12 Books to Read to Start the New Year

28 Dec 2015

2016 is on the horizon and full of possibilities. You might fall in love or land a few flings. Perhaps you will start exercising regularly or perfect the art of surviving from your couch. You could write a book (or at least finish reading the whopper of a text that has been sitting on your bedside table for months and keeps getting passed over in favor of lighter reads). Whatever your goals and aspirations, we want to help. We have carefully collected a list of 12 books to read to start the new year that provide a healthy mixture of inspiration when you are setting your resolutions and comfort when you don’t meet them.

12 Books to Read to Start the New Year

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1) Better than Before

Gretchen Rubin

Release Date: March 17, 2015

If patience is the virtue you don’t possess, this is the book for you. If you need to see progress right away and want all the tiny changes to count, Gretchen Rubin explains how to change everyday habits to solve all your problems and get everything you want. Ok maybe she doesn’t do that, but she at least explains how to build healthier and stronger habits – perfect for those who are intimidated by huge changes but want to improve their lives.

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2) Everything I Never Told You

Celeste Ng

Release Date: May 12, 2015

Award-winner? Check. Tragedy? Check. Inspirational? Check. A family is torn apart and must put itself back together again in this tale of literary fiction. For our readers who have resolved to work on their family life, this book will inspire you when the going gets tough.

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3) The Achievement Habit

Bernard Roth

Release Date: July 7, 2015

If you’ve ever wanted to learn about what goes on inside your brain, the co-founder of the Stanford d.school is here to explain. Bernard Roth commands you to stop wishing and start doing by using design thinking as a means to reach your potential. If one of your resolutions is to start achieving greatness, this is a great place to start.

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4) Rising Strong

Brené Brown

Release Date: August 25, 2015

If the word “vulnerability” makes you want to run and hide under a pillow, pick up the newest release from Brené Brown. Expanding on her previous work, Brown discusses the power of stories (particularly stories of failure) in Rising Strong. She doesn’t promise anything, but she sure as heck will give you her best shot as she convinces you to open up your deepest hurts and walk through them (mostly) unscathed.

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5) Big Magic

Elizabeth Gilbert

Release Date: September 22, 2015

If one of your new year’s resolutions is to rediscover your inner child with finger painting and popsicle sticks (or at least to unleash your creative potential), Big Magic is worth your time. Elizabeth Gilbert inspires and challenges her readers to live with courage and rediscover their creativity in this story of her own motivational processes.

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6) After You

Jojo Moyes

Release Date: September 29, 2015

When you need a splash of romance to remind you why you set all those New Year’s Resolutions in the first place, grab a copy of After You by Jojo Moyes. After losing one love, Lou Clark must find the strength to open up again and move forward with all the risk that invites. Dealing with heavy issues while keeping a comedic thread, After You will reward all your hard work and motivate you to keep it up.

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7) Life and Other Near-Death Experiences

Camille Pagan

Release Date: November 1, 2015

Fans of tragic stories that turn hopeful but still use up a box of tissues: this one’s for you. An optimist-turned-realist must figure out how to deal with her new perspective on life in a story that is equal parts funny and inspiring. Yes, it’s a cancer narrative, but it is a cancer narrative that will make you laugh, cry, and add Camille Pagan’s other book to your ever-growing list of books to read.

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8) The Japanese Lover

Isabel Allende

Release Date: November 3, 2015

Be still my heart: a couple in love that continue to get ripped apart and yet find each other again and again while keeping their love a secret the whole time? Without giving too much away, that is exactly what this book is about. Her first novel was an international bestseller, and fans of The House of Spirits will not want to miss this new release by Isabel Allende. Treat yourself with a seriously good novel.

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9) Dear Mr. You

Mary-Louise Parker

Release Date: November 10, 2015

If you like stalking famous people and want to hear about one woman’s relationships with the men in her life, this is the book for you. Actress Mary-Louise Parker pens a series of letters to the men in her life (real or not) who have made her the woman she is today. Poignant and revealing, Parker is honest and hilarious while maintaining her sassy side.

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10) Spark Joy

Marie Kondo

Release Date: January 5, 2016

If you watched the Tiny Homes documentary and decided to throw away everything you own, move to the mountains, and live off the land, you cannot neglect the newest from Marie Kondo. If you’ve never heard of Tiny Homes but find that you struggle to stay organized, you also cannot miss this new release. Kondo takes decluttering to a new level as she provides detailed advice (complete with illustrations) about how to get back to the basics in your life.

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11) The Road to Little Dribbling

Bill Bryson

Release Date: January 19, 2016

For anyone who likes to laugh and travel vicariously through other people, Bill Bryson has provided the perfect book to help. Bryson traipses through England on a route that he planned based on the longest distance one could travel in a straight line. You will learn a few things, but don’t read this book while drinking milk or it may just come out your nose as you laugh at Bryson’s witty banter.

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12) NYPD Red 4

James Patterson & Marshall Karp

Release Date: January 25, 2016

By the time this book is released in late January, you will need something to reward yourself for all of your hard work keeping all (most) of your resolutions for a whole month. James Patterson offers up his latest book to devour in this sequel to NYPD Red 1, 2, and 3. All the best of Patterson is present with an outrageously difficult crime, high-profile characters, and the crème-de-la-crème of detectives. Treat yourself – you’ve earned it.

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