There are a variety of things to do with old books that you no longer want, depending on their condition and content. 【小题1】 Others might be able to find a good use for them. You might choose to sell old books to a bookstore, donate them, pass them on to friends, or simply throw them out if they are in poor shape.

When you are deciding what to do with old books, assess their condition first. If it is an old paperback with torn cover and pages, sell it to the recycle bin. If the book is a hardcover and the cover is still in good shape, sell it to a used bookstore. 【小题2】

When selling old books to a bookstore it is important to be aware of the content of old books. 【小题3】 Fiction is usually a safe bet, for example: Travel guides are not.

If donating old books to charity, avoid donating books that are in truly poor condition. If a book is dirty, or missing the cover a charity cannot sell it or give it out. What’s more, it is preferred that you walk into the charity and donate the book in person. 【小题4】

【小题5】 You could simply place a shelf of old books that you don’t want by the door, and encourage your friends to take books that look interesting. If your entire social network followed this practice, a constantly circulating library of old books could be formed. You could also have a book swap party.

Rising through Stages to Realize Ourselves

Many modern people have the problem that they don’t know who they are and what their purpose is. 【小题1】 Once high school seniors graduate, they seem to lose their identity. They once studied hard, but after they stop working, they begin to lose their way.

In the theory of the Hierarchy of Needs, Abraham Maslow put forward a similar situation, which consists of the five levels of a person’s need. The fifth and final level is self- realization, which is where our final achievement lies. 【小题2】

I think self-realization has three major aspects. The first stage is acceptance, the second stage is discovery and the last stage is perseverance.

Acceptance is the first stage. We should be reminded that we are all born unique, so we all have our own strengths and weaknesses. 【小题3】 Being objective and yet tolerant is the key to acceptance.

Once we’ve accepted ourselves, we can discover what we are interested in and what we want to be. Many people tend to go along with social expectations. 【小题4】 So before we start working towards a purpose, we should ask ourselves “Is this what we truly desire?” and “Is this going to change the situation we’re in?”

The last stage is perseverance. 【小题5】 Those who can self-realize are people who focus on the things they want to change.

Through the three stages, we could gain recognition of ourselves. And by this point, whatever our lives were like, we would be able to stand tall, confident of ourselves.

This Christmas, Renate Bello, 56, will spend the holiday taking care of her neighbor’s dogs in Easthampton, Mass. It’s the same way she spent Thanksgiving. Without any family or close friends nearby, holidays can be an especially lonely time, she said. For her, pet sitting is a joy, and one way that she copes with solitude.

‌“I know a number of people,” she said. ‌“But they are not necessarily people I would call up to say, ‘Let’s go hang out.” Ms. Bello owns a medical billing business that often requires long hours at home, which contributes to her isolation. ‌“I don’t have any life, and I need to find that balance”, she said. But taking friendships to the next level can be difficult, Ms. Bello added. Sometimes, she admitted, she feels “inadequate‌” — like an out-sider.

It’s concerning, then, that more than half of Americans say they are lonely, according to a 2021 poll. “We all feel lonely at times just like we all feel hunger or thirst,” ‌Dr. Murthy, a psychologist from NYU, said. “There is no reason to be ashamed of being human.” ‌Even those who have plenty of friends can experience loneliness.

Building relationships takes time. Try not to expect too much initially. “Often it takes a series of encounters,” ‌said Charles T. Hill, a professor of social psychology at Whittier College. As you get to know people, ask yourself: Who can I connect with at a deep level? Who will be there for me? More often than not, we tend to connect with those who share commonalities with us. “If you’re a bookworm, don’t expect your next best buddy at the bar,” said Louise Hawkley, a research scientist who studies loneliness at NORC, a social research organization at the University of Chicago.

Volunteering is also a way to broaden our social networks that can feel less anxiety- provoking than, say, showing up at a party. In a study of 10,000 volunteers in Britain, about two-thirds agreed that volunteering had helped them feel less isolated.

“Lonely people have more control over the situation than they think they do,” ‌Dr. Hawkley said.