TGIF, friends! Any fun weekend plans??? I think I’m *most* excited about Saturday. A.) It’s J’s birthday! B.) Every Saturday, I’m trying to take one hour to just sit and read something. One of my biggest goals for 2018 is to get back into READING consistently. Every year it makes the list – but every year, I fall short, because I totally fail to be disciplined in actually sitting my ass down sans iPhone and just READ. J has been putting me in “time out” for at least an hour every weekend, which does the trick. 😉 I’m feeling ambitious per usual, so I’ve got a laundry list of books to get through this year. And I’m HELL BENT on doing it. This is my year. New year, new me. Lookit me go! OK, I’m done. 😉

My goal: 2 books/month. I used to be an avid reader, but then life happened and I basically stopped entirely. No bueno, yo. Going from pretty much zilch to 2 per month is 100% ambitious, but I think with *discipline* – a big word for me in 2018 – I can make it happen. *insert fist bump emoji here*

In December I got a head start with one of my favorite books lately,  A Stranger in the House (which I talked about in this Things I Love roundup!) – it’s a fiction thriller that had me *enthralled*. I was a big fan of The Girl on the Train and The Woman in Cabin 10, so if you read + loveloveloved those, you’ll also like this one.

And now, I’m vowing (not even “trying,” just straight up VOWING) to be good with my goal and ma favorite books this year.

One of the *best* ways to be good with goals is to have accountability partners to hold ya to it. SO, I’m enlisting all of you guys to hold me accountable. It works out, because one of the most common Q’s I get is to share good books/book recommendations/start a book club/etc. So I’m sharing my reading list with y’all, and YOU’ve gotta share your reading list with ME. And for any self-help sorta book, I’m sure I’ll share some goodies on Instastories with y’all (make sure you’re following along for that – @ericaligenza)

 

MY FAVORITE BOOKS AND READING LIST

1. – Up to this point in life, I’ve always been the polar opposite of a minimalist. I have too much sh*t, really. Ready to Marie Kondo the heck outta my life!
2. Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets us Free – This book is a gamechanger for Christian women. Must. Read.
3. Contagious – I started/read most of this in college, since the author is a professor at my alma mater university! Easy read on what makes things “catch on” in society.
4. The Other Side of Beauty – It’s written by an America’s Next Top Model alum who shares about the beauty industry and how it relates to her Christian faith.
5. The Willpower Instinct – This is alllll about harnessing your willpower + making the most of it!
6. Originals – The author of this + #7 was my professor in college and one of my biggest mentors – he is AMAZING.
7. Give and Take – Whole premise: “Givers” in life – those who strive to give in society more than they take – are more successful. I had a whole class in school based largely on this concept from a business managerial standpoint and it was GOLD, yo.
8. Present over Perfect – I’ve heard this one’s a life changer. It’s always something I’m striving towards – getting/staying in the present moment instead of constantly striving for moremoremore in an impossible quest for perfection.
9. The Couple Next Door – A thriller pre-quel to A Stranger in the House – I just read them backwards. Ha!
10.  – I just recently saw this recommend and am sooooo here for the concept. All about maximizing your time to get more done in less time – and essentially work waaaaay less overall. #YesPlease
11. Wild and Free – I’m here for the description of this book: “a liberty hymn for the modern Christian woman, who is held captive by the belief that she is too much, that she is not enough, and sometimes both.”
12. You are a Badass at Making Money – I read You are a Badass and it changed my life – this is the money mindset follow-up!
13. Secrets of Closing the Sale – Salespeople – strike that, truly good salespeople – are hella good communicators. I think this will largely be like Good Communications 101 – because there’s just so much that goes into it!
14. Big Magic – Big Magic’s subtitle is “Creativing Living Beyond Fear.” I lovelovelove that – and I think fear is SO relevant to any creative, since so much of what we do it just putting out best, most vulnerable work out there in the hopes that folks lovelovelove it.
15. Think and Grow Rich – And the choir said amen.
16. Monster Loyalty  – So inspired by Lady Gaga after seeing her live in concert with Taylor last September – she’s just an unbelievable artist (and person).
17. Grace Not Perfection – The subtitle here is “Embracing Simplicity, Celebrating Joy” – two things on my list of important biggies for 2018 and always.
18. The How-To of Never Giving Up – This gem is also titled “Regroup” – largely based on resilience in the entrepreneurial space to live life on YOUR terms (huzzah!).
19. Power Your Happy – Subtitled “Work Hard, Play Nice, & Build your Dream Life.” Basically my life mantra, so there’s that.
20. Fringe Hours – I loveloveLOVE this concept, and it’s something I’ve naturally done for years without knowing it. The gist: maximizing those little pockets of time before, in-between, and after tasks – “fringe hours” that we might otherwise waste.
21. Heart and Sell – Another book on sales cos #business. I’ve always been fascinated by consumer psychology (it’s what got me hooked on marketing in college in the first place), so knowing directly how to relate + communicate with consumers effectively has always been something I nerd out over happily.
22. TBD
23. TBD
24. TBD

 

Obvi, there are 3 “TBD” spots left – I’m leaving those since SO MUCH can (+ does) happen in a year, so I want to be flexible + adaptable and add any more favorite books to the list down the road. I’m currently in the middles of #1-3; Lies Women Believe is a *powerful* book for any Christian woman, and I’d highly recommend. I’m SUPER stoked start The Other Side of Beauty. The Willpower Instinct is fabulous (+ much needed) for me, because my discipline can be a bit lacking sometimes – and it’s one of my biggest focal points for the year. I’m reaaaaaally stoked about The Couple Next Door after recently finishing up it’s latest launch from the same author; I’m tryin to throw in a few fictional novels justbecause.

I’d say the general themes on my own reading list are: time management/efficiency, mindset/resiliency, faith, + business/personal development as a business owner.

What’s on your own reading list? Any favorite books I should read this year?

For winter, for 2018 – for anytime? I need 3 more recs to fill my own list, so if you’ve got a book in mind that you read yourself + loveloveloved…I wanna hear about it!

P.S. If ya want/need something deeper to read to kick off the weekend (!!!), try this.