JAN-U-ARY. saying the word makes me feel cold.
And past a certain point, could it really feel any colder? school was even cancelled today because it’s so cold. BUT it’s great curl-up-on-the-sofa and read day… with whatever beverage will keep you warm. I bet if I were to research it, liquor sales increase this time of year. what do you think?
so I was looking at my own blog the other day; as one does when it’s your baby til a real one comes… and I saw my post from january 2nd, 2013 where I rattled off my top goals for the year. And while I can’t say that I necessary achieved them all or even came close, I CAN say that I have made sub conscience trots in the positive direction through what I’ve read recently.
I’ve never been much of a reader—- I was when I was about 12-13 in between playing with dolls and wearing a bra — I was ADDICTED to Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Then I had to read for school, which wasnt as fun because A. I didn’t get to choose what I read and B. we had to talk and write about a particular book for months on end to dissect each character and plot line. I get it—- we need to understand the message from the author and be able to empathize with the characters, but 3 months on Johnny Tremain? Really, Mr. Metcalf?
But now that I have my own ipad (Ryan spoils me terribly), I have been reading a lot more. And as I learn more about myself with each passing year, I can tell you that i don’t like fiction and I don’t like novels in general. And don’t even suggest I read a murder or any kind of mystery book. It will never happen. They just don’t hold my interest. What I do like: historical non-fiction; self-help; biographies.
So without further adieu, here’s my list of books that have inspired me to start the new year with a fresh perspective about where I want my life to wander with peaceful intention:
The Power of Style
I think I saw this book on Pinterest, initially and bought it in hardback off of Amazon. It’s not only a sweet, pink book to add to your bookshelf, it’s also filled to the brim with not just style advice, but HOW to find out what style you are. More importantly, what your style says about you. It forces you to really start paying attention to how the world perceives you each and every time you set foot out of the house; the power of the non-verbal. I’ll admit—- sometimes i don’t feel like getting up, showering, putting on just a little make-up if I only have an errand or two to run that day (especially when its HELLA cold like today) but what message you send to the world —like if I were to leave the house in yoga pants and a sweatshirt with no make-up and messy hair Vs. showering and putting on jeans and heeled boots at least — I would be perceived as not caring. And well….. you never know who your next client will be or who you’ll run into at Sun Mart or when your picture will be taken and on the front page of the newspaper (which happened to me a few weeks ago!) So I try to make an effort after reading this book and try to make my non-verbal signals work to my benefit.
Bringing up Bebe
I think everyone should read this book BEFORE you think about having kids. Not having any children yet, this book speaks to me on all sorts of levels. It’s my parenting style to a T, or what I hope for in the future, and I’ll admit that I’ve read it 3 times now. It’s written by an American mother of 3 who raises her children in France. She points out the differences in the lovely,calm French children who eat everything Vs. the seemingly entitled American children who have melt downs when they are told ‘no’ and refuse to anything but chicken nuggets. It’s a fast read and it’s really opened my eyes to observe the parents around me… to learn just the vast differences in parenting styles among my own friends.
Ooo La La
My friend Sarah and I have the exact same taste in books and we joke that when we run out of French books to read we’re going to cry. This book is written from personal experience. A lady visits Paris for a few weeks to discover why French women seem to have a certain ‘oo la la’ about them. It’s a very inspiring, funny book… I’ve read it 2 times now. And basically I now feel inspired to wear sexy lingerie (even with sweatpants) and smile at strangers in restaurants.
Redeeming Love
This book goes against my normal ‘like-to-read’ list, as it’s historical fiction, but it’s a beautiful love story that takes place during the gold rush. It’s about a prostitute that knows no other life than a brothel and has done countless sinful acts because basically she ruled by a dusche bag. Then a man comes along that God has spoken to and he rescues her from her sinful life—– but she can’t forgive herself and she doesn’t believe in God; but you’ll be crying by the end because she becomes a believer and you have so much faith that everything that happens to us is God’s perfect plan.
7
This book I borrowed from Sarah— they’re church did a little study on it I think. She first told me about it a year ago and to be honest I thought it was a little extreme. It’s all about living with excess and clearing it out to make room for God. After Sarah read it, she starting behaving weird and giving away all her stuff and cleaning and minimizing. And then after I read it I starting doing the same damn thing! This book is MAGICAL. The experiment that the author does is extreme, yes. But it’s SO inspiring to just STOP living in excess. STOP IT TODAY. How many times have I gone to the store and bought something not because i needed it to survive, but because it was so cutely displayed (TARGET MERCHANDISERS … I’M talking about YOU) or it was on sale? And how many pairs of black yoga pants do I really need? If you read this book, guaranteed you will change your spending habits.
The 5 Love Languages
I’m sure many of you have already read this book, but I had not until last month. I finally decided to read it because so many people said it changed the way they thought about their significant other so much— it explained a lot about what makes them different as individuals and how they could use their differences to improve their day-to-day. um. YEAH. totally. I learned that my love languages are: Acts of Service and Quality Time. Ryan’s are: Touch and Words of Affirmation. What does that mean exactly? It means that in order for my ‘Love Tank’ to feel full, I need Ryan to clean out the vacuum, take out the recycling, sort that pile of magazines by his toilet, and then watch a 2 hr movie with me. And for HIS to feel full, I need to stop what I’m doing and hug him and kiss him when he comes home and compliment him on a job well done after paying all our bills. I’ve noticed dramatic affects on how we treat each other and just the general feelings of increased satisfaction we both seem to be feeling even in the short 2 weeks after reading it. Great book. 5 stars.
So there you have it. My top 6 reads that I recommend to you if you’re like me and enjoy a fast, non-fiction, self-help read. And now I need some books to read on the plane to Phoenix and Austin coming up! Any suggestions?
