A new month! That means it’s time for the LWD Book Club selections for May. Our May book choices reflect this month’s blog themes of self-development, creativity and happiness.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Life With Dee!
LWD MAY BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
“Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. “The days are long, but the years are short,” she realized. “Time is passing, and I’m not focusing enough on the things that really matter.” In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project.
In this lively and compelling account—now updated with new material by the author—Rubin chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Among other things, she found that novelty and challenge are powerful sources of happiness; that money can help buy happiness, when spent wisely; that outer order contributes to inner calm; and that the very smallest of changes can make the biggest difference.”
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
“Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Balancing between soulful spirituality and cheerful pragmatism, Gilbert encourages us to uncover the “strange jewels” that are hidden within each of us. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, embark on a dream long deferred, or simply infuse our everyday lives with more mindfulness and passion, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.”
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
“Daring Greatly is not about winning or losing. It’s about courage. In a world where “never enough” dominates and feeling afraid has become second nature, vulnerability is subversive. Uncomfortable. It’s even a little dangerous at times. And, without question, putting ourselves out there means there’s a far greater risk of getting criticized or feeling hurt. But when we step back and examine our lives, we will find that nothing is as uncomfortable, dangerous, and hurtful as standing on the outside of our lives looking in and wondering what it would be like if we had the courage to step into the arena—whether it’s a new relationship, an important meeting, the creative process, or a difficult family conversation. Daring Greatly is a practice and a powerful new vision for letting ourselves be seen.”
PREVIOUS LWD BOOK CLUB CHOICES:
I am so excited about all of these books! I am starting with Daring Greatly. I knew that I was driven by fear and have a huge problem dealing with strong people. I sat down to write a post the other day and wound up writing something that I really needed to hear. I HAVE to figure out how to deal with more difficult strong willed people. I can not just run in fear or turn into a puddle of tears every time that I am confronted with these personality types. God keeps placing them in my life and I have finally figured out that it is so that I will deal with it rather than run. I am really hoping that this will give me a little insight! LOL! Thanks so much for posting!
I’m looking forward to reading it, too. Let me know what you think of it.
I’m not sure what I’ll be reading this month, though I’m currently almost done with a Doctor Who novel, and plan to continue reading the books from David Estes’ Fatemarked series at some point soon.
My April book reviews post went up yesterday though, so you can at least find out what I read last month, if you like. Among last month’s reads was the rest of the Little House series.
I am looking forward to seeing what you thought of the series.