Thursday 31 December 2015

Self-Improvement Book Review

No matter how good the previous year was, I love that on New Years Eve I can put a whole year behind me and begin a new one.

Today people everywhere are most likely writing out their expectations for 2016, how to achieve them, and how to make it their best year yet. I know I am! Cue the New Year's resolutions list... I had quite a few resolutions last year but I have to say one of my best ones, and the one I enjoyed the most, was my resolution to 'Read two books a week', one fiction and one non-fiction. Granted, I didn't always make my target two books, but I made a good stab at it and in the process learnt so much.

I read some brilliant fiction books in 2015, Unravelling Oliver by Irish author Liz Nugent being my absolute favourite. If you haven't read it yet you should definitely pick up a copy or download it to your kindle, it's fantastic.

But because it's New Years Eve and most of us are in a 'Self Improvement' frame of mind I thought I'd list my favourite books in this category from last year and a few of my all time favourites too.

1 | Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston



This is top of the list as it was my first ever self-improvement book. I picked it up when I was a teenager, and it's still the book that's had the most profound effect on my life. I have a huge interest in Feng Shui and apply many of the principles to my home, but this book isn't just about Feng Shui; it's about creating sacred space in your home to radically transform your life for the better.

2 | It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh



Another clutter clearing book! I read this one soon after we had our first baby at a time when we had lots of new stuff to find a place for. It's not my usual type of holiday book but I decided to read it while on a family holiday and when I returned home I had the entire house, including all of the baby stuff, put away or organised within a couple of days. A great motivating book to give order and organisation to your life.

3 | Flip it: How to get the best out of everything by Michael Heppell



A positive thinking book giving brilliant advice and practical tips on how to rethink different situations and flip bad ones into good. Get the best out of everything life sends your way.

5 | The Little Book of Mindfulness by Tiddy Rowan



A brilliant little book with helpful reminders and tips on how to live mindfully everyday!

6 | Getting Things Done by David Allen



This book changed me from a procrastinator into a doer! It's one of the best books I've ever read, and so motivating and well written that I began implementing his technique into my daily routine while still reading, and have stuck to his system ever since. I highly recommend this book.

7 | The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg



If you want to change anything in your life that's become habitual then read this book and you can. A book about why habits exist and how they can be changed. Excellent reading.

8 | Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy



The main message in this book is that you should get your most important (and often most difficult) task done first and as a result the rest will seem easy. This book will help you to get the right things done everyday.

9 | Talking Money by Jill Kirby & Karl Deeter



This is more of a guide than a book and it can easily be read in one sitting. Although, technically it should be in a finance/budgeting category I'm including it here as it was a self-improvement book for me - someone who has little or no interest in money talk! A very easy to understand, helpful guide giving excellent tips on the more mundane - yet important! - side to money like insurances, pensions and savings plans.

10 | Golden Apples by Bill Cullen



If 'Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui' was my first book to read in this category then, thinking back, this must have been my second.. I read this one just after we got married and found it really inspirational. I do think I read it a little earlier than I should have though. I'll have to give it another read and will probably get a whole different perspective on how to transform my life into a career I love!

11 | The joy of less, A minimalist living guide: How to declutter, organise and simplify your life by Francine Jay



I have a good feeling that I was born a minimalist but then bustle and stuff got in the way! This is another decluttering book... save the planet, pare down your possessions and simplify your life.

12 | One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way by Robery Maurer



I worked in a Japanese restaurant for years and 'Kaizen' was one of its philosophies, it was so important it was even written on the menu! I found it fascinating - a Japanese term meaning continuous improvement. This book is an essential guide to making lasting change through small, steady steps.


So, there's my list, my favourite books of 2015 - and some from the last two decades!

Wishing you a wonderful 2016.

Jen x

* Single book images courtesy of amazon.co.uk


39 comments

  1. I could do with reading a few of those ;-) Happy New Year!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy New Year Alice! I hope you had a great Christmas and New Year :-) Really loved every single one of these books. Have lots more on my 'To read' list for 2016 - hope they're as good as these!

      Delete
  2. thanks for this usefull article, waiting for this article like this again. How To Stop Being Lazy

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great review! I like self-education and self-development, I have a lot of books for this purpose and have passed numerous courses. I even think that I can teach people after getting so much experience. You can check my blog shutupandlisten.org.uk where I write some my thoughts about my life.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I m no expert, but I believe you just made an excellent You certainly understand what youre speaking about, and I can truly get behind that.

    Self Improvement

    ReplyDelete
  5. positive behavior support plan focuses on research-based strategies used to improve the quality of life while reducing challenging behaviors in a person's environment

    ReplyDelete
  6. Try not to feel dumb and bound always in light of the fact that you flopped on a science test. There's dependably a next time. Make spaces for self-improvement and development book. only—-water.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. It is necessary for both an individual and an organization to establish self development. For an individual, it is vital to perform the liabilities and succeed in accordance to the hard work.click here for more info

    ReplyDelete
  8. Additionally, there are a lot of sound projects, recordings, classes and courses on an assortment of self improvement classifications. In spite of the moderately high cost to buy these classes and courses, the request is still as awesome as ever.best self help books for men

    ReplyDelete
  9. It looks that these are the best best for self help. I have also read a book 'The Monk who Sold his Ferrari' and from this I got 7 virtues of life. I find it really very important and much helpful. Thanks for this post.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank you so much for sharing this great blog.Very inspiring and helpful too.Hope you continue to share more of your ideas.I will definitely love to read. Eric Amidi

    ReplyDelete
  11. Information is very informative also you get same from this site, this is the great resource to get such type of information.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Plan for the most dire outcome imaginable that the supervisor will find a considerable measure of work still should be done on the book.chapter books online

    ReplyDelete
  13. When I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Thanks
    top baby monitors

    ReplyDelete
  14. A Vice-Provost at University of Memphis Lambuth in Tennessee, Reddick writes with what are commonly-called “southern sensibilities.” Family life, for example, features prominently in these works. CFA study material

    ReplyDelete
  15. Very efficiently written information. It will be beneficial to anybody who utilizes it, including me. Keep up the good work. For sure i will check out more posts. This site seems to get a good amount of visitors. Only Freedom Matters

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm also visiting this site regularly, this web site is really nice and the users are genuinely sharing good thoughts.
    Marci Shimoff Your Year of Miracles

    ReplyDelete
  17. Every day I visit a number of blog sites to see content, however this offers quality based content.
    one password

    ReplyDelete
  18. It features what is most one of a kind about your book. In particular, the logline furnishes the writer with an approach to concentrate on the three fundamental stays of their composition. fakku

    ReplyDelete
  19. Great blog. All posts have something to learn. Your work is very good and i appreciate you and hopping for some more informative posts. Self help books for men

    ReplyDelete
  20. Self Improvement guidance # 8: Always define objectives for your self, important and feasible objectives. Defining significant and reachable objectives for your life is vital for improvement and development.Semen Retention

    ReplyDelete
  21. The NoFap benefits timeline is different than the 90-Day NoFap timeline. You should also know that there are both short-term and long-term NoFap benefits. benefits of nofap

    ReplyDelete
  22. Nice to read your article! I am looking forward to sharing your adventures and experiences. Self care

    ReplyDelete
  23. There are an assortment of associations planned for building up self development. They wish to build up an inward development of a person. This association may appear as a mentor, tutor, director, instructor or a manual for build up self development. Why don’t you make your career explode with 100% percent commitment

    ReplyDelete
  24. I really enjoyed very much with this article here. Really it is an amazing article I had ever read. I hope it will help a lot for all. Thank you so much for this amazing posts and please keep update like this excellent article.thank you for sharing such a great blog with us.
    strength based counseling

    ReplyDelete
  25. This is a great post. I like this topic.This site has lots of advantage.I found many interesting things from this site. It helps me in many ways.Thanks for posting this again. the lost ways 12

    ReplyDelete
  26. Regardless of whether a child doesn't care for understanding books, he will energetically peruse customized books to appreciate the story and to realize what they did in the story as the legend. In this way, the books helps in improving proficiency of children. Fun games for kids

    ReplyDelete
  27. I have read your excellent post. This is a great job. I have enjoyed reading your post first time. I want to say thanks for this post. Thank you... stock market

    ReplyDelete
  28. To make what feels overwhelming seem more manageable, we can break down writing and producing a book into a series of steps that give an idea of the order and time needed for each step in the process. https://utah.instructure.com/eportfolios/37699/Home/Reflux_diagnostics_What_is_the_job_of_the_speechlanguage_pathologist

    ReplyDelete
  29. I always read books in my leisure time, so these books reviews are perfect for me to select a book in order to improve my skills and boost my confidence. Often, I have faced failure due to the lack of confidence, so I am interested to boost my confidence. PhD Dissertation Writing Service

    ReplyDelete
  30. The expected negative effects of globalization are educationally worried in different sorts of political, financial, and social colonization and overpowering impacts of cutting edge nations to agricultural nations and quickly expanding holes between rich territories and helpless zones in various pieces of the world. Graduate School

    ReplyDelete
  31. You made such an interesting piece to read, giving every subject enlightenment for us to gain knowledge. Thanks for sharing the such information with us to read this... Book reading app

    ReplyDelete
  32. مؤسسهٔ چاپ کتاب نبشته از سال ۱۳۹۴ فعالیت خود را در تمامی زمینههای مرتبط با حوزه چاپ و نشر کتاب آغاز کرده است. این مؤسسه تا کنون تایپ، ویراستاری، صفحهبندی، طراحی جلد، اخذ مجوز و چاپ بیش از ۱۰۰۰ عنوان کتاب را بر عهده داشته است.

    نشر کتاب

    ReplyDelete
  33. Well there are still a few reasons to offer your book as a print edition even if you published it as an ebook. چاپ کتاب

    ReplyDelete

© Maison Jen. All rights reserved.
MINIMAL BLOGGER TEMPLATES BY pipdig