Alain de Botton has made it his goal to show how acquaintance with some of the world's greatest thinkers can offer comfort and enable happiness. Once an academic, de Botton left the ivory tower to write books for general audiences. His work presents topics as varied as airports, stoicism, cookies, shoe shining, and shipping, aiming throughout to help people lead meaningful lives. Interested? Check out these five Alain de Botton books:

• The Consolations of Philosophy argues that the world's most important philsophers taught tactics for dealing with the day to day business of life. Touring philosophical history, de Botton shows how great works can help readers overcome frustrations like heartbreak, austerity, and unhappiness.
• How Proust Can Change Your Life, likewise, offers Proust's novel Remembrance of Things Past as a unique self-help book. Culling a number of parables from Proust, de Botton presents lessons in a characteristically humorous style.
• The Architecture of Happiness investigates the often unnoticed — yet frequently deep — ways the spaces we inhabit impact our emotional well-being. This is a book that will change how you see the world around you.
• A Week at the Airport derived from time de Bottom spent at England's Heathrow airport, as writer-in-residence. De Botton views airports as peculiar modern spaces that concentrate beginnings and endings in a way made possible only by the airplane itself. Gorgeously illustrated and often quite moving, this might be the best introduction to de Botton's writing.
• The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work engages our most important occupation: working. De Botton turns an ethnographer's eye on businesses like logistics, career counseling, and cookie making in order to discover what it is that makes work meaningful.

An art studio for the young and young at heart, Artful Dreamers offers a variety of classes and activities to awaken your inner Van Gogh. Run by artist and teacher Nadine Hamil, classes here are centered not on the technical aspects of painting, but on a wholistic approach to artistic expression and self-exploration. Students are introduced to the concept of Intuitive Painting, which helps anxious learners embrace their inner artist with a fun approach to creating masterpieces. There are workshops for adults to create everything from beaded wine glasses to multi-media collages. Even kids can learn about the power of art through summer camp or meditation classes. Drop-in workshops and activities make it easy to see what Artful Dreamers is all about, and classes encourage further exploration. Whether you want to express yourself or just have a blast painting with friends, Artful Dreamers is the ideal place to make art.

Artful Dreamers Studio
112 S. Federal Highway
Boynton Beach, FL 33435
(561) 901-1446
http://artfuldreamers.com
http://www.yelp.com/biz/artful-dreamers-studio-boynton-beach

The Green Gourmet offers you a truly "green" experience. It's a nice balance of cafe and market where the furniture is made of sustainable and recycled materials and the food is organic, local and seasonal. The Green Gourmet offers American comfort food with a great selection for vegans and vegetarians. The menu changes regularly but includes wraps, burgers, fresh salads and specialties like lasagna, tilapia and turkey meatloaf. If you're packing a picnic or would rather eat at home, browse the shelves full of prepared foods or order an entree to go. The Green Gourmet also boasts the best juice bar in Delray Beach. As for dessert, try one of their many vegan options.

The Green Gourmet is open Mondays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 9 p.m.

The Green Gourmet 
16950 Jog Road 
Delray Beach, FL 33446 
(561) 455-2466 
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-green-gourmet-delray-beach