Have you ever been too tough on yourself? Maybe once or twice? Yep, thought so. Spiritual teacher Caroline Myss says she's hard on herself, too. But this weekend, on Super Soul Sunday, she told Oprah: "I'm really good at also owning that I've become a pretty good person. I think of myself now as fine wine."

For perfectionists, that concept—that we can criticize errors and accept that, like a good merlot, we're gotten better as we've aged, and even become pretty darn good—can be hard to swallow. "Good, yes," we say, "but good enough?" Caroline and Oprah's conversation is a great reminder that being where you are right now  is very much worth celebrating.



Read More

• See how Caroline Myss defines God
• Caroline Myss on how to find your purpose
• Full episodes of Super Soul Sunday

Each week, we'll be letting you know about new releases the editors of O and Oprah.com couldn't stop reading. This week, we're in love with the memoir:

The Receptionist
Janet Groth

A young girl from Iowa moves to the big city, gets a job at a magazine, meets lots of fancy intellectuals, tries to turn herself into a personality—only to realize she's lost herself along the way. This sound like a familiar story? In the case of The Receptionist, it's not only true, but it also takes place in and around the fabled halls of The New Yorker, where Janet Groth was the 18th floor receptionist for 20 years.

Much of the story is envy-inducing. Groth dishes on nights listening to Thelonious Monk play jazz, drinking with Gloria Steinem; and being sent to a ball in the English countryside by Muriel Spark. On the other hand, Janet's meekness and her difficulty in persuading people to give her the respect she craves often undercut the glamour of the rarefied life she's found. For much of the book, she settles for the pleasure of being around brilliant people (both her colleagues and many lovers) as opposed to demanding, and getting, their real acknowledgment. A few recognize her talents, and many are kind, but she's frequently underappreciated and not sure how to change that. Groth, however, isn't a woman to give up, and by the end of the book, she finds her own delightful voice, which is the book's real pleasure.

Read More
Join Oprah's Book Club 2.0
Ask Oprah or Cheryl Strayed a question about Wild

Photo: Thinkstock

Blame it on bacon: smoking food is becoming one of the summer's most popular ways to cook. The Wall Street Journal reported this week on the "explosion of smoked foods on American menus," from high-end restaurants to roadside barbecue joints. It's understandable--who hasn't been captivated by the smell of wood smoke and the intense flavor it injects into meats, fish and other foods?

While you can buy many foods already smoked--chicken, turkey and salmon come to mind--doing it yourself isn't difficult, just time-consuming (you've heard the phrase "low and slow," right?). Smokers run anywhere from $50 to more than $400, but it isn't difficult to turn a basic charcoal grill into one using wood chips you've soaked in water.

To make your own smoker, first remove the grill's grate. Push the charcoal to once side of the grill and light it; the coals are ready when they're glowing red or starting to turn grey. Set a heavy-duty aluminum pan, filled halfway with water, on the other side of the coals. Gently lay a handful of wet hardwood smoking chips over the coals; replace the grate, and place the food on the grate.

Photo: Thinkstock

If you had more time, you swear that you'd not only go jogging, you'd train for a race--maybe even a marathon. But you really, truly don't have any minutes to spare. Or so you think. A poll from Harris Interactive found that Americans have nearly twice as much downtime as we believe we do, and Women's Health magazine offers some strategies that can help even the most perpetually-booked among us to find it.

These tips include taking two days to keep track of exactly how you spend your time, and then looking for hidden chunks of misused minutes. For example, you probably never realized how much time you spend cruising Facebook, listening to covers of "Call Me Maybe" or deciding what to eat for lunch, but once you do, you can put those patches of time together to use for a training run...or at least a midday power walk. Find three more ways to squeeze in a workout over at Women'sHealth.com.

Keep reading:
How Bob Greene helped a busy lawyer find time to shed 20 pounds
A full-body routine that takes just 20 minutes
Shorten your regular workout

Photo: Courtesy of Cascades

During the hot, sun-soaked days of summer, our biggest weekend worry should be: camping by the lake or lounging at the beach? But the pleasure of both can be dampened by a less-pleasant choice: to store our soda and sandwiches in a single-use foam cooler, which isn't recyclable, or to purchase a bulky plastic cooler, which takes decades to biodegrade once it's tossed.

Now, there's a way to pack your grub but leave your guilt behind. The Cooler Box by Cascades is a foam-free, recyclable cooler made from 70 percent post-consumer cardboard. Fill it with ice, and the cooler's waterproof interior lining keeps burgers or beach fixins frosty for up to 36 hours—just as long as traditional options. Talk about cool! ($15, boutique.cascades.com)

Happy Friday everyone! What better way to start off the weekend than a little inspiration?

Beautiful multiple exposure photography from Christoffer Relander

The NYC subway is full of passionate readers—just take a look at these images.

Why pink is a cooler color than we thought it was

Have you being keeping up with Oprah's interviews with the Kardashians? Last week, the family talked to her about Kim's 72-day marriage and being managed by their mom. This Sunday, June 24, at 8/7c, learn more about their lives as all the couples in the family—Kris and Bruce, Kourtney and Scott and Khloe and Lamar—explain how they make their relationships work. Plus, watch a sneak preview of what Kim has to say about Kanye West, and tune in to find out how they got together.