I started 2017 by taking a trip up the coast to San Simeon with my husband. It was rainy and quiet, and there was nothing to do but sleep, read and walk the beach. I had already declared my intention to make this “The Year of Awesome” and it was the perfect beginning. How the year’s potential awesomeness manifests itself is yet to be seen, but when in doubt I always start with a great reading list.
Here are some great books to jumpstart your own year of awesome:
Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life
By Bill Burnett and Dave Evans
This ain’t your mother’s new age guide. Burnett and Evans are Stanford design professors who’ve applied the principles of great design process to designing your life. Unlike many books about creating a life you love, these guys don’t focus on knowing your passion but instead prototyping some potential lives and trying them out. Curiosity, action, reframing and collaboration are all key components to their strategy. My takeaway was imagining my final product — where I want my life to be in five years — then designing the steps to get me there.
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
By Timothy Ferriss
Don’t be scared off by the intimidating size (673 pages!). This fascinating book from podcast king Ferriss serves up a buffet of tidbits in the categories of health, wealth, and happiness, most told through interviews (some from his podcasts, some new) with successful people. The nontraditional format won’t be for everyone; Ferriss doesn’t take a “how to” approach, instead inspiring readers to jump around the hundreds of quick takeaways. I walked away with 20 that I’m pretty sure will change my life.
The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living
By Meik Wiking
Denmark is reported to be the happiest country in the world and the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, Meik Wiking, has decided to share the Danes’ secret with the rest of us. Hygge (pronounced Hoo-ga) means comfort, warmth, togetherness and well being, and Wiking’s little book offers all of that. His recommendations aren’t rocket science — candles, hot liquids, fireplaces — but there’s something comforting about the book itself and I felt my pulse slow as I wandered through its pages.
In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs
By Grace Bonney
The thought that went into this inspirational collection of interviews is evident — a gorgeous design, beautiful photographs, diverse subjects — and I appreciated the author’s effort to make visible the often invisible female creatives and entrepreneurs of our time.
Reality Is Not What It Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity
By Carlo Rovelli
I find perspective and inspiration in physics, especially when it’s presented with clarity for the layman as Carlo Rovelli has done previously with his brilliant “Seven Brief Lessons on Physics.” In his newest book, Rovelli writes beautiful prose while walking the reader through the history and concept of “reality” and what it all means for the yet to be discovered universe and thus our own lives.
The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down: How to Be Calm and Mindful in a Fast-Paced World
By Haemin Sunim
The title speaks for itself but doesn’t do justice to this lovely, illustrated Buddhist guide to staying present. Reminiscent of “The Prophet” and worthy of a place on my nightstand, this book offers a calm in life’s storm.
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World
By Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu with Douglas Carlton Abrams
These two renowned Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and spiritual leaders, who’ve had lives filled with suffering, came together to write an extraordinary book, one of my favorites, about the obstacles to and foundations of joy. Treat yourself, both to the book and to watching the two friends together on YouTube. They are joyful, playful, profound and full of light. Characteristics these books all share, and that we all hope describe our new year.
Allison K. Hill is president and chief executive officer of Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena and Book Soup in West Hollywood, and a contributor to The Huffington Post book section. Reach Hill through her website, www.AllisonKHill.com, or follow her at readingalovestory.tumblr.com.
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