The Reading Lounge: Life Enhancing Books

5 nonfiction books I've been obsessed with lately

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

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Hi Friend,

My reading mood has been taking on a distinctive flavor lately, what I like to call “life enhancing” books. Really, these are nonfiction books, including memoirs, that I find teach me something new about life, living, navigating setbacks and obstacles, etc and what have been (or still are) typically termed “self help” books. But I find the books I’ve been reading are not really meant to “help” me do anything, rather, I see them as stories, advice, insights from others that are enhancing my life for many different reasons.

I’ve been buying and reading/listening to so many of these types of books lately, but in the interest of simplification I’m going to just share 5 of them today. Speaking of simplification- I’ve been chatting with friends and hearing from readers in various book communities around the internet that many of you are feeling overwhelmed - by social media, by your never ending to-do lists, by the sheer number of books you hear about and want to read…and more! I plan on writing about this in a future newsletter, but for today these are some of the reasons I decided to keep today’s book recommendations to five.

If you have thoughts to share, questions you’d like me to explore in terms of simplifying your reading lives, tips/advice/steps you’ve taken to simplify anything in your lives, please share in the comments

5 LIFE ENHANCING BOOKS I’VE BEEN READING & LOVING

Keep Moving by Maggie Smith - In this deeply moving book of quotes and essays, Maggie writes about new beginnings as opportunities for transformation. - I binged this in one day on audio (Maggie narrates and it’s so good) and bought the print book to continue re-reading. This book is a daily dose of encouragement and one that I think everyone will love

You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith - In this memoir poet Maggie Smith explores the disintegration of her marriage and her renewed commitment to herself. Smith interweaves snapshots of a life with meditations on secrets, anger, forgiveness, and narrative itself. - I’m currently alternating this in print and audio at a slower pace, dipping in and out of it and I’m loving her writing, insights, and honesty. I recently listened to this interview with Maggie and Glennon Doyle and that has really enhanced my understanding of her work

The Book of (More) Delights by Ross Gay - I fell hard for Ross Gay’s writing this summer when I listened to Inciting Joy (highly recommend), then listened to The Book of Delights (loved) and have been thoroughly enjoying his new book. I bought all of these books in print along with owning each audiobook because Ross narrates himself and it truly feels like I’m sharing a daily delightful conversation with a best friend. Couldn’t we all use a bit more delight in our lives?

1000+ Little Things Happy Successful People Do Differently by Marc and Angel Chernoff - the authors have collected the very best advice they've discovered, on topics that include overcoming setbacks, letting go of what's holding us back, nurturing relationships, finding time for self-care, and cultivating passion in order to achieve our wildest dreams. The book is structured in short chapters and each chapter has smaller bits and pieces that lend itself to bite size reading. I’ve been reading this since January 1 in the ultimate slow reading method - I open the book each day to a random, different place and read the first thing I see - that’s it! I take in that particular piece of advice as what the universe has decided I needed to hear that day and I add the date I read it. This has been a fun way to give myself a daily dose of something good

Human Design: The Revolutionary System That Shows You Who You Came Here to Be by Jenna Zoe - Drawing inspiration from many different schools of wisdom, including the chakras, I Ching, astrology, and the Tree of Life, Human Design is a system based on our time and date of birth, illustrated as a unique chart that reveals our opportunities, challenges, personality, strengths, relationships, and much more. - This is my most recent purchase and I’m also dipping into it slowly. I took the free quiz on Jenna Zoe’s website to discover my chart (manifesting generator) and now I’m reading all about the different aspects of it in the book. I’m LOVING it and finding it helpful, insightful and very accurate. If you like The Ennagram you’ll love this

Join the conversation! Do you like these types of books? Do you have any “life enhancing” books and/or favorite authors you can recommend?

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