Only to look up and realize the…
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Gift cards are great—until they’re lost, stolen or forgotten. Open the free Gyft app to securely store all of yours right on your iOS or Android phone or computer until you’re ready to redeem them in-store or online. Gyft’s creators liken it to a virtual wallet, but it goes way beyond that: Create w…
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Ever drift off to sleep and then suddenly jerk awake when you realize the credit card bill was due yesterday? At the salon for a trim and wondering if there's enough money left in your budget this month for highlights? De-stress with two free money-management sites that caught our eye, Manilla.com a…
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For many of us, the idea of meditation sounds appealing in theory, but in reality it's difficult to make it happen. Finding the right time and place to meditate is hard enough. Plus, how do you mediate—what do you do? A new app called Headspace provides guided meditation that you can do basically an…
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If you spend more than 20 minutes in the car to and from work or if music doesn’t take your mind off the pain of running, you might want to try tuning into podcasts, which you can listen to on just about any Android or iOS smart phone. With a mobile app like Podcast Republic or Podcast Addict for An…
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The white-noise app Sleep Pillow Pro sends you off to slumber with an impressive choice of 70 sounds that you can play individually or combine into your own nocturnal symphony (300,000 combinations!). Traditional water- and nature-themed sounds are joined by oddities such as a galloping horse, a tic…
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Whether you just got a new puppy or it’s time to teach an old dog new tricks, the P5 Dog Training App from Purina Pro Plan wins best of show in the usefulness (and fun) category. Its mission is twofold: To track your progress in meeting your dog’s all-important weekly activity level needs, and to he…
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PBS makes dozens of apps guaranteed to capture your little one’s imagination (or avoid a meltdown in a pinch), but the Elmo Loves ABCs for iPad has legitimately helped speed along my 2-year-old’s recognition of upper and lowercase letters, colors, shapes, and word pronunciation. Plus, he loves it. T…
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For many of us, the idea of meditation sounds appealing in theory, but in reality it's difficult to make it happen. Finding the right time and place to meditate is hard enough. Plus, how do you mediate—what do you do? A new app called Headspace provides guided meditation that you can do basically an…
Read More

If you spend more than 20 minutes in the car to and from work or if music doesn’t take your mind off the pain of running, you might want to try tuning into podcasts, which you can listen to on just about any Android or iOS smart phone. With a mobile app like Podcast Republic or Podcast Addict for An…
Read More

The white-noise app Sleep Pillow Pro sends you off to slumber with an impressive choice of 70 sounds that you can play individually or combine into your own nocturnal symphony (300,000 combinations!). Traditional water- and nature-themed sounds are joined by oddities such as a galloping horse, a tic…
Read More

Whether you just got a new puppy or it’s time to teach an old dog new tricks, the P5 Dog Training App from Purina Pro Plan wins best of show in the usefulness (and fun) category. Its mission is twofold: To track your progress in meeting your dog’s all-important weekly activity level needs, and to he…
Read More

PBS makes dozens of apps guaranteed to capture your little one’s imagination (or avoid a meltdown in a pinch), but the Elmo Loves ABCs for iPad has legitimately helped speed along my 2-year-old’s recognition of upper and lowercase letters, colors, shapes, and word pronunciation. Plus, he loves it. T…
Read More