The premise of Kondo’s book is that one’s environment should spark joy and that you should feel happy when surrounded by your material possessions. She encourages you to do this not only by getting rid of objects in the tidying push but rather by focusing on the objects that give you pleasure.
Who’s going to argue with that?
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine is the story of a young diplomat from a ‘provincial’ region of space who makes it to the center of the Teixcalaan Empire to represent her people. Her own region is a nominal vassal state though it retains much independence. This region is important because it is a frontier area where the Empire would like to expand.