It’s Spring time. Spring is a time of beaches, spring cleaning but most importantly Spring Reading. The months of March, April and May are the perfect months to slow down, reevaluate and catch up on some books. The benefits of reading are endless. Studies have shown that reading can reduce stress, slow the progress of Alzheimer and of course expand your knowledge. Reading can be done anywhere. You can read from the comfort of your bed, listen to audiobooks in the shower or (my favorite) you can read while you’re on a plane. I love reading and genuinely enjoy the stimulation of a good book. Since I’m such an avid reader, my friends are always asking me for book recommendations. I’d like to share some of my favorite books that I have read in the past. Here are five books you can learn a lot from and enjoy. I hope you check out these titles and have a beautiful Spring reading experience.
Manson makes the argument, backed both by academic research and well-timed poop jokes, that improving our lives hinges not on our ability to turn lemons into lemonade, but on learning to stomach lemons better. Human beings are flawed and limited—”not everybody can be extraordinary, there are winners and losers in society, and some of it is not fair or your fault.” Manson advises us to get to know our limitations and accept them. Once we embrace our fears, faults, and uncertainties, once we stop running and avoiding and start confronting painful truths, we can begin to find the courage, perseverance, honesty, responsibility, curiosity, and forgiveness we seek.
(via Amazon.com)
Loved: The book is very realistic and gives a new perspective on self-help that I have never read. The book is very relatable and captivating.
Didn’t Love: The book drops an F-bomb every other paragraph. Sometimes it can be a little overbearing and distracting.
2. Sometimes You Win–Sometimes You Learn: Life’s Greatest Lessons Are Gained from Our Losses by John C. Maxwell
John Maxwell believes that any setback, whether professional or personal, can be turned into a step forward when you possess the right tools to turn a loss into a gain. Drawing on nearly fifty years of leadership experience, Dr. Maxwell provides a roadmap for winning by examining the eleven elements that constitute the DNA of learners who succeed in the face of problems, failure, and losses. Learning is not easy during down times, it takes discipline to do the right thing when something goes wrong. As John Maxwell often points out, experience isn’t the best teacher–evaluated experience is.
(via. Amazon.com)
Loved: The book has a lot of tweetable moments in it which makes the concepts very easy to comprehend.
Didn’t Love: Nothing! This book is awesome probably my favorite book ever!
3. You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life
Author and world-traveling success coach, Jen Sincero, serves up 27 bite-sized chapters full of hilariously inspiring stories, sage advice, easy exercises, and the occasional swear word. If you’re ready to make some serious changes around here, You Are a Badass will help you: Identify and change the self-sabotaging beliefs and behaviors that stop you from getting what you want, blast past your fears so you can take big exciting risks, figure out how to make some damn money already, learn to love yourself and others, set big goals and reach them – it will basically show you how to create a life you totally love, and how to create it NOW.
By the end of You Are a Badass, you’ll understand why you are how you are, how to love what you can’t change, how to change what you don’t love, and how to use The Force to kick some serious ass.
(via. Amazon.com)
Loved: The relatability of this book is insane. Anyone from any walk of life can pick up this book and get something out of it. There is also a sense of humor in this book that I appreciated.
Didn’t Love: There are 27 chapters. The book is 256 pages but is still 27 chapters. I felt they could be condensed into smaller chapters.
4. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey
One of the most inspiring and impactful books ever written, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has captivated readers for 25 years. It has transformed the lives of Presidents and CEOs, educators and parents— in short, millions of people of all ages and occupations.
(via. Amazon.com)
Loved: The book has a lot of tweets, and the author takes the time to break down each and every concept in the book with tons of examples.
Didn’t Love: This book is 432 pages. It took me about a month to read. It was long!
In this #1 New York Times bestseller, the CEO of Starbucks recounts the story and leadership lessons behind the global coffee company’s comeback
In 2008, Howard Schultz decided to return as the CEO of Starbucks to help restore its financial health and bring the company back to its core values. In Onward, he shares this remarkable story, revealing how, during one of the most tumultuous economic periods in American history, Starbucks again achieved profitability and sustainability without sacrificing humanity.
(via Amazon.com)
Loved: This book is very authentic, and you can feel the soul of Howard Schultz on every page. I appreciated his sincerity in the book.
Didn’t Love: The book is more of an autobiographical story and less of a self-help book. With that said, there were fewer tweets and quotable statements in the book.