My 8 Top Books of 2015

I’ve always been a book-worm!  Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve often to be found, squirrelled away with my nose in a book.  So as we approach the end of 2015, I thought I’d look back and reflect on the books that have impacted on me the most this year (get them on your Christmas list!).

Please note: some of these books were actually published in 2015, but most of them weren’t.  I wanted to include books that I’ve particularly enjoyed this year, regardless of when they were published.

Btw you can find a link to each book by clicking on the title.

1) ‘Women Who Run With the Wolves’ by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

I first read this book when I was doing my counselling training a few years ago, as it was on the recommended reading list.  I enjoyed it at the time, but didn’t connect with it fully.

I decided to re-read it earlier this year and oh my goodness, it blew me away!  When I read it in bed before going to sleep, I would often have powerful, symbolic dreams.

By exploring and sharing stories from throughout time and around the world, Estes tells us about the ‘wild woman’ who’s there within all of us.

I can imagine that reading this book will be a yearly ritual for me from now on.

This is for you if you want to dive deep into what it is to be a woman.

2) ‘The Desire Map‘ by Danielle Laporte

In truth, I read this at the end of 2014, but it’s had a profound effect on me this year.

Laporte turns goal-setting on its head and leads us through a process to identify our Core Desired Feelings before creating more practical goals to generate these feelings.

This book had me sitting with a dictionary and thesaurus to drill down into the meanings of my shortlist of core desired feelings, so I could find the most potent version of them.

By working through The Desire Map I identified ‘Unbound’ as my prime desired feeling and this has guided me throughout the year with the choices I’ve made and the work I’ve focused on.

I’ll be coming back to it this year to re-evaluate my core desired feelings for 2016.

This is for you if you’re tired of ‘normal’ goal-setting and are ready to create Goals with Soul.

3) ‘The Art of Asking’ by Amanda Palmer

I’m reading this right now and I’ve pretty much devoured it in a couple of days (which is always a good sign!)

I often write about enhancing your receive-ability as a key money mastery principle and this book looks at it from a slightly different angle.  Palmer talks super-compellingly about her own experience of asking for help, money, a bed for the night whilst touring with her band and all sorts of other things.

She also writes about the importance of community, building your tribe of raving fans and how to do this using social media and blogging.  All this combined with insights into her relationship with author, Neil Gaiman.

Believe me, this book is SO much more interesting than I’ve just made it sound!

This is for you if you need to get better at asking for support (and we pretty much ALL need to do that).

4) ‘The Big Leap‘ by Gay Hendricks

I read this book for the third time this year, so it has to go on the list.  I even wrote a blog post and created a video about it (click here to have a peek).

In it Hendricks talks about how to move through the self-imposed barriers we create to receiving success, abundance and love.  He calls these (often subconscious) barriers Upper Limit Problems.

Every time I read this book I take something new from it and I’m always recommending it to clients.  It’s helped me to identify and move through MANY Upper Limit Problems over the past couple of years.

A must-read.

This is for you if you’re prone to self-sabotage.

5) ‘Code Red‘ by Lisa Lister

I am a self-confessed super-fan of Lisa Lister’s and when she released this book earlier in the year, I was lucky enough to have read an advance copy.

In Code Red, Lisa writes about how to harness the super-powers of your menstrual cycle – how to live and work in alignment with the rhythms of nature.

This information has transformed the way I run my business and given me permission to be gloriously inconsistent.

Click here to hear a special interview I recorded with Lisa where we talk all things ‘Code Red’.

This is for you if you’re a woman (or you live or work with a woman).

6) ‘Big Magic‘ by Elizabeth Gilbert

I’d been waiting for this book to come out for much of the year.  I’m an avid follower of Elizabeth Gilbert on Facebook and often share her posts.

This book is about creativity and how to move through the challenges we often experience when we attempt to create something.

There are some fantastic perception-shifters here – my personal favourite was rather than being hung-up on having to follow your passion, follow your curiosity instead.  It felt like such a relief to read this!

This is for you if you long to create anything in this world.

7) ‘Succulent Wild Woman‘ by SARK

I first read this book a couple of years ago and was called back to it again recently on a rainy Sunday.  I pretty much read the whole thing again in a few hours.

I ADORE this book!  SARK writes about love, money, sexuality, business, creativity and adventure with the most amazing zest and lightness.

Plus she extols the many virtues of napping, which I love.  The other day when I was working on my book and didn’t feel like sitting at my desk, I remembered how SARK often took to her bed to write in her pyjamas and I joyfully granted myself permission to follow suit.

This is for you if you are a woman who loves (or would like to do more) extravagant lounging.

8) ‘Ask and it is Given‘ by Esther and Jerry Hicks

Again this is a book that I’ve read before, but when I revisited it this year I took much more from it.

Presenting the teachings of Abraham, Esther and Jerry Hicks help us learn how to manifest our desires.  What I particularly like are the 22 different processes they give us at the end of the book – all simple ways to raise your vibration and attract more into your life.  I use many of these in my daily life.

Since reading this book, I’ve become an avid watcher of Abraham Hicks videos on Youtube and I always take away a new snippet of inspiration.

This is a joyful, expansive book and one I’ll come back to time and time again.

This is for you if you want to learn more about the law of attraction.

So that’s my top 8 books of 2015.

I didn’t want to create a list of 10 just for the sake of it, but there are some books that just missed out.

‘The Miracle Morning‘ by Hal Elrod    If you want to create a powerful morning ritual

‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying‘ by Marie Kondo   If you want to become a decluttering queen

‘You Can Heal You Life‘ by Louise Hay   If you want to create a life you love (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?)

I’d love you to comment below and let me know what your top book of 2015 is.  Maybe it’s one of mine (and if not, I’m always looking for new inspiration).

Happy reading!

Nicola x

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