5 of the best inspirational books for a new you

5 of the best inspirational books for the new year...

1. How To Make Space, £9.99

This lovely little hardback book by Dr Arlene Unger has the subtitle 'An inspired guide to a clearer mind and home' - and takes a look at what happens when you decide to simplify your life and look for the little pleasures in everyday things.

Wisdom comes in easy to read, bite-sized 2-page chunks, under headers like:

• Just enough
• Find your flow
• Opening the door
• Alone time
• Musical interlude.

We reckon setting a couple of minute aside each day to read these little bursts of wisdom might just help you on the road to calm.

Available from: Quarto Knows

2. Conscious Creativity, £10.49

Wanting to get a bit more creativity going in your life, but not sure where to start? Philippa Stanton's book, Conscious Creativity, could be just what you need - with daily practices offering specific instructions to get you in touch with your senses.

Chapters include:

• What sort of creative are you?
• Practice, structure and obstacles
• Documenting
• Light and Shadow
• Abstract.

Daily exercises feature things like making a scent diary, doing taste tests, and using music to tap in to your feelings and what's going on around you.

If you want to build creativity into you life but aren't sure how to do it and could do with some guidance - this might just fit the bill.

Available from: Amazon

3. The Happiness Passport, £11.34

Now here's for something a little bit different, but OMG how much do we love it?

With the tagline, A world tour of joyful living in 50 words, this unusual book takes inspiring words or concepts from different cultures one by one and explores how you can use those words to bring a little more happiness into your life every day.

Featured words include:

• Sisu (Finnish) - meaning strength of will, courage, grit
• Sobremesa (Spanish) - meaning relaxed conversation around the table following a meal
• Arrangiarsi (Italian) - to make do; to get by with one's own ingenuity.

We really think this is a lovely 'dipping in' book which brings the wisdom of different societies together. It has gorgeous illustrations, too, and would make a lovely gift, for someone else or as a treat for yourself.

Available from: Amazon

4. How To Be Content, £9.99

From the same series and author as How To Make Space comes How To Be Content.

This cute book, subtitled An inspired guide to happiness includes page-long reads to get you thinking positively, as well as suggestions for practical things to try. Headers include:

• Accepting change
• Celebrate success
• Don't Give Up
• Celebrate New Starts.

There are also tips on things like journaling, brightening up your wardrobe and working with nature to be happy, and inspiring quotes from great thinkers of the past.

Available from: Quarto Knows

5. Happy: Why More Or Less Everything Is Absolutely Fine, £6.47

If you're a fan of Derren Brown anyway, and you're up for a bigger read than the other books here, we highly recommend Happy.

Derren takes some pretty complicate philosophical debates and learning and puts them really simply. It's an easy read - so while it's a thick book, of you're into it we think you'll speed through it.

If you're more of an audio book fan, you can actually get this as an audio book on Audible - though one of our mums, who usually listens to audiobooks exclusively said she bought the book version of this because she found the narrator not to her taste at all.

Available from: Amazon

Images: Product websites

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