My Top 10 (Non-Fiction) Books of 2017

Every year since 2012, I've set myself a target to read at least 12 personal development books a year (roughly one a month).

This year, I got through 16 books on subjects ranging from parenting and personal finance to career planning and, my favourite theme for the latter half of this year, giving.

So here are my top 10 recommendations from this year’s reading list (two of them I haven’t yet finished).

If you’ve read any of them, I’d love to hear your thoughts; if you have other books to recommend for my 2018 reading list, I’d love to hear that too!

(PS: these are in no particular order)

1)     The Magic of Thinking Big: The true secret of success – how to earn more, lead fearlessly and live a happier life | David Schwartz

The Magic of Thinking Big has been on my radar for a few years but it wasn't until I recently saw it on someone's book list on an off-chance that I decided to buy it at last. What a great read! The book covers all aspects of success – from managing professional relationships to setting personal goals – in a way that is easy to read and easy to understand. It's one of those books you'll want to read again and again – I know I'm planning to!

2)     The Total Money Makeover: A proven plan for financial fitness | Dave Ramsey

I started listening to The Dave Ramsey Show daily on podcast before I ordered this book. I thought I was pretty good at personal finance already but Ramsey takes it to a whole new level! If you want to control your finances and not have them control you, you need this book. If you want to build wealth and not worry about retirement, you need this book. If you want to have more than enough so you can give to others less fortunate, you need this book. Get the book, follow the plan and you will succeed. Oh and I’m hooked on the podcasts – it really brings the topic to life!

3)     Property Investment for Beginners | Rob Dix

This is another book I bought as a result of a podcast (called The Property Podcast where the author is the co-host). It’s an excellent little book about property investment, something my husband and I have been thinking about as an alternative or add-on to a pension for the future. It’s easy to read for property newbies like us and it’s easy to understand the numerous jargon that come along with buying and selling property. Both the book and the podcast is excellent –highly recommended.

4)     Designing Your Life: How to build a well-lived joyful life | Bill Burnett & Dave Evans

Designing Your Life is by far the best career planning book I've read to date. It's very well written with excellent practical and grounded advice on how to go about designing the life that you want in relation to your work. The chapters on job hunting are particularly refreshing and useful – even for someone like me who has read lots of career books and written my own too! Buy this for yourself and get another copy for someone you care about – you'll be glad you did.

5)     The 9 to 5 Window: How faith can transform the workplace | Os Hillman

As a Christian, I found this book a great resource on how you can positively use your faith to transform your work place. I must confess I only started reading it because it was lying around in the house (hubby’s purchase) but it ended up being a tool that provided a much-needed and timely spiritual solution to a career problem I was having. A very well-written book with lots of interesting practical examples to support the theory. I’d highly recommend it for aspiring world changers.

6)     I Like Giving: The transforming power of a generous life | Brad Formsma

This is a really excellent book with great stories and practical examples of how to live a generous life which, incidentally, goes way beyond money. It’s a great introduction, if you need one, to the subject of giving as a lifestyle. Definitely one to add to my personal philosophy lifetime library.

7)     Why Good Things Happen to Good People: How to live a longer, healthier, happier life by the simple act of giving | Stephen Post, PhD. & Jill Neimark

This book was a follow on read for me from I Like Giving. It’s one of those books that you read, make notes on, and then take action. The authors outline scientific evidence for the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual benefits of giving and then give you 10 ways of giving you can personally put to action in your own life. There’s a quiz included with each area of giving to help you identify where you’re already doing well and where there’s room for improvement. A valuable resource if you want to change your life and that of others around you.

8)     How to Grow Longer Healthier Natural Whilst Wearing Wigs, Weaves and Braids, Like I Did! | Valley Fontaine

Yes, this one is a very niche subject that most people won’t be able to relate to but for those who know the struggle, this book is a very welcome breath of fresh air! After having tried once to “go natural” - and failed - I realised what I was missing then was knowledge. I bought Valley’s book one night on Kindle and started reading it immediately and I was hooked! Not only is it well-written, it’s also extremely well-researched and highly informative (a testament to her journalism training). This was exactly the resource I needed to restart my natural hair journey - this time for good! A must-read if you can relate :-)

9)     Originals: How non-conformists change the world | Adam Grant

I’ve been a fan of Adam Grant’s work ever since I read his book, Give and Take, in 2015 but I must confess, I didn't finish reading Originals. Not because it's not a good book, but because I was in a particular season of life when I bought it and that season passed by the time I got round to reading it so I only managed to get a few chapters in before I called it a day. I've since heard Adam speak on this topic several times so I do feel familiar with the concept of Originals – an idea I find very interesting. It's likely I'll come back to finish reading it at some point in the future.

10) Grace-Based Parenting: Set your family free | Dr. Tim Kimmel

I’m currently reading this book and I won’t be done in time for the close of 2017 but I’m sneaking it into my top 10 list anyway! Of all the jobs I’ve ever had and will have, my most important one is the job of parenting my two girls (along with my husband) so I love finding useful resources that can help that process (side note: the Focus on the Family podcast is a brilliant treasure trove for parents). Grace-Based Parenting is based on the Christian concept of grace and God’s love and shows us how we can extend this to our children as parents. As the blurb indicates, it illustrates a parenting style that “mirrors God's love, reflects His forgiveness, and displaces fear as a motivator for behaviour”. A great read so far and another potential candidate for my personal philosophy library.

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