Straight into it.

I love reading and don’t get to do anywhere near as much as I’d like. I was a library monitor in primary school and got to check out books for other students back when you still got a stamp in the book for the due date. I have been in love with reading and libraries for as long as I can remember.

For those of you with children. Encouraging an early reading habit is one of the biggest gifts you can give them. Rolling right along though…

I have read mainly non fiction for a long time just because I’ve love learning things on subjects that interest me but have started to balance that out a bit more with some fiction and enjoying books for the pure storytelling again. Feel free to leave recommendations in the comments.

Today is straight non fiction rec’s though and starting with the one I enjoyed and have recommended the most.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

This was my favourite book I read in Covid lockdown and I have recommended it far and wide ever since. So much gold and wisdom in there. James Clear backs it all up with research and examples of it in action. In a very broad overview. It explains how making small incremental changes to our habits and systems will lead to achieving your bigger goals, and how to make that happen. Breaking bad habits. Creating better ones. Using behavioural habits and environment to aid that and how to get out of your own way. Interesting. Inspiring. This book is on my list to read again.

The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Halliday

The ancient art of turning adversity to advantage is the front cover blurb. This one’s on mindset folks. How we see things, resilience, changing your internal dialogue and external action. Facing things with grace & or courage. With plenty of great examples of people having used this. Presidents, Warriors, Actors. This is in the realm of Stoics and Stoicism which is becoming quite popular. If this type of thinking appeals to you it has a great deal to offer. If you’re not sure – give it a read. Originally published in 2014 it is still incredibly easy to get ahold of and I suspect will be for a long time.

The Magic of Thinking Big by David J Schwartz

This one is an oldie. Originally published in 1959. It is a classic that is still popular for a reason. Delightfully written, the old fashioned style and what seems to be today some outdated modes of thinking in furthering your family and community along with with yourself, appealed greatly to me. A book on setting yourself up to achieve the goals you have and getting the most out of your job, marriage, family life, community etc.

Women, Work and the Art of Savoir Faire by Mireille Guiliano

If you read the reviews for this book it is quite divisive. Love & Hate alternately. So I was not sure what to expect. Business Sense and Sensibility is the tag. Mireille was a senior executive and spokeswoman for the luxury brand Veuve Clicquot for most of her career. She covers off amongst other things, branding yourself, manners, resume, portfolio and career building, interview techniques, hard work, relationships, health, balance, business entertaining. Although it lagged in parts I thought some of the advise was both timely and timeless. In a world of mixed messages and ideas of what it takes to be successful in business as a woman I love that Mireille and other woman I admire in business retains her sense of the feminine, style, elegance, class. Not believing those things need be discarded but that they can also enhance your success.

Psycho – Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz

Another oldie (originally published in 1960) that I’d been meaning to get to for a long time. Literally meaning to steer the mind Psycho Cybernetics is a long time best seller that is considered to be the forerunner to many self help theories and ideas. Maxwell Maltz was a plastic surgeon who spoke and wrote on the effects he saw people’s mindset and belief of self have on their lives either in success, achievement, resilience and happiness or not. With actionable ideas this offered a lot of food for thought. It gets a little laggy in places but if you are interested in the idea of the effects our our mindset can have on our ability to create the lives we want. You’ll find this interesting.

There is a bunch more books I would add to this list and maybe in another post. Habits and mindset was 1 theme among a few I explored a bit this year and this list has a good representation of a few I’d consider worth your time. Some of the science of psychology, understanding that a little better and how we can use that to our own advantage. When designing lives we love, reading is a tried and true course for information and insight along with enjoyment.

Feel free to leave recommendations for either fiction or non fiction in the comments or your own thoughts and feeling on any of the above.

Always