Showing posts with label lets read. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lets read. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

New Year, New YOU!

New Year New You!  Books to Inspire

Happy New Year all you beautiful people!  

I am hopeful that everyone's holidays were spent full of love, cheer and surrounded by family and friends.  

It is a great time to reset, regroup and renew yourself. 


  • Why not start reading? 
  • Or maybe you already are a reader, why not restock your library with some new finds for the NEW YEAR? 

I have a few PERSONALLY picked a few books that are on my 2016 Reading List! 

They are books for inspiration, with those pesky New Years Resolutions, no doubt! 



Click on the Book, Title or Amazon button to instantly download





Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

by Elizabeth Gilbert

Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work,  embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.

Amazon   





Rising Strong

by BrenĂ© Brown

Social scientist BrenĂ© Brown has ignited a global conversation on courage, vulnerability, shame, and worthiness. Her pioneering work uncovered a profound truth: Vulnerability—the willingness to show up and be seen with no guarantee of outcome—is the only path to more love, belonging, creativity, and joy. But living a brave life is not always easy: We are, inevitably, going to stumble and fall.
 
It is the rise from falling that Brown takes as her subject in Rising Strong. As a grounded theory researcher, Brown has listened as a range of people—from leaders in Fortune 500 companies and the military to artists, couples in long-term relationships, teachers, and parents—shared their stories of being brave, falling, and getting back up. She asked herself, What do these people with strong and loving relationships, leaders nurturing creativity, artists pushing innovation, and clergy walking with people through faith and mystery have in common? The answer was clear: They recognize the power of emotion and they’re not afraid to lean in to discomfort.
 
Walking into our stories of hurt can feel dangerous. But the process of regaining our footing in the midst of struggle is where our courage is tested and our values are forged. Our stories of struggle can be big ones, like the loss of a job or the end of a relationship, or smaller ones, like a conflict with a friend or colleague. Regardless of magnitude or circumstance, the rising strong process is the same: We reckon with our emotions and get curious about what we’re feeling; werumble with our stories until we get to a place of truth; and we live this process, every day, until it becomes a practice and creates nothing short of a revolution in our lives. Rising strong after a fall is how we cultivate wholeheartedness. It’s the process, Brown writes, that teaches us the most about who we are.

Amazon   




The Right Kind of Crazy: A True Story of Teamwork, Leadership, and High-Stakes Innovation

by Adam Steltzner (Author), William Patrick (Author)

Available January 12, 2016

Few organizations solve as many impossible problems as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and nobody knows more about leading rocket scientists to unlikely breakthroughs than Adam Steltzner.
 
As the phase lead and development manager for EDL (entry, descent and landing) of the Curiosity rover to Mars, Steltzner spearheaded the creation of one of engineering’s wackiest kluges— the sky crane— that allowed the heaviest rover in the history of space exploration to land on Mars unscathed.
 
Steltzner is no ordinary engineer. His path to leadership was about as unlikely as they come. A child of beatnik parents, he was a daredevil and avid mountain biker, breaking thirty-two bones before squeaking through high school. He blew off college in favor of work at a health food store and playing bass in a band. After an interest in the movement of the stars led him to enroll part time at community college, Steltzner discovered an astonishing gift for math and physics. Within years he got his PhD and ensconced himself within the offbeat Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA’s decidedly unbureaucratic cousin, where success in a mission is the only metric that matters.
 
The Right Kind of Crazy is the story of the teamwork, drama, and extraordinary feats of innovation at the Jet Propulsion Lab, that culminated in landing the rover Curiosity on Mars in 2012. It also weaves Steltzner’s professional life—centering on the ten years he and his team spent planning and then executing the landing of the rover—with his unlikely journey from academic underachiever to rocket scientist.
 
Along the way, readers will learn about what makes effective teams, how to stay on task for the long haul, and strategies for solving incredibly complex problems. The Right Kind of Crazy is a book for anyone striving for excellence.

Amazon   



15 Minutes to Fit: The Simple 30-Day Guide to Total Fitness, 15 Minutes At A Time 




Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Authors worth binge reading.

Authors worth binge reading.

Every once in a while I’ll stumble upon a new-to-me author and feel immediately compelled to read everything they’ve ever written—preferably before the week is over.
I do the same thing whenever I revisit Jane Austen’s works. I sit down thinking I’m really in the mood to re-read Emma, and before I know it I’ve read three of her six novels, at which point I might as well go ahead and finish them all.
I’m always delighted to find an author worth binge reading. For me, sometimes this looks like great literature.
More often, it’s an author whose books are fun, entertaining, and compulsively readable, like the following:


Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Mysteries, No. 1)

Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Mysteries, No. 1)

This is the first installment of Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache series, which will hit 11 books when her newest release comes out August 25. These mysteries are unlike anything I'd ever read: the whodunit plot lines are just an excuse to explore human nature, granting them a depth and psychological astuteness I never expected from this genre. (Note: if I thought Three Pines was a real place, I'd move there in a heartbeat.) You don't have to read these novels in order, but I recommend it: you'll miss the richness of her plot lines and characters if you jump in midstream.



Bury Your Dead  (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Mysteries, No. 6)

Bury Your Dead (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Mysteries, No. 6)

There was never a question I'd continue with the Inspector Gamache series (although I will say that book 3 wasn't my favorite) but the series moves to the next level in this sixth installment, in which Penny finally brings a plotline she's only hinted at in previous books front and center, and it is riveting.


A Trick of the Light (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Mysteries, No. 7)

A Trick of the Light (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Mysteries, No. 7)

Penny's mysteries are alternately centered in the cozy village of Three Pines and the wider world. For this excellent follow-up to the game-changing Bury Your Dead, Inspector Gamache returns to Three Pines to solve a murder that's intimately tied to the world of fine art. The story is built around the concept of chiaroscuro—the contrast between dark and light that's significant in some artists' works, and in all our natures. It may sound obtuse, but Penny probes with a light hand. It works.






Love Walked In

Love Walked In

De los Santos novels have all the characteristics of good binge reads: good storytelling, likable characters, and beautiful writing. (They're not terribly challenging, which makes them that much easier to speed through.) This is a great place to start with her work.

Belong to Me

Belong to Me

This is the standalone sequel to Love Walked In, but go ahead and read them in order. (Belong to Me has higher ratings on Goodreads, but I enjoyed Love Walked In more. Though comfortably predictable and a little too feel-good for some people's taste, it's well-written, intelligent, and thoroughly readable. This would make a great beach read.

Falling Together

Falling Together

This isn't as strong as de los Santos' previous works but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. A lovely depiction of an unusual friendship across many years, and a thoughtful exploration of the complexities of love, grief, and human nature. I wish this novel's finale didn't veer into over-the-top territory, but I still love its vivid portrayal of friendship in the college years and beyond.






What Alice Forgot

What Alice Forgot

Moriarty's works are compulsively readable: whenever I get my hands on a new one I inhale it in two days. This is the novel that made me love her: I spreed through it like it was the fluffiest chick lit, but found myself mulling over its themes for weeks after I finished.


The Husband’s Secret

The Husband’s Secret

This story about three Australian women whose lives intersect in unexpected ways is packed full of secrets. Moriarty addressed dark topics here, but her tone remains light and witty, and she manages to weave in interesting notes—the Berlin wall, the myth of Pandora, the Snow White fairy tale. I loved this on audio: the Australian accent was delightful.

Big Little Lies

Big Little Lies

Moriarty's latest novel focuses on three Aussie moms who have children in the same kindergarten class. We know from the prologue that the book culminates with a murder at the school’s trivia night fundraiser; what we don’t know is who, or how. A satirical take on the strange relationships of kindly moms, told in an unusual format (reminiscent of Elin Hilderbrand in parts). Darkly comic: pay close attention to how adroitly Moriarty addresses domestic violence.






The Distant Hours

The Distant Hours

This Gothic mystery is slow to build but those who persevere will be rewarded. The plot flips back and forth between World War II and the 1990s, but not in the way you'd expect. The setting is a crumbling old castle, which contributes to the story's creepy (but not quite scary) feel. Some readers think this is Morton's best work.

The Forgotten Garden

The Forgotten Garden

If the Brothers Grimm wrote The Secret Garden, this is what it would have been like. This sprawling family saga gets a little unwieldy at times, but I can't say I minded much. History, fairy tale, family drama, and Gothic mystery rolled into one.



The Secret Keeper

The Secret Keeper

This is my favorite Morton novel. A daughter is determined to unravel a longstanding secret before her mother dies. As the daughter follows the clues, the story flips back and forth in time between today and the years before and during World War II, including the London Blitz, which Morton recreates so vividly you can almost hear the bombs dropping. Filled with twists and turns that will keep you guessing to the end.




Garden Spells

Garden Spells

Sarah Addison Allen's novels share common elements: they're Southern, small-town, and uniquely magical. This is the book that hooked me on her writing. The romance is cheesy, the magic impossible, but put them together and it sings. A few love scenes are a little racy (ahem). If you’re not down with supernatural food or a magical apple tree, skip this one—but you should know how many readers call this “a wonderful surprise.”


The Sugar Queen

The Sugar Queen

Sparkly Southern women, screwed-up family relationships, and magical realism mark this novel. One woman's unique magic is that the specific book she needs in her life right then mysteriously appears—on her bedside table, on her desk at work, in her handbag. That's enough to win me over.

First Frost

First Frost

Allen wrote Garden Spells in 2007, and eight whole years later—in January 2015—she published this sequel because readers kept asking her what happened next? and she was eager to revisit the Waverly sisters. Not quite as enchanting as Garden Spells, but still worth reading.


Who are YOUR authors worth binge reading?




















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