I was just responding to a comment left on one of my posts when an idea for this post struck me. My husband and three daughters (Emily, Brittany, and Stephany) are very busy people. They come and go at all times – most of our cats gave up, long ago, trying to keep up with them. One, Alexa, is fighting the good fight and still stays on top of watching the revolving kitchen door.
When one of these busy bodies or one of their boyfriends (we’ll exclude my husband on that one) comes through the door, Alexa will find me to “tell” me they’re here. She knows I like to go meet them at the door and see what they’d like… coffee, tea, hot chocolate, food, or an ear.
Needless to say, they don’t have as much time to get lost in a great book as I do. Ahhhh, the sweet perks of working from one’s home. I read all the time – as I’ve said before, I usually have at least 3 books going at once. If I recommended EVERY single book I like to them, they’d think I was completely off my nut.
I’m still trying to keep that fact a secret from them, so I only recommend only the books that I KNOW will touch their lives and make them and their future brighter and better. The following are the last 5 books that I recommended to my much beloved family. I’d like to recommend them to you, because I heart you a great deal, too!
- The Bible. Obvious, much? I’ve always loved the Bible and reading it has been a constant in my daily life for too many years to even count. Every single one of life’s problems can be found in the books of the Bible and I’m convinced that the first step in living a better life begins with being a faithful Bible reader. After losing my mom, far sooner than I should have, I found a great deal of comfort by turning to Psalms. The beauty of the words brought more calmness into my heart than it thought possible.
- Just Who Will You Be? by Maria Shriver – Click HERE for my review of this remarkable little book. Each one of my family members has read this book and commented on how much they loved it. It’s a very fast read, and I think each one of them read it in one sitting.
- How to Think Like a Millionaire – Read my review of this exceptional book HERE.
- One Can Make a Difference: Original stories by the Dali Lama, Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, Dennis Kucinch, Russel Simmons, Bridgitte Bardot, Martina … Dozens of Other Extraordinary Individuals – How’s that for a title?? This is another wonderful book that’s also easy and fast to read. It’s actually compiled of a series of amazing essays, so they can be read in a one essay a day fashion. I would actually advise you to read them that way, because each essay stands on its own as a powerhouse of motivation and inspiration. The book is so amazing that you’ll want to devour them all at once. I have to confess, that’s the way I did it. But I’m going back now and reading them one essay at a time – really allowing each one to “set in” before moving to the next. This is a profound and powerful book that will change you forever. The truly beautiful thing? If enough of us are changed, we can change the world!
- Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude: How to Find, Build and Keep a YES! Attitude for a Lifetime of SUCCESS – A wonderfully fun, yet highly motivational little book. It, too, will change your life for the better – by changing the way you “look at” things. It’s a make-over for your attitude, which is pretty essential because your attitude touches every single inch of your life.
- Strength for Life: The Fitness Plan for the Rest of Your Life – My family’s health is even more important to me than my own, so I recommended this great all-in-one book to them. The author, Shawn Phillips, has as much knowledge about nutrition and fitness as any author I’ve ever read. He lays it all out for the readers in an easy-to-read and easy-to-live style that puts better health within arm’s reach.
For my daughters, I also recommended a fictional book by Kate Jacobs: Comfort Food. She’s the talented, engaging author who also wrote “The Friday Night Knitting Club.” I love her style! Comfort Food is about a lovable host for a television show on the Cooking Channel. The main character, Gus, is a fifty year old mother who has had this show for 12 years. The ratings are dipping, so the producers add a diva-like co-host, Carmen. Carmen loves nothing more than Carmen, so you can imagine how well that goes over.
Carmen decides to use her show as an on-air cooking class that brings together her fighting daughters Sabrina and Aimee.
Another great character, Oliver, provides the romance for the novel. He’s the new culinary producer who adds spice to Gus’ life. Sorry, I couldn’t resist the spice comment. I tried – but, in the end, I had to go with it.
Other Books You’ll LOVE:
Mike says
Some of these are very good. I read The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude recently and found it very helpful.
Another book that I found insightful was Soul Discovery: 9 Principles for Revealing Your Sacred Gifts, by Joan Marie Whelan. She takes the ideas behind The Secret and the Law of Attraction, and raises them to a new level. I really found it fascinating how she melded classical inspirational methods with an emphasis on developing intuitive abilities. If any of you guys are interested, check it out here.