5 Books to Kickstart Your Mindful Reading

Reading is a powerful commitment. It creates a space for you to step away from the phone or computer screen and read a few pages. It shifts your perspective. It expands your mind and creates sweet alone time. Reading can even feel like time travel when you used to make forts as a kid and hide with your book for hours.
 
Let me tell you the truth. I am a bonafide book nerd. I love the entire act of reading. I light candles, I put on my thick Warby Parker glasses and UGG house slippers and I sip tea or wine and get lost in the pages. And yes, I prefer real pages over an iPad or Kindle. I love the smell of books. Amazon actually sent me my list of 2015 purchases and over 80% were paperback books!
 

Here are my top five picks to kickstart your mindful reading and expand your mind and heart:

 
Rising Strong: The Reckoning, The Rumble, The Revolution
by Brene Brown
 

 
This is a book exploring bravery, falling down and getting up, and the stages we go through to do so. Brown is a research professor sharing her wisdom rooted in study and vulnerable storytelling. Have you seen her incredible and very popular TED Talk on The Power of Vulnerability? Watch it here.
 
 
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
by Elizabeth Gilbert
 

 
Big Magic is about curiosity, magic and inspiration. Gilbert is the author of the famous Eat Pray Love and shares a more personal account of being an artist, exploring inspiration, and the journey to vibrant living. Gilbert’s chapters are short and so relatable – you will literally devour this read. Her recent talk on Super Soul Sunday on Passion and Creativity is absolutely brilliant, and you can watch here.
 
 
Carry On, Warrior: The Power of Embracing Your Messy, Beautiful Life
by Glennon Doyle Melton
 

 
This is a raw written account of life’s trials and tribulations and the ability to carry on. Melton is a mom, human being, wife and sister writing her truth page by page, making you nod in agreement and acknowledge her for the ability to keep it real and say the things we are all thinking – the truth!
 
 
The Alchemist
by Paulo Coelho
 

 
The Alchemist is one of my all-time favorite reads. I have read this book again and again, getting something new each time. This is a fictional story about a shepherd on a journey to finding his purpose, love and adventure. The book is a beautiful reflection of life and how you are living it. Read it, and read it again.
 
 
The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself
by Michael Singer
 

 
The Untethered Soul is a deeper read talking about the human condition and simple ways to living with soul and unattachment. I will warn you – Singer makes it all sound so easy and at one point you might ask yourself, what if it was this simple? And perhaps it all just might become that simple, this whole living and being a human journey. Read this one slowly.
 
Your turn! What are your favorite reads that have made you think, taught you something, or allowed a great escape?
 
Share in the comments below so we can build a great book list together!
 
P.S. Jacki Carr hosts a complimentary online book club over on Facebook called Novel Grapes: The Online Edition. Feel free to join and read together online. Accountability for the win!