One of my 2018 goals was to read a lot more and get through a minimum of 30 book before the year is out. I am really proud with the progress that I have been making with this goal and am very confident that I will go well over the 30 book mark by the end of year.
So into the good stuff…the books that I have finished up reading or have been listening to Lately. Side note - Audible is actually one of my favourite things ever but I don’t want to rely too much on listening to books and want a good balance between that and actually reading a physical book. I don’t know why but I feel like listening to a book is sort of cheating but I can’t help but love being able to “read” while on my daily commute to and from work.
I have a pretty good mix of books in this list and they cover a variety of topics. I’ve also started assigning a rating out of 5 after I have finished each book so I will include that from now on in these posts.
Open Wide - Melissa Ambrosini (4.5/5)
This book was immensely helpful for me in understanding myself better and providing guidance on where I could change the way I approach some things. The key take away is in the title – it’s that you should remain open rather than closed off and when you do that you really do open yourself up to so many opportunities to experience profound love and joy. The book is all about being vulnerable, accepting who you are and silencing the inner mean girl that lives inside your head. It was focussed on connecting with others through being vulnerable with them and wearing your heart on your sleeve (something that is difficult but I try to live by). It also talks through how to figure out what your values are and aligning them with your partner to determine compatibility. I love all of the self-care tips and girly advice along the way. It definitely changed the way that I approach certain aspects of my life and encouraged me to love myself and be more open to others.
I am a huge fan of Red Hot Chilli Peppers so naturally I was extremely interested in reading the autobiography following lead singer, Anthony Kiedes’ crazy life. This is a really full on book that shamelessly talks through his addiction to drugs, the progression of the band, his personal struggles and love life. It was a very raw and honest recount of his history and very interestingly went into depth about the musical genius that is RHCP. If you love their music, reading this book will really give you a good insight into how the band started out and the mindset everyone had during the progression of the band’s career. My favourite part of the book is where Anthony sheds light on the meaning in some of his lyrics. As someone who focusses a lot on the lyrics of every song, this was really interesting to me.
For the most part I really enjoyed this book but there were a lot of parts that
I didn’t agree with. Which is completely fine because I read books to get an
idea of how someone else thinks and their perspective on something then I’ll selectively
take on board the things I believe in. I thought Sarah was ridiculously funny
and seriously admired her for being so confident in who she is and “letting her
freak flag fly” (her words, not mine haha). Things I disagreed with were to do
with being selfish because I’m someone who puts compassion at the core of my
thought process. I disagreed when she was saying things like ditching your friend’s
wedding is fine as long as you send an expensive gift or lying to someone about
the reason you can’t go is also acceptable. It’s also not my mentality that if
someone is saying something you disagree with you have to be rude or completely
exit the conversation – I think these sorts of debates that people have are so
important and being narrow minded thinking your way is the right way isn’t
necessarily the best option. Other than that, I liked her overall message to be
yourself and not let anyone bring you down.
I’m currently
reading ‘The Untethered Soul’ by Peter Berkot which is AMAZING so far – seriously
wait until you hear about the amazing insights from this read! I also have a
few spiritual books I am about to start regarding Buddhism, lightness and
darkness as well as personal development.
Can you see a theme yet? I love autobiographies or self-help books. Every time
I sit down to read a fiction book I just get bored but this is something I
would like to work on.
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