Top 5 Books for Christmas 2017

You know how Amazon suggests things you might be interested in purchasing based on your past shopping habits? Today, I took a few minutes to check out some books they thought I’d like, and from there I discovered some other books that I think I might like, and then I narrowed that monster list down to a Top 5. Since neither Black Friday nor Cyber Monday have happened yet, I thought I would just send this list out to the universe and see if any of these books show up at my house by Christmas! Because Christmas is two months from today! I know, right! Where has the time gone?

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone – This is the most recent offering from best selling author Brené Brown (Daring Greatly, Rising Strong and many others.) I like her writing style and she inspires me to think about things in a different way. The reviews also seem promising.
                     

                     “True belonging requires us to believe in and belong to ourselves so fully that we can find sacredness both in being a part of something and in standing alone when necessary. But in a culture that’s rife with perfectionism and pleasing, and with the erosion of civility, it’s easy to stay quiet, hide in our ideological bunkers, or fit in rather than show up as our true selves and brave the wilderness of uncertainty and criticism. But true belonging is not something we negotiate or accomplish with others; it’s a daily practice that demands integrity and authenticity. It’s a personal commitment that we carry in our hearts.” –Brené Brown

                  2. Practice You: A Journal  – I looked inside and liked what I saw from yoga luminary, meditation teacher, and artist Elena Brower! I have been on a personal spiritual quest for many years but never more so than right now it seems. I am really making some big changes and shaking things up in my life in 2017, and I can only imagine where I might take this next year. I am a person who has always kept journals or just scribbled notes to myself on a calendar. The idea of having this beautiful book with specific exercises to follow really makes me smile. I want this! Big Time!
                     

                     “Whenever I’ve needed direction, strength, or centering, I’ve so often turned to my own journals. Why? Because many of the answers we seek are found within ourselves.” –Elena Brower

                  3. High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way – I’ve followed Brendon Burchard for awhile. I’ve subscribed to his newsletter and watched his YouTube videos off and on over the years. But I don’t have any of his books. I don’t really understand why because his writing style speaks to me and I generally find him to be a likeable person. I have just always been more of a browser when it came to his stuff … Okay, if I’m totally honest I think I felt okay to graze around the edges of his work but I felt that diving in all the way was a bit too hardcore, a bit extreme and maybe even brain washy. So what has changed? Well, me of course! I don’t think I was developed enough to appreciate the whole message. I wanted to be good, but not too good, if you know what I mean. So yeah, I have changed, because now I don’t want to just be good, I want to be extraordinary! Bring it on!
                     

                     “Why are you so terrified to want more?” — Brendon Burchard

                  4. The Happy Vegan: A Guide to Living a Long, Healthy, and Successful Life – I have been hearing so much good things about this book lately! It’s like everywhere I look someone is praising Russell Simmons and this book. Or I see him on some program and think, “Wow! I need to follow this guy! He is awesome!” I read the excerpt and I’m hooked. He says money and success are great but at some point every wealthy successful person stops and asks, “Now what?” You can have all the money and success in the world and still not be happy or healthy. I really want to read this book. Maybe that seems odd because I am already Vegan, but one of my favourite Vegan YouTubers recently said she was reading this book and absolutely everyone, vegan or not, needs to pick up a copy. So yeah, I want to pick up a copy.
                     

                     “Now what?” – Russell Simmons

                  5. Food, Health, and Happiness: 115 On-Point Recipes for Great Meals and a Better Life – Oprah might have had her whole staff go Vegan for a week back in the day, but she didn’t stick with it and now she promotes Weight Watchers, not Veganism. So why on earth would I want this book? Well, because I have been watching Oprah’s weight battle since the beginning. I saw that episode when she wheeled out the big wagon of fat while wearing her designer Calvin Klein’s. I saw the fat come back on her body. I saw her lose it again. Oprah knows about yo-yo dieting. Oprah understands the struggle is real. She gets it! She has never looked better and healthier than she does right now and I believe she has figured out what works for her, how to change her lifestyle and her life forever, not just diet and yo-yo once again. That’s a story I want to read. When I took a peek inside I paid particular attention to the sample recipes and while none of them were Vegan it seemed like it would be super easy to just substitute a few ingredients and make them Vegan. So yeah, I want the story and the recipes! This could be a great book.
                     

                     “Real cooking is an art form. A gift to be shared.” –Oprah Winfrey