As an introvert, I’ve had all kinds of relationships with books. Some days, I binge-read and others days I just forget they exist. For the most part, they never fail to have an impact on my life. I would go from reading a book two hours straight to not reading them for a month!
Setting this complicated relationship aside, I have always loved reading and it somehow makes me feel like I’m smarter and wiser every time I successfully finish a book.
I used to read a lot of fiction when I was younger but now I’m more drawn to non-fiction. To be specific, I read a lot of self-help, personal development, and spiritual books.
In this transition of genre, I have realized how much I’ve grown and it makes me want to hook people on to these amazing books.
These books have changed my perspective on things, making me delve deeper into the core principles or the natural laws that have always been present around us. I don’t wanna get too cheesy but it was like a spiritual awakening.
For real! Some of them just state painful truths that we tend to deny most of our lives and some make us believe that there’s so much more to life that we are blinded to.
If you’re interested and just starting out on self-help, these are a good start and almost all the books I’ve mentioned below are best sellers.
1. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz
It is a simple yet powerful book. This book breaks down into four agreements that we can practically apply to our lives. They are insanely simple yet abundantly liberating. This book isn’t something you read just once, you tend to understand more and more every time you read it.
2. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
The Secret is a life-changing book. It is all about the Law of Attraction and how you can use it to attain greatness in life. This is one of my personal favorites. You learn how to create the life that you’ve always dreamed of and it all lies within you. I have been applying the law of attraction to my life and it actually works! This is a must-read!
3. You are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living An Awesome Life by
Jen Sincero
This was a fun read and had all the ass-kicking that I needed in life. Motivation just overflows from this one. I really liked the author’s style of writing. This book is all about getting your priorities straight in life and spark your inner fire and be the badass you’re meant to be!
4. The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson
I’m sure many of you have heard of this book, if you haven’t you are missing out on the good stuff. This book just slaps the truth of life on your face for good. It mainly focuses on how to live your life to the fullest without caring about what others think about you. The author is straight to the point without sugar-coating reality.
5. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
This book talks about how we are all creative in our own way. We are creative beings and we shouldn’t fear creating what we love and just enjoy the process rather than fearing thoughts like ‘what if it fails? what if people don’t like it?’ It shines a new light on ‘fear’ and how to overcome it.
I’ve been reading eBooks a lot lately rather than paperback ones. It is not so bad actually. I personally used to love paperback books because the physical touch and the musty smell of papers were an added benefit. Recently, I switched to be more sustainable, and also e-books are easily accessible and portable compared to paper books. If you are not much of a reader, you can listen to audiobooks too.
My 2019 Reading List
My goal for this year was to read at least two books per month and I terribly failed. But it’s not too late so I’m gonna try and read as much as I can this year.
The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle
The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
Good Vibes, Good Life – Vex King
The Untethered Soul – Michael A. Singer
The Sun and Her Flowers – Rupi Kaur
The Power of Habit – Charles Duhigg
Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn
Milk and Honey – Rupi Kaur
A New Earth – Eckhart Tolle
The First 20 Hours – Josh Kaufman
Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life – Hector Garcia, Francesc Miralles
Not That Kinda Girl – Lena Dunham
The Five Love Languages – Gary Chapman
The Dark Side of Light Chasers – Debbie Ford
I plan on finishing these before the year ends, hopefully. Who knows, I might be adding more to the list later. Also, you can download any e-book for free from this site: http://gen.lib.rus.ec/
Happy reading!